2–2
Essential Safety Equipment
Seats
Seat Precautions
WARNING
Make sure the adjustable components of a seat are locked in place:
Adjustable seats and seatbacks that are not securely locked are dangerous. In a sudden
stop or collision, the seat or seatback could move, causing injury. Make sure the
adjustable components of the seat are locked in place by attempting to slide the seat
forward and backward and rocking the seatback.
Never allow children to adjust a seat:
Allowing children to adjust a seat is dangerous as it could result in serious injury if a
child's hands or feet become caught in the seat.
Do not drive with the seatback unlocked:
All of the seatbacks play an important role in your protection in a vehicle. Leaving
the seatback unlocked is dangerous as it can allow passengers to be ejected or thrown
around and baggage to strike occupants in a sudden stop or collision, resulting in
severe injury. After adjusting the seatback at any time, even when there are no other
passengers, rock the seatback to make sure it is locked in place.
Adjust the driver's seat only when the vehicle is stopped:
Adjusting the driver's seat while the vehicle is moving is dangerous. The driver could
lose control of the vehicle and have an accident.
Do not modify or replace the front seats:
Modifying or replacing the front seats such as replacing the upholstery or loosening
any bolts is dangerous. The front seats contain air bag components essential to the
supplementary restraint system. Such modi ¿ cations could damage the supplementary
restraint system and result in serious injury. Consult an Authorised Mazda Repairer if
there is any need to remove or reinstall the front seats.
Do not drive with damaged front seats:
Driving with damaged front seats, such as seat cushions torn or damaged down to the
urethane, is dangerous. A collision, even one not strong enough to in À ate the air bags,
could damage the front seats which contain essential air bag components. If there was
a subsequent collision, an air bag may not deploy which could lead to injuries. Always
have an Authorised Mazda Repairer inspect the front seats, front seat belt pretensioners
and air bags after a collision.
2–3
Essential Safety Equipment
Seats
WARNING
Do not drive with either front seats reclined:
Sitting in a reclined position while the vehicle is moving is dangerous because you do
not get the full protection from seat belts. During sudden braking or a collision, you can
slide under the lap belt and suffer serious internal injuries. For maximum protection,
sit well back and upright.
Do not place an object such as a cushion between the seatback and your back:
Putting an object such as a cushion between the seatback and your back is dangerous
because you will be unable to maintain a safe driving posture and the seat belt cannot
function at its full capacity in a collision, which could result in a serious accident,
injury or death.
Do not place objects under the seat:
The object could get stuck and cause the seat to not be ¿ xed securely, and result in an
accident.
Do not stack cargo higher than the seatbacks:
Stacking luggage or other cargo higher than the seatbacks is dangerous. During
sudden braking or a collision, objects can À y around and become projectiles that may
hit and injure passengers.
Make sure luggage and cargo is secured before driving:
Not securing cargo while driving is dangerous as it could move or be crushed during
sudden braking or a collision and cause injury.
Never allow a passenger to sit or stand on the folded seatback while the vehicle is
moving:
Driving with a passenger on the folded seatback is dangerous. Allowing a child to sit
up on the folded seatback while the vehicle is moving is particularly dangerous. In a
sudden stop or even a minor collision, a child not in a proper seat or child-restraint
system and seat belt could be thrown forward, back or even out of the vehicle resulting
in serious injuries or death. The child in the baggage area could be thrown into other
occupants and cause serious injury.
Never give the car keys to children and do not allow them to play in the vehicle
(Saloon):
Playing with the folding rear seats is dangerous. Once the seatbacks are back up, a
child in the boot would not be able to get out the way they had entered. If you have
small children, keep the seatbacks locked.
2–8
Essential Safety Equipment
Seats
WARNING
Do not drive the vehicle with occupants
on folded down seatback(s) or in the
luggage compartment.
Putting occupants in the luggage
compartment is dangerous because seat
belts cannot be fastened which could
lead to serious injury or death during
sudden braking or a collision.
Do not allow children to play inside the
vehicle with the seatback(s) lowered.
Allowing children to play in the vehicle
with the seatback(s) folded down is
dangerous. If a child enters the luggage
compartment and the seatback(s) were
raised back up, the child may become
trapped in the luggage compartment
which could lead to an accident.
Tightly secure cargo in the luggage
compartment when it is transported
with the seatback(s) folded down.
Driving without tightly securing cargo
and luggage is dangerous as it could
move and become an obstruction to
driving during emergency braking or
a collision resulting in an unexpected
accident.
When transporting cargo, do not allow
the cargo to exceed the height of the
seatback(s).
Transporting cargo stacked higher
than the seatback(s) is dangerous
as visibility to the rear and sides of
the vehicle is reduced which could
interfere with driving operations and
lead to an accident.
Lowering the seatback(s)
CAUTION
(Hatchback) When folding the seatback forward,
always support the seatback with
your hand. If it is not supported by a
hand, ¿ ngers or the hand pressing the
push knob could be injured.
Check the position of a front seat
before folding a rear seatback.
Depending on the position of a front
seat, it may not be possible to fold
a rear seatback all the way down
because it may hit the seatback of
the front seat which could scratch or
damage the front seat or its pocket.
Remove the head restraint on the rear
outboard seat if necessary.
2–9
Essential Safety Equipment
Seats
(Saloon)
1. If your vehicle is equipped with the
head restraint, lower it all the way
down.
