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.
2–8
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.
2–11
Essential Safety Equipment
Seats
4. Make sure that the seat belt is neither
stuck in the rear seat nor twisted, then
remove the seat belt from the belt clip.
Head Restraints
Your vehicle is equipped with head
restraints on all outboard seats and the
rear centre seat. The head restraints are
intended to help protect you and the
passengers from neck injury.
WARNING
Always drive with the head restraints
installed when seats are being used and
make sure they are properly adjusted.
In addition, always raise the head
restraints on all rear seat when they are
being used:
Driving with the head restraints
adjusted too low or removed is
dangerous. With no support behind
your head, your neck could be seriously
injured in a collision.
Height Adjustment
Adjust the head restraint so that the centre
is even with the top of the passenger's ears.
To raise a head restraint, pull it up to the
desired position.
To lower the head restraint, press the stop-
catch release, then push the head restraint
down.
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.
2–14
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
Seat Belt Precautions
Seat belts help to decrease the possibility of severe injury during accidents and sudden
stops. Mazda recommends that the driver and all passengers always wear seat belts.
All the seats have lap/shoulder belts. These belts also have retractors with inertia locks that
keep them out of the way when not in use. The locks allow the belts to remain comfortable
on users, but they will lock in position during a collision.
WARNING
Always wear your seat belt and make sure all occupants are properly restrained:
Not wearing a seat belt is extremely dangerous. During a collision, occupants not
wearing seat belts could hit someone or things inside the vehicle or even be thrown out
of the vehicle. They could be seriously injured or even killed. In the same collision,
occupants wearing seat belts would be much safer.
Do not wear twisted seat belts:
Twisted seat belts are dangerous. In a collision, the full width of the belt is not available
to absorb the impact. This puts more force on the bones beneath the belt, which could
cause serious injury or death. So, if your seat belt is twisted, you must straighten the
seat belt to remove any twists and to allow the full width of the belt to be used.
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.
Do not operate a vehicle with a damaged seat belt:
Using a damaged seat belt is dangerous. An accident could damage the belt webbing
of the seat belt in use. A damaged seat belt cannot provide adequate protection in a
collision. Have an expert repairer, we recommend an Authorised Mazda Repairer
inspect all seat belt systems in use during an accident before they are used again.
Have your seat belts changed immediately if the pretensioner or load limiter has been
expended:
Always have an expert repairer, we recommend an Authorised Mazda Repairer
immediately inspect the seat belt pretensioners and air bags after any collision. Like the
air bags, the seat belt pretensioners and load limiters will only function once and must
be replaced after any collision that caused them to deploy. If the seat belt pretensioners
and load limiters are not replaced, the risk of injury in a collision will increase.
2–25
Essential Safety Equipment
Child Restraint
WARNING
Use the tether and tether anchor only for a child-restraint system:
Child-restraint system anchorages are designed to withstand only those loads imposed
by correctly installed child-restraint systems. Under no circumstances are they to be
used for adult seat belts, harnesses, or for attaching other items or equipment to the
vehicle.
Always remove the head restraint and install child-restraint system (except when
installing a booster seat):
Installing a child-restraint system without removing the head restraint is dangerous.
The child-restraint system cannot be installed correctly which may result in death or
injury to the child in a collision.
CAUTION
A seat belt or child-restraint system can become very hot in a closed vehicle during
warm weather. To avoid burning yourself or a child, check them before you or your child
touches them.
NOTE
Your Mazda is equipped with ISOFIX anchors for attachment of ISOFIX child-restraint
systems in the rear seats. When using these anchors to secure a child-restraint system,
refer to “ISOFIX Anchor-Secured Child-Restraint Systems” (page 2-38 ).
2–44
Essential Safety Equipment
SRS Air Bags
WARNING
Never install any front-end equipment to your vehicle:
Installation of front-end equipment, such as frontal protection bar (kangaroo bar,
bull bar, push bar, or other similar devices), snowplow, or winches, is dangerous. The
air bag crash sensor system could be affected. This could cause air bags to in À ate
unexpectedly, or it could prevent the air bags from in À ating during an accident. Front
occupants could be seriously injured.
Do not modify the suspension:
Modifying the vehicle suspension is dangerous. If the vehicle's height or the suspension
is modi ¿ ed, the vehicle will be unable to accurately detect a collision resulting in
incorrect or unexpected air bag deployment and the possibility of serious injuries.
Do not modify a front door or leave any damage unrepaired. Always have an expert
repairer, we recommend an Authorised Mazda Repairer inspect a damaged front door:
Modifying a front door or leaving any damage unrepaired is dangerous. Each front
door has a side crash sensor as a component of the supplementary restraint system.
If holes are drilled in a front door, a door speaker is left removed, or a damaged door
is left unrepaired, the sensor could be adversely affected causing it to not detect the
pressure of an impact correctly during a side collision. If a sensor does not detect a side
impact correctly, the side and curtain air bags and the front seat belt pretensioner may
not operate normally which could result in serious injury to occupants.
Do not modify the supplementary restraint system:
Modifying the components or wiring of the supplementary restraint system is
dangerous. You could accidentally activate it or make it inoperable. Do not make any
modi ¿ cations to the supplementary restraint system. This includes installing trim,
badges, or anything else over the air bag modules. It also includes installing extra
electrical equipment on or near system components or wiring. An expert repairer, we
recommend an Authorised Mazda Repairer can provide the special care needed in the
removal and installation of front seats. It is important to protect the air bag wiring
and connections to assure that the bags do not accidentally deploy, and that the driver
seat slide position sensor is not damaged and the seats retain an undamaged air bag
connection.
Do not place luggage or other objects under the front seats:
Placing luggage or other objects under the front seats is dangerous. The components
essential to the supplementary restraint system could be damaged, and in the event of
a side collision, the appropriate air bags may not deploy, which could result in death
or serious injury. To prevent damage to the components essential to the supplementary
restraint system, do not place luggage or other objects under the front seats.
2–45
Essential Safety Equipment
SRS Air Bags
WARNING
Do not operate a vehicle with damaged air bag/seat belt pretensioner system
components:
Expended or damaged air bag/seat belt pretensioner system components must be
replaced after any collision which caused them to deploy or damage them. Only a
trained expert repairer, we recommend an Authorised Mazda Repairer can fully
evaluate these systems to see that they will work in any subsequent accident. Driving
with an expended or damaged air bag or pretensioner unit will not afford you the
necessary protection in the event of any subsequent accident which could result in
serious injury or death.
Do not remove interior air bag parts:
Removing any components such as the front seats, front instrument panel, the steering
wheel or parts on the front and rear window pillars and along the roof edge, containing
air bag parts or sensors is dangerous. These parts contain essential air bag components.
The air bag could accidentally activate and cause serious injuries. Always have an
Authorised Mazda Repairer remove these parts.
Properly dispose of the air bag system:
Improper disposal of an air bag or a vehicle with live air bags in it can be extremely
dangerous. Unless all safety procedures are followed, injury could result. Have an
expert repairer, we recommend an Authorised Mazda Repairer safely dispose of the air
bag system or scrap an air bag equipped vehicle.