Seat belts are the primary means of occupant restraint. Seat belts help to keep the occupants inside the passenger compartment and to gradually reduce the impact forces during the following events:

All seat belt retractors have emergency locks. The retractors remain unlocked during normal operation and under normal driving conditions. The retractors remain unlocked during normal conditions in order to allow free movement of the upper body of each occupant. A pendulum locks the seat belt webbing into position. The pendulum causes a locking bar to engage a cog on the spool of the retractor mechanism when the following conditions occur:

The seat belts have an automatic locking (cinch) feature. The cinch feature is activated when the seat belt webbing is completely extended from the retractor. The cinch feature prevents the webbing from extending beyond the position from which it is allowed to retract. Use of the cinch feature is recommended for securing a child seat. The cinch feature may be cancelled by allowing the webbing to wind back completely into the retractor. After the cinch feature is cancelled, the webbing is unlocked. After the cinch feature is cancelled, the webbing will extend from the retractor. This vehicle is also equipped with a supplemental inflatable restraint (SIR) system. Refer to SIR System Description and Operation in SIR.

Important: If the vehicle has been in a collision, refer to Repairs and Inspections Required After a Collision for additional information.

The front seat belts on sedans are equipped with an adjustable shoulder belt guide loop. The shoulder belt can be adjusted to one of the 4 positions by a release switch located at the center pillar. The release switch permits adjustment of the shoulder belt to the height of the occupant. The front passenger seat and the rear seat retractors are dual-mode type retractors with emergency locking and automatic features. The automatic locking feature is for use with a child seat.

The driver seat belt system includes a seat belt switch in the driver seat buckle which controls a reminder lamp and a tone alarm.

The rear seat belt system includes the following components:

Caution: A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be seriously injured if the right-front passengers air bag inflates. This is because the back of a rear-facing child restraint would be very close to the inflating air bag. NEVER use a rear-facing child restraint in this vehicle. If a forward-facing child restraint is suitable for your child, ALWAYS move the front passenger seat as far back as it will go and then install the child restraint. Be sure the child restraint position does not conflict with any additional requirements provided by the manufacturer. For more information, refer to the vehicle owners manual and the instruction that came with the child restraint.

The child seat may only be used in a forward facing seating location. The child seat should be installed and secured according to the manufacturer's directions. If the child seat has a top strap, the seat will need to be anchored. Passengers should not be allowed to sit at locations where the seat belts are being used to secure the child seat.

All vehicles are equipped with a dual-mode type retractor with emergency and automatic locking features. The automatic locking feature is for restraint of a child seat. The child seat can be secured by pulling the seat belt all the way out to lock it. Then, tighten the seat belt around the child seat.

If a child seat is to be used in the second seat position, a special dealer-installed anchor must be used in order to anchor the child seat top strap. This only applies to the seats designed with the top strap provision and for the vehicles sold in Canada. In order to ensure the correct top strap angle, the child seat is only to be used at the seating position for which the top strap anchor is installed.

The inflatable restraint sensing and diagnostic module (SDM) receives a discrete input from the left front seat belt switch. The left front seat belt switch is closed when the seat belt is unbuckled.

The fasten safety belt indicator may only be ON during RUN. The instrument panel cluster (IPC) illuminates the fasten safety belt indicator under the following conditions: