Seat Belt Systems
Seat Belt Precautions
Seat belts help to decrease the possibility of severe injury during accidents and sudden stops. Mazda recommends that the driver and all passengers always wear seat belts.
All the seats have lap/shoulder belts. These belts also have retractors with inertia locks that keep them out of the way when not in use. The locks allow the belts to remain comfortable on users, but they will lock in position during a collision.
Always wear your seat belt and make sure all occupants are properly restrained:
Not wearing a seat belt is extremely dangerous. During a collision, occupants not wearing seat belts could hit someone or things inside the vehicle or even be thrown out of the vehicle. They could be seriously injured or even killed. In the same collision, occupants wearing seat belts would be much safer.
Do not wear twisted seat belts:
Twisted seat belts are dangerous. In a collision, the full width of the belt is not available to absorb the impact. This puts more force on the bones beneath the belt, which could cause serious injury or death. So, if your seat belt is twisted, you must straighten the seat belt to remove any twists and to allow the full width of the belt to be used.
Never use one seat belt on more than one person at a time:
Using one seat belt for more than one person at a time is dangerous. A seat belt used in this way cannot spread the impact forces properly and the two passengers could be crushed together and seriously injured or even killed. Never use one belt for more than one person at a time and always operate the vehicle with each occupant properly restrained.
Do not operate a vehicle with a damaged seat belt:
Using a damaged seat belt is dangerous. An accident could damage the belt webbing of the seat belt in use. A damaged seat belt cannot provide adequate protection in a collision. Have an expert repairer, we recommend an Authorised Mazda Repairer inspect all seat belt systems in use during an accident before they are used again.
Have your seat belts changed immediately if the pretensioner or load limiter has been expended:
Always have an expert repairer, we recommend an Authorised Mazda Repairer immediately inspect the seat belt pretensioners and air bags after any collision. Like the air bags, the seat belt pretensioners and load limiters will only function once and must be replaced after any collision that caused them to deploy. If the seat belt pretensioners and load limiters are not replaced, the risk of injury in a collision will increase.
Positioning the Shoulder Portion of the Seat Belt:
Improper positioning of the shoulder portion of the seat belt is dangerous. Always make sure the shoulder portion of the seat belt is positioned across your shoulder and near your neck, but never under your arm, on your neck, or on your upper arm.
Positioning the Lap Portion of the Seat Belt:
The lap portion of the seat belt worn too high is dangerous. In a collision, this would concentrate the impact force directly on the abdominal area, causing serious injury. Wear the lap portion of the belt snugly and as low as possible.
Instructions for Use of Seat Belt Assemblies:
Seatbelts are designed to bear upon the bony structure of the body, and should be worn low across the front of the pelvis or the pelvis, chest and shoulders, as applicable; wearing the lap section of the belt across the abdominal area must be avoided.
Seatbelts should be adjusted as firmly as possible, consistent with comfort, to provide the protection for which they have been designed. A slack belt will greatly reduce the protection afforded to the wearer.
Care should be taken to avoid contamination of the webbing with polishes, oils and chemicals, and particularly battery acid. Cleaning may safely be carried out using mild soap and water. The belt should be replaced if webbing becomes frayed, contaminated or damaged.
It is essential to replace the entire assembly after it has been worn in a severe impact even if damage to the assembly is not obvious.
Belts should not be worn with straps twisted.
Each belt assembly must only be used by one occupant; it is dangerous to put a belt around a child being carried on the occupant's lap.
No modifications or additions should be made by the user which will either prevent the seat belt adjusting devices from operating to remove slack, or prevent the seat belt assembly from being adjusted to remove slack.
Belt retraction may become difficult if the belts and rings are soiled, so try to keep them clean. For more details about cleaning the seat belts, refer to "Seat Belt Maintenance" (Search).
Pregnant Women and Persons with Serious Medical Conditions
Emergency Locking Mode
When the seat belt is fastened, it will always be in the emergency locking mode.
In the emergency locking mode, the belt remains comfortable on the occupant and the retractor will lock in position during a collision.
If the belt is locked and cannot be pulled out, retract the belt once, and then try pulling it out slowly. If this fails, pull the belt strongly one time and loosen, then pull it out again slowly.
