2-3
02
You will find many safety precautions
and recommendations throughout
this section, and throughout this
manual. The safety precautions in
this section are among the most
important.
Always Wear Your Seat Belt
A seat belt is your best protection in
all types of accidents. Air bags are
designed to supplement seat belts,
not replace them. So even though
your vehicle is equipped with air
bags, ALWAYS make sure you and
your passengers wear your seat
belts, and wear them properly.
Restrain All Children
All children under age 13 should ride
in your vehicle properly restrained in
a rear seat, not the front seat. Infants
and small children should be
restrained in an appropriate child
restraint. Larger children should use
a booster seat with the lap/shoulder
belt until they can use the seat belt
properly without a booster seat.
Air Bag Hazards
While air bags can save lives, they
can also cause serious or fatal
injuries to occupants who sit too
close to them, or who are not proper-
ly restrained. Infants, young children,
and shorter adults are at the greatest
risk of being injured by an inflating air
bag. Follow all instructions and warn-
ings in this manual.
Driver Distraction
Driver distraction presents a serious
and potentially deadly danger, espe-
cially for inexperienced drivers.
Safety should be the first concern
when behind the wheel and drivers
need to be aware of the wide array of
potential distractions, such as
drowsiness, reaching for objects,
eating, personal grooming, other
passengers, and using cellular
phones.
Drivers can become distracted when
they take their eyes and attention off
the road or their hands off the wheel
to focus on activities other than driv-
ing. To reduce your risk of distraction
or getting into an accident:
• ALWAYS set up your mobiledevices (i.e., MP3 players, phones,
navigation units, etc.) when your
vehicle is parked or safely stopped.
ONLY use your mobile device when allowed by laws and when
conditions permit safe use. NEVER
text or email while driving. Most
states have laws prohibiting drivers
from texting. Some states and
cities also prohibit drivers from
using handheld phones.
NEVER let the use of a mobile device distract you from driving.
You have a responsibility to your
passengers and others on the road
to always drive safely, with your
hands on the wheel as well as your
eyes and attention on the road.
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2-8
Safety system of your vehicle
Seat belts
Always fasten your seat belt before
starting any trip.
At all times, passengers should sit
upright and be properly restrained.
Infants and small children must be
restrained in appropriate child restraint
systems. Adults and children who
have outgrown a booster seat must be
restrained using the seat belts.
Front Seats
The front seat can be adjusted by
using the switches located on the
outside of the seat cushion. Before
driving, adjust the seat to the proper
position so that you can easily con-
trol the steering wheel, foot pedals
and controls on the instrument panel.
Take the following precautions
when adjusting your seat belt:
NEVER use one seat belt for more than one occupant.
Always position the seatback upright with the lap portion of
the seat belt snug and low
across the hips.
NEVER allow children or small infants to ride in a pas-
senger's lap.
Do not route the seat belt across your neck, across
sharp edges, or reroute the
shoulder strap away from
your body.
Do not allow the seat belt to become caught or jammed.
WARNINGTake the following precautions
when adjusting your seat:
NEVER attempt to adjust theseat while the vehicle is mov-
ing. The seat could respond
with unexpected movement
and may cause loss of vehicle
control resulting in an acci-
dent.
Do not place anything under the front seats. Loose objects
in the driver's foot area could
interfere with the operation of
the foot pedals, causing an
accident.
Do not allow anything to inter- fere with the normal position
and proper locking of the
seatback.
Do not place a cigarette lighter on the floor or seat.
When you operate the seat,
gas may exit out of the lighter
causing a fire.
Use extreme caution when picking small objects trapped
under the seats or between
the seat and the center con-
sole. Your hands might be cut
or injured by the sharp edges
of the seat mechanism.
WARNING
2-23
02
Head Restraints
The vehicle's front and rear seats
have adjustable head restraints. The
head restraints provide comfort for
passengers, but more importantly
they are designed to help protect
passengers from whiplash and other
neck and spinal injuries during an
accident, especially in a rear impact
collision.To prevent damage, NEVER hit or
pull on the head restraints.
NOTICE
To reduce the risk of serious
injury or death in an accident,
take the following precautions
when adjusting your head
restraints:
Always properly adjust thehead restraints for all passen-
gers BEFORE starting the
vehicle.
NEVER let anyone ride in a seat with the head restraints
removed.
(Continued)
(Continued)
Adjust the head restraints sothe middle of the head
restraint is at the same height
as the height of the top of the
eyes.
NEVER adjust the head restraint position of the dri-
ver's seat when the vehicle is
in motion.
Adjust the head restraint as close to the passenger's head
as possible. Do not use a seat
cushion that holds the body
away from the seatback.
Make sure the head restraint locks into position after
adjusting it.
WARNINGOLF034072N
When there is no occupant in
the rear seats, adjust the height
of the head restraints to the
lowest position. The rear seat
head restraints can reduce the
visibility of the rear area.
CAUTION
2-28
Safety system of your vehicle
Seat Warmers and Coolers
Seat warmers
Seat warmers are provided to warm
the seats during cold weather.To prevent damage to the seat
warmers and seats:
Never use a solvent such aspaint thinner, benzene, alcohol
or gasoline to clean the seats.
Do not place heavy or sharp objects on seats equipped with
seat warmers.
Do not change the seat cover. It may damage the seat warmer or
air ventilation system.
NOTICE
NEVER place anything on the
seat that insulates against heat
when the seat warmer is in
operation, such as a blanket or
seat cushion. This may cause
the seat warmer to overheat,
causing a burn or damage to
the seat.
WARNING
The seat warmers can cause a
SERIOUS BURN, even at low
temperatures and especially if
used for long periods of time.
Passengers must be able to feel
if the seat is becoming too
warm so they can turn it off, if
needed.
People who cannot detect tem-
perature change or pain to the
skin should use extreme cau-
tion, especially the following
types of passengers:
Infants, children, elderly ordisabled persons, or hospital
outpatients.
People with sensitive skin or who burn easily.
Fatigued individuals.
Intoxicated individuals.
People taking medication that can cause drowsiness or
sleepiness.
WARNING
2-34
Safety system of your vehicle
If you continue not to fasten the seat
belt and you drive over a certain
speed, the seat belt warning chime
will sound for approximately 100 sec-
onds and the corresponding warning
light will blink.
The warning will start again if the
seat belt is unfastened while driving.
Information
• You can find the front passenger's seat belt warning light on the center
fascia panel.
• Although the front passenger seat is not occupied, the seat belt warning
light will illuminate for 6 seconds.
• The front passenger's seat belt warning may operate when luggage
is placed on the front passenger seat.
Seat Belt Restraint System
Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR)
The 3-point seatbelts are installed
both on the front seats and on the
rear seats. During normal driving
situations, the 3-point seatbelt
does not operate the Emergency
Locking Retractor. It rather natural-
ly extends along with passenger's
easy motion, while holding passen-
ger's body in position.
However, the Emergency Locking
Retractor (ELR) automatically
operates in abrupt stopping, sharp
turning, or collision.
Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR) The Automatic Locking Retractor
(ALR) is to provide the child
restraint system with better protec-
tion. The front passenger's seat
and the rear seats are equipped
with the Automatic Locking
Retractor (ALR). You can use the
Automatic Locking Retractor mode
during normal driving situations.
When the child restraint system is
installed, switch the system to the
ALR mode.
i
The front passenger's seat belt
warning light does not properly
operate, if the front passenger
sits in an improper position. The
front passenger should follow
the instruction to properly fas-
ten the seat belt.
WARNING
2-46
Safety system of your vehicle
Selecting a Child Restraint
System (CRS)
When selecting a CRS for your child,
always:
Make sure the CRS has a labelcertifying that it meets applicable
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards (FMVSS 213).
Select a child restraint based on your child's height and weight. The
required label or the instructions
for use typically provide this infor-
mation.
Select a child restraint that fits the vehicle seating position where it
will be used.
Read and comply with the warn- ings and instructions for installation
and use provided with the child
restraint system.
An improperly secured child
restraint can increase the risk
of SERIOUS INJURY or DEATH
in an accident. Always take the
following precautions when
using a child restraint system:
NEVER install a child or infant
restraint in the front passen-
ger's seat.
Always properly secure the child restraint to a rear seat of
the vehicle.
Always follow the child restraint system manufactur-
er's instructions for installa-
tion and use.
Always properly restrain your child in the child restraint.
If the vehicle head restraint prevents proper installation of
a child seat (as described in
the child restraint system
manual), the head restraint of
the respective seating posi-
tion shall be readjusted or
entirely removed.
Do not use an infant carrier or a child safety seat that
"hooks" over a seatback, it
may not provide adequate
protection in an accident.
