142 S a fet y belt s
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer 's body .
.,. Adjust the front seat and head restr aint
properly ¢
page 52, General recommenda-
tions.
.,. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in an upright pos ition and securely
latched in place before using the belt¢ .&, .
.,. Hold the be lt by the tongue and pull it even -
ly across the chest and pelvis ¢ .&, .
.,. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hea r it latc h securely
¢ fig. 152.
.,. Pull on the belt 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 be lt. This fea-
ture locks the be lt whe n the belt is pulled out
fast, during 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 be lt pre-
tensioner that helps to tighten the safety belt
and remove s lack when the pretensioner is ac-
tivated ¢
page 145 . The function of the pre-
tensioner is moni t ored by a warning light
¢ page 19 .
Switchable locking feature
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is eq uipped with a switchable locking fea -
ture that
must be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child seat. Be sure to read the
important information about this feature
¢ page 184 .
.,& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious injury in an accident
¢ page 142, Safety belt position.
- Safety belts offer optimum protection
only when the seatback is upright and
belts are properly posit ioned on the
body .
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to which the center rear safety
belt* is attached is securely latched
wheneve r the rea r center safety belt is
being used.
If the backrest is not secu re-
ly latched, the passenger will move for-
ward with the back rest dur ing sudden
brak ing, in a sudden maneuver and espe-
cially in a crash.
- Never at t ach the safety belt to the buck-
le for another seat. Attaching the belt to
the wrong buckle will reduce safety be lt
effectiveness and can cause serious 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
seat in the veh icle ¢
page 186.
(D Tips
For information on safety belt pretension-
ers, refer to¢
page 145 .
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting
maximum protection from safety belts.
Fig. 153 Safety belt pos it ion
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