Seat Belt
Fastening the Seat Belt
Position the lap belt as low as possible, not on the abdominal area, then adjust the shoulder belt so that it fits snugly against your body.
Unfastening the Seat Belt
Depress the button on the seat belt buckle. If the belt does not fully retract, pull it out and check for kinks or twists. Then make sure it remains untwisted as it retracts.
If a belt does not fully retract, inspect it for kinks and twists. If it is still not retracting properly, have it inspected at an expert repairer, we recommend an Authorised Mazda Repairer.
Front Shoulder Belt Adjuster
Make sure the adjuster is locked.
Seat Belt Warning Systems
If it detects that the occupant seat belt is unfastened, the warning light or beep alerts the occupant.
Refer to Taking Action (Search).
Refer to Seat Belt Warning Beep (Search).
Seat belt indicator light (rear seat) (green) (Some Models)
The light turns on when the ignition is switched ON and a rear seat belt is fastened, and then it turns off after about 30 seconds.
Front Seat Belt Pretensioner and Load Limiting Systems
For optimum protection, the driver and front passenger seat belts are equipped with pretensioner and load limiting systems. For both these systems to work properly you must wear the seat belt properly.
Pretensioners:
When a collision is detected, the pretensioners deploy simultaneously with the air bags.
For deployment details, refer to the SRS Air Bag Deployment Criteria (Search).
The seat belt retractors remove slack quickly as the air bags are expanding. Any time the air bags and seat belt pretensioners have fired they must be replaced.
A system malfunction or operation conditions are indicated by a warning.
Refer to Warning/Indicator Lights (Search).
Refer to Air Bag/Front Seat Belt Pretensioner System Warning Beep (Search).
(With front passenger air bag deactivation switch)
In addition, the pretensioner system for the front passenger, like the front and side passenger air bag, is designed to only deploy when the front passenger air bag deactivation switch is turned to the ON position.
For details, refer to Front Passenger Air Bag Deactivation Switch (Search).
Load limiter:
The load limiting system releases belt webbing in a controlled manner to reduce belt force on the occupant's chest. While the most severe load on a seat belt occurs in frontal collisions, the load limiter has an automatic mechanical function and can activate in any accident mode with sufficient occupant movement.
Even if the pretensioners have not fired, the load limiting function must be checked by an expert repairer, we recommend an Authorised Mazda Repairer.
Wear seat belts only as recommended in this owner's manual:
Incorrect positioning of the seat belts is dangerous. Without proper positioning, the pretensioner and load limiting systems cannot provide adequate protection in an accident and this could result in serious injury. For more details about wearing seat belts, refer to "Fastening the Seat Belt" (Search).
Have your seat belts changed immediately if the pretensioner or load limiter has been expended:
Always have an expert repairer, we recommend an Authorised Mazda Repairer immediately inspect the seat belt pretensioners and air bags after any collision. Like the air bags, the seat belt pretensioners and load limiters will only function once and must be replaced after any collision that caused them to deploy. If the seat belt pretensioners and load limiters are not replaced, the risk of injury in a collision will increase.
Do not modify the components or wiring, or use electronic testing devices on the pretensioner system:
Modifying the components or wiring of the pretensioner system, including the use of electronic testing devices is dangerous. You could accidentally activate it or make it inoperable which would prevent it from activating in an accident. The occupants or repairers could be seriously injured.
Properly dispose of the pretensioner system:
Improper disposal of the pretensioner system or a vehicle with non-deactivated pretensioners is dangerous. Unless all safety procedures are followed, injury could result. Have an expert repairer, we recommend an Authorised Mazda Repairer safely dispose of the pretensioner system or scrap a pretensioner system equipped vehicle.
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The pretensioner system may not operate depending on the type of the collision. For details, refer to the SRS Air Bag Deployment Criteria (Search).
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Some smoke (non-toxic gas) will be released when the air bags and pretensioners deploy. This does not indicate a fire. This gas normally has no effect on occupants, however, those with sensitive skin may experience light skin irritation. If residue from the deployment of the air bags or the pretensioner system gets on the skin or in the eyes, wash it off as soon as possible.
