For 1990-2009 cars

Your vehicle has airbags. A rear seat is a safer place to secure a forward-facing child restraint. See Where to Put the Restraint .

In addition, your vehicle has a passenger sensing system which is designed to turn off the right front passenger's frontal airbag under certain conditions. See Passenger Sensing System and Passenger Airbag Status Indicator for more information on this, including important safety information.

A label on your sun visor says, "Never put a rear-facing child seat in the front." This is because the risk to the rear-facing child is so great, if the airbag deploys.

Caution: A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be seriously injured or killed if the right front passenger airbag inflates. This is because the back of the rear-facing child restraint would be very close to the inflating airbag. A child in a forward-facing child restraint can be seriously injured or killed if the right front passenger airbag inflates and the passenger seat is in a forward position.

Even if the passenger sensing system has turned off the right front passenger frontal airbag, no system is fail-safe. No one can guarantee that an airbag will not deploy under some unusual circumstance, even though it is turned off. Secure rear-facing child restraints in a rear seat, even if the airbag is off. If you secure a forward-facing child restraint in the right front seat, always move the front passenger seat as far back as it will go. It is better to secure the child restraint in a rear seat. See Passenger Sensing System for additional information.

If your child restraint has the LATCH system, see Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) for how to install your child restraint using LATCH. If you secure a child restraint using a safety belt and it uses a top tether, see Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) for top tether anchor locations.

Do not secure a child seat in a position without a top tether anchor if a national or local law requires that the top tether be anchored, or if the instructions that come with the child restraint say that the top strap must be anchored.

In Canada, the law requires that forward-facing child restraints have a top tether, and that the tether be attached.

You will be using the lap-shoulder belt to secure the child restraint in this position. Follow the instructions that came with the child restraint.

1. Move the seat as far back as it will go before securing the forward-facing child restraint.

When the passenger sensing system has turned off the right front passenger's frontal airbag, the off indicator on the passenger airbag status indicator should light and stay lit when you start the vehicle. See Passenger Airbag Status Indicator .

2. Put the child restraint on the seat.
3. If your seat has a safety belt guide, remove the safety belt from the guide on the head restraint by sliding the webbing through the opening on the guide. Do not secure the child restraint with the safety belt routed through the guide.
4. Pick up the latch plate, and run the lap and shoulder portions of the vehicle's safety belt through or around the restraint. The child restraint instructions will show you how.
5. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.

Make sure the release button is positioned so you would be able to unbuckle the safety belt quickly if necessary.

6. Pull the rest of the shoulder belt all the way out of the retractor to set the lock.
7. To tighten the belt, push down on the child restraint, pull the shoulder portion of the belt to tighten the lap portion of the belt and feed the shoulder belt back into the retractor. If you are using a forward-facing child restraint, you may find it helpful to use your knee to push down on the child restraint as you tighten the belt.
8. Push and pull the child restraint in different directions to be sure it is secure.

If the airbag is off, the off indicator in the passenger airbag status indicator will come on and stay on when the vehicle is started.

If a child restraint has been installed and the on indicator is lit, turn the vehicle off. Remove the child restraint from the vehicle and reinstall the child restraint.

If, after reinstalling the child restraint and restarting the vehicle, the on indicator is still lit, check to make sure that the vehicle's seatback is not pressing the child restraint into the seat cushion. If this happens, slightly recline the vehicle's seatback and adjust the seat cushion if possible. Also make sure the child restraint is not trapped under the vehicle head restraint. If this happens, adjust the head restraint.

Remove any additional material from the seat such as blankets, cushions, seat covers, seat heaters or seat massagers before reinstalling or securing the child restraint.

If the on indicator is still lit, secure the child in the child restraint in a rear seat position in the vehicle and check with your dealer/retailer.

To remove the child restraint, unbuckle the vehicle's safety belt and let it go back all the way.

If your seat has a safety belt guide, insert the safety belt into the guide on the head restraint by sliding the webbing through the opening on the guide.