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Sa f e ty belts
Autom atic safet y belt retractors
Every safety belt is equ ipped with an automa t ic
be lt retractor on the shoulder belt. This feature
locks the belt when the belt is pulled out fast,
during hard braking and in a n accident. The belt
may a lso lock when you drive up or down a steep
hill or through a sharp curve. During normal driv-
ing the belt lets you
move
freely.
Safety belt pret ensioners
The safety belts are equipped with a belt preten-
sioner that helps to t ighten the safety belt and
remove slack when the pretensioner is activated.
The function of the pretensioner is mon itored by
a warning light
r:::') page 17 .
Convertible locking retracto r
Every safety be lt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped with a convertible locking retrac-
tor that
must
be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child safety seat. Be sure to read
the impo rtant information about this feature
c:;,page 159 .
.,&.
WARNING
Imprope rly pos itioned safety be lts can cause
ser ious injury in an accident¢
page 124,
Safety belt position.
- Safety belts offer optimum protection only
when the seatback is upright and belts are
properly positioned on the body.
- Never attach the safety belt to the buckle
for ano t her seat. Attaching the belt to the
wrong buckle will reduce safety bel t effec-
tiveness and can cause serious persona l in-
jury .
- A passenger who is not proper ly restrained
can be seriously injured by the safety be lt it-
self when it moves from the stronger parts
of the body into critical areas like the abdo-
men.
-Always lock the convert ible locking retractor
when you are securing a child safety seat in
the vehicle
c:;, page 161.
124
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maxi-
mum protection from safety belts.
Fig. 128
Safety belt position
Standard features on your vehicle help you adjust
the position of the safety belt to match your body
size.
- height-adjustab le front seats.
.,&.
WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can ca use
serious personal injury in an acc ident .
- The shou lde r belt should lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possib le and
should fit well on the body . Hold the belt
above the latch tongue and pull it evenly
across the chest so that it s its as low as pos-
sible on the pelvis and there is no pressure
on the abdomen. The belt should always fit
snug ly
c:;, fig. 128.
Pull on the belt to tighten
if necessary.
- The lap belt portion of the safety belt must
be positioned as low as poss ible across pel-
vis and never ove r the abdomen. Make s ure
the belt lies fla t and snug
c:;, fig. 128.
Pull on
t he belt to tighten if necessary.
- A loose-fit t ing safety belt can cause serious
injur ies by s hifting its position on your body
from t he strong bones to mo re vulnerab le,
soft tissue and cause serious injury.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other importan t information
c:;,poge 122.
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