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Mazda Tribute (2011 year). Instruction - part 6

The adjustable head restraints
consist of:
• a trimmed energy absorbing foam

and structure (1),

• two steel stems (2),
• a guide sleeve adjust/release

button (3),

• and a guide sleeve unlock/remove

button (4).

To adjust the head restraint, do the following:

1. Adjust the seatback to an upright driving/riding position.

2. Raise the head restraint by

pulling up on the head restraint.

3. Lower the head restraint by

pressing and holding the guide
sleeve adjust/release button and
pushing down on the head
restraint.

Properly adjust the head restraint so that the top of the head restraint is
even with the top of your head and positioned as close as possible to the
back of your head. For occupants of extremely tall stature, adjust the
head restraint to its full up position.

Seating and Safety Restraints

2011 Tribute (j14)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA (fus)

WARNING: The adjustable head restraint is a safety device.
Whenever possible it should be installed and properly adjusted

when the seat is occupied.

To remove the adjustable head restraint, do the following:

1. Pull up the head restraint until

it reaches the highest
adjustment position.

2. Simultaneously press and hold

both the adjust/release button
and the unlock/remove button,
then pull up on the head
restraint.

To reinstall the adjustable head restraint, do the following:

1. Insert the two stems into the

guide sleeve collars.

2. Push the head restraint down

until it locks.

Seating and Safety Restraints

2011 Tribute (j14)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA (fus)

WARNING: To minimize the risk of neck injury in the event of a
crash, head restraints must be installed properly.

Adjusting the front manual seat (if equipped)

Lift handle to move seat forward or
backward.

Pull lever up to adjust seatback.

Seating and Safety Restraints

2011 Tribute (j14)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
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Using the manual lumbar support (if equipped)

The lumbar support control is
located on the inboard side of the
driver’s seatback.

Turn the lumbar support control
clockwise to increase firmness.

Turn the lumbar support control
counterclockwise to increase
softness.

Adjusting the front power seat (if equipped)

WARNING: Never adjust the driver’s seat or seatback when the
vehicle is moving. You could move out of position to control the

vehicle. Then a serious accident could occur. Sudden braking or a
collision could cause serious injury. Adjust the seat only when the
vehicle is stopped.

WARNING: Do not pile cargo higher than the seatbacks to
reduce the risk of injuring people in a collision or sudden stop.

WARNING: Always drive and ride with your seatback upright
and the lap belt snug and low across the hips and the shoulder

belt snug across the chest.

WARNING: Sitting in a reclined position while the vehicle is
moving is dangerous because you don’t get the full protection

from seat belts. During sudden braking or a collision, you can slide
under the lap belt and suffer serious internal injury, or in a rear end
collision you could fly up and out of the vehicle. For maximum
protection, sit well back and upright.

WARNING: Sitting improperly out of position or with the seat
back reclined too far can take off weight from the seat cushion

and affect the decision of the passenger sensing system, resulting in
serious injury or death in a crash. Always sit upright against your
seatback, with your feet on the floor.

Seating and Safety Restraints

2011 Tribute (j14)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
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WARNING: To reduce the risk of possible serious injury: Do not
hang objects off seat back or stow objects in the seatback map

pocket (if equipped) when a child is in the front passenger seat. Do
not place objects underneath the front passenger seat or between the
seat and the center console (if equipped). Check the “passenger airbag
off” or “pass airbag off” indicator lamp for proper airbag status. Refer
to Front passenger sensing system in the Airbag supplemental
restraint system (SRS)

section for additional details. Failure to

follow these instructions may interfere with the front passenger
seat sensing system.

The control is located on the outboard side of the seat cushion.

Move the front of the control up or
down to raise or lower the front
portion of the seat cushion.

Move the rear of the control up or
down to raise or lower the rear
portion of the seat cushion.

Move the control in the directions
shown to move the seat forward,
backward, up or down.

Seating and Safety Restraints

2011 Tribute (j14)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA (fus)

Heated seats (if equipped)

WARNING: Persons who are unable to feel pain to the skin
because of advanced age, chronic illness, diabetes, spinal cord

injury, medication, alcohol use, exhaustion, or other physical
conditions, must exercise care when using the seat heater. The seat
heater may cause burns even at low temperatures, especially if used
for long periods of time. Do not place anything on the seat that
insulates against heat, such as a blanket or cushion, because this may
cause the seat heater to overheat. Do not puncture the seat with pins,
needles, or other pointed objects because this may damage the heating
element which may cause the seat heater to overheat. An overheated
seat may cause serious personal injury.

Note: Do not do the following:
• Place heavy objects on the seat

• Operate the seat heater if water or any other liquid is spilled on the

seat. Allow the seat to dry thoroughly.

To operate the heated seats:
• Press the button located on the

instrument panel to activate.

• Press again to deactivate.

The heated seats will activate when the ignition is in the on position and
the engine is running.

REAR SEATS

Second row adjustable head restraints
Your vehicle is equipped with second row outboard and center head
restraints that are vertically adjustable.

WARNING: To minimize the risk of neck injury in the event of a
crash, the driver and passenger occupants should not sit in

and/or operate the vehicle, until the head restraint is placed in its
proper position. The driver should never adjust the head restraint
while the vehicle is in motion.

Seating and Safety Restraints

2011 Tribute (j14)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA (fus)

The adjustable head restraints
consist of :
• a trimmed energy absorbing foam

and structure (1),

• two steel stems (2),
• a guide sleeve adjust/remove

button (3),

To adjust the head restraint, do the following:

1. Adjust the seatback to an upright driving/riding position.

2. Raise the head restraint by

pulling up on the head restraint.

3. Lower the head restraint by

pressing and holding the guide
sleeve adjust/remove button and
pushing down on the head
restraint.

Seating and Safety Restraints

2011 Tribute (j14)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA (fus)

WARNING: The adjustable head restraint is a safety device.
Whenever possible it should be installed and properly adjusted

when the seat is occupied.

To remove the adjustable head restraint, do the following:

1. Pull up the head restraint until

it reaches the highest
adjustment position.

2. Press and hold the

adjust/remove button, then pull
up on the head restraint.

To reinstall the adjustable head restraint, do the following:

1. Insert the two stems into the

guide sleeve collars.

2. Push the head restraint down

until it locks.

Seating and Safety Restraints

2011 Tribute (j14)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA (fus)

WARNING: To minimize the risk of neck injury in the event of a
crash, head restraints must be installed properly.

Folding down second row seats

1. Remove the second row head restraint. See Second row adjustable

head restraints in this chapter.

Note: Place the head restraint underneath the back of the front seat
for storage.

2. Pull the seat release strap.

Note: Make sure the floor is clear of all objects before folding the seat.

3. Flip seat forward.

Seating and Safety Restraints

2011 Tribute (j14)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA (fus)

Attach the seat belt web snap
button to the quarter trim panel
snap button. This will ensure that
seat belt does not get caught by
staying out of the seat back folding
path.

4. To release seatback, pull the

seatback release lever (on top
of seat) toward the front seat.
This is common for both 60%
and 40% seatbacks.

Note: When the seatback release
lever is pulled, slowly lower
seatback to the flat position.

5. Rotate seatback down into load

floor position.

Seating and Safety Restraints

2011 Tribute (j14)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA (fus)

Returning the second row seats to upright position

1. Pull seatback up and into

upright position making sure
seatback locks into place and
the red seat unlatched indicator
on release paddle is not visible.

2. Rotate seat cushion down into

the seating position making sure
that the seat cushion is locked
into place and that the seat belt
buckles are exposed.

WARNING: Make sure seat
belt buckle heads are

through elastic holders on seat
backs. Seat belt buckles may
break if they are trapped
underneath the seatback as the
seatback is rotated down.

WARNING: Before returning the seatback to its original
position, make sure that cargo or any objects are not trapped

behind the seatback. After returning the seatback to its original
position, reinstall the head restraints, and pull on the seatback to
ensure that it has fully latched. An unlatched seat may become
dangerous in the event of a sudden stop or collision.

