WARNING!
•Before exiting a vehicle, always shift the auto-
matic transmission into PARK or the manual
transmission into FIRST gear or REVERSE, apply
the parking brake, turn the vehicle OFF, remove
the key fob from the ignition and lock your
vehicle.
• Never leave children alone in a vehicle, or with
access to an unlocked vehicle. Leaving children in
a vehicle unattended is dangerous for a number
of reasons. A child or others could be seriously or
fatally injured. Children should be warned not to
touch the parking brake, brake pedal or the gear
selector.
• Allowing children to be in a vehicle unattended is
dangerous for a number of reasons. A child or
others could be seriously or fatally injured. Chil-
dren should be warned not to touch the parking
brake, brake pedal or the gear selector.
• Do not leave the key fob in or near the vehicle, or
in a location accessible to children. A child could
operate power windows, other controls, or move
the vehicle.
(Continued)
WARNING! (Continued)
•Do not leave children or animals inside parked
vehicles in hot weather. Interior heat build-up
may cause serious injury or death.
CAUTION!
An unlocked vehicle is an invitation. Always re-
move the key from the ignition and lock all the
doors when leaving the vehicle unattended.
Locking Doors With A Key
You can insert the key with either side up. To lock the
door, turn the key to the left. To unlock the door, turn
the key to the right. Refer to “Body Lubrication” in
“Maintaining Your Vehicle” for maintenance proce-
dures.
Key-In-Ignition Reminder
Opening the driver’s door when the key is in the
ignition and the ignition switch position is OFF/LOCK
sounds a signal to remove the key.
10 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE
General Information
The following regulatory statement applies to all Radio
Frequency (RF) devices equipped in this vehicle:
This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules and
with Industry Canada license-exempt RSS standard(s).
Operation is subject to the following two conditions:
1. This device may not cause harmful interference, and
2. This device must accept any interference received,including interference that may cause undesired
operation.
NOTE: Changes or modifications not expressly ap-
proved by the party responsible for compliance could
void the user ’s authority to operate the equipment.
DOOR LOCKS
The door locks can be manually locked or unlocked
from inside the vehicle by using the door handle. If the
door handle is pushed a red lock indicator will show on
the door handle (indicating locked) when the door is
closed, the door will lock.
WARNING!
• Do not leave children or animals inside parked
vehicles in hot weather. Interior heat build-up
may cause serious injury or death.
• For personal security and safety in the event of a
collision, lock the vehicle doors as you drive as
well as when you park and leave the vehicle.
• Before exiting a vehicle, always shift the auto-
matic transmission into PARK or the manual
transmission into FIRST gear or REVERSE, apply
(Continued)
Driver ’s Door Lock Handle
2
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 17
WARNING!(Continued)
the parking brake, turn the vehicle OFF, remove
the key fob from the ignition and lock your
vehicle.
• Never leave children alone in a vehicle, or with
access to an unlocked vehicle. Leaving children in
a vehicle unattended is dangerous for a number
of reasons. A child or others could be seriously or
fatally injured. Children should be warned not to
touch the parking brake, brake pedal or the gear
selector.
• Allowing children to be in a vehicle unattended is
dangerous for a number of reasons. A child or
others could be seriously or fatally injured. Chil-
dren should be warned not to touch the parking
brake, brake pedal or the gear selector.
• Do not leave the key fob in or near the vehicle, or
in a location accessible to children. A child could
operate power windows, other controls, or move
the vehicle.
CAUTION!
An unlocked vehicle is an invitation. Always re-
move the key from the ignition and lock all of the
doors when leaving the vehicle unattended.
Power Door Locks — If Equipped
A power door lock switch is incorporated into the
driver door handle. Push or pull the handle to lock or
unlock the doors and liftgate. If the driver ’s door
handle is pushed a red lock indicator will show on the
driver ’s door handle (indicating locked) when the door
is closed, the door will lock.
18 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE
WARNING!
Never leave children unattended in a vehicle, and
do not let children play with power windows. Do
not leave the key fob in or near the vehicle, or in a
location accessible to children. Occupants, particu-
larly unattended children, can become entrapped
by the windows while operating the power window
switches. Such entrapment may result in serious
injury or death.
Auto-Down
The driver’s door window switch has an Auto-Down
feature. Push the window switch for approximately one
second, release, and the window will go down auto-
matically. To cancel the Auto-Down movement, operate
the switch in either the up or down direction and
release the switch.
Wind Buffeting
Wind buffeting can be described as the perception of
pressure on the ears or a helicopter-type sound in the
ears. Your vehicle may exhibit wind buffeting with the
windows down, or the sunroof (if equipped) in certain
open or partially open positions. This is a normal
occurrence and can be minimized. If the buffeting
occurs with the sunroof open, adjust the sunroof open-
ing to minimize the buffeting or open any window.
LIFTGATE
To unlock the liftgate, use the key fob or activate the
power door lock switches located on the driver door
handle.
To open the liftgate, squeeze the liftgate release handle
and pull the liftgate open with one fluid motion.
Power Window Switches
20 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE
Seat Belt Pretensioner
The front seat belt system is equipped with pretension-
ing devices that are designed to remove slack from the
seat belt in the event of a collision. These devices may
improve the performance of the seat belt by removing
slack from the seat belt early in a collision. Pretension-
ers work for all size occupants, including those in child
restraints.
NOTE:These devices are not a substitute for proper
seat belt placement by the occupant. The seat belt still
must be worn snugly and positioned properly.
The pretensioners are triggered by the Occupant Re-
straint Controller (ORC). Like the air bags, the preten-
sioners are single use items. A deployed pretensioner or
a deployed air bag must be replaced immediately.
