2020 MAZDA MODEL 3 HATCHBACK Owners Manual (in English)

▼Pregnant Women and Persons with
Serious Medical Conditions
Pregnant women should always wear 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 belts. Check with
your doctor for any
special instructions
regarding specific medical conditions.
▼ 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 position during a
collision.
If the belt is locked a
nd cannot be pulled
out, retract the belt once, and then try
pulling it out slowly. If this fails, pull the
belt strongly 1 time and loosen, then pull it
out again slowly.
(Seat Belt with Automatic 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 out to its
full length. If the belt feels tight and
hinders comfortable movement while the
vehicle is stopped or in motion, it may be
in the automatic locking mode because the
belt has been pulled to o far out. To return
the belt to the more comfortable
emergency locking mode, wait until the
vehicle has stopped in a safe, level area,
retract the belt fully to convert it back to
emergency locking mode and then extend
it around you again.
▼ Automatic Lockin
g Mode (Except
Mexico)
Always use the automatic locking mode to
keep the child-restraint 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
child-restraint system . It will retract down
to the child-restraint system and stay
locked on it. See the section on child
restraint (page 2-44).
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
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Seat Belt
▼Fastening the Seat Belt
Insert the seat belt tongue into the buckle.
1. Seat belt tongue
2. Seat belt buckle

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.
1. Keep low on hip bone
2. Take up slack
3. Too high

Before fastening the rear seat belt, make
sure that the seat belt passes through the
seat belt guide correctly and it is not
twisted.
▼ Unfastening the Seat Belt
Depress the button on the seat belt buckle.
If the belt does not fu
lly retract, pull it out
and check for kinks or twists. Then make
sure it remains untwisted as it retracts.
1. 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.
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
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▼Front Shoulder Belt Adjuster
The front seat belts
have a front shoulder
belt adjuster. If the seat belt contacts your
neck or it slips off the shoulder, adjust the
seat belt height.
To r a i s e
To heighten the seat belt, move the front
shoulder belt adjuster upward.
To l o w e r
To lower the seat belt, hold the front
shoulder belt adjuster and lower the seat
belt with the knob of the front shoulder
belt adjuster pressed.

After adjusting, press the front shoulder
belt adjuster downward and make sure that
it is securely locked.
Seat Belt Warning Systems
▼ Seat Belt Warning Systems
If it detects that the occupant seat belt is
unfastened, the warning light or beep
alerts the occupant.
Refer to Seat Belt Wa
rning Indication/
Warning Light (Front seat) on page 7-35.
Refer to Seat Belt Warning Light (Rear
seat) (Red) on page 7-36.
Refer to Seat Belt Wa rning Beep on page
7-41.

Seat belt indicator light (rear seat)
(green)
The light turns on when the rear seat belt
is fastened while the ignition is switched
ON, and it turns off after a certain period.
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
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Front Seat Belt
Pretensioner and Load Limiting Systems
▼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 t he 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
2-68).

The 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 Air Bag/Front Seat Belt
Pretensioner System Warning Indication/
Warning Light on page 7-32.
Refer to Air Bag/Front Seat Belt
Pretensioner System Warning Beep on
page 7-41.
(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 in accordance with the total seated
weight on the front passenger seat.
For details, refer to the front passenger
seat weight sensors (page 2-72).

