2-33
Safety system of your vehicle
2
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.Care of Seat Belts
Seat belt systems should never be
disassembled or modified. In addi-
tion, care should be taken to assure
that seat belts and belt hardware are
not damaged by seat hinges, doors
or other abuse.
Periodic inspection
All seat belts should be inspected
periodically for wear or damage of
any kind. Any damaged parts should
be replaced as soon as possible by
an authorized retailer of Genesis
Branded products.
Keep belts clean and dry
Seat belts should be kept clean and
dry. If seat belts become dirty, they
can be cleaned by using a mild soap
solution and warm water. Bleach,
dye, strong detergents or abrasives
should not be used because they
may damage and weaken the fabric.
When to replace seat belts
The entire seat belt assembly or
assemblies should be replaced if the
vehicle has been involved in an acci-
dent. This should be done even if no
damage is visible. Additional ques-
tions concerning seat belt operation
should be directed to an authorized
retailer of Genesis Branded products.
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
2-34
Safety system of your vehicle
Children Always in the RearChildren under age 13 must always
ride in the rear seats and must
always be properly restrained to min-
imize the risk of injury in an accident,
sudden stop or sudden maneuver.
According to accident statistics, chil-
dren are safer when properly
restrained in the rear seats than in
the front seat.Even with air bags,
children can be seriously injured
or killed. Children too large for a
child restraint must use the seat belts
provided.
All 50 states have child restraint laws
which require children to travel in
approved child restraint devices. The
laws governing the age or height/
weight restrictions 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. Child restraint systems must be prop-
erly placed and installed in the rear
seat. You must use a commercially
available child restraint system that
meets the requirements of the Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standards
(FMVSS 213).
Child restraint systems are generally
designed to be secured in a vehicle
seat by lap belt portion of a
lap/shoulder belt, or by a LATCH sys-
tem in the rear seats of the vehicle.
C C
H
H I
IL
L D
D
R
R E
ES
ST
T R
R A
A I
IN
N T
T
S
S Y
Y S
ST
T E
EM
M
(
( C
C R
R S
S)
)
Always properly restrain chil-
dren in the rear seats of the
vehicle.
Children of all ages are safer
when restrained in the rear seat.
A child riding in the front pas-
senger seat can be forcefully
struck by an inflating air bag
resulting in SERIOUS INJURY
or DEATH.
WARNING
2-36
Safety system of your vehicle
Child restraint system types
There are three main types of child
restraint systems: rear-facing seats,
forward-facing seats, and booster
seats. They are classified according
to the child's age, height and weight.
Rear-facing child seats
A rear-facing child seat provides
restraint with the seating surface
against the back of the child. The har-
ness system holds the child in place,
and in an accident, acts to keep the
child positioned in the seat and
reduce the stress to the neck and
spinal cord.
All children under age one must
always ride in a rear-facing infant child
restraint.
Convertible and 3-in-1 child seats typ-
ically have higher height and weight
limits for the rear-facing position,
allowing you to keep your child rear-
facing for a longer period of time.Continue to use a rear-facing child
seat for as long as your child will fit
within the height and weight limits
allowed by the child seat manufactur-
er. It's the best way to keep them
safe. Once your child has outgrown
the rear-facing child restraint, your
child is ready for a forward-facing
child restraint with a harness.
OIK037029NEVER install a child or infant
restraint in the front passen-
ger's seat.
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
2-37
Safety system of your vehicle
2
Forward-facing child restraints
A forward-facing child seat provides
restraint for the child's body with a
harness. Keep children in a forward-
facing child seat with a harness until
they reach the top height or weight
limit allowed by your child restraint’s
manufacturer.
Once your child outgrows the forward-
facing child restraint, your child is
ready for a booster seat.
Booster seats
A booster seat is a restraint designed
to improve the fit of the vehicle's seat
belt system. A booster seat positions
the seat belt so that it fits properly
over the lap of your child.
Keep your child in a booster seat until
they are big enough to sit in the seat
without a booster and still have the
seat belt fit properly. For a seat belt to
fit properly, the lap belt must lie snug-
ly across the upper thighs, not the
stomach. The shoulder belt should lie
snug across the shoulder and chest
and not across the neck or face.
Children under age 13 must always
ride in the rear seats and must always
be properly restrained to minimize the
risk of injury.
Installing a Child Restraint
System (CRS)
Before installing your child
restraint system always:
Read and follow the instruc-
tions provided by the manu-
facturer of the child restraint.
Read and follow the instruc-
tions regarding child restraint
systems in this manual.
Failure to follow all warnings
and instructions could increase
the risk of the SERIOUS INJURY
or DEATH if an accident occurs.
WARNING
If the vehicle headrest prevents
proper installation of a child
seat (as described in the child
seat system manual, the head-
rest of the respective seating
position shall be readjusted or
entirely removed.