Energy Management Feature
This vehicle has a seat belt system with an Energy
Management feature in the front seating positions that
may help further reduce the risk of injury in the event of
a collision. This seat belt system has a retractor assem-
bly that is designed to release webbing in a controlled
manner.
Switchable Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR)
The seat belts in the passenger seating positions are
equipped with a Switchable Automatic Locking Retractor
(ALR) which is used to secure a child restraint system.
For additional information, refer to “Installing Child
Restraints Using The Vehicle Seat Belt” under the “Child
Restraints” section of this manual. The figure below
illustrates the locking feature for each seating position.
ALR = Switchable Automatic Locking Retractor
If the passenger seating position is equipped with an
ALR and is being used for normal usage, only pull the
Switchable Automatic Locking Retractor Seating Positions
30 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE
seat belt webbing out far enough to comfortably wrap
around the occupant’s mid-section so as to not activate
the ALR. If the ALR is activated, you will hear a clicking
sound as the seat belt retracts. Allow the webbing to
retract completely in this case and then carefully pull
out only the amount of webbing necessary to comfort-
ably wrap around the occupant’s mid-section. Slide the
latch plate into the buckle until you hear aclick.
In Automatic Locking Mode, the shoulder belt is auto-
matically pre-locked. The seat belt will still retract to
remove any slack in the shoulder belt. Use the Auto-
matic Locking Mode anytime a child restraint is in-
stalled in a seating position that has a seat belt with this
feature. Children 12 years old and under should always
be properly restrained in a vehicle with a rear seat.
WARNING!
• Never place a rear-facing child restraint in front of
an air bag. A deploying passenger front air bag
can cause death or serious injury to a child 12
years or younger, including a child in a rear-
facing child restraint.
• Only use a rear-facing child restraint in a vehicle
with a rear seat. How To Engage The Automatic Locking Mode
1. Buckle the combination lap and shoulder belt.
2. Grasp the shoulder portion and pull downward until
the entire seat belt is extracted.
3. Allow the seat belt to retract. As the seat belt retracts, you will hear a clicking sound. This indicates the seat
belt is now in the Automatic Locking Mode.
How To Disengage The Automatic Locking Mode
Unbuckle the combination lap/shoulder belt and allow
it to retract completely to disengage the Automatic
Locking Mode and activate the vehicle sensitive (emer-
gency) locking mode.
WARNING!
• The seat belt assembly must be replaced if the
switchable Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR)
feature or any other seat belt function is not
working properly when checked according to the
procedures in the Service Manual.
• Failure to replace the seat belt assembly could
increase the risk of injury in collisions.
(Continued)
2
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 31
WARNING!(Continued)
•Do not use the Automatic Locking Mode to re-
strain occupants who are wearing the seat belt or
children who are using booster seats. The locked
mode is only used to install rear-facing or
forward-facing child restraints that have a har-
ness for restraining the child.
Supplemental Restraint System (SRS)
Some of the safety features described in this section
may be standard equipment on some models, or may be
optional equipment on others. If you are not sure, ask
your authorized dealer.
Air Bag System Components
Your vehicle may be equipped with the following air
bag system components:
• Occupant Restraint Controller (ORC)
• Air Bag Warning Light
•Steering Wheel and Column
• Instrument Panel
• Knee Impact Bolsters •
Driver and Front Passenger Air Bags
• Supplemental Side Air Bags
• Supplemental Knee Air Bags
• Front and Side Impact Sensors
• Seat Belt Pretensioners
• Seat Track Position Sensors
• Seat Belt Buckle Switch
Advanced Front Air Bags
This vehicle has front air bags and lap/shoulder belt for
both the driver and front passenger. The air bags are
supplemental to the seat belt restraint systems. The
driver front air bag is mounted in the center of the
steering wheel. The passenger front air bag is mounted
in the instrument panel, above the glove compartment.
The words “SRS AIRBAG” or “AIRBAG” are embossed
on the air bag covers.
32 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE
SABICs may help reduce the risk of head and other
injuries to front and rear seat outboard occupants in
certain side impacts in addition to the injury reduction
potential provided by the seat belts and body structure.
The SABIC deploys downward, covering the side win-
dows. An inflating SABIC pushes the outside edge of
the headliner out of the way and covers the window.
The SABICs inflate with enough force to injure occu-
pants if they are not belted and seated properly, or if
items are positioned in the area where the SABICs
inflate. Children are at an even greater risk of injury
from a deploying air bag.
The SABICs may help reduce the risk of partial or
complete ejection of vehicle occupants through side
windows in certain side impact events.•The Air Bag Warning Light
does not come on
during the four to eight seconds when the igni-
tion switch is first in the ON/RUN position.
• The Air Bag Warning Light remains on after the
four to eight-second interval.
• The Air Bag Warning Light comes on intermittently
or remains on while driving.
Reference the “Air Bag Warning Light” topic in “Supple-
mental Restraint System (SRS)” for further information.
WARNING!
• Do not stack luggage or other cargo up high
enough to block the deployment of the SABICs.
The trim covering above the side windows where
the SABIC and its deployment path are located
should remain free from any obstructions.
• In order for the SABICs to work as intended, do
not install any accessory items in your vehicle
which could alter the roof. Do not add an after-
market sunroof to your vehicle. Do not add roof
racks that require permanent attachments (bolts
or screws) for installation on the vehicle roof. Do
not drill into the roof of the vehicle for any
reason.
The SABICs and SABs (“Side Air Bags”) are designed to
activate in certain side impacts. The Occupant Restraint
Controller (“ORC”) determines whether the deploy-
ment of the Side Air Bags in a particular impact event is
appropriate, based on the severity and type of collision.
The side impact sensors aid the ORC in determining the
appropriate response to impact events. The system is
36 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE