1999 HONDA ODYSSEY Owners Manual

Protecting Children

U.S. Models

To remind you of the passenger's airbag hazards, and that children
must be properly restrained in a
back seat, your vehicle has warning labels on the dashboard and on thedriver's and front passenger's visors.
Please read and follow the
instructions on these labels. Canadian Models
To remind you of the airbag hazards,
your vehicle has warning labels on the driver's and front passenger's
visors. Please read and follow theinstructions on these labels.

Driver and Passenger Safety
CAUTION

TO AVOID SERIOUS INJURY:

FOR MAXIMUM SAFETY PROTECTION IN
ALL TYPES OF CRASHES, YOU MUST
ALWAYS WEAR YOUR SAFETY BELT. DO NOT INSTALL REARWARD-FACING
CHILD SEATS IN ANY FRONT PASSENGER SEAT POSITION
DO NOT SIT OR LEAN UNNECESSARILY
CLOSE TO THE AIR BAG.
DO NOT PLACE ANY OBJECTS OVER THE
AIR BAG OR BETWEEN THE AIR BAG
AND YOURSELF.
SEE THE OWNER'S MANUAL FOR FURTHERINFORMATION AND EXPLANATIONS. PRECAUTION:

POUR EVITER DES BLESSURES GRAVES:

POUR PROFITER D'UNE PROTECTION
MAXIMALE LORS D'UNE COLLISION BOUCLEZ
TOUJOURS VOTRE CEINTURE DE SECURITE. N'lNSTALLEZ JAMAIS UN SIEGE POURENFANTS FAISANT FACE A L'ARPIERE SUR
LE SIEGE DU PASSAGER AVANT
NE VOUS APPUYEZ PAS ET NE VOUS ASSEYEZ PAS PRES DU COUSSIN GONFLABLE.
NE DEPOSEZ AUCUN OBJET SUR LE COUSSIN
GONFLABLE OU ENTRE LE COUSSIN
GONFLABLE ET VOUS. LISEZ LE GUIDE UTILISATEUR POUR DE
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Protecting Children

If You Must Drive with Several Children

Your vehicle has two rows of back
seats where children can be properly

restrained.

If you ever have to carry a group of

children (when carpooling for

example), and a child must ride in

front:

Place the largest child in the front
seat, provided the child is large

enough to wear a seat belt

properly (see page 39 ).
Move the vehicle seat as far to the
rear as possible (see page 12 ).
Have the child sit upright and well
back in the seat (see page 19 ).
Make sure the seat belt is properly
positioned and secured (see page 15). If a Child Requires Close
Attention Many parents say they prefer to put
an infant or small child in the front
passenger seat so they can watch the
child, or because the child requires attention.
Placing a child in the front seat
exposes the child to hazards from
the airbag, and paying close attention to a child distracts the
driver from the important tasks of
driving, placing both of you at risk.
If a child requires physical attention or frequent visual contact, we
strongly recommend that another
adult ride with the child in a back
seat. The back seat is far safer for a
child than the front. Additional Safety Precautions

Use childproof door locks to
prevent children from opening the
doors. Using this feature will
prevent children from opening the doors and accidentally falling out (see page 85 ).

Do not leave children alone in your
vehicle. Leaving children without
adult supervision is illegal in most
states and provinces, and can be
very hazardous. For example, infants and small children left in a
vehicle on a hot day can die from heatstroke. And children left alone
with the key in the ignition can accidentally set the vehicle in
motion, possibly injuring
themselves or others.
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Protecting Children

General Guidelines for Using Child Seats
The following pages give general guidelines for selecting and installingchild seats for infants and small
children.

Selecting a Child Seat

To provide proper protection, a child seat should meet three
requirements:

1. The child seat should meet safety
standards. The child seat should
meet Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 213 (FMVSS 213)
or Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 213 (CMVSS 213). Look
for the manufacturer's statement of compliance on the box and seat.

2. The child seat should be of the
proper type and size to fit the child.
Infants: Children up to about one
year old should be restrained in a rear-facing, reclining child seat. Only
a rear-facing seat provides the
proper support to protect an infant's
head, neck, and back. See page 30 for additional information on
protecting infants.
Small Children: A child who is too

large for a rear-facing child seat, and
who can sit up without support, should be restrained in a forward-
facing child seat. See page 35 for additional information on protectingsmall children.

