2021 MAZDA MODEL 3 HATCHBACK ECU

Seat Precautions
▼Seat Precautions
WARNING
Make sure the adjustable components
of a seat are locked in place:
Adjustable seats and seatbacks that are
not securely locked are dangerous. In a
sudden stop or collision, the seat or
seatback could move, causing injury.
Make sure the adjustable components
of the seat are locked in place by
attempting to slide the seat forward
and backward and rocking the
seatback.
Never allow children to adjust a seat:
Allowing children to adjust a seat is
dangerous as it could result in serious
injury if a child's hands or feet become
caught in the seat.
Do not drive with the seatback
unlocked:
All of the seatbacks play an important
role in your protection in a vehicle.
Leaving the seatback unlocked is
dangerous as it can allow passengers
to be ejected or thrown around and
baggage to strike occupants in a
sudden stop or collision, resulting in
severe injury. After adjusting the
seatback at any time, even when there
are no other passengers, rock the
seatback to make sure it is locked in
place.
Adjust a seat only when the vehicle is
stopped:
If the seat is adjusted while the vehicle
is being driven, the seating posture
may become unstable and the seat
could move unexpectedly resulting in
injury.
Do not modify or replace the front
seats:
Modifying or replacing the front seats
such as replacing the upholstery or
loosening any bolts is dangerous. The
front seats contain air bag components
essential to the supplemental restraint
system. Such modi
fications could
damage the supplemental restraint
system and result in serious injury.
Consult an Authorized Mazda Dealer if
there is any need to remove or reinstall
the front seats.
Do not drive with damaged front
seats:
Driving with damaged front seats, such
as seat cushions torn or damaged
down to the urethane, is dangerous. A
collision, even one not strong enough
to in flate the air bags, could damage
the front seats which contain essential
air bag components. If there was a
subsequent collision, an air bag may
not deploy which could lead to
injuries. Always have an Authorized
Mazda Dealer inspect the front seats,
front seat belt pretensioners and air
bags after a collision.
Essential Safety Equipment
Seats
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Do not drive with either front seats
reclined:
Sitting in a reclined position while the
vehicle is moving is dangerous because
you do not get the full protection from
seat belts. During sudden braking or a
collision, you can slide under the lap
belt and suffer serious internal injuries.
For maximum protection, sit well back
and upright.
Do not place an object such as a
cushion between the seatback and
your back:
Putting an object such as a cushion
between the seatback and your back is
dangerous because you will be unable
to maintain a safe driving posture and
the seat belt cannot function at its full
capacity in a collision, which could
result in a serious accident, injury or
death.
Do not place objects under the seat:
The object could get stuck and cause
the seat to not be fixed securely, and
result in an accident.
Do not stack cargo higher than the
seatbacks:
Stacking luggage or other cargo higher
than the seatbacks is dangerous.
During sudden braking or a collision,
objects can fly around and become
projectiles that may hit and injure
passengers.
Make sure luggage and cargo is
secured before driving:
Not securing cargo while driving is
dangerous as it could move or be
crushed during sudden braking or a
collision and cause injury.
Additionally, if the air bags deploy, the
cargo may scatter which could result in
serious injury or death.Never allow a passenger to sit or
stand on the folded seatback while
the vehicle is moving:
Driving with a passe nger on the folded
seatback is dangerous. Allowing a child
to sit up on the folded seatback while
the vehicle is moving is particularly
dangerous. In a sudden stop or even a
minor collision, a child not in a proper
seat or child-restraint system and seat
belt could be thrown forward, back or
even out of the vehicle resulting in
serious injuries or death. The child in
the baggage area could be thrown into
other occupants and cause serious
injury.
Never give the car keys to children
and do not allow them to play in the
vehicle (4–Door):
Playing with the folding rear seats is
dangerous. Once the seatbacks are
back up, a child in the trunk would not
be able to get out the way they had
entered. If you have small children,
keep the seatbacks locked.
Always leave your car locked and
keep the car keys safely away from
children (4–Door):
Leaving your car unlocked or the keys
in reach of children is dangerous.
Children who find their way into the
trunk through an unlocked rear
seatback or an open trunk can become
accidentally locked in the trunk. This
could result in death or brain damage
from heat prostration, particularly in
the summer. Always lock the doors and
the trunk, and as an added measure,
keep the rear seatbacks locked,
whether you have children in your
home or not.
Essential Safety Equipment
Seats
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After adjusting the steering wheel
position, make sure it is securely
locked by trying to move it up and
down:
Driving with the steering wheel not
securely locked in position is
dangerous. If the steering wheel moves
unexpectedly while driving, you could
lose control of the steering resulting in
an accident.
Lower the lever, move the steering
wheel to the lowest position, and then
push it down and all the way back.
How to move a driver’s seat to its
default position
1. Slide the seat all the way back.
2. Lower the seat to its lowest height.
3. Lower the front edge of the seatbottom to its lowest height.
4. Sit squarely in the seat and rest your back against the seatback.
Seat adjustment procedure for the
driving position recommended by
Mazda
Adjusting the seatback angle
(reclining)
Adjust the seatback to the angle
providing a comfortable seated
posture.
1. With your posture slightly slouched,
move the seatback forward to the
angle where your waist feels slightly
cramped.
1. Manual Seat
2. Power Seat

2. Move the seatback backward to a comfortable seated posture without
Essential Safety Equipment
Seats
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Adjusting the height on the front edge
of the seat bottom
Adjust the height on the front edge of
the seat bottom to the position where
the back of your knees contacts the
front edge of the seat bottom.
1. With your right foot set on theaccelerator pedal, adjust the height
on the front edge of the seat
bottom so that the back of your
knees lightly contacts the front edge
of the seat bottom.
2. Depress the accelerator pedal and make sure that you no longer feel
cramping in the back of your knees.
1. Manual Seat
2. Power Seat