WARNING
OIK037030
2-38
Safety system of your vehicle
After selecting a proper child seat for
your child, check to make sure it fits
properly in your vehicle. Follow the
instructions provided by the manu-
facturer when installing the child
seat. Note these general steps when
installing the seat to your vehicle:
Properly secure the child
restraint to the vehicle. All child
restraints must be secured to the
vehicle with the lap part of a
lap/shoulder belt or with the
LATCH system. If using the
lap/shoulder belt for your child
restraint, the convertible locking
retractor should be pulled all the
way out to engage the "automatic
locking" mode. (See page 2-42.)
Make sure the child restraint is
firmly secured. After installing a
child restraint to the vehicle, push
and pull the seat forward-and-back
and side-to-side to verify that it is
securely attached to the seat. A
child restraint secured with a seat
belt should be installed as firmly as
possible. However, some side-to-
side movement can be expected.
Secure the child in the child
restraint. Make sure the child is
properly strapped in the child
restraint according to the manufac-
turer instructions.
Lower Anchors and Tether for Children (LATCH System)
The LATCH system holds a child
restraint during driving and in an acci-
dent. This system is designed to
make installation of the child restraint
easier and reduce the possibility of
improperly installing your child
restraint. The LATCH system uses
anchors in the vehicle and attach-
ments on the child restraint. The
LATCH system eliminates the need
to use seat belts to secure the child
restraint to the rear seats.
Lower anchors are metal bars built
into the vehicle. There are two lower
anchors for each LATCH seating
position that will accommodate a
child restraint with lower attachments.
To use the LATCH system in your
vehicle, you must have a child
restraint with LATCH attachments.
The child seat manufacturer will pro-
vide you with instructions on how to
use the child seat with its attachments
for the LATCH lower anchors.
A child restraint in a closed
vehicle can become very hot. To
prevent burns, check the seat-
ing surface and buckles before
placing your child in the child
restraint.
CAUTION
2-42
Safety system of your vehicle
Securing a child restraint withlap/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
"Rear Seat Belt – Passenger's 3-
point system" 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
OLMB033044
2-46
Safety system of your vehicle
This vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Supplemental Air Bag
System for the driver's seat and front
passenger's seats.
The front air bags are designed to
supplement the three-point seat
belts. For these air bags to provide
protection, the seat belts must be
worn at all times when driving.
You can be severely injured or killed
in an accident if you are not wearing
a seat belt. Air bags are designed to
supplement seat belts, but do not
replace them. Also, air bags are not
designed to deploy in every collision.
In some accidents, the seat belts are
the only restraint protecting you. AIR BAG SAFETY PRECAUTIONS
ALWAYS use seat belts and child restraints - every trip, every time,
everyone! Even with air bags, you can be seriously injured or killed in
a collision if you are improperly belted or not wearing your seat belt
when the air bag inflates.
NEVER place a child in any child restraint or booster seat in the front
passenger seat. An inflating air bag could forcefully strike the infant
or child causing serious or fatal injuries.
ABC - Always Buckle Children under age 13 in the back seat. It is the
safest place for children of any age to ride. If a child age 13 or older
must be seated in the front seat, he or she must be properly belted
and the seat should be moved as far back as possible.
All occupants should sit upright with the seatback in an upright posi-
tion, centered on the seat cushion with their seat belt on, legs com-
fortably extended and their feet on the floor until the vehicle is parked
and is turned off. If an occupant is out of position during an accident,
the rapidly deploying air bag may forcefully contact the occupant
causing serious or fatal injuries.
You and your passengers should never sit or lean unnecessarily
close to the air bags or lean against the door or center console.
Move your seat as far back as possible from front air bags, while still
maintaining control of the vehicle. The U.S. National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommends that drivers allow at
least 10 inches (25 cm) between the center of the steering wheel and
the chest.
WARNING
2-49
Safety system of your vehicle
2
Curtain air bags
Curtain air bags are located along
both sides of the roof rails above the
front and rear doors.
Do not allow passengers to
lean their heads or bodies
onto doors, put their arms on
the doors, stretch their arms
out of the window, or place
objects between the doors
and seats.
Hold the steering wheel at the
9 o'clock and 3 o'clock posi-
tions, to minimize the risk of
injuries to your hands and
arms.
Do not use any accessory
seat covers. This could reduce
or prevent the effectiveness
of the system.
Do not place any objects over
the air bag or between the air
bag and yourself. Also, do not
attach any objects around the
area the air bag inflates such
as the door, side door glass,
front and rear pillar.
Do not place any objects
between the door and the
seat. They may become dan-
gerous projectiles if the side
air bag inflates.
Do not install any accessories
on the side or near the side air
bags.
Do not put any objects
between the side airbag label
and seat cushion. It could
cause harm if the vehicle is in
a crash severe enough to
cause the air bags to deploy.
Do not cause impact to the
doors when the Engine
Start/Stop button is in the ON
position as this may cause the
side air bags to inflate.
If the seat or seat cover is
damaged, have the vehicle
checked and repaired by an
authorized retailer of Genesis
Branded products.
OIK037043
OIK037073N