2018 MAZDA MODEL 3 HATCHBACK Owners Manual (in English)

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.
WA R N I N G
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.
Essential Safety Equipment
Seats
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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.

(Except Mexico)
All of the seat belt retractors are designed to keep the lap/sh oulder belts out of the way when
not in use.
The driver's seat belt has no provisions for child-restraint sy stems and has only an
emergency locking mode. The driver may wear it comfortably, and it will lock during a
collision.
However, the front passenger's seat and all rear lap/shoulder b elt retractors operate in two
modes: emergency locking mode, and for child-restraint systems, automatic locking mode.
While we recommend you put all chi ldren in the rear seats, if you must use the front
passenger seat for a child, slide the front passenger seat as f ar back as possible and make
sure any child-restraint sy stem is secured properly.

(Mexico)
All the seats have lap/shoulder belts. These belts have retract ors 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.
WA R N I N G
Always wear your seat belt and make sure all occupants are properly restrained:
Not wearing a seat belt is extremely dangerou s. During a collision, occupants not wearing
seat belts could hit someone or things inside th e 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.
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
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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 be lt 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 imme diately inspect the seat belt pretensioners
and air bags after any collision. Like the air ba gs, 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 pret ensioner 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 positi oned 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 a bdominal area, causing serious injury. Wear the
lap portion of the belt snugly and as low as possible.
CAUTION
Belt retraction may become difficult if the belts and rings are soiled, so try to keep them clean.
For more details about cleaning the seat belts, refer to "Seat Belt Maintenance" (page 6-69).

Ring
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
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▼Pregnant Women and Persons with Serious Medical Conditions
Pregnant women should always wea
r seat belts. Ask your doctor for specific
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 b elts. Check with your doctor
for any special instructions regarding specific medical conditi ons.
▼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 pos ition during a collision.
If the belt is locked and cannot be pulled out, retract the bel t once, and then try pulling it out
slowly. If this fails, pull the belt strongly one time and loos en, then pull it out again slowly.
(Seat Belt with Autom atic 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 ou t to its full length. If the belt
feels tight and hinders comforta ble 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 u ntil the vehicle has stopped
in a safe, level area, retract t he 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-restrai
nt 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 chi ld-restraint system. It will retract
down to the child-restraint system and stay locked on it. See t he section on child restraint
(page 2-20).
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
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Seat Belt
▼Fastening the Seat Belt
Seat belt
buckle Seat belt tongue
Position the lap belt as low as possible, not
on the abdominal area, then adjust the
shoulder belt so that
it fits snugly against
your body.
Keep low on
hip bone
Too highTake up slack
▼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
Authorized Mazda Dealer.
▼Front Shoulder Belt Adjuster
To raise
To lower
Make sure the adjuster is locked.
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
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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
4-23.
Refer to Seat Belt Warning Beep on page
7-38.
Front Seat Belt
Pretensioner and Load Limiting Systems
For optimum protection, the driver and
front 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 vehicles with the front passenger
occupant classification system, the
pretensioners deploy simultaneously with
the air bags when a roll-over is also
detected.
For deployment details, refer to the SRS
Air Bag Deployment Criteria (page 2-
58).
The front seat belt retractors remove slack
quickly as the air bags are expanding. Any
time the air bags and seat belt
pretensioners have fired they must be
replaced.
A system malfunction or operation
conditions are indicated by a warning.
Refer to Warning/Indicator Lights on page
4-23.
Refer to Air Bag/Front Seat Belt
Pretensioner System Warning Beep on
page 7-38.
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
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(With Front Passenger Occupant
Classification System)
In addition, the pretensioner system for the
front passenger, like the front and side
passenger air bag, is designed to only
deploy when the front passenger occupant
classification sensor detects a passenger
sitting on the front passenger's seat.
For details, refer to the front passenger
occupant classification sensor (page 2-
61).

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
sufficient occupant movement.
Even if the pretensioners have not fired,
the load limiting function must be checked
by an Authorized Mazda Dealer.
WA R N I N G
Wear seat belts only as recommended in
this owner's manual:
Incorrect positioning of the driver and front
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 2-15).
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.
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.
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
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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-
58).
Some smoke (non-toxic gas) will be
released when the air bags and
pretensioners deploy. This does not
indicate a fire. 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 front
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.
WA R N I N G
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 fit 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.
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
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