warning MAZDA MODEL 3 HATCHBACK 2021 User Guide

Seat Belt Precautions
▼Seat Belt Precautions
Seat belts help to decrease the
possibility of severe injury during
accidents and sudden stops. Mazda
recommends that the driver and all
passengers always wear seat belts.

(Mexico)
All the seats have lap/shoulder belts.
These belts have retractors with inertia
locks that keep them out of the way
when not in use. The locks allow the
belts to remain comfortable on users,
but they will lock in position during a
collision.

(Except Mexico)
All of the seat belt retractors are
designed to keep the lap/shoulder
belts out of the way when not in use.
The driver's seat belt has no provisions
for child-restraint systems and has only
an emergency locking mode. The
driver may wear it comfortably, and it
will lock during a collision.
However, the front passenger's seat
and all rear lap/shoulder belt
retractors operate in two modes:
emergency locking mode, and for
child-restraint systems, automatic
locking mode. While we recommend
you put all children in the rear seats, if
you must use the front passenger seat
for a child, slide the front passenger
seat as far back as possible and make
sure any child-restraint system is
secured properly.
WARNING
Always wear your seat belt and make
sure all occupants are properly
restrained:
Not wearing a seat belt is extremely
dangerous. During a collision,
occupants not wearing seat belts could
hit someone or things inside the
vehicle or even be thrown out of the
vehicle. They could be seriously injured
or even killed. In the same collision,
occupants wearing seat belts would be
much safer.
Do not wear twisted seat belts:
Twisted seat belts are dangerous. In a
collision, the full width of the belt is
not available to absorb the impact.
This puts more force on the bones
beneath the belt, which could cause
serious injury or death. So, if your seat
belt is twisted, you must straighten the
seat belt to remove any twists and to
allow the full width of the belt to be
used.
Never use one seat belt on more than
one person at a time:
Using one seat belt for more than one
person at a time is dangerous. A seat
belt used in this way cannot spread the
impact forces properly and the two
passengers could be crushed together
and seriously injured or even killed.
Never use one belt for more than one
person at a time and always operate
the vehicle with each occupant
properly restrained.
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
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▼Front Shoulder Belt Adjuster
The front seat belts have a front
shoulder belt adjuster. If the seat belt
contacts your neck or it slips o
ff the
shoulder, adjust the seat belt height.
To ra i s e
To heighten the seat belt, move the
front shoulder belt adjuster upward.
To l o w e r
To lower the seat belt, hold the front
shoulder belt adjuster and lower the
seat belt with the knob of the front
shoulder belt adjuster pressed.

After adjusting , press the front
shoulder belt adjuster downward and
make sure that it is securely locked.
Seat Belt Warning
Systems
▼Seat Belt Warning Systems
If it detects that the occupant seat belt
is unfastened, the warning light or
beep alerts the occupant.
Refer to Seat Belt Warning Indication/
Warning Light (Front seat) on page
7-36.
Refer to Seat Belt Warning Light (Rear
seat) (Red) on page 7-36.
Refer to Seat Belt Warning Beep on
page 7-42.

Seat belt indicator light (rear seat)
(green)
The light turns on when the rear seat
belt is fastened while the ignition is
switched ON, and it turns o
ff after a
certain period.
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
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Front Seat Belt
Pretensioner and Load Limiting Systems
▼Front Seat Belt Pretensioner and
Load Limiting Systems
For optimum protection, the driver and
front passenger seat belts are
equipped with pretensioner and load
limiting systems. For both these
systems to work properly you must
wear the seat belt properly.

Pretensioners:
When a collision is detected, the
pretensioners deploy simultaneously
with the air bags.
For vehicles with the front passenger
occupant classification system, the
pretensioners deploy simultaneously
with the air bags when a roll-over is
also detected.
For deployment details, refer to the
SRS Air Bag Deployment Criteria (page
2-67).

The seat belt retractors remove slack
quickly as the air bags are expanding.
Any time the air bags and seat belt
pretensioners have
fired they must be
replaced.
A system malfunction or operation
conditions are indicated by a warning.
Refer to Air Bag/Front Seat Belt
Pretensioner System Warning
Indication/Warning Light on page
7-32.
(With Front Passenger Occupant
Classi fication System)
In addition, the pretensioner system
for the front passenger, like the front
and side passenger air bag , is designed
to only deploy in accordance with the
total seated weight on the front
passenger seat.
For details, refer to the front passenger
seat weight sensors (page 2-71).