3. Unsnap the seat belt webbing from the quarter trim panel.

4. Remove the second row head restraint from underneath the front

seat and reinstall. See Second row adjustable head restraints in
this chapter.

Seating and Safety Restraints

2011 Tribute (j14)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA (fus)

To remove the second row cushion

1. Lift the yellow tab to release the

hinges.

2. Pull the cushion to the outboard

side of the vehicle.

To install the second row cushion

1. Push the cushion to the inboard

side of the vehicle.

2. Make sure that the hinges are

locked into place.

SAFETY RESTRAINTS

Personal Safety System™

The Personal Safety System provides an improved overall level of frontal
crash protection to front seat occupants and is designed to help further
reduce the risk of airbag-related injuries. The system is able to analyze
different occupant conditions and crash severity before activating the
appropriate safety devices to help better protect a range of occupants in
a variety of frontal crash situations.

Your vehicle’s Personal Safety System consists of:
• Driver and passenger dual-stage airbag supplemental restraints.
• Front seat belts with pretensioners (front row only), load limiter

(front row only), and seat belt usage sensors (front row only).

• Front passenger sensing system
• “Passenger airbag off” or “pass airbag off” indicator lamp

Seating and Safety Restraints

2011 Tribute (j14)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA (fus)

• Front crash severity sensor.
• Restraints Control Module (RCM) with impact and safing sensors.
• Restraint system warning light and backup tone.
• The electrical wiring for the airbags, crash sensor(s), seat belt

pretensioners, front seat belt usage sensors, driver seat position
sensor, front passenger sensing system, and indicator lights.

How does the Personal Safety System™ work?

The Personal Safety System can adapt the deployment strategy of your
vehicle’s safety devices according to crash severity and occupant
conditions. A collection of crash and occupant sensors provides
information to the Restraints control module (RCM). During a crash, the
RCM may activate the seat belt pretensioners and/or either one or both
stages of the dual-stage airbag supplemental restraints based on crash
severity and occupant conditions.

The fact that the pretensioners or airbags did not activate for both front
seat occupants in a collision does not mean that something is wrong with
the system. Rather, it means the Personal Safety System determined the
accident conditions (crash severity, belt usage, etc.) were not
appropriate to activate these safety devices. Front airbags and
pretensioners are designed to activate only in frontal and near-frontal
collisions, not rollovers, side-impacts, or rear-impacts unless the collision
causes sufficient longitudinal deceleration.

Driver and passenger dual-stage airbag supplemental restraints

The dual-stage airbags inflation energy is tailored to crash severity, belt
use, driver seat position, and other factors. A lower, less forceful energy
level is provided for more common, moderate-severity impacts. A higher
energy level is used for the most severe impacts unless the driver’s seat
is forward for a small occupant. Refer to Airbag supplemental
restraints section in this chapter.

Front crash severity sensor

The front crash severity sensor enhances the ability to detect the
severity of an impact. Positioned up front, it provides valuable
information early in the crash event on the severity of the impact. This
allows your Personal Safety System to distinguish between different
levels of crash severity and modify the deployment strategy of the
dual-stage airbags and seat belt pretensioners.

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Driver’s seat position sensor

The driver’s seat position sensor allows your Personal Safety System to
tailor the deployment level of the driver dual-stage airbag based on seat
position. The system is designed to help protect smaller drivers sitting
close to the driver airbag by providing a lower airbag output level.

Front passenger sensing system

For airbags to do their job they must inflate with great force, and this
force can pose a potentially deadly risk to occupants that are very close
to the airbag when it begins to inflate. For some occupants, like infants
in rear-facing child seats, this occurs because they are initially sitting
very close to the airbag. For other occupants, this occurs when the
occupant is not properly restrained by seat belts or child safety seats and
they move forward during pre-crash braking. The most effective way to
reduce the risk of unnecessary injuries is to make sure all occupants are
properly restrained. Accident statistics suggest that children are much
safer when properly restrained in the rear seating positions than in the
front.

WARNING: Air bags can kill or injure a child in a child seat.
NEVER place a rear-facing child seat in front of an active air

bag. If you must use a forward-facing child seat in the front seat, move
the seat all the way back.

