2018 MAZDA MODEL 3 HATCHBACK belt

Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) Precautions
The front and side supplemental restraint systems (SRS) include different types of air bags.
Please verify the different types of air bags which are equippe d on your vehicle by
locating the “SRS AIRBAG” location indicators. These indicators are visible in the area
where the air bags are installed.
The air bags are installed in the following locations:

The steering wheel h ub (driver air bag)
The front passenger dashboard (front passenger air bag)
The outboard sides of the front seatbacks (side air bags)*
The front and rear window pillars, and the roof edge along both sides (curtain air bags)*

Vehicles with the Front Passenger Occupant Classification Syste m have a sensor which
detects an impending roll-over accident.

The air bag supplemental restraint systems are designed to prov ide supplemental protection
in certain situations so seat bel ts are always important in the following ways:

Without seat belt usage, the air bags cannot provide adequate p rotection during an accident.
Seat belt usage is necessary to:
Keep the occupant from being thrown into an inflating air bag.
Reduce the possibility of injuries during an accident that is n ot designed for air bag
inflation, such as rear impact.
Reduce the possibility of injuries in frontal, near frontal or side collisions or roll-over
accidents that are not severe enough to activate the air bags.
Reduce the possibility of being thrown from your vehicle.
Reduce the possibility of injurie s to lower body and legs during an accident because the
air bags provide no protection to these parts of the body.
Hold the driver in a position wh ich allows better control of the vehicle.

Essential Safety Equipment
SRS Air Bags
2-44*Some models.
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If your vehicle is also equipped with a front passenger occupant classification system,
refer to the Front Pas senger Occupant Classi fication System (page 2-61) for details.
If your vehicle is equipped with a front passenger occupant classification system, the front
passenger air bag deactivation i ndicator light illuminates for a specified time after the
ignition is switched ON.


Small children mu st be protected by a child-restraint system as stipulated by law in every
state and province. In certain s tates and provinces, larger children must use a child-restraint
system (page 2-20).

Carefully consider which child-restraint system is necessary fo r your child and follow the
installation directions in this Owner's Manual as well as the c hild-restraint system
manufacturer's instructions.
WA R N I N G
Seat belts must be worn in air bag equipped vehicles:
Depending only on the air bags for protection during an accident is dangerous. Alone, air
bags may not prevent serious injuries. The appr opriate air bags can be expected to inflate
only in the first accident, such as frontal, near frontal or side collisions or roll-over accidents
that are at least moderate. Vehicle occu pants should always wear seat belts.

