
Safety Precautions
Adjusting the seats so that you are sit-
ting in a safe, comfortable position
plays an important role in driver and
passenger safety together with the
seat belts and air bags in an accident.
Air bags
You can take steps to reduce the risk
of being injured by an inflating air
bag. Sitting too close to an air bag
greatly increases the risk of injury in
the event the air bag inflates.The National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) recommends
that drivers allow at least 10 inches
(25 cm) between the center of the
steering wheel and their chest.
Seat belts
Always fasten your seat belt before
starting any trip.
At all times, passengers should sit
upright and be properly restrained.
Infants and small children must be
restrained in appropriate child restraint
systems. Children who have outgrown
a booster seat and adults must be
restrained using the seat belts.
Do not use a cushion that
reduces friction between the seat
and the passenger. The passen-
ger’s hips may slide under the
lap portion of the seat belt during
an accident or a sudden stop.
Serious or fatal internal injuries
could result because the seat
belt cannot operate properly.
WARNING To reduce the risk of serious
injury or death from an inflating
air bag, take the following pre-
cautions:
Adjust the driver's seat as far to
the rear as possible while main-
taining the ability to maintain
full control of the vehicle.
Adjust the front passenger seat
as far to the rear as possible.
Hold the steering wheel by the
rim with hands at the 9 o'clock
and 3 o'clock positions to mini-
mize the risk of injuries to your
hands and arms.
NEVER place anything or any-
one between the steering wheel
and the air bag.
Do not allow the front passen-
ger to place feet or legs on the
dashboard to minimize the risk
of leg injuries.
WARNING
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Safety system of your vehicle
2

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Safety system of your vehicle
Armrest
The armrest is located in the center
of the rear seat. Pull the armrest
down by using the strap from the
seatback to use it.
You will find cup holders on the cen-
ter armrest.
Do not place objects in the rear
seats, since they cannot be
properly secured and may hit
vehicle occupants in a collision
causing serious injury or death.
WARNING
Make sure the engine is off, the
shift lever is in P (Park), and the
parking brake is securely applied
whenever loading or unloading
cargo. Failure to take these steps
may allow the vehicle to move if
the shift lever is inadvertently
moved to another position.
WARNING
When returning the rear seat-
back from a folded to an upright
position, hold the seatback and
return it slowly. Ensure that the
seatback is completely locked
into its upright position by
pushing on the top of the seat-
back. In an accident or sudden
stop, the unlocked seatback
could allow cargo to move for-
ward with great force and enter
the passenger compartment,
which could result in serious
injury or death.
WARNING
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Safety system of your vehicle
Rear center seat belt
When using the rear center seat belt,
the buckle with the "CENTER" mark
must be used.
Additional Seat Belt Safety
Precautions
Seat belt use during pregnancy
The seat belt should always be used
during pregnancy. The best way to
protect your unborn child is to protect
yourself by always wearing the seat
belt.
Pregnant women should always wear
a lap-shoulder seat belt. Place the
shoulder belt across your chest, rout-
ed between your breasts and away
from your neck. Place the shoulder
belt across the chest, routed away
from the neck. Place the lap belt below
the belt line so that it fits snugly and as
low as possible across the hips, not
across the abdomen.
Seat belt use and children
Infant and small children
All 50 states have child restraint laws
which require children to travel in
approved child restraint devices,
including booster seats. The age at
which seat belts can be used instead
of child restraints differs among
states, so you should be aware of the
specific requirements in your state,
and where you are travelling. Infant
and child restraints must be properly
placed and installed in a rear seat.
For more information refer to the
“Child Restraint Systems” section in
this chapter.
To reduce the risk of serious
injury or death to an unborn
child during an accident, preg-
nant women should NEVER
place the lap portion of the seat
belt above or over the area of
the abdomen where the unborn
child is located.
WARNING
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Safety system of your vehicle
If the shoulder belt portion slightly
touches the child's neck or face, try
placing the child closer to the center
of the vehicle. If the shoulder belt still
touches their face or neck they need
to be returned to an appropriate
booster seat in the rear seat.
Transporting an injured person
A seat belt should be used when an
injured person is being transported.
Consult a physician for specific rec-
ommendations.
One person per belt
Two people (including children)
should never attempt to use a single
seat belt. This could increase the
severity of injuries in case of an acci-
dent.
Do not lie down
Sitting in a reclined position when
the vehicle is in motion can be dan-
gerous. Even when buckled up, the
protections of your restraint system
(seat belts and air bags) is greatly
reduced by reclining your seatback.
To reduce the chance of injuries in
the event of an accident and to
achieve the maximum effectiveness
of the restraint system, all passen-
gers should be sitting up and the
front and rear seats should be in an
upright position when the car is mov-
ing. A seat belt cannot provide proper
protection if the person is lying down
in the rear seat or if the front or rear
seats are in a reclined position.
NEVER ride with a reclined
seatback when the vehicle is
moving.
Riding with a reclined seatback
increases your chance of seri-
ous or fatal injuries in the event
of a collision or sudden stop.
Drivers and passengers should
always sit well back in their
seats, properly belted, and with
the seatbacks upright.
WARNING
Always make sure children
are wearing their seat belts
and that they are properly
adjusted before driving.
NEVER allow the shoulder
belt to contact the child's
neck or face.
Do not allow more than one
child to use a single seat belt.
WARNING

