
INSTALLING CHILD
RESTRAINTS
Child Seats
Use a child restraint (sometimes called aninfant carrier, convertible seat, or toddlerseat) for Infants, toddlers and childrenweighing 40 lb (18 kg) or less (generallyfour-years-old or younger).
Using Lap and Shoulder Belts
WARNING: Do not place arearward facing child restraint in front ofan active airbag. Failure to follow thisinstruction could result in personal injuryor death.
WARNING: Properly securechildren 12 years old and under in a rearseating position whenever possible. Ifyou are unable to properly secure allchildren in a rear seating position,properly secure the largest child on thefront seat. If you must use a forwardfacing child restraint on the front seat,move the seat as far back as possible.Failure to follow these instructions couldresult in personal injury or death.
WARNING: Depending on whereyou secure a child restraint, anddepending on the child restraint design,you may block access to certain seatbeltbuckle assemblies and LATCH loweranchors, rendering those featurespotentially unusable. To avoid risk ofinjury, make sure occupants only useseating positions where they are able tobe properly restrained.
When installing a child restraint withcombination lap and shoulder belts:
•Use the correct seatbelt buckle for thatseating position.
•Insert the belt tongue into the properbuckle until you hear a snap and feel itlatch. Make sure the tongue is securelyfastened in the buckle.
•Keep the buckle release buttonpointing up and away from the childrestraint, with the tongue between thechild restraint and the release button,to prevent accidental unbuckling.
•Place the vehicle seat in the uprightposition before you install the childrestraint.
•For second row seating positions,adjust the recliner slightly to improvechild restraint fit. If needed, remove thehead restraints.
•For third row seating positions, stowthe head restraints to improve childrestraint fit. See Head Restraints(page 144).
•Put the seatbelt in the automaticlocking mode. See Step 5 in theprocedure that follows. This vehicledoes not require the use of a lockingclip.
Perform the following steps wheninstalling the child restraint withcombination lap and shoulder belts:
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If the booster seat slides on the vehicleseat upon which it is being used, placing arubberized mesh sold as shelf or carpetliner under the booster seat may improvethis condition. Do not introduce any itemthicker than this under the booster seat.Check with the booster seatmanufacturer's instructions.
CHILD RESTRAINT
POSITIONING
WARNING: Do not place arearward facing child restraint in front ofan active airbag. Failure to follow thisinstruction could result in personal injuryor death.
WARNING: Properly securechildren 12 years old and under in a rearseating position whenever possible. Ifyou are unable to properly secure allchildren in a rear seating position,properly secure the largest child on thefront seat. If you must use a forwardfacing child restraint on the front seat,move the seat as far back as possible.Failure to follow these instructions couldresult in personal injury or death.
WARNING: Always carefully followthe instructions and warnings providedby the manufacturer of any childrestraint to determine if the restraintdevice is appropriate for your child's size,height, weight, or age. Follow the childrestraint manufacturer's instructions andwarnings provided for installation anduse in conjunction with the instructions
and warnings provided by your vehiclemanufacturer. A safety seat that isimproperly installed or utilized, isinappropriate for your child's height, age,or weight or does not properly fit thechild may increase the risk of seriousinjury or death.
WARNING: Do not allow apassenger to hold a child on their lapwhen your vehicle is moving. Failure tofollow this instruction could result inpersonal injury or death in the event of asudden stop or crash.
WARNING: Do not use pillows,books or towels to boost your child'sheight. Failure to follow this instructioncould result in personal injury or death.
WARNING: Properly secure childrestraints or booster seats when they arenot in use. They could become projectilesin a sudden stop or crash. Failure tofollow this instruction could result inpersonal injury or death.
WARNING: Do not put the shouldersection of the seatbelt or allow the childto put the shoulder section of theseatbelt under their arm or behind theirback. Failure to follow this instructioncould reduce the effectiveness of theseatbelt and increase the risk of injury ordeath in a crash.
WARNING: Do not leave childrenor pets unattended in your vehicle.Failure to follow this instruction couldresult in personal injury or death.
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PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
WARNING: Always drive and ridewith your seatback upright and the lapbelt snug and low across the hips.
WARNING: Children must alwaysbe properly restrained.
WARNING: Do not allow apassenger to hold a child on their lapwhen your vehicle is moving. Failure tofollow this instruction could result inpersonal injury or death in the event of asudden stop or crash.
WARNING: All occupants of yourvehicle, including the driver, shouldalways properly wear their seatbelts,even when an airbag supplementalrestraint system is provided. Failure toproperly wear your seatbelt couldseriously increase the risk of injury ordeath.
WARNING: It is extremelydangerous to ride in a cargo area, insideor outside of a vehicle. In a crash, peopleriding in these areas are more likely to beseriously injured or killed. Do not allowpeople to ride in any area of your vehiclethat is not equipped with seats andseatbelts. Make sure everyone in yourvehicle is in a seat and properly using aseatbelt. Failure to follow this warningcould result in serious personal injury ordeath.
