Sa f e t y belts
Autom atic safet y belt retractors
Every safety be lt is equ ipped with an automatic
be lt retractor on the shoulder belt. This feature
locks the belt when the belt is pu lled out fast,
during hard braking and in an accident. The belt
may a lso lock when you drive up or down a steep
hill or through a sharp curve. During normal driv-
ing the belt lets you move freely.
Safety belt pret ensione rs
Safety belts with pretensioners he lp to tighten
the safety belt and remove slack when the pre-
tensioners are activated
c;, page 140 . The func-
tion of the pretensioner is monitored by a warn-
ing light
c;, page 16 .
Convertible locking retracto r
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped with a convertible locking retrac-
tor 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 177 .
.&_ WARNING
Improperly pos itioned safety be lts can cause
ser ious injury in an accident ¢
page 138,
Safety belt position.
- Safety belts offer optimum protection only
when the seatback is upright and belts are
properly positioned on the body.
- Always make sure that the rear seat bac k-
rest to which the center rea r safety be lt* is
attached is securely latched whenever the
rear center safety belt is being used. If the
backrest is not securely latched, the passen-
ger will move forward with the backrest dur-
ing sudden braking, in a sudden maneuver
and especially in a crash.
- Never attach the safety belt to the buckle
for another seat. Attaching the belt to the
wrong buckle will reduce safety belt effec-
t iveness and can cause serious person-al in-
jury.
- A passenger who is not proper ly restrained
can be seriously inj ured by the safety be lt it-
self when it
moves from the stronger parts
138
of the body into critical areas like the abdo-
men.
- Always lock the convertible locking retractor
when you are securing a child seat in the ve-
hicle
,=;,page 179 .
(D Tips
For information on safety belt pretensioners,
refer to
c;, page 140 .
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maxi-
mum protection from safety belts .
Fig. 14 7 Safety belt posit ion
Use the height adjustment to change the posit ion
of the shoulder belt of the front safety belts .
.&_ WARNING
Imp roperly positioned safety belts can cause
serio us pe rsonal injury in an accident.
- The shou lde r belt should lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possib le and
should fit well on the body. Hold the belt
above t he latch to ngue and pull it evenly
across the chest so t hat it sits as low as pos -
sible on the pe lvis and there is no pressure
on the abdomen. The belt should always f it
snug ly
c;, fig. 147. Pull on the belt to tighten
if necessary.
- A loose-fitting safety belt can cause serious
injuries by sh ifting its position on your body
from the strong bones to more vulnerable,
soft tissue and cause serious inj ury.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important informat ion
c;, page 136 .
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