WARNING: When possible, all children 12 years old and under
should be properly restrained in a rear seating position.

The front passenger sensing system can automatically turn off the
passenger front airbag. The system is designed to help protect small
(child size) occupants from airbag deployments when they are
improperly seated or restrained in the front passenger seat contrary to
proper child-seating or restraint usage recommendations. Even with this
technology, parents are STRONGLY encouraged to always properly
restrain children in the rear seat. The sensor also turns off the passenger
front airbag and passenger seat-mounted side airbag (if equipped) when
the passenger seat is empty.

When the front passenger seat is occupied and the sensing system has
turned off the passenger’s frontal airbag, the “pass airbag off” indicator
will light and stay lit to remind you that the front passenger frontal
airbag is off. See Front passenger sensing system in the airbags section
of this chapter.

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Front seat belt usage sensors

The front seat belt usage sensors detect whether or not the driver and
front outboard passenger seat belts are fastened. This information allows
your Personal Safety System to tailor the airbag deployment and seat
belt pretensioner activation depending upon seat belt usage. Refer to
Safety restraints section in this chapter.

Front seat belt pretensioners

The seat belt pretensioners at the front outboard seating positions are
designed to tighten the seat belts firmly against the occupant’s body
during frontal collisions, and in side collisions and rollovers when the
vehicle is equipped with the side-curtain airbag system. This helps
increase the effectiveness of the seat belts. In frontal collisions, the seat
belt pretensioners can be activated alone or, if the collision is of
sufficient severity, together with the front airbags.

Seat belt load limiter

The front and rear outboard seat belt load limiter allows webbing to be
pulled out of the retractor in a gradual and controlled manner in
response to the occupant’s forward momentum. This helps reduce the
risk of force-related injuries to the occupant’s chest by limiting the load
on the occupant. Refer to Load limiter feature section in this chapter.

Determining if the Personal Safety System is operational

The Personal Safety System uses a warning light in the instrument
cluster or a backup tone to indicate the condition of the system. Refer to
the Warning light section in the Instrument cluster chapter. Routine
maintenance of the Personal Safety System is not required.

The Restraints control module (RCM) monitors its own internal circuits
and the circuits for the airbag supplemental restraints, crash sensor(s),
seat belt pretensioners, front seat belt buckle sensors, driver seat
position sensor, and front passenger sensing system. In addition, the
RCM also monitors the restraints warning light in the instrument cluster.
A malfunction with the system is indicated by one or more of the
following.
• The warning light will either flash or stay lit.
• The warning light will not illuminate immediately after ignition is

turned on.

• A series of five beeps will be heard. The tone pattern will repeat

periodically until the problem and warning light are repaired.

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If any of these things happen, even intermittently, have the Personal
Safety System serviced at an authorized dealer immediately. Unless
serviced, the system may not function properly in the event of a
collision.

Safety restraints precautions

WARNING: Always drive and ride with your seatback upright
and the lap belt snug and low across the hips and the shoulder

belt snug across the chest.

WARNING: To reduce the risk of injury, make sure children sit
where they can be properly restrained.

WARNING: Never let a passenger hold a child on his or her lap
while the vehicle is moving. The passenger cannot protect the

child from injury in a collision.

WARNING: All occupants of the vehicle, including the driver,
should always properly wear their seat belts, even when an air

bag supplemental restraint system (SRS) is provided.

WARNING: Do not wear twisted seat belts: Twisted seat belts
are dangerous. In a collision, the full width of the belt is not

available to absorb the impact. This puts more force on the bones
beneath the belt, which could cause serious injury or death.

WARNING: It is extremely dangerous to ride in a cargo area,
inside or outside of a vehicle. In a collision, people riding in

these areas are more likely to be seriously injured or killed. Do not
allow people to ride in any area of your vehicle that is not equipped
with seats and seat belts. Be sure everyone in your vehicle is in a seat
and using a seat belt properly.

WARNING: In a rollover crash, an unbelted person is
significantly more likely to die or be seriously injured than a

person wearing a seat belt.

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