child restraint MAZDA MODEL 3 4-DOOR 2012 Owners Manual

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Table of Contents
Your Vehicle at a Glance
Interior, exterior views and part identification of your Mazda.1
Essential Safety Equipment
Use of safety equipment, including seats, seat belt system, child-restraint
systems and SRS air bags.2
Knowing Your Mazda
Explanation of basic operations and controls; opening/closing and adjustment
of various parts.3
Before Driving Your Mazda
Important information about driving your Mazda.4
Driving Your Mazda
Explanation of instruments and controls.5
Interior Comfort
Use of various features for drive comfort, including air-conditioning and audio
system.6
In Case of an Emergency
Helpful information on what to do in an emergency.7
Maintenance and Care
How to keep your Mazda in top condition.8
Customer Information
Important consumer information including warranties and add-on equipment.9
Specifications
Technical information about your Mazda.10
Index11

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2Essential Safety Equipment
Use of safety equipment, including seats, seat belt system, child-restraint
systems and SRS air bags.
Seats ............................................................................................... 2-2Front Seats (Manually Operated Seats) ..................................... 2-2
Front Seats (Electrically Operated Seats) .................................. 2-4
Rear Seat ................................................................................... 2-7
Head Restraints ....................................................................... 2-10
Seat Warmer
í......................................................................... 2-12
Seat Belt Systems ........................................................................ 2-14 Seat Belt Precautions .............................................................. 2-14
Seat Belt .................................................................................. 2-18
Front Seat Belt Pretensioner and Load Limiting Systems ....... 2-20
Seat Belt Extender ................................................................... 2-23
Seat Belt Warning Light .......................................................... 2-24
Seat Belt Reminder ................................................................. 2-25
Child Restraint ............................................................................ 2-26 Child Restraint Precautions ..................................................... 2-26
Child-Restraint System Installation Position .......................... 2-31
Installing Child-Restraint Systems .......................................... 2-32
LATCH Child-Restraint Systems ............................................ 2-39
SRS Air Bags ............................................................................... 2-44 Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) Precautions ................ 2-44
Supplemental Restraint System Components ......................... 2-49
How the SRS Air Bags Work .................................................. 2-50
SRS Air Bag Deployment Criteria .......................................... 2-54
Limitations to SRS Air Bag .................................................... 2-55
Driver and Front Passenger Occupant Classification
System
í.................................................................................. 2-57
Monitoring and Maintenance .................................................. 2-62
2-1íSome models.
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Rear Seat
WARNING
Do not stack cargo higher than the
seatbacks or place articles on the rear
package tray or on the luggage
compartment cover:Stacking luggage or other cargo
higher than the seatbacks, and
placing articles on the rear package
tray or on the luggage compartment
cover is dangerous. During sudden
braking or a collision, objects can fly
around and become projectiles that
may hit and injure passengers.
Make sure luggage and cargo are
secured before driving: Not securing cargo while driving is
dangerous as it could move or be
crushed during sudden braking or a
collision and cause injury.
Do not drive with the seatback
unlocked: All of the seatbacks play an
important role in your protection in a
vehicle. Leaving the seatback
unlocked is dangerous as it can allow
passengers to be ejected or thrown
around and baggage to strike
occupants in a sudden stop or
collision, resulting in severe injury.
After returning the seatback at any
time, even when there are no other
passengers, rock the seatback to
make sure it is locked in place. Never allow a passenger to sit or stand
on the folded seatback while the
vehicle is moving:
Driving with a passenger on the
folded seatback is dangerous.
Allowing a child to sit up on the
folded seatback while the vehicle is
moving is particularly dangerous. In
a sudden stop or even a minor
collision, a child not in a proper seat
or child-restraint system and seat
belt could be thrown forward, back
or even out of the vehicle resulting in
serious injuries or death. The child in
the baggage area could be thrown
into other occupants and cause
serious injury.
Never give the car keys to children and
do not allow them to play in the vehicle
(4 Door): Playing with the folding rear seats is
dangerous. The folding rear
seatbacks cannot be folded down
from inside the trunk. Once the
seatbacks are back up, a child in the
trunk would not be able to get out
the way they had entered. If you have
small children, keep the seatbacks
locked.
Essential Safety Equipment
Seats
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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.
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.
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Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
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qAutomatic Locking Mode
Always use the automatic locking mode to keep the child-restraint system from shifting to
an unsafe position in the event of an accident. To enable seat belt automatic locking mode,
pull it all the way out and connect it as instructed on the child-restraint system. It will
retract down to the child-restraint system and stay locked on it. See the section on child
restraint (page 2-26).