Refer to Head Restraints on page
2-11 .
2. (Split-folding type seat)
Open the boot lid and pull the lever of
the seatback you want to fold down.
(One-piece folding type seat)
Open the boot lid and pull the lever of
the seatback.
*1: With split-folding
type seat only*1
3. Open a rear door and fold the rear seat
forward.
(Hatchback)
1. Lower the head restraint all the way
down.
Refer to Head Restraints on page
2-11 .
2. Press the push knob to fold down the
seatback.
3. Secure the rear seat belt in the belt clip.
Belt clip
2–10
Essential Safety Equipment
Seats
To return the seatback to its upright
position:
WARNING
When returning a seatback to its
upright position, make sure the 3-point
seat belt is not caught in the seatback
and the 3-point seat belt is not twisted.
If the seat belt is used while it is twisted
and caught in the seatback, the seat
belt cannot function at its full capacity,
which could cause serious injury or
death.
When returning a seatback to its
upright position, make sure that it is
¿ rmly locked and the red indication is
not visible (Hatchback).
If the red indication is visible behind
the push knob, it means the seatback
is not locked. If the vehicle is driven
without the seatback locked, it could
fold down suddenly and cause an
accident.
Locked position
Unlocked position
Red indication
(Saloon)
1. Make sure that the seat belt passes
through the seat belt guide correctly
and it is not twisted, then raise the
seatback while preventing the seat belt
from being caught in the seatback.
Seat belt guide
2. Press the seatback rearward and lock it
in place. After returning the seatback
to its upright position, make sure it is
securely locked.
(Hatchback)
1. Verify that the seat belt is secured in
the belt clip.
Belt clip
2. Lift the seatback upright.
3. Press the seatback rearward and lock it
in place. After returning the seatback
to its upright position, make sure it is
securely locked.
2–12
Essential Safety Equipment
Seats
Front outboard seat
Rear outboard seat
Rear centre seat
Removal/Installation
To remove the head restraint, pull it up
while pressing the stop-catch.
To install the head restraint, insert the legs
into the holes while pressing the stop-
catch.
WARNING
Always drive with the head restraints
installed when seats are being used and
make sure they are properly installed:
Driving with the head restraints not
installed is dangerous. With no support
behind your head, your neck could be
seriously injured in a collision.
After installing a head restraint, try
lifting it to make sure that it does not
pull out:
Driving with an unsecured head
restraint is dangerous as the
effectiveness of the head restraint will
be compromised which could cause it to
unexpectedly detach from the seat.
2–22
Essential Safety Equipment
Child Restraint
WARNING
Use the correct size child-restraint system:
For effective protection in vehicle accidents and sudden stops, a child must be properly
restrained using a seat belt or child-restraint system depending on age and size. If not,
the child could be seriously injured or even killed in an accident.
Follow the manufacturer's instructions and always keep the child-restraint system
buckled down:
An unsecured child-restraint system is dangerous. In a sudden stop or a collision it
could move causing serious injury or death to the child or other occupants. Make sure
any child-restraint system is properly secured in place according to the child-restraint
system manufacturer's instructions. When not in use, remove it from the vehicle or
fasten it with a seat belt, or latch it down to BOTH ISOFIX anchors, and attach the
corresponding tether anchor.
Always secure a child in a proper child-restraint system:
Holding a child in your arms while the vehicle is moving is extremely dangerous. No
matter how strong the person may be, he or she cannot hold onto a child in a sudden
stop or collision and it could result in serious injury or death to the child or other
occupants. Even in a moderate accident, the child may be exposed to air bag forces that
could result in serious injury or death to the child, or the child may be slammed into an
adult, causing injury to both child and adult.
2–24
Essential Safety Equipment
Child Restraint
WARNING
Do not install a front-facing child-restraint system on the front passenger seat unless it
is unavoidable:
In a collision, the force of a deploying air bag could cause serious injury or death to
the child. If installing a front-facing child-restraint system on the front passenger seat
is unavoidable, move the front passenger seat as far back as possible and adjust the
seat bottom (height adjustable seat bottom) to the highest position at which the seat belt
fastening the child-restraint system is securely tightened.
Make sure that the front passenger air bag deactivation switch is in the OFF position.
Refer to Front Passenger Air Bag Deactivation Switch (page 2-47 ).
Do not allow a child or anyone to lean over or against the side window of a vehicle with
side and curtain air bags:
It is dangerous to allow anyone to lean over or against the side window, the area of the
front passenger seat, the front and rear window pillars and the roof edge along both
sides from which the side and curtain air bags deploy, even if a child-restraint system
is used. The impact of in À ation from a side or curtain air bag could cause serious
injury or death to an out of position child. Furthermore, leaning over or against the
front door could block the side and curtain air bags and eliminate the advantages of
supplementary protection. With the front air bag and the additional side air bag that
comes out of the front seat, the rear seat is always a better location for children. Take
special care not to allow a child to lean over or against the side window, even if the
child is seated in a child-restraint system.
Never use one seat belt on more than one person at a time:
Using one seat belt for more than one person at a time is dangerous. A seat belt used
in this way cannot spread the impact forces properly and the two passengers could
be crushed together and seriously injured or even killed. Never use one belt for more
than one person at a time and always operate the vehicle with each occupant properly
restrained.