2-5
Safety system of your vehicle
2
Safety Precautions
Adjusting the seats so that you are sit-
ting in a safe, comfortable position
plays an important role in driver and
passenger safety together with the
seat belts and air bags in an accident.
Air bags
You can take steps to reduce the risk
of being injured by an inflating air
bag. Sitting too close to an air bag
greatly increases the risk of injury in
the event the air bag inflates.
The National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) recommends
that drivers allow at least 10 inches
(25 cm) between the center of the
steering wheel and their chest.
Seat belts
Always fasten your seat belt before
starting any trip.
At all times, passengers should sit
upright and be properly restrained.
Infants and small children must be
restrained in appropriate child restraint
systems. Adults and children who
have outgrown a booster seat must be
restrained using the seat belts. Do not use a cushion that
reduces friction between the seat
and the passenger. The passen-
ger's hips may slide under the
lap portion of the seat belt during
an accident or a sudden stop.
Serious or fatal internal injuries
could result because the seat
belt cannot operate properly.
WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious
injury or death from an inflating
air bag, take the following pre-
cautions:
•Adjust the driver's seat as far to
the rear as possible while main-
taining the ability to maintain
full control of the vehicle.
•Adjust the front passenger seat
as far to the rear as possible.
•Hold the steering wheel by the
rim with hands at the 9 o'clock
and 3 o'clock positions to mini-
mize the risk of injuries to your
hands and arms.
•NEVER place anything or any-
one between the steering wheel
and the air bag.
•Do not allow the front passen-
ger to place feet or legs on the
dashboard to minimize the risk
of leg injuries.
WARNING
2-6
Safety system of your vehicle
Front Seats
Take the following precautions
when adjusting your seat belt:
•NEVER use one seat belt for
more than one occupant.
•Always position the seatback
upright with the lap portion of
the seat belt snug and low
across the hips.
•NEVER allow children or small
infants to ride on a passen-
ger's lap.
•Do not route the seat belt
across your neck, across sharp
edges, or reroute the shoulder
strap away from your body.
•Do not allow the seat belt to
become caught or jammed.
WARNING
Take the following precautions
when adjusting your seat:
•NEVER attempt to adjust the
seat while the vehicle is mov-
ing. The seat could respond
with unexpected movement
and may cause loss of vehicle
control resulting in an acci-
dent.
•Do not place anything under
the front seats. Loose objects
in the driver's foot area could
interfere with the operation of
the foot pedals, causing an
accident.
•Do not allow anything to inter-
fere with the normal position
and proper locking of the seat-
back.
•Do not place a cigarette lighter
on the floor or seat. When you
operate the seat, gas may exit
out of the lighter causing a fire.
WARNING
To prevent injury:
•Do not adjust your seat while
wearing your seat belt.
Moving the seat cushion for-
ward may cause strong pres-
sure on your abdomen.
•Do not allow your hands or
fingers to get caught in the
seat mechanisms while the
seat is moving.
CAUTION
•Use extreme caution when
picking up small objects
trapped under the seats or
between the seat and the cen-
ter console. Your hands might
be cut or injured by the sharp
edges of the seat mechanism.
2-26
Safety system of your vehicle
Rear Seat Belt – Passenger's 3-
point system with convertible
locking retractor
This type of seat belt combines the
features of both an emergency locking
retractor seat belt and an automatic
locking retractor seat belt. Convertible
retractor type seat belts are installed in
the rear seat positions to help accom-
modate the installation of child
restraint systems. Although a convert-
ible retractor is also installed in the
front passenger seat position, NEVER
place any infant/child restraint system
in the front seat of the vehicle.
To fasten your seat belt:
Pull the seat belt out of the retractor
and insert the metal tab into the buck-
le. There will be an audible "click"
when the tab locks into the buckle.
When not securing a child restraint,
the seat belt operates in the same way
as the driver's seat belt (Emergency
Locking Retractor Type). It automati-
cally adjusts to the proper length only
after the lap belt portion of the seat
belt is adjusted manually so that it fits
snugly across your hips.