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, th e 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 seat belts is
dangerous. Without pr oper positioning, the
pretensioner and load limiting systems
cannot provide adequate protection in an
accident and this could result in serious
injury. For more deta ils about wearing seat
belts, refer to "Fastening the Seat Belt"
(page 2-26).
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
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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.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
2-68).
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
pretensioner system gets on the skin or
in the eyes, wash it off as soon as
possible.
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
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Seat Belt Extender
▼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 b
elts, it may not hold
in the critical mom ent 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.
Do not use an improper extender:
Using a seat belt extender that is for
another person or a different vehicle or seat
is dangerous. The seat belt will not provide
adequate protection and the user could be
seriously injured in an accident. Only use
the extender provided for you and for the
particular vehicle and seat. NEVER use the
extender in a different vehicle or seat. If you
sell your Mazda, do not leave your seat belt
extender in the vehicle. It could be used
accidentally by the new owner of the
vehicle. After removing the seat belt
extender, discard it. Never use the seat belt
extender in any other vehicle you may own
in the future.
Do not use an extender that is too long:
Using an extender that is too long is
dangerous. The seat belt will not fit
properly. In an accident, the seat belt will
not provide adequate protection and you
could be seriously injured. Do not use the
extender or choose one shorter in length if
the distance between the extender's buckle
and the center of the user's body is less
than 15 cm (6 in).
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
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Do not leave a seat belt extender
connected to the buckle:
Leaving a seat belt extender connected to
the buckle without using the seat belt is
dangerous. When the seat belt extender is
connected to the driver's seat belt buckle
(or front passenger's seat belt buckle), the
SRS driver's (or front passenger's) air bag
system will determine that the driver (or
front passenger) is wearing the seat belt
even if the driver (or front passenger) is not
wearing it. This condition could cause the
driver's (or front passenger's) air bag to not
activate correctly and result in death or
serious injury in the event of collision.
Always wear the seat belt with the seat belt
extender.
Do not use the seat belt extender when
installing a child-restraint system on the
front or rear passenger seat:
Using a seat belt extender to fasten a
child-restraint system on any seat is
dangerous. Always follow the
child-restraint system manufacturer's
installation instructions and never use a
seat belt extender.
NOTE
When not in use, remove the seat belt
extender and store it in the vehicle. If the
seat belt extender is left connected, the
seat belt extender might get damaged as it
will not retract with the rest of the seat belt
and can easily fall out of the door when
not in use and be damaged. In addition,
the seat belt warning light will not
illuminate and function properly.
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
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Child-RestraintPrecautions
▼ Child-Restraint Precautions
Mazda strongly urges the use of
child-restraint system
s for children small
enough to use them.

You are required by law to use a
child-restraint system for children in the
U.S. and Canada.
Check your local and state or provincial
laws for specific requirements regarding
the safety of childr en riding in your
vehicle.

Whatever child-rest raint system you
consider, please pick the appropriate one
for the age and size of the child, obey the
law and follow the i nstructions that come
with the individual ch ild-restraint system.

A child who has outgrown child-restraint
systems should sit in the rear and use seat
belts, both lap an d shoulder. If the
shoulder belt crosses the neck or face,
move the child closer to the center of the
vehicle in the outboard seats, and towards
the buckle on the right if the child is
seated on the center seat.

Statistics confirm that the rear seat is the
best place for all children up to 12 years of
age, and more so with a supplemental
restraint system (air bags).

A rear-facing child-restraint system should
NEVER be used on the front seat with the
air bag system activated. The front
passenger's seat is also the least preferred
seat for other child-restraint systems.

(With Front Passenger Occupant
Classification System)
To reduce the chance of injuries caused by
deployment of the front passenger air bag,
the front passenger seat weight sensors
occupant classification sensor works as a
part of the supplementa l restraint system.
This system deactivates the front
passenger front and side air bags and knee
air bags, and also the front passenger seat
belt pretensioner system when the front
passenger air bag deactivation indicator
light illuminates.

When an infant or small child sits on the
front passenger seat, the system shuts off
the front passenger front and side air bags
and knee air bags, and seat belt
pretensioner system, so make sure the
front passenger air bag deactivation
indicator light illuminates.

Even if the front passenger air bag is shut
off, Mazda strongly recommends that
children be prope rly restrained and
child-restraint systems of all kinds are
properly secured on the rear seats which
are the best place for children.

For more details, refer to "Front passenger
seat weight sensors" (page 2-72).

Essential Safety Equipment
Child Restraint
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