Adjusting the steering wheel position
Adjust the steering wheel to the
position where it can be operated
easily and the gauges can be viewed
easily.
1. With your back resting against theseatback, extend both arms, place
them on the top of the steering
wheel, and pull the steering wheel
towards you to the position of your
wrists.
2. Adjust the steering wheel height so
that the gauges can be viewed
easily.
3. Raise the lever to securely lock the steering wheel.
Adjusting the head restraint position
To prevent shock to the head and
neck, adjust the head restraints to their
correct positions.
Refer to Height Adjustment on page
2-17.
Essential Safety Equipment
Seats
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Rear Seat
▼Split Folding the Seatbacks
By lowering the rear seatbacks the
luggage compartment space can be
expanded.
WARNING
Do not drive the vehicle with
occupants on folded down seatbacks
or in the luggage compartment.
Putting occupants in the luggage
compartment is dangerous because
seat belts cannot be fastened which
could lead to serious injury or death
during sudden braking or a collision.
Do not allow children to play inside
the vehicle with the seatbacks
lowered.
Allowing children to play in the vehicle
with the seatbacks folded down is
dangerous. If a child enters the luggage
compartment and the seatbacks were
raised back up, the child may become
trapped in the luggage compartment
which could lead to an accident.
Tightly secure cargo in the luggage
compartment when it is transported
with the seatbacks folded down.
Driving without tightly securing cargo
and luggage is dangerous as it could
move and become an obstruction to
driving during emergency braking or a
collision resulting in an unexpected
accident.
When transporting cargo, do not
allow the cargo to exceed the height
of the seatbacks.
Transporting cargo stacked higher than
the seatbacks is dangerous as visibility
to the rear and sides of the vehicle is
reduced which could interfere with
driving operations and lead to an
accident.
Lowering the seatbacks
CAUTION

(5–Door)
When folding the seatback forward,
always support the seatback with
your hand. If it is not supported by a
hand, fingers or the hand pressing
the push knob could be injured.
 Check the position of a front seat
before folding a rear seatback.
Depending on the position of a front
seat, it may not be possible to fold a
rear seatback all the way down
because it may hit the seatback of
the front seat which could scratch or
damage the front seat or its pocket.
Lower or remove the head restraint
on the rear outboard seat if
necessary.
Essential Safety Equipment
Seats
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1. Make sure that the seat belt passesthrough the seat belt guide
correctly and it is not twisted, then
raise the seatback while preventing
the seat belt from being caught in
the seatback.
(4–Door)
1. Seat belt guides

(5–Door)
1. Red indication
2. Seat belt guide

2. Press the seatback rearward and
lock it in place. After returning the
seatback to its upright position,
make sure it is securely locked.
▼Armrest*
The rear armrest in the center of the
rear seatback can be used (no
Essential Safety Equipment
Seats
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Front seats

Rear outboard seats

Rear center seat

▼Removal/Installation
To remove the head restraint, pull it up
while pressing the stop-catch.
To install the head restraint, insert the
legs into the holes while pressing the
stop-catch.
WARNING
Always drive with the head restraints
installed when seats are being used
and make sure they are properly
installed:
Driving with the head restraints not
installed is dangerous. With no support
behind your head, your neck could be
seriously injured in a collision.
After installing a head restraint, try
lifting it to make sure that it does not
pull out:
Driving with an unsecured head
restraint is dangerous as the
e
ff ectiveness of the head restraint will
be compromised which could cause it
to unexpectedly detach from the seat.
Essential Safety Equipment
Seats
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Seat Belt Precautions
▼Seat Belt Precautions
Seat belts help to decrease the
possibility of severe injury during
accidents and sudden stops. Mazda
recommends that the driver and all
passengers always wear seat belts.

(Mexico)
All the seats have lap/shoulder belts.
These belts have retractors with inertia
locks that keep them out of the way
when not in use. The locks allow the
belts to remain comfortable on users,
but they will lock in position during a
collision.

(Except Mexico)
All of the seat belt retractors are
designed to keep the lap/shoulder
belts out of the way when not in use.
The driver's seat belt has no provisions
for child-restraint systems and has only
an emergency locking mode. The
driver may wear it comfortably, and it
will lock during a collision.
However, the front passenger's seat
and all rear lap/shoulder belt
retractors operate in two modes:
emergency locking mode, and for
child-restraint systems, automatic
locking mode. While we recommend
you put all children in the rear seats, if
you must use the front passenger seat
for a child, slide the front passenger
seat as far back as possible and make
sure any child-restraint system is
secured properly.
WARNING
Always wear your seat belt and make
sure all occupants are properly
restrained:
Not wearing a seat belt is extremely
dangerous. During a collision,
occupants not wearing seat belts could
hit someone or things inside the
vehicle or even be thrown out of the
vehicle. They could be seriously injured
or even killed. In the same collision,
occupants wearing seat belts would be
much safer.
Do not wear twisted seat belts:
Twisted seat belts are dangerous. In a
collision, the full width of the belt is
not available to absorb the impact.
This puts more force on the bones
beneath the belt, which could cause
serious injury or death. So, if your seat
belt is twisted, you must straighten the
seat belt to remove any twists and to
allow the full width of the belt to be
used.
Never use one seat belt on more than
one person at a time:
Using one seat belt for more than one
person at a time is dangerous. A seat
belt used in this way cannot spread the
impact forces properly and the two
passengers could be crushed together
and seriously injured or even killed.
Never use one belt for more than one
person at a time and always operate
the vehicle with each occupant
properly restrained.
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
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