Mazda 2008 Tribute HEV Owner's Manual page 111

2. To unfasten, push the release
button and remove the tongue
from the buckle.
Energy Management Feature
• This vehicle has a seat belt system with an energy management
feature at the front outboard seating positions to help further reduce
the risk of injury in the event of a head-on collision.
• The front outboard seat belt system has a retractor assembly that is
designed to extend the seat belt webbing in a controlled manner. This
helps reduce the belt force acting on the user's chest.
All seat belts in the vehicle are combination lap and shoulder belts. The
passenger seat belts have two types of locking modes described below:
Vehicle sensitive mode
This is the normal retractor mode, which allows 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 5 mph
(8 km/h) or more, the combination seat 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 seat belt.
This mode should be used any time a child safety seat (other than a
belt-positioning booster) is installed. Children 12 years old and under
should be properly restrained in the rear seat whenever possible. Refer
to Safety restraints for children or Safety seats for children later in
this chapter.
Seating and Safety Restraints
111