Seat Belt Systems: Description and Operation

Front Seat Belt System

Caution: Replace belts, retractors, and hardware in use in all but a minor collision. Also, Restraint systems should be replaced and anchorages properly repaired if they were in areas damaged by a collision, whether the belt was in use or not. If there is any question, replace the belt system. Damage, whether visible or not, could result in serious personal injury in the event Of an accident.

1. The front seat belt system is on all belt-to-seat system and includes the following components:
^ The driver and/or the passenger seat belt retractor is located and attached to the seat back.
^ The driver and/or the passenger seat buckle are attached to the lower inner side of each front seat.
2. The driver's seat belt system, includes a seat belt switch in the driver seat buckle which controls a reminder lamp and a tone alarm. When the driver seat belt is buckled, the driver's door is closed, and the ignition switch is turned ON, the following events will occur:
^ The tone alarm will not operate.
^ The reminder lamp will not operate.
3. When the driver's seat belt is not buckled, the driver's door is closed, and the ignition switch is in RUN, the following events will occur:
^ The tone alarm will operate for 4 to 8 seconds and then go OFF.
^ The reminder lamp will operate for 20 seconds, until the driver seat belt is buckled.
^ The reminder lamp will flash for an additional 55 seconds before going OFF.
To diagnose a failure of the reminder lamp or the tone alarm, refer to Fasten Safety Belt Chime Inoperative.
4. The passenger seat belt has an automatic locking (cinch) feature. The cinch feature is activated when the seat belt webbing is completely extended from the retractor. The cinch feature prevents the webbing from extending beyond the position from which it is allowed to retract. Use of the cinch feature is recommended for securing a child seat. The cinch feature may be cancelled by allowing the webbing to wind back completely into the retractor. After the cinch feature is cancelled, the webbing is unlocked. After the cinch feature is cancelled, the webbing will extend from the retractor.

Rear Seat Belt System
The rear seat belt system includes the following components:
^ The rear seat belt retractor is located under the rear shelf trim panel and is attached to the rear shelf body panel.
^ The center rear seat belt buckle and the outer seat belt buckle are located in the center of the seat cushion. The buckles are attached to the rear floor pan.
^ The automatic locking (cinch) feature is located on the outboard positions of the rear seat and can be used to secure the child seat.

Child Seat Restraint System
Caution: A child in a rear-facing Child Restraint can be seriously injured if the right-front passengers air bag inflates. This is because the back of a rear-facing Child Restraint would be very close to the inflating air bag. NEVER use a rear-facing Child Restraint in this vehicle. If a forward-facing Child Restraint is suitable for your child, ALWAYS move the front passenger seat as far back as it will go and then install the Child Restraint. Be sure the Child Restraint position does not conflict with any additional requirements provided by the manufacture. For more information, refer to the vehicle owners manual and the instruction that came with the Child Restraint.

Use the child seat only in a forward facing seating location. Install the child seat and secure the child seat according to the manufacturer's directions. Do not allow passengers to sit at locations where the seat belts are securing the child seat.

The automatic locking (cinch) feature can be used to in order to secure the child seat.

If you are using a child seat in the second seat position, you must use a special dealer-installed anchor in order to anchor the child seat top strap. (This only applies to the seats designed with the top strap provision and for the vehicles sold in Canada). In order to assure the correct top strap angle, only use the child seat at the seating position for which the top strap anchor is installed.