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5. To tighten the belt, push down on the child restraint, pull the shoulder portion of the belt to tighten the lap portion of the
belt, and feed the shoulder belt back into the retractor. When
installing a forward-facing child
restraint, it may be helpful to use your knee to push down on the
child restraint as you tighten the belt.
Try to pull the belt out of the retractor to make sure the
retractor is locked. If the
retractor is not locked, repeat Steps 4 and 5.
6. If the child restraint has a top
tether, follow the child restraint manufacturer's instructions
regarding the use of the top
tether. See Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH
7. Before placing a child in the
child restraint, make sure it is
securely held in place. To check, grasp the child restraint at the
seat belt path and attempt to move it side to side and back and forth. When the child
restraint is properly installed, there should be no more than
2.5 cm (1 in) of movement.
To remove the child restraint,
unbuckle the vehicle seat belt and let it return to the stowed position. If the top tether is attached to a top tether
anchor, disconnect it.
Securing Child Restraints (With the Seat Belt in the Front Seat)
This vehicle has airbags. A rear seat is a safer place to secure a
forward-facing child restraint. See
Where to Put the Restraint 0 102.
In addition, the vehicle has a
passenger sensing system which is designed to turn off the front
outboard passenger frontal airbag and knee airbag under certain conditions.
See Passenger Sensing System 0 91 and
Passenger Airbag Status Indicator 0 140
for more information, including important safety information.
Never put a rear-facing child seat in the front. This is because the risk to
the rear-facing child is so great if the airbag deploys.
{ Warning
A child in a rear-facing child
restraint can be seriously injured or killed if the front outboard
(Continued)
112 SEATS AND RESTRAINTS
Warning (Continued)
passenger frontal airbag inflates.
This is because the back of the
rear-facing child restraint would be very close to the inflating airbag.
A child in a forward-facing child
restraint can be seriously injured or killed if the front outboard
passenger frontal airbag inflates and the passenger seat is in a
forward position.
Even if the passenger sensing
system has turned off the front outboard passenger airbag(s), no system is fail-safe. No one can
guarantee that an airbag will not deploy under some unusual
circumstance, even though the airbag(s) are off.
Secure rear-facing child restraints in a rear seat, even if the airbag(s) are off. If you secure a
forward-facing child restraint in the front outboard passenger seat,
(Continued)
Warning (Continued)
always move the seat as far back as it will go. It is better to secure the
child restraint in a rear seat.
See Passenger Sensing System 0 91
for additional information.
If the child restraint uses a top tether, see Lower Anchors and Tethers for
Children (LATCH System) 0 103 for top tether anchor locations.
Do not secure a child seat in a
position without a top tether anchor if a national or local law requires that
the top tether be anchored, or if the
instructions that come with the child restraint say that the top strap must be anchored.
In Canada, the law requires that
forward-facing child restraints have a top tether, and that the tether be
attached.
When using the lap-shoulder belt to secure the child restraint in this
position, follow the instructions that came with the child restraint and the following instructions:
1. Move the seat as far back as it will go before securing the
forward-facing child restraint.
Move the seat upward or the
seatback to an upright position, if needed, to get a tight
installation of the child restraint.
When the passenger sensing
system has turned off the front outboard passenger frontal
airbag and knee airbag, the off
indicator on the passenger airbag status indicator should light and stay lit when you start the
vehicle. See Passenger Airbag Status Indicator 0 140.
2. Put the child restraint on the seat.
3. Pick up the latch plate, and run the lap and shoulder portions of
the vehicle's seat belt through or around the restraint. The child
restraint instructions will show you how.
Position the release button on
the buckle, away from the child
restraint system, so that the seat belt could be quickly unbuckled
if necessary.
SEATS AND RESTRAINTS 113
Tilt the latch plate to adjust the belt if needed.
4. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
5. Pull the shoulder belt all the way out of the retractor to set the
lock. When the retractor lock is
set, the belt can be tightened but not pulled out of the retractor.
6. To tighten the belt, push down on the child restraint, pull the shoulder portion of the belt to tighten the lap portion of the
belt, and feed the shoulder belt back into the retractor. When
installing a forward-facing child
restraint, it may be helpful to use your knee to push down on the
child restraint as you tighten the belt.
Try to pull the belt out of the retractor to make sure the
retractor is locked. If the
retractor is not locked, repeat Steps 5 and 6.
114 SEATS AND RESTRAINTS
7. Before placing a child in the
child restraint, make sure it is
securely held in place. To check, grasp the child restraint at the
seat belt path and attempt to move it side to side and back and forth. When the child
restraint is properly installed, there should be no more than
2.5 cm (1 in) of movement.
If the airbags are off, the off indicator in the passenger airbag status
indicator will come on and stay on when the vehicle is started.
If a child restraint has been installed and the on indicator is lit, see “If the
On Indicator Is Lit for a Child
Restraint” under Passenger Sensing System 0 91.
To remove the child restraint,
unbuckle the vehicle seat belt and let it return to the stowed position.