When the seat belt is fully extended
from the retractor to allow the installa-
tion of a child restraint system, the
seat belt operation changes to allow
the belt to retract, but not to extend
(Automatic Locking Retractor Type).
Refer to the "Using a Child Restraint
System" section in this chapter.Although the seat belt retractor
provides the same level of protec-
tion for seated passengers in
either emergency or automatic
locking modes, the emergency
locking mode allows seated pas-
sengers to move freely in their
seat while keeping some tension
on the belt. During a collision or
sudden stop, the retractor auto-
matically locks the belt to help
restrain your body.
To deactivate the automatic lock-
ing mode, unbuckle the seat belt
and allow the belt to fully retract.
NOTICE
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 with
lap/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
2-43
Safety system of your vehicle
2
2. Fasten the lap/shoulder belt latch
into the buckle. Listen for the dis-
tinct "click" sound.
Information
Position the release button so that it is
easy to access in case of an emergency.3. Pull the shoulder portion of the seat
belt all the way out. When the shoul-
der portion of the seat belt is fully
extended, it will shift the retractor to
the "Automatic Locking" (child
restraint) mode.4. Slowly allow the shoulder portion of
the seat belt to retract and listen for
an audible "clicking" or "ratcheting"
sound. This indicates that the
retractor is in the "Automatic
Locking" mode. If no distinct sound
is heard, repeat steps 3 and 4.
i
OLMB033045OLMB033097OLMB033098
2-44
Safety system of your vehicle
5. Remove as much slack from the
belt as possible by pushing down
on the child restraint system while
feeding the shoulder belt back into
the retractor.
6. Push and pull on the child restraint
system to confirm that the seat
belt is holding it firmly in place. If it
is not, release the seat belt and
repeat steps 2 through 6.
7. Double check that the retractor is
in the "Automatic Locking" mode
by attempting to pull more of the
seat belt out of the retractor. If you
cannot, the retractor is in the
"Automatic Locking" mode.
If your CRS manufacturer instructs or
recommends you to use a tether
anchor with the lap/shoulder belt,
refer to the previous pages for more
information.When the seat belt is allowed to
retract to its fully stowed position,
the retractor will automatically
switch from the "Automatic
Locking" mode to the emergency
lock mode for normal adult usage.To remove the child restraint, press
the release button on the buckle and
then pull the lap/shoulder belt out of
the restraint and allow the seat belt
to retract fully.
NOTICE
If the retractor is not in the
"Automatic Locking" mode, the
child restraint can move when
your vehicle turns or stops sud-
denly. A child can be seriously
injured or killed if the child
restraint is not properly anchored
in the car, including manually
pulling the seat belt all the way
out to shift the rectractor to the
"Automatic Locking" mode.
WARNING
2-53
Safety system of your vehicle
2
You can take steps to help reduce
the risk of being injured by an inflat-
ing air bag. The greatest risk is sitting
too close to the air bag. An air bag
needs about 10 inches (25 cm) of
space to inflate. NHTSA recom-
mends that drivers allow at least 10
inches (25 cm) between the center of
the steering wheel and the chest.
When the SRSCM detects a suffi-
ciently severe impact to the front of
the vehicle, it will automatically
deploy the front air bags.
OHM039102N
■Driver's front air bag (1)
To reduce the risk of serious
injury or death from an inflating
air bag, take the following pre-
cautions:
•NEVER place a child restraint
in the front passenger seat.
Always properly restrain chil-
dren under age 13 in the rear
seats of the vehicle.
•Adjust the front passenger's
and driver's seats as far to the
rear as possible while allow-
ing you to maintain full con-
trol of the vehicle.
•Hold the steering wheel with
hands at the 9 o'clock and 3
o'clock positions.
•Never place anything or any-
one between the air bag and
the seat occupant.
•Do not allow the front passen-
ger to place their feet or legs
on the dashboard.
WARNING