To provide maxim um protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body.
... Adjust the front seat and head restra int
properly
c::> page 61, General recommenda-
tions .
... Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in an upright position and securely
latched in place before using the belt
c::> ,&..
... Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest and pelvis
c::> ,&..
... Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hea r it latch securely
c::> fig. 126.
... Pull on t he be lt to make sure that it is se-
curely latched in the buckle.
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped with an automat-
ic belt retractor on the shoulder belt. This fea-
ture locks the belt when the belt is pulled out
fast, dur ing hard braking and in an accident.
The belt may also lock when you drive up or
down a steep hill or through a sharp curve.
During normal driving the belt lets you move
freely.
Safety belt pretensioners
The safety belts are equipped with a belt pre-
tensioner that helps to tighten the safety belt
and remove slack when the pretensioner is ac-
tivated. The funct ion of the pretensioner is
monitored by a warning light
c::>page 16 .
Switchable locking feature
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped with a switchable locking fea-
ture that
must be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child safety seat. Be sure to
read the important information about this
feature
c::>page 152 .
A WARNING
Imprope rly positioned safety belts can
cause se rious injury in an accident
o::> page 117, Safety belt position.
- Safety belts offer optimum protect ion
only when the seatback is upright and
Safety belts 11 7
belts are properly positioned on the
body.
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to which the center rear safety
belt is attached is securely latched when-
ever the rear center safety belt is being
used. If the backrest is not securely
latched, the passenger will move for-
ward with the backrest during sudden
braking, in a sudden maneuver and espe-
cially in a crash .
- Never attach t he safety belt to the buck-
le for another seat . Atta ching the belt to
the wrong buckle will reduce safety belt
effectiveness and can cause ser ious per-
sonal injury.
- A passenger who is not proper ly restrain -
ed can be seriously injured by the safety
belt itself when it moves from the stron-
ger parts of the body into critical areas
like the abdomen.
- Always lock the convertible locking re-
tractor when you are securing a child
safety seat in the vehicle
c::>page 154.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting
maximum protection from safety belts.
Fig. 127 Head restra int and safety belt position as
seen from the side
ill
q
:r
...
CD
Standard features on your vehicle he lp you ad-
just the position of the safety belt to match
your body size.
- be lt height adjustment for the front seats,
- automatic belt height adjustment for the
rear seats .
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