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Child Restraints — Carrying Children
Safely
Everyone in your vehicle needs to be buckled
up at all times, including babies and chil-
dren. EC directive 2003/20/EC requires
proper use of restraints in all EC countries.Children less than 1.5 meters tall and
12 years or younger should ride properly
buckled up in a rear seat, if available. Accord-
ing to crash statistics, children are safer
when properly restrained in the rear seats
rather than in the front.
WARNING!
• NEVER use a rearward facing child re-
straint on a seat protected by an ACTIVE
AIRBAG in front of it, DEATH or SERI-
OUS INJURY to the CHILD can occur.
• Never install a rear-facing child restraint
in the front seat of a vehicle. Only use a
rear-facing child restraint in the rear
seat. If the vehicle does not have a rear
seat, do not transport a rear-facing child
restraint in that vehicle.
• A deploying passenger front airbag can
cause death or serious injury to a child
12 years or younger, including a child in
a rear-facing child restraint.
• 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
WARNING!
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.
There are different sizes and types of re-
straints for children from newborn size to the
child almost large enough for an adult safety
belt. Children should ride rearward facing as
long as possible; this is the most protected
position for a child in the event of a crash.
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 re-
straint Owner’s Manual and on all the labels
attached to the child restraint.
Warning Label On Front Passenger Sun
Visor
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In Europe, children restraint systems are de-
fined by regulation ECE-R44, which divides
them into five weight groups:
Restraint Group Weight Group
Group 0 up to 10 kg
Group 0+ up to 13 kg
Group 1 9-18 kg
Group 2 15-25 kg
Group 3 22-36 kg
Check the label of your child restraint. All
approved child restraints must include type-
approval data and the control mark on its
label. The label must be permanently se-
cured to the child restraint system. You
should not remove this label from the child
restraint.
WARNING!
Extreme Hazard! Do not place a rear-
facing child restraint in front of an active
air bag. Refer to visor mounted labels for
information. Deployment of the air bag in
an accident could cause fatal injuries to
the baby regardless of the severity of the
WARNING!
collision. It is advisable to always carry
children in a child restraint system on the
rear seat, which is the most protected
position in the event of a collision.
“Universal” Child Restraint Systems
• The figures in the following sections are
examples of each type of universal child
restraint system. Typical installations are
shown. Always install your child restraint
system according to the child restraint
manufacturer’s instructions, which must
be included with this type of restraint sys-
tem.
• See the section “Installing Child Restraints
Using the Vehicle Seat Belt” for the steps
to properly lock the seat belt over the child
restraint.
• Child restraint systems with ISOFIX anchor-
ages are available for installing the child
restraint system to the vehicle without us-
ing the vehicle’s seat belts.
Group 0 And 0+
Safety experts recommend that children ride
rearward facing in the vehicle as long as
possible. Infants up to 13 kg must be re-
strained in a rear-facing seat like the child
seat shown in fig. A. This type of child re-
straint supports the child’s head and does not
induce stress on the neck in the event of
sudden decelerations or a crash.
The rear-facing child restraint is restrained by
the vehicle’s seat belts, as shown in fig. A.
The child seat restrains the child with its own
harness.
Fig. A
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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.
• Never install a rear-facing child re-
straint in the front seat of a vehicle.
Only use a rear-facing child restraint in
the rear seat. If the vehicle does not
have a rear seat, do not transport a
rear-facing child restraint in that
vehicle.
Group 1
Children who weigh between 9 kg and 18 kg
may be carried in a Group 1, forward facing
seat like the one in fig. B. This type of child
restraint is for older children who are too big
for a Group 0 or 0+ child restraint.
Group 2
Children who weigh between 15 kg and 25 kg
and who are too big for the Group 1 child
restraint may use a Group 2 child restraint
system.
As shown in fig. C, the Group 2 child restraint
system positions the child correctly with re-
spect to the seat belt so that the shoulder belt
crosses the child’s chest and not the neck,
and the lap belt is snug on the pelvis and not
the abdomen.
