2017 MAZDA MODEL MX-5 belt

2–8
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
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 Authorized Mazda Dealer 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 Authorized Mazda Dealer 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. A seat belt with an expended pretensioner or load limiter is still better than
wearing no seat belt at all; however, if the seat belt pretensioners and load limiters are
not replaced, the risk of injury in a collision will increase.

Positioning the Shoulder Portion of the Seat Belt:
Improper positioning of the shoulder portion of the seat belt is dangerous. Always make
sure the shoulder portion of the seat belt is positioned across your shoulder and near your
neck, but never under your arm, on your neck, or on your upper arm.

Positioning the Lap Portion of the Seat Belt:
The lap portion of the seat belt worn too high is dangerous. In a collision, this would
concentrate the impact force directly on the abdominal area, causing serious injury. Wear
the lap portion of the belt snugly and as low as possible.

CAUTION
Belt retraction may become diffi cult if the belts and seat belt guides are soiled, so try
to keep them clean. For more details about cleaning the seat belts, refer to "Seat Belt
Maintenance" (page 6-68 ).


Seat belt guide
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2–9
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
*Some models.
Pregnant Women and Persons with Serious Medical Conditions
Pregnant women should always wear seat belts. Ask your doctor for speci¿ c
recommendations.
The lap belt should be worn SNUGLY AND AS LOW AS POSSIBLE OVER THE HIPS.
The shoulder belt should be worn across your shoulder properly, but never across the
stomach area.
Persons with serious medical conditions also should wear seat belts. Check with your doctor
for any special instructions regarding speci¿ c medical conditions.


Emergency Locking Mode
When the seat belt is fastened, it will always be in the emergency locking mode.
In the emergency locking mode, the belt remains comfortable on the occupant and the
retractor will lock in position during a collision.
If the belt is locked and cannot be pulled out, retract the belt once, and then try pulling it out
slowly. If this fails, pull the belt strongly one time and loosen, then pull it out again slowly.
(Seat Belt with Automatic Locking Mode)
When the seat belt is fastened, it will always be in the emergency locking mode until it is
switched to automatic locking mode by pulling it all the way out to its full length. If the belt
feels tight and hinders comfortable movement while the vehicle is stopped or in motion, it
may be in the automatic locking mode because the belt has been pulled too far out. To return
the belt to the more comfortable emergency locking mode, wait until the vehicle has stopped
in a safe, level area, retract the belt fully to convert it back to emergency locking mode and
then extend it around you again.
Automatic Locking Mode *
Always use the automatic locking mode to keep the child-restraint system from shifting to
an unsafe position in the event of an accident. To enable seat belt automatic locking mode,
pull it all the way out and connect it as instructed on the child-restraint system. It will retract
down to the child-restraint system and stay locked on it. See the section on child restraint
(page 2-15 ).
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2–10
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
Seat Belt
WARNING
Always wear the seat belt with it
correctly routed in its guide:
Wearing a seat belt without the seat
belt routed in its guide is dangerous
because the seat belt would not be
able to provide adequate protection
in an accident, which could result in
serious injury.

Seat belt guide

Fastening the Seat Belt

Seat belt tongue
Seat belt buckle

Position the lap belt as low as possible,
not on the abdominal area, then adjust the
shoulder belt so that it ¿ ts snugly against
your body.

Keep low on
hip boneTake up slack
Too high

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2–11
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
Unfastening the Seat Belt
Depress the button on the seat belt buckle.
If the belt does not fully retract, pull it out
and check for kinks or twists. Then make
sure it remains untwisted as it retracts.

Button
N O T E
If a belt does not fully retract, inspect
it for kinks and twists. If it is still not
retracting properly, have it inspected at an
Authorized Mazda Dealer.

Seat Belt Warning Systems
If it detects that the occupant seat belt
is unfastened, the warning light or beep
alerts the occupant.
Refer to Warning/Indicator Lights on page
4-26 .
Refer to Seat Belt Warning Beep on page
7-49 .
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2–12
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
Seat Belt Pretensioner
and Load Limiting
Systems
For optimum protection, the driver and
passenger seat belts are equipped with
pretensioner and load limiting systems.
For both these systems to work properly
you must wear the seat belt properly.

Pretensioners:
When a collision is detected, the
pretensioners deploy simultaneously with
the air bags.
For deployment details, refer to the SRS
Air Bag Deployment Criteria (page
2-34 ).
The seat belt retractors remove slack
quickly as the air bags are expanding.
Any time the air bags and seat belt
pretensioners have ¿ red they must be
replaced.
A system malfunction or operation
conditions are indicated by a warning.
Refer to Warning/Indicator Lights on page
4-26 .
Refer to Air Bag/Seat Belt Pretensioner
System Warning Beep on page 7-48 .
(With Passenger Occupant
Classi¿ cation System)
In addition, the pretensioner system for
the passenger, like the front and side
passenger air bag, is designed to only
deploy when the passenger occupant
classi¿ cation sensor detects a passenger
sitting on the passenger's seat.
For details, refer to the passenger occupant
classi¿ cation sensor (page 2-37 ).
Load limiter:
The load limiting system releases belt
webbing in a controlled manner to reduce
belt force on the occupant's chest. While
the most severe load on a seat belt occurs
in frontal collisions, the load limiter has
an automatic mechanical function and
can activate in any accident mode with
suf¿ cient occupant movement.
Even if the pretensioners have not ¿ red,
the load limiting function must be checked
by an Authorized Mazda Dealer.
WARNING
Wear seat belts only as recommended in
this owner's manual:
Incorrect positioning of the driver and
passenger seat belts is dangerous.
Without proper positioning, the
pretensioner and load limiting systems
cannot provide adequate protection
in an accident and this could result in
serious injury. For more details about
wearing seat belts, refer to "Fastening
the seat belts" (page 2-10 ).

