WARNING!
•Being too close to the steering wheel or instru-
ment panel during front air bag deployment
could cause serious injury, including death. Air
bags need room to inflate. Sit back, comfortably
(Continued)
WARNING! (Continued)
extending your arms to reach the steering wheel
or instrument panel.
• Never place a rear-facing child restraint in front of
an air bag. A deploying passenger front air bag
can cause death or serious injury to a child 12
years or younger, including a child in a rear-
facing child restraint.
• Only use a rear-facing child restraint in a vehicle
with a rear seat.
Driver And Passenger Front Air Bag Features
The Advanced Front Air Bag system has multistage
driver and front passenger air bags. This system pro-
vides output appropriate to the severity and type of
collision as determined by the Occupant Restraint Con-
troller (ORC), which may receive information from the
front impact sensors (if equipped) or other system
components.
The first stage inflator is triggered immediately during
an impact that requires air bag deployment. A low
energy output is used in less severe collisions. A higher
energy output is used for more severe collisions.
Front Air Bag/Knee Bolster Locations
1 — Driver And Passenger Front Air Bags
2 — Passenger Knee Impact Bolster
3 — Driver Knee Impact Bolster/Supplemental Driver Knee Air
Bag
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SAFETY 113
Side Impacts
The Side Air Bags are designed to activate in certain
side impacts. The Occupant Restraint Controller (ORC)
determines whether the deployment of the Side Air
Bags in a particular impact event is appropriate, based
on the severity and type of collision. The side impact
sensors aid the ORC in determining the appropriate
response to impact events. The system is calibrated to
deploy the Side Air Bags on the impact side of the
vehicle during impacts that require Side Air Bag occu-
pant protection. In side impacts, the Side Air Bags
deploy independently; a left side impact deploys the
left Side Air Bags only and a right-side impact deploys
the right Side Air Bags only. Vehicle damage by itself is
not a good indicator of whether or not Side Air Bags
should have deployed.
The Side Air Bags will not deploy in all side collisions,
including some collisions at certain angles, or some side
collisions that do not impact the area of the passenger
compartment. The Side Air Bags may deploy during
angled or offset frontal collisions where the front air
bags deploy.Side Air Bags are a supplement to the seat belt restraint
system. Side Air Bags deploy in less time than it takes to
blink your eyes.
WARNING!
•
Occupants, including children, who are up
against or very close to Side Air Bags can be
seriously injured or killed. Occupants, including
children, should never lean on or sleep against
the door, side windows, or area where the side air
bags inflate, even if they are in an infant or child
restraint.
• Seat belts (and child restraints where appropriate)
are necessary for your protection in all collisions.
They also help keep you in position, away from
an inflating Side Air Bag. To get the best protec-
tion from the Side Air Bags, occupants must wear
their seat belts properly and sit upright with their
backs against the seats. Children must be prop-
erly restrained in a child restraint or booster seat
that is appropriate for the size of the child.
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SAFETY 117
•How far (if at all) the driver was depressing the
accelerator and/or brake pedal; and,
• How fast the vehicle was traveling.
These data can help provide a better understanding of
the circumstances in which crashes and injuries occur.
NOTE: EDR data are recorded by your vehicle only if a
non-trivial crash situation occurs; no data are recorded
by the EDR under normal driving conditions and no
personal data (e.g., name, gender, age, and crash loca-
tion) are recorded. However, other parties, such as law
enforcement, could combine the EDR data with the type
of personally identifying data routinely acquired dur-
ing a crash investigation.
To read data recorded by an EDR, special equipment is
required, and access to the vehicle or the EDR is needed.
In addition to the vehicle manufacturer, other parties,
such as law enforcement, that have the special equip-
ment, can read the information if they have access to the
vehicle or the EDR.Child Restraints
Everyone in your vehicle needs to be buckled up at all
times, including babies and children. Every state in the
United States, and every Canadian province, requires
that small children ride in proper restraint systems. This
is the law, and you can be prosecuted for ignoring it.
Children 12 years or younger should ride properly
buckled up in a rear seat, if available. According to
crash statistics, children are safer when properly re-
strained in the rear seats rather than in the front.
WARNING!
In a collision, an unrestrained child can become a
projectile inside the vehicle. The force required to
hold even an infant on your lap could become so
great that you could not hold the child, no matter
how strong you are. The child and others could be
badly injured or killed. Any child riding in your
vehicle should be in a proper restraint for the
child’s size.
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SAFETY 123
There are different sizes and types of restraints for
children from newborn size to the child almost large
enough for an adult safety belt. Always check the child
seat Owner ’s Manual to make sure you have the correct
seat for your child. Carefully read and follow all the
instructions and warnings in the child restraint Own-
er ’s Manual and on all the labels attached to the child
restraint.
Before buying any restraint system, make sure that it
has a label certifying that it meets all applicable Safety
Standards. You should also make sure that you can
install it in the vehicle where you will use it.NOTE:
•
For additional information, refer to
www.safercar.gov/parents/index.htm or call: 1–888–
327–4236
• Canadian residents should refer to Transport Cana-
da’s website for additional information: http://
www.tc.gc.ca/eng/motorvehiclesafety/safedrivers-
childsafety-index-53.htm
Summary Of Recommendations For Restraining Children In Vehicles
Child Size, Height, Weight Or Age Recommended Type Of Child Re-
straint
Infants and Toddlers Children who are two years old or younger and who have not
reached the height or weight limits of their child restraint Either an Infant Carrier or a Con-
vertible Child Restraint, facing
rearward in the rear seat of the ve- hicle
Small Children Children who are at least two years old or who have outgrown
the height or weight limit of their rear-facing child restraint Forward-Facing Child Restraint
with a five-point Harness, facing
forward in the rear seat of the ve- hicle
124 SAFETY
Child Size, Height, Weight OrAge Recommended Type Of Child Re-
straint
Larger Children Children who have outgrown their forward-facing child restraint, butare too small to properly fit the vehicle’s seat belt Belt Positioning Booster Seat and
the vehicle seat belt, seated in the rear seat of the vehicle
Children Too Large for Child Restraints Children 12 years old or younger,
who have outgrown the height or weight limit of their booster seat Vehicle Seat Belt, seated in the rear
seat of the vehicle
Infant And Child Restraints
Safety experts recommend that children ride rear-facing
in the vehicle until they are two years old or until they
reach either the height or weight limit of their rear-
facing child restraint. Two types of child restraints can
be used rear-facing: infant carriers and convertible child
seats.