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Protecting Children

3. The child seat should fit the vehicle seating position (or
positions) where it will be used.
Due to variations in the design of
child seats, vehicle seats, and seat
belts, all child seats will not fit all
vehicle seating positions.
However, Honda is confident that
one or more child seat models can fit
and be properly installed in all
recommended seating positions in
your vehicle. Before purchasing a child seat, we
recommend that parents test the
child seat in the specific vehicle seating position (or positions) where
they intend to use the seat. If a
previously purchased child seat does
not fit, you may need to buy a different one that will fit.
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Protecting Children

Placing a Child Seat

This page briefly summarizes Honda's recommendations on where
to place rear-facing and forward-
facing child seats in your vehicle.
Front Passenger's Seat

Infants: Never in the front seat, due
to the passenger's airbag hazard.
Small children: Not recommended, due to the passenger's airbag
hazard. If a small child must ride in front, move the vehicle seat to
the rear-most position and secure a front-facing child seat with the
seat belt (see page 36).

Back Seats

Infants: Recommended positions.
Secure a rear-facing child seat
with the seat belt (see page 31).

Small children: Recommended
positions. Secure a front-facing
child seat with the seat belt (see
page 36).
Driver and Passenger Safety Airbags Pose Serious
Risks to Children
The passenger's airbag inflates with enough force to kill or seriously injure an infant in a
rear-facing child seat.
A small child in a forward-facing child seat is also at risk. If the
vehicle seat is too far forward, or the child's head is thrown
forward during a collision, an inflating airbag can kill or
seriously injure the child.
If a small child must ride in the
front, follow the instructions
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Protecting Children

Installing a Child Seat

After selecting a proper child seat, and a good position to install the seat,
there are three main steps in
installing the seat:

1. Secure the child seat to the vehicle
with a seat belt. All child seats
must be secured to the vehicle
with the lap part of a lap/shoulder
belt. A child whose seat is not properly secured to the vehicle
can be endangered in a crash. See
pages 31 and 36 for instructions on
how to secure child seats in this

vehicle.

2. Make sure the child seat is firmly
secured. After installing a child

seat, push and pull the seat
forward and from side to side to
verify that it is secure. To provide security during normal
driving maneuvers as well as during
a collision, we recommend that
parents secure a child seat as firmly as possible.
However, a child seat does not need
to be "rock solid." In some vehicles or seating positions, it may be
difficult to install a child seat so that
it does not move at all. Some side-to- side or back-and-forth movement can
be expected and should not reduce the child seat's effectiveness.
If the child seat is not secure, try
installing it in a different seating
position, or use a different style of child seat that can be firmly secured
in the desired seating position. 3. Secure the child in the child seat.
Make sure the child is properlystrapped in the child seat
according to the child seat maker's
instructions. A child who is not
properly secured in a child seat can be thrown out of the seat in a
crash and seriously injured.
Storing a Child Seat
When you are not using a child seat, either remove it and store it in a safe
place, or make sure it is properlysecured. An unsecured child seat can
be thrown around the vehicle during a crash or sudden stop and injure
someone.

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Protecting Children

Protecting Infants
Child Seat Type
Only a rear-facing child seat provides
proper support for a baby's head,
neck, and back. Infants up to about
one year of age must be restrained in
a rear-facing child seat.
Two types of seats may be used: a seat designed exclusively for infants,
or a convertible seat used in the rear-facing, reclining mode. We recommend that an infant be
restrained in a rear-facing child seat
until the infant reaches the seat maker's weight or height limit and is
able to sit up without support.
Rear-Facing Child Seat Placement

In this vehicle, a rear-facing child
seat can be placed in any seating
position in a back seat, but not in the
front seat.

Never put a rear-facing child seat in
the front seat. If the passenger's
airbag inflates, it can hit the back of
the child seat with enough force to
kill or seriously injure an infant. If an infant must be closely watched, we
recommend that another adult sit in
a back seat with the baby.
Do not put a rear-facing child seat in
a forward-facing position. If placed
facing forward, an infant could be
very seriously injured during a frontal collision.

Driver and Passenger Safety
Placing a rear-facing child seat
in the front seat can result in
serious injury or death if the
airbags inflate.
Always place a rear-facing child seat in the back seat, not the

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Protecting Children

Installing a Rear-Facing Child Seat with a Lap/Shoulder Belt

The lap/shoulder belts in the outer back seats have a lockingmechanism that must be activated to
secure a child seat.
The following pages provide instructions on how to secure a rear-
facing child seat with this type ofseat belt.
See page 33 for how to secure a rear-
facing child seat in the center
position of the third seat with the lap
part of the lap/shoulder belt.
For tips on installing a rear-facingchild seat with either type of seat
belt, see page 34 . 1. With the child seat in the desired
back seating position, route the
belt through the child seataccording to the seat maker's
instructions, then insert the latch plate into the buckle. 2. To activate the lockable retractor,
slowly pull the shoulder part of the
belt all the way out until it stops,
then let the belt feed back into the
retractor (you might hear a clicking noise as the belt retracts).

CONTINUED

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