Seat Belt System Description

SEAT BELT SYSTEM DESCRIPTION

Caution: Replace belts, retractors, and hardware in use in all but a minor collision. Also, restraint systems should be replaced and anchorages property 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.

This vehicle comes equipped with three-point safety belts for all five seating positions. All except the rear center seat feature five-point height adjustment and, all but the driver's belt, have a clinching retractor making it easy to install a child safety seat. The front seat belt system features belt pyrotechnic pretensioners and web locks, which improve the effectiveness of the belts and air bags by keeping the occupants firmly in place during the first critical milliseconds of a collision. The seat belt pretensioners compensate for any slack in the seat belts by pulling the belts snug the instant a crash occurs. The same sensors that activate the vehicle's air bags also fire a tiny pyrotechnic charge in each pretensioner. Gas from the charge pushes a piston forward. This motion can remove over six inches of slack from the belt. A yellow flag pops up indicating that the pretensioner was activated. Once activated, the pretensioner must be replaced. To further protect the front seat occupants, web locks in the belt retractors stop sudden movement of the belts by pulling slack out of reels. A sudden pull on the belt moves the take-up reel upward, where it pushes a pair of wedges into a triangular slot, grabbing the belt tight.


FRONT SEAT BELT SYSTEM

1. To diagnose a failure of the reminder lamp or tone alarm, refer to Wiring Systems. The front seat belt system includes the following components:

^ The driver and\or passenger seat belt retractor is attached to the center lock pillar and it is also equip with a shoulder seat belt height adjuster.

^ The driver and\or passenger seat buckle with pretensionor are attached to 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 until the driver seat belt is buckled.


REAR SEAT BELT SYSTEM

The rear seat belt system includes the following components:

^ The rear seat center buckle with latch side belts are attached to the floor panel inboard of the rear seat.

^ The rear seat belt with retractor is attached to the upper quarter panel and is equipped with shoulder height adjusters.


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.

The child seat may only be used in a forward facing seating location. The child seat should be installed and secured according to the manufacturer's directions. If the child seat has a top strap it will need to be anchored. Refer to Child Restraint Tether Anchor under Child Restraint / Service and Repair. Passenger should not be allowed to sit at locations where the seat belts are being used to secure the child seat.