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Why Seat Belts Work
When riding in a vehicle, you
travel as fast as the vehicle
does. If the vehicle stops
suddenly, you keep going until
something stops you. It could
be the windshield, the
instrument panel, or the seat
belts!
When you wear a seat belt,
you and the vehicle slow down
together. There is more time
to stop because you stop over
a longer distance and, when
worn properly, your strongest
bones take the forces fromthe seat belts. That is why
wearing seat belts makes such
good sense.
Questions and Answers
About Seat Belts
Q: Will I be trapped in the
vehicle after a crash if I am
wearing a seat belt?
A: You could be —whether you
are wearing a seat belt or
not. Your chance of being
conscious during and after a
crash, so you can unbuckle
and get out, is much greater
if you are belted.
Q: If my vehicle has airbags, why should I have to wear
seat belts?
A: Airbags are supplemental
systems only. They work
with seat belts —not
instead of them. Whether or
not an airbag is provided, all
occupants still have to
buckle up to get the most
protection. Also, in nearly all states and
in all Canadian provinces,
the law requires wearing
seat belts.
Buckle To Drive
If equipped, this feature delays
the vehicle from shifting out of
P (Park) when the driver seat
belt is not buckled. The Buckle
to Drive feature must be
turned ON in the infotainment
system to work. To turn the
Buckle to Drive feature on or
off, select Settings > Vehicle >
Buckle to Drive. See Teen
Driver
0219, if equipped.
If the vehicle is on and the
brake pedal is pressed with
the vehicle in P (Park) but the
driver seat belt is not buckled,
a message displays in the
Driver Information Center (DIC)
and the vehicle will be delayed
from shifting out of P (Park).
Buckle the driver seat belt to
clear the message and shift
out of P (Park). Shifting from
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P (Park) will be delayed once
for each time the vehicle is
started.
For some fleet vehicles, the
feature is always ON and
cannot be turned OFF in the
infotainment system. The
vehicle will be delayed from
shifting from P (Park) each
time the driver attempts to do
so while the driver seat belt is
not buckled. Turning the
vehicle off then on will not
change this condition.
On some models, Buckle to
Drive may also delay shifting
out of P (Park) if a front
passenger seat belt is
unbuckled. A message displays
in the DIC. Buckle the front
passenger seat belt to shift
out of P (Park). This feature
may delay the vehicle from
shifting out of P (Park) if an
object, such as a briefcase,
handbag, grocery bag, laptop,
or other electronic device, is
on the front passenger seat.If this happens, remove the
object from the seat or buckle
the seat belt to shift out of
P (Park).
If the driver, or on some
vehicles, the present front
passenger remains unbuckled,
the DIC message will turn off
after several seconds and the
vehicle can be shifted out of
P (Park). See
“Seat Belts”and
“Child Restraints” in the Index
for information about the
importance of proper
restraint use.
If the driver seat belt or the
front passenger seat belt is
unbuckled when driving, the
seat belt reminder chime and
light(s) will come on. See Seat
Belt Reminders 0122. This
feature may not function
properly if the airbag
readiness light is on. See
Airbag Readiness Light 0123.How to Wear Seat
Belts Properly
Follow these rules for
everyone's protection.
There are additional things to
know about seat belts and
children, including smaller
children and infants. If a child
will be riding in the vehicle, see
Older Children 079 or
Infants and Young Children
0 81. Review and follow the
rules for children in addition to
the following rules.
It is very important for all
occupants to buckle up.
Statistics show that unbelted
people are hurt more often in
crashes than those who are
wearing seat belts.
There are important things to
know about wearing a seat
belt properly.
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.Sit up straight and always
keep your feet on the floor in
front of you (if possible).
.Wear the lap part of the belt
low and snug on the hips,
just touching the thighs. In a
crash, this applies force to
the strong pelvic bones and
you would be less likely to
slide under the lap belt.
If you slid under it, the belt
would apply force on your
abdomen. This could cause
serious or even fatal injuries.
.Wear the shoulder belt over
the shoulder and across the
chest. These parts of thebody are best able to take
belt restraining forces. The
shoulder belt locks if there is
a sudden stop or crash.
{Warning
You can be seriously injured,
or even killed, by not
wearing your seat belt
properly.
Never allow the lap or
shoulder belt to become loose
or twisted.
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Never wear the shoulder belt
under both arms or behind
your back.
Always use the correct buckle
for your seating position.
Never route the lap or
shoulder belt over an armrest.
{Warning
The seat belt can be pinched
if it is routed under plastic
trim on the seat, such as
trim around the rear
seatback folding handle or
side airbag. In a crash,
pinched seat belts might not
provide adequate(Continued)
Warning (Continued)
protection. Never allow seat
belts to be routed under
plastic trim pieces.
{Warning
You can be seriously injured
or killed if the shoulder belt
is worn behind your back,
under your legs, or wrapped
around your neck. The
shoulder belt can tighten but
cannot be loosened if it is
locked. The shoulder belt
locks when it is pulled all the
way out of the retractor.
It unlocks when the shoulder
belt is allowed to go all the
way back into the retractor,
but it cannot do this if it is
wrapped around you. You
may have to cut the seat
belt if it is locked and
tightened around you.
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Lap-Shoulder Belt
All seating positions in the
vehicle have a
lap-shoulder belt.
If you are using a rear seating
position with a detachable
seat belt and the seat belt is
not attached, see Rear Seats
053 for instructions on
reconnecting the seat belt to
the mini-buckle.
The following instructions
explain how to wear a
lap-shoulder belt properly.
