Citroen C3: Seat belts

Citroen C3 Owners Manual

Front seat belts

The front seat belts are fi tted with a pretensioning and force limiting system.

This system improves safety in the front seats in the event of a front impact.

Depending on the severity of the impact, the pretensioning system instantly tightens the seat belts against the body of the occupants.

The pretensioning seat belts are active when the ignition is on.

The force limiter reduces the pressure of the seat belt on the chest of the occupant, so increasing their protection.

Fastening

• Pull the strap, then insert the tongue in the buckle.
• Check that the seat belt is fastened correctly by pulling the strap.

Unfastening

• Press the red button on the buckle.
• Guide the seat belt as it is reeled in.

Seat belt not fastened/ unfastened warning lamp

When the ignition is switched on, this warning lamp comes on in the instrument panel, if the driver and/or the front passenger has not fastened their seat belt.

From approximately 12 mph (20 km/h) this warning lamp fl ashes for two minutes accompanied by an audible signal of increasing volume. Once these two minutes have elapsed, this warning lamp remains on until the driver and/or the front passenger fastens their seat belt.

Rear seat belts

The rear seats are each fi tted with a three-point inertia reel seat belt with force limiter.

Fastening

• Pull the strap, then insert the tongue in the buckle.
• Check that the seat belt is fastened correctly by pulling the strap.

Unfastening

• Press the red button on the buckle.
• Guide the seat belt as it is reeled in.

The driver must ensure that passengers use the seat belts correctly and that they are all restrained securely before setting off.

Wherever you are seated in the vehicle, always fasten your seat belt, even for short journeys.

Do not invert the seat belt buckles as they will not fulfi l their role fully.

The seat belts are fi tted with an inertia reel permitting automatic adjustment of the length of the strap to your size. The seat belt is stored automatically when not in use.

Before and after use, ensure that the seat belt is reeled in correctly.

The lower part of the strap must be positioned as low as possible on the pelvis.

The upper part must be positioned in the hollow of the shoulder.

The inertia reels are fi tted with an automatic locking device which comes into operation in the event of a collision, emergency braking or if the vehicle rolls over. You can release the device by pulling rapidly on the strap and releasing it.

In order to be effective, a seat belt:

- must be tightened as close to the body as possible,
- must restrain one person of adult size only,
- must not bear any trace of cuts or fraying,
- must be pulled in front of you with a smooth movement, checking that it does not twist, - must not be altered or modifi ed to avoid altering its performance.

In accordance with current safety regulations, all repairs and checks must be carried out by a CITROËN dealer who guarantees that the work is carried out correctly.

Have your seat belts checked regularly by a CITROËN dealer and particularly if the straps show signs of damage.

Clean the seat belt straps with soapy water or a textile cleaning product, sold by CITROËN dealers.

After folding or moving a seat or rear bench seat, ensure that the seat belt is positioned and reeled in correctly.

Recommendations for children

Use a suitable child seat if the passenger is less than 12 years old or shorter than one and a half metres. Never use the same seat belt to secure more than one person.

Never allow a child to travel on your lap.

Depending on the nature and seriousness of the impacts , the pretensioning device may be triggered before and independently of the airbags. Triggering of the pre-tensioners is accompanied by a slight discharge of harmless smoke and a noise, due to the activation of the pyrotechnic cartridge incorporated in the system.

In all cases, the airbag warning lamp comes on.

Following an impact, have the seat belts system checked, and if necessary replaced, by a CITROËN dealer.