Essential Safety Equipment; Seat Belt Systems; Front Seat Belt - Page 39

2-31

Essential Safety Equipment

Seat Belt Systems

Form No. 8R21-EA-02G

For optimum protection, the driver and 
front passenger seat belts are equipped 
with pretensioner and load limiting 
systems.
In moderate or greater frontal or near-
frontal accidents, the front air bag and 
pretensioner systems deploy 
simultaneously. The pretensioners take up 
slack in the front seat belts as the air bags 
are expanding. The load limiting system 
releases belt webbing in a controlled 
manner to reduce belt force on the 
occupant’s chest.

Front Seat Belt 
Pretensioner and Load 
Limiting Systems

Incorrect Positioning of the Driver 
and Front Passenger Seat Belts:
Incorrect positioning of the driver 
and passenger 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. Wear 
seat belts only as recommended in 
this owner’s manual.

Expended Seat Belt Pretensioners:
Use of front seat belts with the 
pretensioner system expended is 
dangerous.
The seat belt pretensioners will only 
function once. After they are 
expended, they will not work again 
and must be replaced immediately, 
even if there was no front seat 
occupant seated at the time.
If the seat belt pretensioners are not 
replaced, the risk of injury in a 
collision will increase.
Always have an Authorized Mazda 
Dealer inspect and replace the seat 
belt pretensioners after a collision.

WARNING

J16L_8R21-EA-02G.book  Page 31  Saturday, June 8, 2002  11:16 AM