WARNING: In a rollover crash, anunbelted person is significantly morelikely to die than a person wearing aseatbelt.
WARNING: Each seating positionin your vehicle has a specific seatbeltassembly made up of one buckle andone tongue designed to be used as a pair.Use the shoulder belt on the outsideshoulder only. Never wear the shoulderbelt under the arm. Never use a singleseatbelt for more than one person.
WARNING: Even with advancedrestraints systems, properly restrainchildren 12 and under in a rear seatingposition. Failure to follow this couldseriously increase the risk of injury ordeath.
WARNING: Seatbelts and seatsmay be hot in a vehicle that is in thesunshine. The hot seatbelts or seats mayburn a small child. Check seat covers andbuckles before you place a childanywhere near them.
All seating positions in your vehicle havelap and shoulder seatbelts. All occupantsof the vehicle should always properly weartheir seatbelts, even when an airbagsupplemental restraint system is provided.
The seatbelt system consists of:
•Lap and shoulder seatbelts.
•Shoulder seatbelt with automaticlocking mode, (except driver seatbelt).
•Height adjuster at the front outermostseating positions.
•Seatbelt pretensioners at the frontoutermost and second row outermostseating positions.
•Belt tension sensor at the frontoutermost passenger seating position.
•Seatbelt warning light and chime.
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•Crash sensors and monitoring systemwith readiness indicator.
The seatbelt pretensioners are designedto tighten the seatbelts when activated. Infrontal and near-frontal crashes, theseatbelt pretensioners may be activatedalone or, if the crash is of sufficient severity,together with the front airbags. Thepretensioners may also activate when aSafety Canopy airbag deploys.
FASTENING THE SEATBELTS
The front outboard and rear safetyrestraints in the vehicle are combinationlap and shoulder belts.
1.Insert the belt tongue into the properbuckle (the buckle closest to thedirection the tongue is coming from)until you hear a snap and feel it latch.Make sure that you securely fasten thetongue in the buckle.
2.To unfasten, press the release buttonand remove the tongue from thebuckle.
Using Seatbelts During Pregnancy
WARNING: Always ride and drivewith your seatback upright and properlyfasten your seatbelt. Fit the lap portionof the seatbelt snugly and low acrossthe hips. Position the shoulder portion ofthe seatbelt across your chest. Pregnantwomen must follow this practice. Seethe following figure.
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This system provides an improved overalllevel of frontal crash protection to frontseat occupants and is designed to helpfurther reduce the risk of airbag-relatedinjuries. The system analyzes differentoccupant conditions and crash severitybefore activating the appropriate safetydevices to help better protect occupantsin a variety of frontal crash situations.
Your vehicle's Personal Safety Systemconsists of:
•Driver and passenger dual-stage airbagsupplemental restraints.
•Front seat outermost seatbelts withpretensioners, energy managementretractors and seatbelt usage sensors.
•Front passenger sensing system.
•Passenger airbag off and on indicators.
•Front crash severity sensors.
•Restraints control module with impactand safing sensors.
•Restraint system warning light andtone.
•The electrical wiring for the airbags,crash sensors, seatbelt pretensioners,front seatbelt usage sensors, frontpassenger sensing system andindicator lights.
How Does the Personal SafetySystem Work?
The Personal Safety System can adapt thedeployment strategy of the safety devicesaccording to crash severity and occupantconditions. A collection of crash andoccupant sensors provides information tothe restraints control module. During acrash, the restraints control module maydeploy the seatbelt pretensioners, one orboth stages of the dual-stage airbagsbased on crash severity and occupantconditions.
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PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
WARNING: Airbags do not inflateslowly or gently, and the risk of injuryfrom a deploying airbag is the greatestclose to the trim covering the airbagmodule.
WARNING: All occupants of yourvehicle, including the driver, shouldalways properly wear their seatbelts,even when an airbag supplementalrestraint system is provided. Failure toproperly wear your seatbelt couldseriously increase the risk of injury ordeath.
WARNING: Even with advancedrestraints systems, properly restrainchildren 12 and under in a rear seatingposition. Failure to follow this couldseriously increase the risk of injury ordeath.
WARNING: Do not place your armson the airbag cover or through thesteering wheel. Failure to follow thisinstruction could result in personal injury.
WARNING: Keep the areas in frontof the airbags free from obstruction. Donot affix anything to or over the airbagcovers. Objects could become projectilesduring airbag deployment or in a suddenstop. Failure to follow this instructioncould result in personal injury or death.
WARNING: Airbags can kill or injurea child in a child restraint. Never place arear-facing child restraint in front of anactive airbag. If you must use aforward-facing child restraint in the frontseat, move the seat upon which the childrestraint is installed all the way back.
WARNING: Do not attempt toservice, repair, or modify thesupplementary restraint system orassociated components. Failure tofollow this instruction could result inpersonal injury or death.