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) seat, 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.
Seat Belt Warning Light
With warning light for front
passenger's seat
The seat belt warning light illuminates if
the driver or front passenger's seat belt is
not fastened (only when the front
passenger seat is occupied) when the
ignition is switched ON.
Without warning light for front
passenger's seat
The seat belt warning light illuminates if
the driver's seat belt is not fastened when
the ignition is switched ON.
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Essential Safety Equipment
Seat Belt Systems
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Child Restraint Precautions
Mazda strongly urges the use of child-restraint systems for children small enough to use
them.
You are required by law to use a child-restraint system for children in the U.S. and Canada.
Check your local and state or provincial laws for specific requirements regarding the safety
of children riding in your vehicle.
Whatever child-restraint system you consider, please pick the appropriate one for the age
and size of the child, obey the law and follow the instructions that come with the individual
child-restraint system.
A child who has outgrown child-restraint systems should sit in the rear and use seat belts,
both lap and shoulder. If the shoulder belt crosses the neck or face, move the child closer to
the center of the vehicle in the outboard seats, and towards the buckle on the right if the
child is seated on the center seat.
Statistics confirm that the rear seat is the best place for all children up to 12 years of age,
and more so with a supplemental restraint system (air bags).
A rear-facing child-restraint system shouldNEVERbe used on the front seat with the air
bag system activated. The front passenger's seat is also the least preferred seat for other
child-restraint systems.
(With Driver and Front Passenger Occupant Classification System)
To reduce the chance of injuries caused by deployment of the front passenger air bag, the
front passenger seat weight sensors work as a part of the supplemental restraint system.
This system deactivates the front passenger front and side air bags and also the front
passenger seat belt pretensioner system when the front passenger air bag deactivation
indicator light illuminates.
When an infant or small child sits on the front passenger seat, the system shuts off the front
passenger front and side air bags and seat belt pretensioner system, so make sure the front
passenger air bag deactivation indicator light illuminates.
Even if the front passenger air bag is shut off, Mazda strongly recommends that children be
properly restrained and child-restraint systems of all kinds are properly secured on the rear
seats which are the best place for children.
For more details, refer to “Front passenger seat weight sensors ”(page 2-57).
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Essential Safety Equipment
Child Restraint
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WARNING
Use the correct size child-restraint system:For effective 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 latch it down to BOTH LATCH lower anchors
for LATCH child-restraint systems and the corresponding tether anchor.
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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Some vehicles with a front passenger air bag have a warning label attached as
shown below. 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.
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Essential Safety Equipment
Child Restraint
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Seating a child in a child-restraint system on the front passenger seat is dangerous
under certain conditions (With Driver and 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.
ØThe front passenger air bag deactivation indicator light does not illuminate when
seating a child in the child-restraint system.
Ø Luggage or other items are placed on the seat with the child in the child-restraint
system.
Ø A rear passenger or luggage pushing or pulling down on the front passenger
seatback.
Ø A rear passenger puts their feet on the front seat rails.
Ø Luggage or other items are placed on the seatback or hung on the head restraint.
Ø Heavy items are placed in the seatback map pocket.
Ø The seat is washed.
Ø Liquids are spilled on the seat.
Ø The front passenger seat is moved backward, pushing into luggage or other items
placed behind it.
Ø The front passenger seatback contacts the rear seat.
Ø Luggage or other items are placed between the front passenger seat and driver
seat.
Ø Any accessories, which might increase the total seated weight on the front
passenger seat, are attached to the front passenger seat.
The designated positions with seat belts on the rear seats are the safest places for
children. Always use seat belts and child restraints.
Do not allow a child or anyone to lean over or against the side window of a vehicle
with side and curtain air bags: It is dangerous to allow anyone to lean over or against the side window, the area of
the front passenger seat, the front and rear window pillars and the roof edge along
both sides from which the side and curtain air bags deploy, even if a child-restraint
system is used. The impact of inflation from a side or curtain air bag could cause
serious injury or death to an out of position child. Furthermore, leaning over or
against the front door could block the side and curtain air bags and eliminate the
advantages of supplemental protection. With the front air bag and the additional
side air bag that comes out of the front seat, the rear seat is always a better location
for children. Take special care not to allow a child to lean over or against the side
window, even if the child is seated in a child-restraint system.
Essential Safety Equipment
Child Restraint
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