Load limiter:
The load limiting system releases belt
webbing in a controlled manner to
reduce belt force on the occupant's
chest. While the most severe load on a
seat belt occurs in frontal collisions,
the load limiter has an automatic
mechanical function and can activate
in any accident mode with su fficient
occupant movement.
Even if the pretensioners have not
fired, the load limiting function must
be checked by an Authorized Mazda
Dealer.
WARNING
Wear seat belts only as recommended
in this owner's manual:
Incorrect positioning of the seat belts is
dangerous. Without proper
positioning, the pretensioner and load
limiting systems cannot provide
adequate protection in an accident
and this could result in serious injury.
For more details about wearing seat
belts, refer to "Fastening the Seat Belt"
(page 2-26).
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
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Seat Belt Extender
▼Seat Belt Extender
If your seat belt is not long enough,
even when fully extended, a seat belt
extender may be available to you at no
charge from your Authorized Mazda
Dealer.
This extender will be only for you and
for the particular vehicle and seat. Even
if it plugs into othe
r seat belts, it may
not hold in the critical moment of a
crash.
When ordering an extender, only order
one that provides the necessary
additional length to fasten the seat belt
properly. Please contact your
Authorized Mazda Dealer for more
information.
WARNING
Do not use a seat belt extender unless
it is necessary:
Using a seat belt extender when not
necessary is dangerous. The seat belt
will be too long and not fit properly. In
an accident, the seat belt will not
provide adequate protection and you
could be seriously injured. Only use
the extender when it is required to
fasten the seat belt properly.
Do not use an improper extender:
Using a seat belt extender that is for
another person or a di fferent vehicle or
seat is dangerous. The seat belt will not
provide adequate protection and the
user could be seriously injured in an
accident. Only use the extender
provided for you and for the particular
vehicle and seat. NEVER use the
extender in a di fferent vehicle or seat.
If you sell your Mazda, do not leave
your seat belt extender in the vehicle.
It could be used accidentally by the
new owner of the vehicle. After
removing the seat belt extender,
discard it. Never use the seat belt
extender in any other vehicle you may
own in the future.
Do not use an extender that is too
long:
Using an extender that is too long is
dangerous. The seat belt will not fit
properly. In an accident, the seat belt
will not provide adequate protection
and you could be seriously injured. Do
not use the extender or choose one
shorter in length if the distance
between the extender's buckle and the
center of the user's body is less than
15 cm (6 in).
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
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Do not leave a seat belt extender
connected to the buckle:
Leaving a seat belt extender connected
to the buckle without using the seat
belt is dangerous. When the seat belt
extender is connected to the driver's
seat belt buckle (or front passenger's
seat belt buckle), the SRS driver's (or
front passenger's) air bag system will
determine that the driver (or front
passenger) is wearing the seat belt
even if the driver (or front passenger) is
not wearing it. This condition could
cause the driver's (or front
passenger's) air bag to not activate
correctly and result in death or serious
injury in the event of collision. Always
wear the seat belt with the seat belt
extender.
Do not use the seat belt extender
when installing a child-restraint
system on the front or rear passenger
seat:
Using a seat belt extender to fasten a
child-restraint system on any seat is
dangerous. Always follow the
child-restraint system manufacturer's
installation instructions and never use
a seat belt extender.
NOTE
When not in use, remove the seat belt
extender and store it in the vehicle. If
the seat belt extender is left
connected, the seat belt extender
might get damaged as it will not retract
with the rest of the seat belt and can
easily fall out of the door when not in
use and be damaged. In addition, the
seat belt warning light will not
illuminate and function properly.
Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
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WARNING
Use the correct size child-restraint
system:
For eff ective protection in vehicle
accidents and sudden stops, a child
must be properly restrained using a
seat belt or child-restraint system
depending on age and size. If not, the
child could be seriously injured or even
killed in an accident.
Follow the manufacturer's
instructions and always keep the
child-restraint system buckled down:
An unsecured child-restraint system is
dangerous. In a sudden stop or a
collision it could move causing serious
injury or death to the child or other
occupants. Make sure any
child-restraint system is properly
secured in place according to the
child-restraint system manufacturer's
instructions. When not in use, remove
it from the vehicle or fasten it with a
seat belt, or attach it to BOTH ISOFIX/
LATCH
*1 lower anchors for ISOFIX/
LATCH*1 child-restraint systems and
the corresponding tether anchor.
*1 ISOFIX (Mexico)/LATCH (Except Mexico)
Always secure a child in a proper
child-restraint system:
Holding a child in your arms while the
vehicle is moving is extremely
dangerous. No matter how strong the
person may be, he or she cannot hold
onto a child in a sudden stop or
collision and it could result in serious
injury or death to the child or other
occupants. Even in a moderate
accident, the child may be exposed to
air bag forces that could result in
serious injury or death to the child, or
the child may be slammed into an
adult, causing injury to both child and
adult.
Never use a rear-facing child-restraint
system in the front seat with an air
bag that could deploy:
Rear-facing child-restraint systems on
the front seat are particularly
dangerous even though you may feel
assured that a front passenger air bag
will not deploy based on the fact that
the front passenger air bag
deactivation indicator light illuminates.
The child-restraint system can be hit by
a deploying air bag and moved
violently backward resulting in serious
injury or death to the child.
Essential Safety Equipment
Child Restraint
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(Mexico)
NEVER use a rearward facing child
restraint on a seat protected by an
ACTIVE AIRBAG in front of it, DEATH
or SERIOUS INJURY to the CHILD can
occur.
Vehicles with a front passenger air bag
have the following warning label. The
warning label reminds you not to put a
rear-facing child-restraint system on
the front passenger seat at any time.