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Safety system of your vehicle
2
LATCH anchors have been provided
in the left and right outboard rear
seating positions. Their locations are
shown in the illustration. There are
no LATCH anchors provided for the
center rear seating position.The lower anchor position indicator
symbols are located on the left and
right rear seat backs to identify the
position of the lower anchors in your
vehicle (see arrows in illustration).
The LATCH anchors are located
between the seatback and the seat
cushion of the rear seat left and right
outboard seating positions.
To use the lower anchor, push the
upper portion of the lower anchor
cover.
Do not attempt to install a child
restraint system using LATCH
anchors in the rear center seat-
ing position. There are no LATCH
anchors provided for this seat.
Using the outboard seat anchors
can damage the anchors which
may break or fail in a collision
resulting in serious injury or
death.
WARNING
ODH033067OLF034037
Lower Anchor
Position Indicator

2-42
Safety system of your vehicle
Securing a child restraint witha lap belt or lap/shoulder belt
When not using the LATCH system,
all child restraints must be secured to
a vehicle rear seat with the lap part
of a lap/shoulder belt.
Automatic locking mode
Since all passenger seat belts move
freely under normal conditions and
only lock under extreme or emer-
gency conditions (emergency locking
mode), you must manually pull the
seat belt all the way out to shift the
retractor to the "Automatic Locking"
mode to secure a child restraint.
The "Automatic Locking" mode will
help prevent the normal movement
of the child in the vehicle from caus-
ing the seat belt to loosen and com-
promise the child restraint system. To
secure a child restraint system, use
the following procedure. To install a child restraint system on
the rear seats, do the following:
1. Place the child restraint system on
a rear seat and route the lap/
shoulder belt around or through
the child restraint, following the
restraint manufacturer's instruc-
tions.
Be sure the seat belt webbing is
not twisted.
When using the rear center seat
belt, you should also refer to the
"3-point Rear Center Seat Belt"
section in this chapter.
NOTICE
ALWAYS place a rear-facing
child restraint in the rear seat of
the vehicle.
Placing a rear-facing child
restraint in the front seat can
result in serious injury or death
if the child restraint is struck by
an inflating air bag.
WARNING
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Safety system of your vehicle
2
To help provide protection, the airbags must inflate rapidly. The speed
of air bag inflation is a consequence
of extremely short time in which to
inflate the air bag between the
occupant and the vehicle structures
before the occupant impacts those
structures. This speed of inflation
reduces the risk of serious or life-
threatening injuries and is thus a
necessary part of air bag design.
However, the rapid air bag inflation
can also cause injuries which can
include facial abrasions, bruises and
broken bones because the inflation
speed also causes the air bags to
expand with a great deal of force.
There are even circumstances under which contact with the air
bag can cause fatal injuries, espe-
cially if the occupant is positioned
excessively close to the air bag.
You can take steps to reduce the risk
of being injured by an inflating air
bag. The greatest risk is sitting too
close to the air bag. An air bag needs
about 10 inches (25 cm) of space to
inflate. NHTSA recommends that
drivers allow at least 10 inches
(25 cm) between the center of the
steering wheel and the chest. When the SRSCM detects a suffi-
ciently severe impact to the front of
the vehicle, it will automatically
deploy the front air bags.
OHM039102N
■Driver’s front air bag (1)
To reduce the risk of serious
injury or death from an inflating
air bag, take the following pre-
cautions:
NEVER place a child restraint
in the front passenger seat.
Always properly restrain chil-
dren under age 13 in the rear
seats of the vehicle.
Adjust the front passenger's
and driver’s seats as far to the
rear as possible while allow-
ing you to maintain full con-
trol of the vehicle.
Hold the steering wheel with
hands at the 9 o'clock and 3
o'clock positions.
Never place anything or any-
one between the air bag and
the seat occupant.
Do not allow the front passen-
ger to place their feet or legs
on the dashboard.
WARNING

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Safety system of your vehicle
2
Proper seated position for OCS
If the "PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF"
indicator is on when an adult is seat-
ed in the front passenger seat, place
the ignition switch in the LOCK/OFF
position and ask the passenger to sit
properly (sitting upright with the seat
back in an upright position, centered
on the seat cushion with their seat
belt on, legs comfortably extended
and their feet on the floor). Restart
the engine and have the person
remain in that position. This will allow
the system to detect the person and
to enable the passenger air bag. If
the "PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF"
indicator is still on, ask the passen-
ger to move to the rear seat.
B990A01O
Never allow an adult passenger
to ride in the front passenger
seat when the "PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF" indicator is illuminat-
ed. During a collision, the air bag
will not inflate if the indicator is
illuminated. Have your passen-
ger reposition himself in the
seat. If the "PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF" indicator remains illu-
minated after the passenger
repositions himself properly and
the vehicle is restarted, have the
passenger move to the rear seat
because the air bag will not
inflate.
WARNING (continued)
Do not put an electronic
device (ex. Laptop computer,
after market DMB, navigation,
satellite audio, video game
machine, MP3, AC inverter,
etc.) in the front passenger
seatback pocket or on the
front passenger seat.
Do not place a sitting mat on
the front passenger seat.
Do not place any items under
the front passenger seat.
Do not place sharp objects on
the front passenger seat.
These may damage the occu-
pant detection system, if they
puncture the seat cushion.
Avoid spilling liquids on the
front seat; this may cause the
OCS not to work properly.
Keep the front seat dry at all
times.