Children should not ride in the front passenger seat:
Placing a child, 12 years or under, in the front seat is dangerous. The child could be hit by a
deploying air bag and be seriously injured or even killed. A sleeping child is more likely to lean
against the door and be hit by the side air ba g in moderate collision to the front-passenger
side of the vehicle. Whenever possible, alwa ys secure a child 12 years and under on the rear
seats with an appropriate child-restraint system for the child's age and size.
Essential Safety Equipment
SRS Air Bags
2-45
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Never use a rear-facing child-restraint system in the front seat with an air bag that could
deploy:
Rear-facing child-restraint systems on the front seat are particularly dangerous even though
you may feel assured that a front passenger air ba g will not deploy based on the fact that the
front passenger air bag deactivation indicator ligh t illuminates. The child-restraint system can
be hit by a deploying air bag and moved violen tly backward resulting in serious injury or
death to the child.
Do not sit too close to the driver and front passenger air bags:
Sitting too close to the driver and front passenger air bag modules or placing hands or feet on
them is extremely dangerous. The driver and fr ont passenger air bags inflate with great force
and speed. Serious injuries could occur if someone is too close. The driver should always hold
onto only the rim of the steering wheel. The front seat passenger should keep both feet on the
floor. Front seat occupants should adjust their seats as far back as possible and always sit
upright against the seatbacks wi th seat belts worn properly.
Sit in the center of the seat and wear seat belts properly:
Sitting too close to the side air bag modules or placing hands on them, or sleeping up against
the door or hanging out the windows is extrem ely dangerous. The side and curtain air bags
inflate with great force and speed directly expanding
along the door on the side the car is hit.
Serious injury could occur if someone is sitting too close to the door or leaning against a
window, or if rear seat occupants grab the sides of the front seatbacks. Give the side and
curtain air bags room to work by sitting in th e center of the seat while the vehicle is moving
with seat belts worn properly.
Do not attach objects on or around the area where driver and front passenger air bags
deploy:
Attaching an object to the driver and front passenger air bag modules or placing something
in front of them is dangerous. In an accide nt, an object could interfere with air bag
inflation
and injure the occupants.
Essential Safety Equipment
SRS Air Bags
2-46
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To prevent false detection by the air bag sensor system, heed the following:
Do not use tires or wheels other than those specified for your Mazda:
Use of any tire or wheel other than those specified for your Mazda (page 9-10) is
dangerous. Use of such wheels will prevent th e vehicle's accident detections system from
accurately detecting a collision or roll-over accident resulting in incorrect or unexpected air
bag deployment and the possibility of serious injuries.
 Do not overload your vehicle:
Overloading your vehicle is dangerous as it could prevent the air bag crash sensor system
from accurately detecting a collision or roll-over accident resulting in incorrect or
unexpected air bag deployment and the possibili ty of serious injuries. The gross axle weight
rating (GAWR) and the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) for your vehicle are on the Motor
Vehicle Safety Standard Label on the driver's door frame. Do not exceed these ratings.
 Do not drive the vehicle off-road:
Driving your Mazda off-road is dangerous beca use the vehicle has not been designed to do
so. Driving the vehicle off-road could prev ent the air bag crash sensor system from
accurately detecting a collision or roll-over accident resulting in incorrect or unexpected air
bag deployment and the possibility of serious injuries.
Do not modify a front door or leave any damage unrepaired. Always have an Authorized
Mazda Dealer inspect a damaged front door:
Modifying a front door or leaving any damage un repaired is dangerous. Each front door has a
side crash sensor as a component of the suppleme ntal restraint system. If holes are drilled in a
front door, a door speaker is left removed, or a damaged door is left unrepaired, the sensor
could be adversely affected causing it to not detect the pressure of an impact correctly during
a side collision. If a sensor does not detect a side impact correctly, the side and curtain air
bags and the front seat belt pretensioner ma y not operate normally which could result in
serious injury to occupants.
Do not modify the supplemental restraint system:
Modifying the components or wiring of the supplemental restraint system is dangerous. You
could accidentally activate it or make it inoperable. Do not make any modifications to the
supplemental restraint system. This includes inst alling trim, badges, or anything else over the
air bag modules. It also includes installing extra electrical equipment on or near system
components or wiring. An Authorized Mazda Dealer can provide the special care needed in
the removal and installation of front seats. It is important to protect the air bag wiring and
connections to assure that the bags do not accidentally deploy, and that the front passenger
occupant classification system and the seats retain an undamaged air bag connection.
Essential Safety Equipment
SRS Air Bags
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Do not place luggage or other objects under the front seats:
Placing luggage or other objects under the front seats is dangerous. The components
essential to the supplemental restraint system could be damaged, and in the event of a side
collision, the appropriate air bags may not de ploy, which could result in death or serious
injury. To prevent damage to the components es sential to the supplemental restraint system,
do not place luggage or other objects under the front seats.
Do not operate a vehicle with damaged air bag/seat belt pretensioner system components:
Expended or damaged air bag/seat belt pret ensioner system components must be replaced
after any collision which caused them to depl oy or damage them. Only a trained Authorized
Mazda Dealer can fully evaluate these systems to see that they will work in any subsequent
accident. Driving with an expended or damaged air bag or pretensioner unit will not afford
you the necessary protection in the event of any subsequent accident which could result in
serious injury or death.
Do not remove interior air bag parts:
Removing any components such as the front seats, front dashboard, the steering wheel or
parts on the front and rear window pillars and along the roof edge, containing air bag parts
or sensors is dangerous. These parts contain essential air bag components. The air bag could
accidentally activate and cause serious injuri es. Always have an Authorized Mazda Dealer
remove these parts.
Essential Safety Equipment
SRS Air Bags
2-49
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(Without Front Passenger Occupant Classification System)

