child restraint MAZDA MODEL TRIBUTE 4WD 2001 Owners Manual

The following warning may be required by California law:
CALIFORNIA Proposition 65 WarningWARNING: Engine exhaust, some of its constituents, and
certain vehicle components contain or emit chemicals known to
the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or
other reproductive harm. In addition, certain fluids contained in
vehicles and certain products of component wear contain or
emit chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer
and birth defects or other reproductive harm.
ICONS
Indicates a safety alert. Read the
following section on Warnings.
Indicates vehicle information related
to recycling and other
environmental concerns will follow.
Correct vehicle usage and the
authorized disposal of waste
cleaning and lubrication materials are significant steps towards
protecting the environment.
Indicates a message regarding child
safety restraints. Refer to Seating
and safety restraints for more
information.
Indicates that this Owner Guide
contains information on this subject.
Please refer to the Index to locate
the appropriate section which will
provide you more information.
WARNINGS
Warnings provide information which may reduce the risk of personal
injury and prevent possible damage to others, your vehicle and its
equipment.
Introduction
2

To install the rear cushion
1. Push the cushion to the inboardside of the vehicle.
2. Make sure that the hinges are locked into place.
SAFETY RESTRAINTS
Safety restraints precautions WARNING: Always drive and ride with your seatback upright
and the lap belt snug and low across the hips.
WARNING: To reduce the risk of injury, make sure children sit
where they can be properly restrained.
WARNING: Never let a passenger hold a child on his or her lap
while the vehicle is moving. The passenger cannot protect the
child from injury in a collision.
WARNING: All occupants of the vehicle, including the driver,
should always properly wear their safety belts, even when an
air bag SRS is provided.
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74

WARNING: It is extremely dangerous to ride in a cargo area,
inside or outside of a vehicle. In a collision, people riding in
these areas are more likely to be seriously injured or killed. Do
not allow people to ride in any area of your vehicle that is not
equipped with seats and safety belts. Be sure everyone in your
vehicle is in a seat and using a safety belt properly.
WARNING: In a rollover crash, an unbelted person is
significantly more likely to die or be seriously injured than a
person wearing a seat belt.
WARNING: Each seating position in your vehicle has a specific
safety belt assembly which is made up of one buckle and one
tongue that are designed to be used as a pair. 1) Use the
shoulder belt on the outside shoulder only. Never wear the
shoulder belt under the arm. 2) Never swing the safety belt
around your neck over the inside shoulder. 3) Never use a
single belt for more than one person.
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. A sleeping child is more
likely to lean against the door and be hit by the side air bag in a
moderate collision. Whenever possible, always secure a child, 12
years or younger, in the rear seat, with an appropriate child
restraint system for the child's age and size. Never use a
rear-facing child restraint system in the front seat with an air
bag that could deploy.
Energy Management Feature
² This vehicle has a safety belt system with an energy management
feature at the front passenger seating position to help further reduce
the risk of injury in the event of a head-on collision.
² This safety belt system has a retractor assembly that is designed to
pay out webbing in a controlled manner. This feature is designed to
help reduce the belt force acting on the occupant's chest.
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75

WARNING: After any vehicle collision, the safety belt system
at all outboard seating positions (except driver, which has no
ªautomatic locking retractorº feature) must be checked by a
qualified technician to verify that the ªautomatic locking
retractorº feature for child seats is still functioning properly. In
addition, all safety belts should be checked for proper function.
WARNING: BELT AND RETRACTOR ASSEMBLY MUST BE
REPLACED if the safety belt assembly ªautomatic locking
retractorº feature or any other safety belt function is not
operating properly when checked according to the procedures in
Workshop Manual.
WARNING: Failure to replace the Belt and Retractor assembly
could increase the risk of injury in collisions.
Combination lap and shoulder belts 1. Insert the belt tongue into the proper buckle (the buckle
closest to the direction the
tongue is coming from) until
you hear a snap and feel it
latch. Make sure the tongue is
securely fastened in the buckle.
2. To unfasten, push the release button and remove the tongue
from the buckle.
Seating and safety restraints
76

The front and rear outboard safety restraints in the vehicle are
combination lap and shoulder belts. The front passenger and rear seat
outboard safety belts have two types of locking modes described below:
Vehicle sensitive mode
The vehicle sensitive mode is the normal retractor mode, allowing free
shoulder belt length adjustment to your movements and locking in
response to vehicle movement. For example, if the driver brakes
suddenly or turns a corner sharply, or the vehicle receives an impact of
approximately 8 km/h (5 mph) or more, the combination safety belts will
lock to help reduce forward movement of the driver and passengers.
Automatic locking mode
In this mode, the shoulder belt is automatically pre-locked. The belt will
still retract to remove any slack in the shoulder belt.
The automatic locking mode is not available on the driver safety belt.
When to use the automatic locking mode
²Any time a child safety seat is installed in a passenger front or
outboard rear seating position (if equipped). Children 12 years old and
under should be properly restrained in the rear seat whenever
possible. Refer to Safety Restraints for Children orSafety Seats for
Children later in this chapter.
How to use the automatic locking mode
²Buckle the combination lap and
shoulder belt.
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77

