2017 MAZDA MODEL MX-5 RF belt

2–9
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 passengers always wear seat belts.
All the seats have lap/shoulder belts. These belts 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.
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2–10
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
WARNING
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.
Instructions for Use of Seat Belt Assemblies:
Seatbelts are designed to bear upon the bony structure of the body, and should be worn
low across the front of the pelvis or the pelvis, chest and shoulders, as applicable;
wearing the lap section of the belt across the abdominal area must be avoided.
Seatbelts should be adjusted as ¿ rmly as possible, consistent with comfort, to provide
the protection for which they have been designed. A slack belt will greatly reduce the
protection afforded to the wearer.
Care should be taken to avoid contamination of the webbing with polishes, oils and
chemicals, and particularly battery acid. Cleaning may safely be carried out using mild
soap and water. The belt should be replaced if webbing becomes frayed, contaminated
or damaged.
It is essential to replace the entire assembly after it has been worn in a severe impact
even if damage to the assembly is not obvious.
Belts should not be worn with straps twisted.
Each belt assembly must only be used by one occupant; it is dangerous to put a belt
around a child being carried on the occupant's lap.
No modi¿ cations or additions should be made by the user which will either prevent
the seat belt adjusting devices from operating to remove slack, or prevent the seat belt
assembly from being adjusted to remove slack.
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2–11
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
CAUTION
Belt retraction may become dif¿ 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 6-64 ).
Seat belt guide
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.
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2–12
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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2–13
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
NOTE
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 expert repairer, we recommend an
Authorised Mazda Repairer.
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
4-42 .
Refer to Seat Belt Warning Beep on page
7-50 .
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2–14
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
2-44 ).
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
4-42 .
Refer to Air Bag/Seat Belt Pretensioner
System Warning Beep on page 7-49 .
(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 2-47 ).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 expert repairer, we recommend an
Authorised Mazda Repairer.
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 2-12 ).
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.
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2–15
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
WARNING
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 expert repairer, we recommend an
Authorised Mazda Repairer safely
dispose of the pretensioner system or
scrap a pretensioner system equipped
vehicle.
NOTE
  The pretensioner system may not
operate depending on the type of
the collision. For details, refer to the
SRS Air Bag Deployment Criteria
(page 2-44 ).
  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.
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2–16
Essential Safety Equipment
Child Restraint
Child-Restraint Precautions
Mazda strongly urges the use of child-restraint systems for children small enough to use
them.
Mazda recommends use of a Mazda genuine child-restraint system or one that complies with
the UNECE
*1 44 regulation. If you would like to purchase a Mazda genuine child-restraint
system, please contact an Authorised Mazda Dealer.
Check your local and state or provincial laws for speci¿ c requirements regarding the safety
of children riding in your vehicle.
*1 UNECE stands for United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.
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 centre 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 supplementary 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 OFF 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 OFF indicator light illuminates.
For more details, refer to "Passenger occupant classi¿ cation sensor" (page 2-47 ).
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