Seat Belt System Operation

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.

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.