2004 Mazda RX-8 Owner's Manual - Page 33

J60E_8R65-EA-03C_Edition2.book Page 22 Saturday, April 26, 2003 1:48 PM Essential Safety Equipment Child Restraint M If You Must Use the Front Seat for Children If you cannot put all children in the rear seat, at least put the smallest child in the rear and be sure the largest child up front uses the shoulder belt over the shoulder. Do not put rear-facing child-restraint systems on the front passenger's seat. This seat is also not set up for tethered child-restraint systems, put them in one of the rear seat positions set up with tether anchors. Likewise the LATCH child-restraint system cannot be secured in the front passenger's seat and should be used in the rear seat. Don't allow anyone to sleep against the right front door if you have an optional side air bag, it could cause serious injuries to an out of position occupant. As children more often sleep in cars, it is better to put them in the rear seat. If installing the child-restraint system on the front seat is unavoidable, follow these instructions when using a front-facing child-restraint system in the front passenger's seat. NOTE WARNING Front Passenger's Seat Position: As your vehicle has front air bags and doubly so if your vehicle has side air bags, a front-facing child-restraint system should be put on the front seat only when it is unavoidable. Always move the seat as far back as possible, because the force of a deploying air bag could cause serious injury or death to the child. Rear-Facing Child-Restraint System: Rear-facing child-restraint systems on the front seat are particularly dangerous. The child-restraint system can be hit by a deploying air bag and moved violently backward resulting in serious injury or death to the child. NEVER use a rear-facing childrestraint system in the front seat with an air bag that could deploy. To check if your Mazda front seats have side air bags: Every Mazda side air bag will have a "SRS-Air Bag" label on the outboard shoulder of the front seats. 2-22 Form No. 8R65-EA-03C