Have your seat belts changed
immediately if the pretensioner or load
limiter has been expended:
Always have an Authorized Mazda
Dealer 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. A seat belt with an
expended pretensioner or load limiter
is still better than wearing no seat
belt at all; however, if the seat belt
pretensioners and load limiters are not
replaced, the risk of injury in a collision
will increase.

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2–13
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
Do not modify the components or
wiring, or use electronic testing devices
on the pretensioner system:
Modifying the components or wiring
of the pretensioner system, including
the use of electronic testing devices
is dangerous. You could accidentally
activate it or make it inoperable which
would prevent it from activating in an
accident. The occupants or repairers
could be seriously injured.

Properly dispose of the pretensioner
system:
Improper disposal of the pretensioner
system or a vehicle with non-
deactivated pretensioners is
dangerous. Unless all safety
procedures are followed, injury
could result. Have an Authorized
Mazda Dealer safely dispose of
the pretensioner system or scrap a
pretensioner system equipped vehicle.

N O T E
 


y The pretensioner system may not
operate depending on the type of the
collision. For details, refer to the SRS
Air Bag Deployment Criteria (page
2-34 ).
 


y Some smoke (non-toxic gas) will
be released when the air bags and
pretensioners deploy. This does not
indicate a ¿ re. This gas normally has
no effect on occupants, however, those
with sensitive skin may experience
light skin irritation. If residue from
the deployment of the air bags or the
pretensioner system gets on the skin
or in the eyes, wash it off as soon as
possible.

Seat Belt Extender
If your seat belt is not long enough, even
when fully extended, a seat belt extender
may be available to you at no charge from
your Authorized Mazda Dealer.
This extender will be only for you and for
the particular vehicle and seat. Even if it
plugs into other seat belts, it may not hold
in the critical moment of a crash.
When ordering an extender, only order
one that provides the necessary additional
length to fasten the seat belt properly.
Please contact your Authorized Mazda
Dealer for more information.
WARNING
Do not use a seat belt extender unless it
is necessary:
Using a seat belt extender when not
necessary is dangerous. The seat belt
will be too long and not fi t properly.
In an accident, the seat belt will not
provide adequate protection and you
could be seriously injured. Only use the
extender when it is required to fasten
the seat belt properly.

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2–14
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
Do not use an improper extender:
Using a seat belt extender that is for
another person or a diff erent vehicle
or seat is dangerous. The seat belt will
not provide adequate protection and
the user could be seriously injured in
an accident. Only use the extender
provided for you and for the particular
vehicle and seat. NEVER use the
extender in a diff erent vehicle or seat.
If you sell your Mazda, do not leave
your seat belt extender in the vehicle. It
could be used accidentally by the new
owner of the vehicle. After removing
the seat belt extender, discard it. Never
use the seat belt extender in any other
vehicle you may own in the future.

Do not use an extender that is too long:
Using an extender that is too long is
dangerous. The seat belt will not fi t
properly. In an accident, the seat belt
will not provide adequate protection
and you could be seriously injured.
Do not use the extender or choose
one shorter in length if the distance
between the extender's buckle and the
center of the user's body is less than 15
cm (6 in).
Do not leave a seat belt extender
connected to the buckle:
Leaving a seat belt extender connected
to the buckle without using the seat
belt is dangerous. When the seat belt
extender is connected to the driver's
seat belt buckle (or passenger's
seat belt buckle), the SRS driver's
(or passenger's) air bag system
will determine that the driver (or
passenger) is wearing the seat belt
even if the driver (or passenger) is not
wearing it. This condition could cause
the driver's (or passenger's) air bag
to not activate correctly and result in
death or serious injury in the event of
collision. Always wear the seat belt
with the seat belt extender.

Do not use the seat belt extender when
installing a child-restraint system on the
passenger seat:
Using a seat belt extender to fasten
a child-restraint system on any seat
is dangerous. Always follow the
child-restraint system manufacturer's
installation instructions and never use
a seat belt extender.

N O T E
When not in use, remove the seat belt
extender and store it in the vehicle. If the
seat belt extender is left connected, the
seat belt extender might get damaged
as it will not retract with the rest of the
seat belt and can easily fall out of the
door when not in use and be damaged. In
addition, the seat belt warning light will
not illuminate and function properly.

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2–15
Essential Safety Equipment
Child Restraint
C h i l d - R e s t r a i n t P r e c a u t i o n s
Mazda strongly urges the use of child-restraint systems for children small enough to use
them.

You are required by law to use a child-restraint system for children in the U.S. and Canada.
Check your local and state or provincial laws for speci¿ c requirements regarding the safety
of children riding in your vehicle.

Whatever child-restraint system you consider, please pick the appropriate one for the age
and size of the child, obey the law and follow the instructions that come with the individual
child-restraint system.

A child who has outgrown child-restraint systems should use seat belts, both lap and
shoulder. If the shoulder belt crosses the neck or face, move the child closer to the center of
the vehicle.

A rear-facing child-restraint system should NEVER be used on the passenger seat with the
air bag system activated.

(With Passenger Occupant Classi¿ cation System)
To reduce the chance of injuries caused by deployment of the passenger air bag, the
passenger occupant classi¿ cation sensor work as a part of the supplemental restraint system.
This system deactivates the passenger front and side air bags and also the passenger seat belt
pretensioner system when the passenger air bag deactivation indicator light illuminates.

When an infant or small child sits on the passenger seat, the system shuts off the passenger
front and side air bags and seat belt pretensioner system, so make sure the passenger air bag
deactivation indicator light illuminates.

For more details, refer to "Passenger occupant classi¿ cation sensor" (page 2-37 ).

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