Fig. BFig. C
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Group 3
Children who weigh between 22 kg and 36 kg
and who are tall enough to use the adult
shoulder belt may use a Group 3 child re-
straint. Group 3 child restraints position the
lap belt on the child’s pelvis. The child must
be tall enough that the shoulder belt crosses
the child’s chest and not their neck.Fig. D shows an example of a Group 3 child
restraint system correctly positioning the
child on the rear seat.
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 direc-
tions 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 attachments.
Remove the child restraint before ad-
justing the vehicle seat position. When
the vehicle seat has been adjusted, re-
install the child restraint.
WARNING!
• When your child restraint is not in use,
secure it in the vehicle with the seat belt
or ISOFIX anchorages, 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 seatbacks
and cause serious personal injury.
Fig. D
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Suitability Of Passenger Seats For Universal
Child Restraint System Use
According to the European Directive 2000/3/
EC, the suitability of each passenger seat
position for the installation of Universal Child
Restraint Systems is shown in the following
table:
Universal Child Seating Position Chart (or other site)
Mass Group
Front Passenger Rear Outboard Rear CenterIntermediate Out-
boardIntermediate Center
Group0-Upto10kg XU/UF UF N/A N/A
Group 0+ - Up to 13 kg X U/UF UF N/A N/A
Group1-9to18kg XU/UF UF N/A N/A
Group II & III - 15 to 36 kg X U/UF UF N/A N/A
Key of letters used in the table above:
• U = Suitable for “universal” category re-
straints approved for use in this mass
group.
• X = Seat position not suitable for children
in this mass group.• UF = Suitable for forward-facing “univer-
sal” category restraints approved for use in
this mass group.
If the head restraint interferes with the instal-
lation of the child restraint system, adjust the
head restraint (if adjustable).
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Seat Belts For Older Children
Children over 1.50 m in height can wear seat
belts instead of using child restraints.
Use this simple 5-step test to decide whether
the seat belt properly fits the child or if they
should still use a Group 2 or Group 3 child
restraint to improve the fit of the seat belt:
1. Can the child sit all the way back against
the back of the 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 the 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 Group
2 or 3 child restraint in this vehicle. If the
child is using the lap/shoulder belt, check
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.
ISOFIX Restraint System
Your vehicle is equipped with the child re-
straint anchorage system called ISOFIX. This
system allows ISOFIX-equipped child seats
to be installed without using the vehicle’s
seat belts. The ISOFIX system has two lower
anchorages located at the back of the seat
cushion where it meets the seatback and a
top tether anchorage located behind the seat-
ing position.
Fig. E
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An example of a Universal ISOFIX child re-
straint system for weight group 1 is shown in
fig. E. ISOFIX child restraints are also avail-
able in the other weight groups.
Locating The ISOFIX Anchorages
The lower anchorages are round bars that are
found at the rear of the seat cushion where it
meets the seatback, below the anchorage
symbols on the seatback. They are just visible
when you lean into the rear seat to install the
child restraint. You will easily feel them if you
run your finger along the gap between the
seatback and seat cushion.
Locating The Tether Anchorages
There are tether strap anchorages behind
each rear seating position located on the
back of the seat. To access them, pull the
carpeted floor panel away from the seat back,
this will expose the top tether strap anchor-
ages.
ISOFIX child restraint systems will be
equipped with a rigid bar on each side. Each
will have a connector to attach to the loweranchorage and a way to tighten the connec-
tion to the anchorage. Forward-facing child
restraints and some rear-facing child re-
straints may also be equipped with a tether
strap. The tether strap will have a hook at the
end to attach to the top tether anchorage and
a way to tighten the strap after it is attached
to the anchorage.
Center Seat ISOFIX
WARNING!
• Do not install a child restraint in the
center position using the ISOFIX sys-
tem. This position is not approved for
any type of ISOFIX child restraint
system.
• Do not install your ISOFIX child restraint
system using only the center tether an-
chorage. Use the seat belt to install a
child seat in the center seating position.
• Never use the same lower anchorage to
attach more than one child restraint.
Please refer to “To Install An ISOFIX
Child Restraint” for typical installation
instructions.
Rear Seat Lower Anchorages
Tether Strap Anchorages
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