seats MAZDA MODEL B4000 2003 User Guide

WARNING: An air bag can kill or injure a child in a child seat.
Child seats should never be placed in the front seats, unless
passenger air bag switch is turned off. SeePassenger air bag
on/off switch in this chapter.
WARNING: Rear facing child seats should NEVER be placed in
the front seats unless the passenger airbag switch is turned off.
WARNING: Booster seats must be installed only in seating
positions equipped with a combination lap/shoulder belt.
WARNING: To reduce the risk of injury, make sure children sit
where they can be properly restrained.
How does the air bag supplemental restraint system work?
The air bag SRS is designed to
activate when the vehicle sustains
sufficient longitudinal deceleration.
The fact that the air bags did not
inflate in a collision does not mean
that something is wrong with the
system. Rather, it means the forces
were not of the type sufficient to
cause activation. Air bags are
designed to inflate in frontal and
near-frontal collisions, not rollover,
side-impact, or rear-impacts.
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WARNING: You must turn the passenger air bag Off if you have
a rear facing child seat in the front seat of the pickup (the
center lapbelt on front split seats or the center facing rear
seats do not accommodate child seats). Statistics show that
children under 12 are more likely to suffer minor injuries in the
front passenger seats than adults. If you must have a child in
the front passenger seat, place the largest child in the front
seat, make sure that the child is belted, the vehicle seat is all
the way back, and the passenger airbag is turned OFF. The front
seat center lap belt and the center facing rear seats do not
accommodate child seats; therefore, you may not be able to put
a larger child in the front passenger seat if a child seat is
involved.
WARNING: If the OFF light fails to illuminate when the
passenger air bag switch is in the OFF position and the ignition
switch is in ON, have the passenger air bag switch serviced at
you authorized Mazda dealership.
WARNING: In order to avoid inadvertent activation of the
switch, always remove the ignition key from the passenger air
bag ON/OFF switch.
Turning the passenger air bag back on
The passenger air bag remains OFF until you turn it back ON. 1. Insert the ignition key and turn the switch to ON.
2. The OFF light will briefly illuminate when the ignition is
turned to ON. This indicates
that the passenger air bag is
operational.
ON OFF
OFF
PASSENGER AIRBAG
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WARNING: If the light is illuminated when the passenger air
bag ON/OFF switch is in the ON position and the ignition switch
is ON, have the passenger air bag ON/OFF switch serviced at
your authorized Mazda dealership immediately.
The passenger side air bag should always be ON (the air bag OFF light
should notbe illuminated) except for certain vulnerable persons. See
guidance on following pages.
WARNING: The safety belts for the driver and right front
passenger seating positions have been specifically designed to
function together with the air bags in certain types of crashes.
When you turn OFF your air bag, you not only lose the
protection of the air bag, you also may reduce the effectiveness
of your safety belt system, which was designed to work with the
air bag. Most vehicles with full back seats do not have cut-off
switches, but NHTSA and Transport Canada will allow a cut-off
switch to be installed on request for a certain category of
persons who must ride up front and there is a concern about
riding there. Please see the guidance below.
WARNING: Always use safety belts and child restraints
properly. If a child in a rear facing infant seat must be
transported in front, the passenger air bag mustbe turned OFF.
This is because the back of the infant seat is too close to the
inflating air bag and the risk of a fatal injury to the infant when
the air bag inflates is substantial.
The vast majority of drivers and passengers over the age of 12 years are
much safer with an air bag than without. To do their job and reduce the
risk of life threatening injuries, air bags must open with great force, and
this force can pose a potentially deadly risk in some situations,
particularly when a front seat occupant is not properly buckled up. The
most effective way to reduce the risk of unnecessary air bag injuries
without reducing the overall safety of the vehicle is to make sure all
occupants are properly restrained in the vehicle, especially in the front
seat. This provides the protection of safety belts and permits the air bags
to provide the additional protection they were designed to provide. If
you choose to deactivate your air bag, you are losing the very significant
risk reducing benefits of the air bag and you are also reducing the
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WARNING: An air bag can kill or injure a child in a child seat.
