Seat belt reminder

How to read it

Canada's Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations describe the symbol as the front view of a person sitting and wearing a seatbelt, in red. Toyota says it warns the driver and front passenger to fasten their seatbelts, and Ford's F-150 manual that it lights, with a chime, until the seatbelts are fastened.

Also searched as: seatbelt light.

Flashing, then steady

Chevrolet’s 2022 Bolt EUV manual says the light flashes when the vehicle is started, and a chime may sound. The light then stays on until the belt is buckled, and the cycle may repeat if the driver stays or becomes unbuckled while the vehicle is moving.

With nobody in the passenger seat

The Bolt EUV may have a second light for the front passenger, near the passenger airbag status indicator. Chevrolet says it and its chime may come on for an object on the seat, such as a briefcase, handbag, grocery bag or laptop. Nissan’s LEAF manual says its passenger light stays off when the seat is not occupied.

The repeating chime

Ford’s Belt-Minder feature repeats the warning: the light comes on and a tone sounds for 6 seconds every 25 seconds, for about five minutes or until the front seat belts are buckled.

Look-alikes

The Airbag warning light also shows a seated person wearing a belt, but seen from the side and facing a circle; the seat belt reminder shows the person from the front. Canada’s regulations allow the airbag light to be red or yellow; the seat belt light is red.

What the regulations require

In the United States, FMVSS No. 208 requires a warning at the driver’s seat; one of the two options it allows is a light for at least 60 seconds and a chime of 4 to 8 seconds when the driver’s belt isn’t in use. For vehicles made from 1 September 2028 the rule covers the front passenger seat as well: the light stays on while an occupied seat’s belt is unfastened, a chime sounds for at least 30 seconds and again once the vehicle reaches 10 km/h (6.2 mph), and the warning can’t be cancelled. Rear seats get a display, for at least 60 seconds at the start of a trip, of how many or which rear belts are in use. FMVSS No. 101 forbids dimming the telltale until it is invisible, and UN Regulation No. 121 also sets it as red.