Essential Safety Equipment; on folded down seatbacks or in the ; vehicle with the seatbacks lowered.- Page 18

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Essential Safety Equipment

Seats

 Rear  Seat

 Split Folding the Seatback

    By lowering the rear seatbacks the luggage 
compartment space can be expanded.

WARNING

  Do not drive the vehicle with occupants 
on folded down seatbacks or in the 
luggage compartment.

  Putting occupants in the luggage 
compartment is dangerous because 
seat belts cannot be fastened which 
could lead to serious injury or death 
during sudden braking or a collision.
  

  Do not allow children to play inside the 
vehicle with the seatbacks lowered.

  Allowing children to play in the 
vehicle with the seatbacks folded 
down is dangerous. If a child enters 
the luggage compartment and the 
seatbacks were raised back up, the 
child may become trapped in the 
luggage compartment which could 
lead to an accident.
  

  Tightly secure cargo in the luggage 
compartment when it is transported 
with the seatbacks folded down.

  Driving without tightly securing cargo 
and luggage is dangerous as it could 
move and become an obstruction to 
driving during emergency braking or 
a collision resulting in an unexpected 
accident.  

  When transporting cargo, do not allow 
the cargo to exceed the height of the 
seatbacks.

  Transporting cargo stacked higher 
than the seatbacks is dangerous as 
visibility to the rear and sides of the 
vehicle is reduced which could interfere 
with driving operations and lead to an 
accident.

  Lowering  the  seatbacks

CAUTION

¾

  When folding the seatback forward, 

always support the seatback with your 
hand. If it is not supported by a hand, 
fi ngers or the hand pressing the push 
knob could be injured.

¾

  Check the position of a front seat before 

folding a rear seatback.

  Depending on the position of a front 

seat, it may not be possible to fold a rear 
seatback all the way down because it 
may hit the seatback of the front seat 
which could scratch or damage the front 
seat or its pocket. Remove the head 
restraint on the rear outboard seat if 
necessary.