Child seats should never be placed in the front seats, unless
passenger air bag switch is turned off, SeePassenger air bag
on/off switch.
WARNING: Rear facing child seats should NEVER be placed in
the front seats unless the passenger airbag switch is turned off.
Also, slide the front seat forward until the rear facing child seat
contacts the dash board for maximum support. (All other
children and forward facing child seats and booster seats should
be on front seats that are slid back as far away as possible from
the dashboard.
WARNING: Do not install a child seat in a center facing jump
seat.
Children and safety belts
If the child is the proper size, restrain the child in a safety seat.
Children who are too large for child safety seats (as specified by your
child safety seat manufacturer) should always wear safety belts.
Follow all the important safety restraint and air bag precautions that
apply to adult passengers in your vehicle.
If the shoulder belt portion of a combination lap and shoulder belt can
be positioned so it does not cross or rest in front of the child’s face or
neck, the child should wear the lap and shoulder belt. Moving the child
closer to the center of the vehicle may help provide a good shoulder belt
fit. WARNING: Do not leave children, unreliable adults, or pets
unattended in your vehicle.
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WARNING: Placing a child, 12 years or younger, in the front
seat is dangerous. The child could be hit by a deploying air bag
and be seriously injured or even killed. Never place a child
safety seat in a center facing rear jump seat. If you must place
a child safety seat in a front seating position, make sure the
passenger airbag is turned off. SeeTurning the airbag Offin
this section. Never use a rear-facing child restraint system in
the front seat with an air bag that could deploy.
Child booster seats
Children outgrow a typical convertible or toddler seat when they weigh
40 pounds and are around 4 years of age. Although the lap/shoulder belt
will provide some protection, these children are still too small for
lap/shoulder belts to fit properly, which could increase the risk of serious
injury.
To improve the fit of both the lap and shoulder belt on children who
have outgrown child safety seats, Mazda recommends use of a
belt-positioning booster.
Booster seats position a child so that safety belts fit better. They lift the
child up so that the lap belt rests low across the hips and the knees
bend comfortably. Booster seats also make the shoulder belt fit better
and more comfortably for growing children.
When children should use booster seats
Children need to use booster seats from the time they outgrow the
toddler seat until they are big enough for the vehicle seat and
lap/shoulder belt to fit properly. Generally this is when they weigh about
80 lbs (about 8 to 12 years old).
Booster seats should be used until you can answer YES to ALL of these
questions:
• Can the child sit all the way back
against the vehicle seat back with
knees bent comfortably at the
edge of the seat without
slouching?
• Does the lap belt rest low across the hips?
• Is the shoulder belt centered on the shoulder and chest?
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•Can the child stay seated like this for the whole trip?
WARNING: Booster seats must be installed only in seating
positions equipped with a combination lap/shoulder belt.
Types of booster seats
There are two types of belt-positioning booster seats:
• Those that are backless.
If your backless booster seat has a
removable shield, remove the
shield and use the lap/shoulder
belt. If a seating position has a
low seat back and no head
restraint, a backless booster seat
may place your child’s head (top
of ear level) above the top of the
seat. In this case, use a
high-backed booster seat.
• Those with a high back.
If, with a backless booster seat,
you cannot find a seating position
that adequately supports your
child’s head, a high back booster
seat would be a better choice.
Both can be used in any vehicle in a seating position equipped with
lap/shoulder belts if your child is over 40 lbs.
The shoulder belt should cross the chest, resting snugly on the center of
the shoulder. The lap belt should rest low and snug across the hips,
never up high across the stomach.
If the booster seat slides on the vehicle seat, placing a rubberized mesh
sold as shelf or carpet liner under the booster seat may improve this
condition.