²Grasp the shoulder portion and
pull downward until the entire
belt is extracted.
² Allow the belt to retract. As the belt retracts, you will hear a clicking
sound. This indicates the safety belt is now in the automatic locking
mode.
How to disengage the automatic locking mode
Disconnect the combination lap/shoulder belt and allow it to retract
completely to disengage the automatic locking mode and activate the
vehicle sensitive (emergency) locking mode.
WARNING: After any vehicle collision, the front passenger
outboard seat belt system must be checked by an authorized
Mazda dealership to verify that the ªautomatic locking
retractorº feature for child seats is still functioning properly. In
addition, all seat belts should be checked for proper function.
WARNING: BELT AND RETRACTOR ASSEMBLY MUST BE
REPLACED if the seat belt assembly ªautomatic locking
retractorº feature or any other seat belt function is not
operating properly when checked according to the procedures in
Workshop Manual.
WARNING: Failure to replace the Belt and Retractor assembly
could increase the risk of injury in collisions.
Seating and safety restraints
78

Reasons given... Consider...
9Belts wrinkle my
clothes9Possibly, but a serious crash can do much more
than wrinkle your clothes, particularly if you are
unbelted.
9The people I'm
with don't wear
belts9 Set the example, teen deaths occur 4 times more
often in vehicles with TWO or MORE people.
Children and younger brothers/sisters imitate
behavior they see.
9I have an air bag 9Air bags offer greater protection when used with
safety belts. Frontal airbags are not designed to
inflate in rear and side crashes or rollovers.
9I'd rather be
thrown clear 9Not a good idea.
Peoplewho are ejected are 40
times more likely to DIE. Safety belts help
prevent ejection, WE CAN'T 9PICK OUR CRASH9.
WARNING: Do not sit on top of a buckled safety belt to avoid
the Safety Belt Warning Light. Sitting on the safety belt will
increase the risk of injury in an accident.
Safety belt maintenance
Inspect the safety belt systems periodically to make sure they work
properly and are not damaged.
NOTE:If unsure about the proper procedures, bring your vehicle to an
authorized Mazda dealership for inspection. Inspect the safety belts to
make sure there are no nicks, tears or cuts, replacing if necessary. All
safety belt assemblies, including retractors, buckles, front seat belt
buckle assemblies, buckle support assemblies (slide bar-if equipped),
shoulder belt height adjusters (if equipped), shoulder belt guide on
seatback (if equipped), child safety seat tether bracket assemblies
(if equipped), LATCH child seat tether anchors and lower anchors
(if equipped), and attaching hardware, should be inspected after a
collision. Mazda recommends that all safety belt assemblies used in
vehicles involved in a collision be replaced. However, if the collision was
minor and an authorized Mazda technician finds that the belts do not
show damage and continue to operate properly, they do not need to be
replaced. Safety belt assemblies not in use during a collision should also
be inspected and replaced if either damage or improper operation is
noted.
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WARNING: All occupants of the vehicle, including the driver,
should always properly wear their safety belts, even when an
air bag SRS is provided.
WARNING: Always transport children 12 years old and under
in the back seat and always properly use appropriate child
restraints.
WARNING: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) recommends a minimum distance of at least 25 cm
(10 inches) between an occupant's chest and the driver air bag
module.
WARNING: Never place your arm over the air bag module as a
deploying air bag can result in serious arm fractures or other
injuries.
Steps you can take to properly position yourself away from the air bag:
² Move your seat to the rear as far as you can while still reaching the
pedals comfortably.
² Recline the seat slightly (one or two degrees) from the upright
position.
WARNING: Do not put anything on or over the air bag module
including hands or feet. Placing objects on or over the air bag
inflation area may cause those objects to be propelled by the
air bag into your face and torso causing serious injury.
WARNING: Do not attempt to service, repair, or modify the Air
Bag Supplemental Restraint System or its fuses. See your
authorized Mazda dealership.
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WARNING: Modifications to the front end of the vehicle,
including frame, bumper, front end body structure, tow hooks
and snow plows may effect the performance of the air bag
sensors increasing the risk of injury. Do not modify the front
end of the vehicle.
WARNING: Additional equipment may effect the performance
of the air bag sensors increasing the risk of injury. Consult your
authorized Mazda dealership before installation of additional
equipment.
Children and air bags
For additional important safety
information, read all information on
safety restraints in this guide. WARNING: Children must
always be properly restrained.
Accident statistics suggest that
children are safer when
properly restrained in the rear
seating positions than in the
front seating position. Failure
to follow these instructions
may increase the risk of injury
in a collision.
WARNING: Air bags can kill or injure a child in a child seat
NEVER place a rear-facing child seat in front of an active air
bag. If you must use a forward-facing child seat in the front
seat, move the seat all the way back and secure it properly.
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85

Disposal of air bags and air bag equipped vehicles
For disposal of air bags or air bag equipped vehicles, see your authorized
Mazda dealership. Air bags MUST BE disposed of by qualified personnel.
SAFETY RESTRAINTS FOR CHILDREN
See the following sections for directions on how to properly use safety
restraints for children. Also seeAir Bag Supplemental Restraint System
(SRS) in this chapter for special instructions about using air bags.
Important child restraint precautions
NOTE:You are required by law to use safety restraints for children in the
U.S. and Canada. If small children ride in your vehicle (generally children
who are four years old or younger and who weigh 18 kg [40 lbs] or less),
you must put them in safety seats made especially for children. Check
your local and state or provincial laws for specific requirements
regarding the safety of children in your vehicle.
WARNING: Never let a passenger hold a child on his or her lap
while the vehicle is moving. The passenger cannot protect the
child from injury in a collision.
NOTE:Always follow the instructions and warnings that come with any
infant or child restraint you might use. WARNING: When possible, always place children under age 12
in the rear seat of your vehicle. Accident statistics suggest that
children are safer when properly restrained in the rear seating
positions than in the front seating position.
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.
Seating and safety restraints
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