Child Restraint; Child-Restraint Precautions - Mazda 3 Sedan 2020 Owner's Manual

Essential Safety Equipment

Child Restraint

Child-Restraint
Precautions

▼ 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).
2-32
A rear-facing child-restraint system
should NEVER be 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 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 occupant
classification sensor works as a part of
the supplemental restraint system. This
system deactivates the front passenger
front and side air bags and knee 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 knee 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
2-71).