Driver/Front passenger inflators and air bags
Roll-over sensor*, crash sensors, and diagnostic module (SAS unit)
Seat belt pretensioners (page 2-16)
Front air bag sensors
Side crash sensors*
Air bag/seat belt pretensioner s ystem warning light (page 4-24)
Side and curtain inflators and air bags*
Front passenger air bag deactivation indicator light* (page 2-61)
Front passenger occupant classification sensor* (page 2-61)
Front passenger occupant classification module*
Essential Safety Equipment
SRS Air Bags
2-52*Some models.
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How the SRS Air Bags Work
Your Mazda is equipped with the following types of SRS air bags. SRS air bags are
designed to work together with the seat belts to help to reduce injuries during an accident.
The SRS air bags are designed to provide further protection for passengers in addition to the
seat belt functions. Be sure to wear seat belts properly.
▼ Front Seat Belt Pretensioners
The front seat belt pretensioners are designed to deploy in mod
erate or severe frontal, near
frontal collisions.
In addition, the pretensioners ope rate when a side collision (only on the side in which the
collision occurs) or a roll-over accident is detected. The pretensioners operate differently
depending on what types of air bags are equipped. For more deta ils about seat belt
pretensioner operation, refer to the SRS Air Bag Deployment Cri teria (page 2-58).
▼Driver Air Bag
The driver's air bag is mounted in the steering wheel.
When air bag crash sensors detect a frontal impact of greater than moderate force, the
driver's air bag inflates quickly
helping to reduce injury mainly to the driver's head or chest
caused by directly hitting the steering wheel.
For more details about air bag deployment, refer to "SRS Air Ba g Deployment Criteria"
(page 2-58).
(With Front Passenger Occupa nt Classification System)
The driver's dual-stage air bag controls air bag inflation in two energy stages. During an
impact of moderate severity, the driver's air bag deploys with lesser energy, whereas during
more severe impacts, it deploys with more energy.
Essential Safety Equipment
SRS Air Bags
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SRS Air Bag Deployment Criteria
This chart indicates the applicable SRS equipment that will deploy depending on the type of
collision.
(The illustrations are the representative cases of collisions.)
SRS equip- ment Types of collision
A severe frontal/near frontal colli- sion A severe side colli-
sion
*4A roll-over/nearroll-over*3A rear collision
Front seat
belt preten- sioner X*1 (both sides)
X*1 (impact side
only) X*1 (both sides)
No air bag and
front seat belt pre-
tensioner will be
activated in a rear
collision.
Driver air
bag X
Front pas- senger air bag X
*1
Side air bag*X*2X*1 (impact side
only)
Curtain air bag
*X*2X (impact side on- ly) X (both sides)
X: The SRS air bag equipment is
designed to deploy in a collision.*1(With Front Passenger Occupant Classification System)
The front passenger front and side air bags and the seat belt pretensioner are designed to deploy when the front
passenger occupant cla ssification sensor detects a passenger si tting on the front passenger's seat.
*2(With Front Passenger Occupant Classification System)
In an angled collision, the side air bag and curtain air bag ma y deploy.
*3(With Front Passenger Occupant Classification System)
In a roll-over accident, the s eat belt pretensioners and the cu rtain air bags deploy.
*4(With Side/Curtain Air Bags)
In a side collision, the seat be lt pretensioners and the side/c urtain air bags deploy (only on the side in which the
collision occurs).
Essential Safety Equipment
SRS Air Bags
2-58*Some models.
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