The infant carrier is only used rear-facing in the vehicle.
It is recommended for children from birth until they
reach the weight or height limit of the infant carrier.
Convertible child seats can be used either rear-facing or
forward-facing in the vehicle. Convertible child seats
often have a higher weight limit in the rear-facing
direction than infant carriers do, so they can be used rear-facing by children who have outgrown their infant
carrier but are still less than at least two years old.
Children should remain rear-facing until they reach the
highest weight or height allowed by their convertible
child seat.
WARNING!
•
Never place a rear-facing child restraint in front of
an air bag. A deploying passenger front air bag
can cause death or serious injury to a child 12
years or younger, including a child in a rear-
facing child restraint.
• Only use a rear-facing child restraint in a vehicle
with a rear seat.
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SAFETY 125
Older Children And Child Restraints
Children who are two years old or who have outgrown
their rear-facing convertible child seat can ride forward-
facing in the vehicle. Forward-facing child seats and
convertible child seats used in the forward-facing direc-
tion are for children who are over two years old or who
have outgrown the rear-facing weight or height limit of
their rear-facing convertible child seat. Children should
remain in a forward-facing child seat with a harness for
as long as possible, up to the highest weight or height
allowed by the child seat.
All children whose weight or height is above the
forward-facing limit for the child seat should use a
belt-positioning booster seat until the vehicle’s seat
belts fit properly. If the child cannot sit with knees bent
over the vehicle’s seat cushion while the child’s back is
against the seatback, they should use a belt-positioning
booster seat. The child and belt-positioning booster seat
are held in the vehicle by the seat belt.
WARNING!
•Improper installation can lead to failure of an
infant or child restraint. It could come loose in a
collision. The child could be badly injured or
killed. Follow the child restraint manufacturer ’s
directions exactly when installing an infant or
child restraint.
• After a child restraint is installed in the vehicle,
do not move the vehicle seat forward or rearward
because it can loosen the child restraint attach-
ments. Remove the child restraint before adjust-
ing the vehicle seat position. When the vehicle
seat has been adjusted, reinstall the child re-
straint.
• When your child restraint is not in use, secure it
in the vehicle with the seat belt or LATCH anchor-
ages, or remove it from the vehicle. Do not leave
it loose in the vehicle. In a sudden stop or
accident, it could strike the occupants or seat-
backs and cause serious personal injury.
126 SAFETY
Children Too Large For Booster Seats
Children who are large enough to wear the shoulder
belt comfortably, and whose legs are long enough to
bend over the front of the seat when their back is
against the seatback, should use the seat belt in a rear
seat. Use this simple 5-step test to decide whether the
child can use the vehicle’s seat belt alone:
1. Can the child sit all the way back against the back ofthe vehicle seat?
2. Do the child’s knees bend comfortably over the front of the vehicle seat – while the child is still sitting all
the way back?
3. Does the shoulder belt cross the child’s shoulder between their neck and arm?
4. Is the lap part of the belt as low as possible, touching the child’s thighs and not the stomach?
5. Can the child stay seated like this for the whole trip?
If the answer to any of these questions was “no,” then
the child still needs to use a booster seat in this vehicle. If the child is using the lap/shoulder belt, check seat
belt fit periodically and make sure the seat belt buckle is
latched. A child’s squirming or slouching can move the
belt out of position. If the shoulder belt contacts the face
or neck, move the child closer to the center of the
vehicle, or use a booster seat to position the seat belt on
the child correctly.
WARNING!
Never allow a child to put the shoulder belt under
an arm or behind their back. In a crash, the shoulder
belt will not protect a child properly, which may
result in serious injury or death. A child must
always wear both the lap and shoulder portions of
the seat belt correctly.
Installing Child Restraints Using The Vehicle
Seat Belt
Child restraint systems are designed to be secured in
vehicle seats by lap belts or the lap belt portion of a
lap/shoulder belt.
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SAFETY 127
WARNING!
•Improper installation or failure to properly secure
a child restraint can lead to failure of the restraint.
The child could be badly injured or killed.
• Follow the child restraint manufacturer ’s direc-
tions exactly when installing an infant or child
restraint.
The seat belt in the passenger seating position is
equipped with a Switchable Automatic Locking Retrac-
tor (ALR) that is designed to keep the lap portion of the
seat belt tight around the child restraint so that it is not
necessary to use a locking clip. The ALR retractor can be
“switched” into a locked mode by pulling all of the
webbing out of the retractor and then letting the web-
bing retract back into the retractor. If it is locked, the
ALR will make a clicking noise while the webbing is
pulled back into the retractor. Refer to the “Automatic
Locking Mode” description in “Switchable Automatic
Locking Retractors (ALR)” under “Occupant Restraint
Systems” for additional information on ALR.
Please see the table below and the following sections for
more information.
Lap/Shoulder Belt Systems For Installing Child
Restraints In This Vehicle
Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR) Location
• ALR = Switchable Automatic Locking Retractor
•
Top Tether Anchorage Symbol
128 SAFETY