Seat Belt Systems: Description and Operation

SEAT BELT SYSTEM DESCRIPTION AND OPERATION

FRONT SEAT BELT SYSTEM OPERATION

CAUTION: To help avoid personal injury from unrepaired crash damage to a restraint system, perform the seat belt check for each seat belt system. Replace the seat belt system if there is any doubt about the condition of system components.

1. The front seat belt system includes a driver and\or passenger seat belt retractor and buckle.
2. The LF seat belt system, includes a seat belt switch in the LF seat buckle which controls a fasten safety belts indicator and a tone alarm. When the LF seat belt is buckled, the LF door is closed, and the ignition switch is in the ON position, the following events will not occur:
- The tone alarm will not operate.
- The fasten safety belts indicator will not operate.
3. When the LF seat belt is not buckled, the LF door closed, and the ignition switch is in the RUN position, the following events will occur:
- The tone alarm will operate for 4 to 8 seconds and then turn OFF.
- The fasten safety belts indicator will operate for 20 seconds, until the LF seat belt is buckled.
- Then the fasten safety belts indicator will flash for an additional 55 seconds before turning OFF.

To diagnose a failure of the fasten safety belts indicator refer to Symptoms - Seat Belts or the tone alarm, refer to Audible Warnings in Instrument Panel, Gauges and Console.

CHILD SEAT RESTRAINT SYSTEM

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 restrain position does not conflict with any additional requirements provided by the manufacture. 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 it will need to be anchored. Refer to Bracket Replacement - Child Seat Belt Restraint System.

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 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 assure 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.

SEAT BELT SYSTEM CIRCUIT DESCRIPTION
The fasten safety belts indicator will illuminate when the following conditions occur simultaneously:
- The ignition switch is in one of the following positions:
- RUN
- BULB TEST
- START
- The LF safety belt is not fastened.

The audio fasten safety belt warning alarm, located within the body control module (BCM), also incorporates an indicator within the instrument panel cluster (IPC). The fasten safety belt indicator works in conjunction with the fasten safety belt warning alarm. When the BCM receives a signal that the LF safety belt is unfastened, the BCM sends a signal to the IPC to command ON the fasten safety belt indicator.