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To provide maxim um protection, safety belts
must always be positioned cor rectly on the
wearer's body .
... Adjust the front seat and head restra int
properly r::!:>
page 58, Seats and storage.
• Make sure the seatback of t he rear seat
bench is in an upright pos ition and securely
latched in place before using the belt ¢ ,&. .
... Hold the be lt by the tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest and pelvis ¢ ,&. .
"" Inse rt the tongue into the correct buckle of
you r seat until you hear it latch securely
r::!:>
fig . 148.
• Pull on the be lt to make sure that it is se-
curely latc hed in the buckle.
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped with an automat-
ic belt retractor on the shoulder be lt . This fea-
ture locks the belt whe n the belt is pulled out
fast, dur ing hard braking and in an accident .
The belt may also lock when you drive up or
down a steep hill or through a sharp curve.
During normal driving the belt lets you move
freely.
Safety belt pretensioners
The safety belts are equipped with a belt pre-
tensioner that helps to t ighten t he safety belt
and remove s lack when the pretensioner is ac-
tivated. The function of the pretensioner is
monitored by a warning light ¢ page 20 .
Switchable locking feature
Every safety belt excep t the one on the driver
seat is eq uipped with a switchable locking fea-
ture that
must
be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child safety seat . Be sure to
read the important information about this
feature¢
page 176.
A
WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause se rious injury in an accident
r::!:>
page 141, Safety belt position .
- Safety belts offer optimum protection
only when the seatback is upright and
Safety
belts
141
be lts are proper ly positioned on the
body.
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to which the center rear safety
be lt is attached is securely latched when-
ever the rear center safety belt is being
used. If the backrest is not securely
latched, the passenger will move for-
ward with the backrest during sudden
braking, in a sudden maneuver and espe-
cially in a crash .
- Never attach t he safety be lt to the buck-
le for another seat . Att a ching the belt to
t he wrong buckle will reduce safety be lt
effectiveness and can cause ser ious per-
sonal injury.
- A passenger who is not properly restrain -
ed can be seriously injured by the safety
be lt itself when it moves from the stron-
ger parts of the body into critical areas
like the abdomen.
- Always lock the convertible locking re-
tractor when you are securing a child
safety seat in the vehicle ¢ page 178.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting
maximum protection from safety belts.
Fig. 149
Safety belt position
Standa rd features on your veh icle help you ad-
just the position of the safety belt to match
you r body size.
- belt height adjustment for the front seats,
- automatic belt height adjustment for the
rear seats .
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