(Except Mexico)
Vehicles with a front passenger air bag
have the following warning label. The
warning label reminds you not to put a
rear-facing child-restraint system on
the front passenger seat at any time.
Do not install a front-facing
child-restraint system on the front
passenger seat unless it is
unavoidable:
In a collision, the force of a deploying
air bag could cause serious injury or
death to the child. If installing a
front-facing child-restraint system on
the front passenger seat is
unavoidable, move the front passenger
seat as far back as possible.
Seating a child in a child-restraint
system on the front passenger seat is
dangerous under certain conditions
(With Front Passenger Occupant
Classification System):
Your vehicle is equipped with front
passenger seat weight sensors. Even
with the front passenger seat weight
sensors, if you must use the front
passenger seat to seat a child, using a
child-restraint system on the front
passenger seat under the following
conditions increases the danger of the
front passenger air bag deploying and
could result in serious injury or death
to the child.
Essential Safety Equipment
Child Restraint
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Installing Child-RestraintSystems
▼Installing Child-Restraint Systems
Accident statistics reveal that a child is
safer in the rear seat. The front
passenger's seat is clearly the worst
choice for any child under 12, and
with rear-facing child-restraint systems
it is clearly unsafe due to air bags.

NOTE
Even if your vehicle is equipped with
front passenger occupant classi
fication
sensor (page 2-71), which
automatically deactivates the front
passenger air bag , a rear seat is the
safest place for a child of any age or
size.

Some child-restraint systems now
come with tethers and therefore must
be installed on the seats that take
tethers to be e ffective. In your Mazda,
tethered child-restraint systems can
only be accommodated in the three
positions on the rear seat.

Some child-restraint systems also
employ specially designed ISOFIX/
LATCH
*1 attachments; refer to "Using
ISOFIX Lower Anchor (Mexico)/Using
LATCH Lower Anchor (Except
Mexico)" (page 2-50).
*1 ISOFIX (Mexico)/LATCH (Except Mexico)
WARNING
Tethered Child-Restraint Systems
Work Only on Tether-Equipped Rear
Seats:
Installation of a tether equipped
child-restraint system in the front
passenger's seat defeats the safety
design of the system and will result in
an increased chance of serious injury if
the child-restraint system goes forward
without benefit of being tethered.
Place tether equipped child-restraint
systems where there are tether
anchors.
▼ Anchor Bracket
Anchor brackets for securing
child-restraint systems are equipped in
the vehicle. Locate each anchor
position using the illustration.
To install a child-restraint system,
remove the head restraint. Always
follow the instruction manual
accompanying the child-restraint
system.

Anchor bracket location
Use the indicated anchor bracket
locations when installing a
child-restraint system equipped with a
tether.
(4–Door)
1. For right
2. For center (Except Mexico)
3. For left
Essential Safety Equipment
Child Restraint
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4. Anchor bracket

(5–Door)

1. For right
2. For center (Except Mexico)
3. For left

WARNING
Always attach the tether strap to the
correct tether anchor position:
Attaching the tether strap to the
incorrect tether anchor position is
dangerous. In a collision, the tether
strap could come off and loosen the
child-restraint system. If the
child-restraint system moves it could
result in death or injury to the child.
Always remove the head restraint and
install child-restraint system:
Installing a child-restraint system
without removing the head restraint is
dangerous. The child-restraint system
cannot be installed correctly which
may result in death or injury to the
child in a collision.
(4–Door)
1. Tether strap
2. Anchor bracket

Essential Safety Equipment
Child Restraint
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4. To get the retractor into theautomatic locking mode, pull the
shoulder belt portion of the seat
belt until the entire length of the
belt is out of the retractor.
5. Push the child-restraint system
firmly into the vehicle seat. Be sure
the belt retracts as snugly as
possible. A clicking noise from the
retractor will be heard during
retraction if the system is in the
automatic locking mode. If the belt
does not lock the seat down tight,
repeat this step.
NOTE
Inspect this function before each
use of the child-restraint system.
You should not be able to pull the
shoulder belt out of the retractor
while the system is in the
automatic locking mode. When
you remove the child-restraint
system, be sure the belt fully
retracts to return the system to
emergency locking mode before
occupants use the seat belts.
6. If your child-restraint system requires the use of a tether strap,
refer to the manufacturer's
instructions to hook and tighten the
tether strap.
WARNING

Use the tether and tether anchor only
for a child-restraint system:
Using the tether or tether anchor to
secure anything but a child-restraint
system is dangerous. This could
weaken or damage the tether or tether
anchor and result in injury.
Always remove the head restraint and
install child-restraint system (except
when installing a backless booster
seat):
Installing a child-restraint system
without removing the head restraint is
dangerous. The child-restraint system
cannot be installed correctly which
may result in death or injury to the
child in a collision.
Essential Safety Equipment
Child Restraint
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