Mazda 6 Owners Manual: 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.

(U.S.A. and Canada)

All of the seat belt retractors are designed to keep the lap/shoulder belts out of the way when not in use.

The driver's seat belt has no provisions for child-restraint systems and has only an emergency locking mode. The driver may wear it comfortably, and it will lock during a collision.

However, the front passenger's seat and all rear lap/shoulder belt retractors operate in two modes: emergency locking mode, and for child-restraint systems, automatic locking mode. While we recommend you put all children in the rear seats, if you must use the front passenger seat for a child, slide the front passenger seat as far back as possible and make sure any child-restraint system is secured properly.

WARNING

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 Authorized Mazda Dealer 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 Authorized Mazda Dealer 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. A seat belt with an expended pretensioner or load limiter is still better than wearing no seat belt at all; however, 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.

In a rollover crash, an unbelted person is significantly more likely to die than a person wearing a seat belt.

CAUTION

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".

• Pregnant Women and Persons with Serious Medical Conditions
• Emergency Locking Mode
• Automatic Locking Mode