WARNING: Several airbag systemcomponents get hot after inflation. Toreduce the risk of injury, do not touchthem after inflation.
WARNING: If a supplementaryrestraint system component hasdeployed, it will not function again. Havethe system and associated componentsinspected as soon as possible. Failure tofollow this instruction could result inpersonal injury or death.
The airbags are a supplemental restraintsystem and are designed to work with theseatbelts to help protect the driver andright front passenger from certain upperbody injuries. Airbags do not inflate slowly;there is a risk of injury from a deployingairbag.
Note:You will hear a loud bang and see acloud of harmless powdery residue if anairbag deploys. This is normal.
The airbags inflate and deflate rapidlyupon activation. After airbag deployment,it is normal to notice a smoke-like, powderyresidue or smell the burnt propellant. Thismay consist of cornstarch, talcum powder(to lubricate the bag) or sodiumcompounds (for example, baking soda)that result from the combustion processthat inflates the airbag. Small amounts ofsodium hydroxide may be present whichmay irritate the skin and eyes, but none ofthe residue is toxic.
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While the system is designed to helpreduce serious injuries, contact with adeploying airbag may also cause abrasionsor swelling. Temporary hearing loss is alsoa possibility as a result of the noiseassociated with a deploying airbag.Because airbags must inflate rapidly andwith considerable force, there is the risk ofdeath or serious injuries such as fractures,facial and eye injuries or internal injuries,particularly to occupants who are notproperly restrained or are otherwise out ofposition at the time of airbag deployment.Thus, it is extremely important thatoccupants be properly restrained as faraway from the airbag module as possiblewhile maintaining vehicle control.
Routine maintenance of the airbags is notrequired.
DRIVER AND PASSENGER
AIRBAGS
WARNING: Do not place your armson the airbag cover or through thesteering wheel. Failure to follow thisinstruction could result in personal injury.
WARNING: Keep the areas in frontof the airbags free from obstruction. Donot affix anything to or over the airbagcovers. Objects could become projectilesduring airbag deployment or in a suddenstop. Failure to follow this instructioncould result in personal injury or death.
WARNING: Airbags can kill or injurea child in a child restraint. Never place arear-facing child restraint in front of anactive airbag. If you must use aforward-facing child restraint in the frontseat, move the seat upon which the childrestraint is installed all the way back.
The driver and front passenger airbags willdeploy during significant frontal and nearfrontal crashes.
The driver and passenger front airbagsystem consists of:
•Driver and passenger airbag modules.
•Front passenger sensing system.
· Crash sensors and monitoringsystem with readiness indicator.See Crash Sensors and AirbagIndicator (page 52).
Proper Driver and Front PassengerSeating Adjustment
WARNING: National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)recommends a minimum distance of atleast 10 in (25 cm) between anoccupant's chest and the driver airbagmodule.
To properly position yourself away fromthe airbag:
•Move your seat to the rear as far as youcan while still reaching the pedalscomfortably.
•Recline the seat slightly (one or twodegrees) from the upright position.
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After all occupants have adjusted theirseats and put on seatbelts, it is veryimportant that they continue to sitproperly. A properly seated occupant sitsupright, leaning against the seatback, andcentered on the seat cushion, with theirfeet comfortably extended on the floor.Sitting improperly can increase the chanceof injury in a crash event. For example, ifan occupant slouches, lies down, turnssideways, sits forward, leans forward orsideways, or puts one or both feet up, thechance of injury during a crash is greatlyincreased.
Children and Airbags
WARNING: Airbags can kill or injurea child in a child restraint. Never place arear-facing child restraint in front of anactive airbag. If you must use aforward-facing child restraint in the frontseat, move the seat upon which the childrestraint is installed all the way back.
Children must always be properlyrestrained. Accident statistics suggest thatchildren are safer when properly restrainedin the rear seating positions than in thefront seating position. Failure to followthese instructions may increase the risk ofinjury in a crash.
FRONT PASSENGER SENSING
SYSTEM
WARNING: Even with advancedrestraints systems, properly restrainchildren 12 and under in a rear seatingposition. Failure to follow this couldseriously increase the risk of injury ordeath.
WARNING: Sitting improperly, outof position or with the seatback reclinedtoo far can take weight off the seatcushion and affect the decision of thepassenger sensing system, resulting inserious injury or death in the event of acrash. Always sit upright against yourseat back, with your feet on the floor.
WARNING: Any alteration ormodification to the front passenger seatmay affect the performance of the frontpassenger sensing system. This couldseriously increase the risk of injury ordeath.
This system works with sensors that arepart of the front passenger seat andseatbelt to detect the presence of aproperly-seated occupant and determineif the front passenger frontal airbag shouldbe enabled (may inflate) or not.
The front passenger sensing system usesa passenger airbag status indicator thatilluminates indicating that the frontpassenger frontal airbag is either on(enabled) or off (disabled).
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