After an accident, have a Dealer of Genesis Brand
Products check the child
restraint system, seat belts,
tether anchors and lower
anchors.
WARNING
2-48
Safety system of your vehicle
Forward-facing child restraints
A forward-facing child seat provides
restraint for the child's body with a
harness. Keep children in a forward-
facing child seat with a harness until
they reach the top height or weight
limit allowed by your child restraint’s
manufacturer.
Once your child outgrows the for-
ward-facing child restraint, your child
is ready for a booster seat.
Booster seats
A booster seat is a restraint designed
to improve the fit of the vehicle's seat
belt system. A booster seat positions
the seat belt so that it fits properly
over the lap of your child.
Keep your child in a booster seat
until they are big enough to sit in the
seat without a booster and still have
the seat belt fit properly. For a seat
belt to fit properly, the lap belt must
lie snugly across the upper thighs,
not the stomach. The shoulder belt
should lie snug across the shoulder
and chest and not across the neck or
face. Children under age 13 must
always ride in the rear seats and
must always be properly restrained
to minimize the risk of injury.
Installing a Child Restraint
System (CRS)
After selecting a proper child seat for
your child, check to make sure it fits
properly in your vehicle. Follow the
instructions provided by the manu-
facturer when installing the child
seat. Note these general steps when
installing the seat to your vehicle:
Properly secure the child restraint
to the vehicle.
All child restraints
must be secured to the vehicle with
the lap part of a lap/shoulder belt or
with the LATCH system.
OHI036037
Before installing your child
restraint system always:
Read and follow the instruc- tions provided by the manu-
facturer of the child restraint.
Read and follow the instruc- tions regarding child restraint
systems in this manual.
Failure to follow all warnings
and instructions could increase
the risk of the SERIOUS INJURY
or DEATH if an accident occurs.
WARNING
If the vehicle head restraints
prevents proper installation of a
child seat (as described in the
child seat system manual, the
head restraints of the respec-
tive seating position shall be
readjusted or entirely removed.
WARNING
2-65
02
During a frontal collision, sensors will
detect the vehicle's deceleration. If
the rate of deceleration is high
enough, the control unit will inflate
the front air bags.
The front air bags help protect the
driver and front passenger by
responding to frontal impacts in
which seat belts alone cannot pro-
vide adequate restraint. When need-
ed, the side air bags help provide
protection in the event of a side
impact or rollover.
Air bags are activated (able toinflate if necessary) only when the
engine Start/Stop button is in the
ON position.
Air bags inflate in the event of cer- tain frontal or side collisions to help
protect the occupants from serious
physical injury.
Generally, air bags are designed to inflate based upon the severity of a
collision, its direction, etc. These
two factors determine whether the
sensors produce an electronic
deployment/inflation signal.
Air bag deployment depends on a number of factors including vehicle
speed, angles of impact and the
density and stiffness of the vehicles
or objects which your vehicle
impacts during a collision. The
determining factors are not limited
to those mentioned above.
The front air bags will completely inflate and deflate in an instant. It is
virtually impossible for you to see
the air bags inflate during an acci-
dent. It is much more likely that you
will simply see the deflated air bags
hanging out of their storage com-
partments after the collision. In addition to inflating in certain
side collisions, vehicles equipped
with a rollover sensor, side and
curtain air bags will inflate if the
sensing system detects a rollover.
When a rollover is detected, side
and curtain air bags will remain
inflated longer to help provide pro-
tection from ejection, especially
when used in conjunction with the
seat belts.
To help provide protection, the air bags must inflate rapidly. The speed
of air bag inflation is a consequence
of extremely short time in which to
inflate the air bag between the
occupant and the vehicle structures
before the occupant impacts those
structures. This speed of inflation
reduces the risk of serious or life-
threatening injuries and is thus a
necessary part of air bag design.
However, the rapid air bag inflation
can also cause injuries which can
include facial abrasions, bruises
and broken bones because the
inflation speed also causes the air
bags to expand with a great deal of
force.
There are even circumstances under which contact with the air
bag can cause fatal injuries, espe-
cially if the occupant is positioned
excessively close to the air bag.
You can take steps to help reduce
the risk of being injured by an inflat-
ing air bag. The greatest risk is sitting
too close to the air bag. An air bag
needs about 10 inches (25 cm) of
space to inflate. NHTSA recom-
mends that drivers allow at least 10
inches (25 cm) between the center of
the steering wheel and the chest.