Seat Belt System Operation

Restraint System

Seat belts are the primary means of occupant restraint. Seat belts help to keep the occupant inside the passenger compartment and to endure the crash forces more gradually during the following events:

^ Frontal impact type crashes.
^ Rear impact type crashes.
^ Side impact type crashes.
^ Roll-over type crashes.

All seat belt retractors have two independent sensors that detect webbing and vehicle motion. During normal operation, the retractors remain unlocked to allow free movement of the occupant's upper body under normal driving conditions. The seat belt webbing is locked into position by the appropriate sensing mechanism under the following conditions:

^ The rapid extraction of the seat belt webbing from the retractor.
^ The speed of the vehicle changes abruptly.
^ The direction of the vehicle changes abruptly.
^ The vehicle is on a steep upgrade or downgrade.

When the seat belt webbing is locked, the spool of the retractor is engaged with the retractor frame.

In conjunction with the seat belts, this vehicle is equipped with a Supplemental Inflatable Restraint (SIR) System. Refer to Supplemental Inflatable Restraint (SIR) System in Restraints for more information about the SIR (air bag) System.