1. If the seat has a seat belt guide, the seat belt must
be routed through the
guide to properly position
the shoulder belt. If the
seat belt is not routed
through the guide, slide
the edge of the belt
webbing through the
opening on the guide. Be
sure the belt is not twisted. 2. Adjust the seat, if the seat
is adjustable, so you can sit
up straight. To see how,
see “Seats” in the Index.
3. Pick up the latch plate and
pull the belt across you. Do
not let it get twisted.
The lap-shoulder belt may
lock if you pull the belt
across you very quickly.
If this happens, let the belt
go back slightly to unlock
it. Then pull the belt across
you more slowly. If the shoulder portion of a
passenger belt is pulled
out all the way, the child
restraint locking feature
may be engaged. See Child
Restraint Systems
083.
If this occurs, let the belt
go back all the way and
start again. If the locking
feature stays engaged
after letting the belt go
back to stowed position on
the seat, move the seat
rearward or recline the
seat until the shoulder belt
retractor lock releases.
Engaging the child
restraint locking feature in
the front outboard seating
position may affect the
passenger sensing system.
See Passenger Sensing
System 072.
If the shoulder portion of
the driver belt is pulled out
all the way, the shoulder
belt retractor lock feature
may be engaged. If this
happens, let the belt go
back all the way and start
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again. If the locking feature
stays engaged after letting
the belt go back to stowed
position on the seat, move
the seat rearward or
recline the seat until the
shoulder belt retractor
lock releases.
4. Push the latch plate intothe buckle until it clicks.
Pull up on the latch plate
to make sure it is secure.
If the belt is not long
enough, see Seat Belt
Extender 064. Position the release button
on the buckle so that the
seat belt could be quickly
unbuckled if necessary.
5. If equipped with a shoulder belt height adjuster, move
it to the height that is right
for you. See “Shoulder Belt
Height Adjuster” later in
this section for
instructions on use and
important safety
information.
6. To make the lap part tight, pull up on the
shoulder belt. It may be necessary to pull
the webbing firmly,
through the adjustable
stop, or move the
adjustable stop along the
webbing toward the
outboard floor anchor, to
fully tighten the lap belt
across the lap.
To unlatch the belt, push the
button on the buckle. The belt
should return to its stowed
position.
Slide the adjustable stop along
the webbing toward the guide
loop when the seat belt is not
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in use to prevent the latch
plate from rattling against the
interior trim.
Always stow the seat belt
slowly. If the seat belt webbing
returns quickly to the stowed
position, the retractor may
lock and cannot be pulled out.
If this happens, pull the seat
belt straight out firmly to
unlock the webbing, and then
release it. If the webbing is still
locked in the retractor, see
your dealer.
Before a door is closed, be
sure the seat belt is out of the
way. If a door is slammed
against a seat belt, damage
can occur to both the seat
belt and the vehicle.
Shoulder Belt Height
Adjuster
The vehicle has a shoulder
belt height adjuster for the
driver and front outboard
passenger seating positions.Adjust the height so the
shoulder portion of the belt is
on the shoulder and not falling
off of it. The belt should be
close to, but not contacting,
the neck. Improper shoulder
belt height adjustment could
reduce the effectiveness of
the seat belt in a crash. See
How to Wear Seat Belts
Properly
057.Press the release button and
move the height adjuster to
the desired position. The
adjuster can be moved up by
pushing the slide/trim up.
After the adjuster is set to the desired position, try to move it
down without pressing the
release button to make sure it
has locked into position.
Automatic Seat Belt
Tightening System
The vehicle may have the
Automatic Seat Belt
Tightening System.
Each time the vehicle is
started with the front seat
belts buckled, the system
activates once to tighten the
seat belts when the forward
vehicle speed exceeds the
threshold for activation.
The system also activates
during emergency braking
and/or sudden driving
maneuvers and releases when
driving conditions return to
normal.
The system will not activate if
the Traction Control/
Electronic Stability Control
system is not functioning
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properly. See Traction
Control/Electronic Stability
Control0291. If there is a
problem with the Automatic
Seat Belt Tightening System, a
message displays on the
Driver Information Center
(DIC). If a system unavailable
message displays repeatedly
or if a service message
displays, see your dealer.
Other seat belt functions are
not affected by the Automatic
Seat Belt Tightening System.
Seat Belt Pretensioners
This vehicle has seat belt
pretensioners for the front
outboard occupants. Although
the seat belt pretensioners
cannot be seen, they are part
of the seat belt assembly.
They can help tighten the seat
belts during the early stages
of a moderate to severe
frontal, near frontal, or rear
crash if the threshold
conditions for pretensioner
activation are met. Seat belt pretensioners can also help
tighten the seat belts in a side
crash or a rollover event.
Pretensioners work only once.
If the pretensioners activate in
a crash, the pretensioners and
probably other parts of the
vehicle's seat belt system will
need to be replaced. See
Replacing Seat Belt System
Parts after a Crash
065.
Do not sit on the outboard
seat belt while entering or
exiting the vehicle or at any
time while sitting in the seat.
Sitting on the seat belt can
damage the webbing and
hardware.
Rear Seat Belt Comfort
Guides
Rear seat belt comfort guides
may provide added seat belt
comfort for older children who
have outgrown booster seats
and for some adults. When
installed on a shoulder belt, the comfort guide positions
the shoulder belt away from
the neck and head.
Comfort guides are available
through your dealer for the
rear outboard seating
positions. Instructions are
included with the guides.
Seat Belt Use During
Pregnancy
Seat belts work for everyone,
including pregnant women.
Like all occupants, they are
more likely to be seriously
injured if they do not wear
seat belts.