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The importance of shoulder belts
Using a booster without a shoulder belt increases the risk of a child’s
head hitting a hard surface in a collision. For this reason, you should
never use a booster seat with a lap belt only. It is best to use a booster
seat with combination lap/shoulder belts.WARNING: Follow all instructions provided by the
manufacturer of the booster seat.
WARNING: Never put the shoulder belt under a child’s arm or
behind the back because it eliminates the protection for the
upper part of the body and may increase the risk of injury or
death in a collision.
WARNING: Never use pillows, books, or towels to boost a
child. They can slide around and increase the likelihood of
injury or death in a collision.
SAFETY SEATS FOR CHILDREN
Child and infant or child safety seats
Use a safety seat that is recommended for the size and weight of the
child. Carefully follow all of the manufacturer’s instructions with the
safety seat you put in your vehicle. If you do not install and use the
safety seat properly, the child may be injured in a sudden stop or
collision.
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When installing a child safety seat:
•Review and follow the information
presented in the Air Bag
Supplemental Restraint System
section in this chapter.
• Use the correct safety belt buckle
for that seating position (the
buckle closest to the direction the
tongue is coming from).
• Insert the belt tongue into the
proper buckle until you hear a
snap and feel it latch. Make sure the tongue is securely fastened in the
buckle.
WARNING: Do not install a child seat in a center facing jump
seat.
• Keep the buckle release button pointing up and away from the safety
seat, with the tongue between the child seat and the release button,
to prevent accidental unbuckling.
• Place seat back in upright position.
• Put the safety belt in the automatic locking mode. Refer to Automatic
locking mode (passenger side front seat).
Mazda recommends the use of a child safety seat having a top tether
strap. Install the child safety seat in a seating position which is capable
of providing a tether anchorage. For more information on top tether
straps, refer to Attaching child safety seats with tether straps.
WARNING: Carefully follow all of the manufacturer’s
instructions included with the safety seat you put in your
vehicle. If you do not install and use the safety seat properly,
the child may be injured in a sudden stop or collision.
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Installing child safety seats with combination lap and shoulder
belts (front outboard passenger seat only)1. Position the child safety seat in a seat with a combination lap
and shoulder belt.
WARNING: If there is a tether on the child safety seat, attach
it to the tether anchor point. Refer to Attaching child safety
seats with tether straps in this chapter.
WARNING: Air bags can kill or inure a child in a child seat.
Never place a rear facing child seat in the right front seat
unless the air bag on/off switch is turned OFF. If you place a
forward-facing child seat in the right front seat, turn the air bag
on/off switch to OFF. See Passenger air bag on/off switch in
this chapter.
WARNING: Rear facing child seats should NEVER be placed in
the front seats unless the passenger air bag switch is turned
off. Also, slide the front seat forward until the rear facing child
seat contacts the dash board for maximum support. (All other
children and forward facing child seats and booster seats should
be on front seats that are slid back as far away as possible from
the dashboard.)
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5. To put the retractor in theautomatic locking mode, grasp
the shoulder portion of the belt
and pull downward until all of
the belt is extracted and a click
is heard.
6. Allow the belt to retract. The belt will click as it retracts to indicate it is in the automatic locking mode.
7. Pull the lap belt portion across the child seat toward the buckle
and pull up on the shoulder belt
while pushing down with knee
on the child seat.
8. Allow the safety belt to retract to remove any slack in the belt.
9. Before placing the child in the seat, forcibly tilt the seat
forward and back to make sure
the seat is securely held in
place. To check this, grab the
seat at the belt path and
attempt to move it side to side
and forward. There should be
no more than one inch of
movement for proper installation.
10. Try to pull the belt out of the retractor to make sure the retractor is in the automatic locking mode (you should not be able to pull more
belt out). If the retractor is not locked, unbuckle the belt and repeat
steps two through nine.
11. See Attaching child safety seats with tether straps in this chapter.
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