1999 HONDA ODYSSEY airbag off

Your Vehicle's Safety Features

Airbags
Your vehicle has a Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) with frontal
airbags to help protect the driver and
a front seat passenger.
This system also includes an indicator light on the instrument
panel to alert you to a possible
problem with the system. The most important things you need
to know about your airbags are:
Airbags do not replace seat belts.

The seat belts are the occupants' primary protection in all types ofcollisions. The airbags supplement
the seat belts by providing extra protection for the head and chest
of each front seat occupant in a
moderate to severe frontal

collision.
Airbags offer no protection in side

impacts, rear impacts, rollovers,
or minor collisions. Airbags are

designed to deploy only during a
moderate to severe frontal

collision.
Airbags can pose serious hazards.

To do their job, airbags must inflate with tremendous force and
speed. So while airbags save lives,
they can cause serious injuries to
adults and larger children who are not wearing seat belts, are not
wearing them properly, are sitting
too close to the airbag, or are not sitting in a proper position. Infants
and small children are at an even
greater risk of injury or death.

What you should do: Always wear

your seat belt properly, and sit upright and as far back as possible
from the steering wheel or

dashboard.

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Your Vehicle's Safety Features

Seats & Seat-Backs
Your vehicle's seats are designed to keep you in a comfortable, upright
position so you can take full
advantage of the protection offered
by seat belts and the energyabsorbing materials in the seats.
How you adjust your seats and seat-
backs can also affect your safety. For example, sitting too close to the
steering wheel or dashboard
increases the risk of you or your
passenger being injured by striking
the inside of the vehicle, or by an
inflating airbag.
Reclining a seat-back too far reduces
the seat belt's effectiveness and increases the chance that the seat's
occupant will slide under the seat
belt in a crash and be seriously
injured.
What you should do: Move the front

seats as far back as possible, and

keep adjustable seat-backs in an
upright position whenever the

vehicle is moving.

Head Restraints

Head restraints can help protect you

from whiplash and other injuries. For
maximum protection, the back of

your head should rest against the center of the head restraint. Door Locks

Keeping your doors locked reduces

the chance of being thrown out of
the vehicle during a crash. It also

helps prevent occupants from
accidentally opening a door and

falling out, and outsiders from
unexpectedly opening your doors.

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Protecting Adults

6.Adjust the Steering Wheel
Adjust the steering wheel, if needed, so that the wheel points toward your
chest, not toward your face.
Pointing the steering wheel toward
your face decreases the protective capability of the driver's airbag.
See page 72 for how to adjust the
steering wheel.
7.Maintain a Proper Sitting

Position

After all occupants have adjusted their seats and put on seat belts, it is
very important that they continue to sit upright, well back in their seats,
with their feet on the floor, until the
vehicle is parked and the engine is off.
Sitting improperly can increase the
chance of injury during a crash. For example, if an occupant slouches,
lies down, turns sideways, sits forward, leans forward or sideways,
or puts one or both feet up, the
chance of injury during a crash is
greatly increased.
In addition, an occupant who is out of
position in the front seat can be
seriously or fatally injured by
striking interior parts of the vehicle,
or by being struck by an inflating

airbag.
Remember, to get the best
protection from your vehicle's airbags and other safety features,
you must sit properly and wear your seat belt properly.

Driver and Passenger Safety

Sitting improperly or out of
position can result in serious
injury or death in a crash.
Always sit upright, well back in
the seat, with your feet on the

floor.ProCarManuals.comMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Additional Information About Your SRS

During a crash, your seat belt helps
restrain your lower body and torso,
while the tensioner tightens and
locks the seat belt to help keep you in place. Your airbag provides a
cushion to help restrain and protect
your head and chest.
Since both airbags use the same
sensors, both airbags normally
inflate at the same time. However, it
is possible for only one airbag to
inflate.
This can occur when the severity of a collision is at the margin, or
threshold, that determines whether
or not the airbags will deploy. In such cases, the seat belt will provide
sufficient protection, and the
supplemental protection offered by
the airbag would be minimal. After inflating, the airbags
immediately deflate, so they won'tinterfere with the driver's visibility,
or the ability to steer or operate
other controls.
The total time for inflation and deflation is approximately one-tenth
of a second, so fast that most
occupants are not aware that the
airbags deployed until they see them
lying in their laps. After a crash, you may see what
looks like smoke. This is actually
powder from the airbag's surface.
Although the powder is not harmful, people with respiratory problemsmay experience some temporarydiscomfort. If this occurs, get out of
the vehicle as soon as it is safe to do
so.

U.S. Owners
For additional information on how
your airbags work, see the booklet
titled SRS: What You Need to Know
About Airbags that came with your

owner's manual.

Canadian Owners
For additional information on how
your airbags work, ask your dealer
for a copy of the booklet titled SRS:
What You Need to Know About Airbags.

Driver and Passenger SafetyProCarManuals.comMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Additional Information About Your SRS

If the light comes on or flashes on
and off while you drive.
If you see any of these indications,
your airbags may not deploy or your seat belt tensioners may not work
when you need them. See your Honda dealer as soon as possible. SRS Service
Your Supplemental Restraint System is virtually maintenance-free, and
there are no parts you can safely service. However, you must have
your vehicle serviced if:

Your airbags ever inflate. The

airbags, seat belt tensioners, and
control unit must be replaced. Do
not try to remove or replace the airbags yourself.
This must be done by a Honda dealer or a knowledgeable body
shop.

The SRS indicator light alerts you

to a problem. Take your vehicle to
an authorized Honda dealer as soon as possible. If you ignore this
indication, the airbags might not
inflate when you need them (see
page 50).

Driver and Passenger Safety

Ignoring the SRS indicator light
can result in serious injury or
death if the airbags do not inflate when needed.
Have your vehicle checked by a
dealer as soon as possible if
the SRS light alerts you to a potential problem.ProCarManuals.comMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Index
Accessories and Modifications.... 189 Accessories................................. 189
Additional Safety Precaution.... 190Modifications............................. 190
ACCESSORY (Ignition Key Position)........................................ 79
Accessory Power Sockets............. 124
Adding Automatic Transmission

Fluid........................................ 243

Brake Fluid................................. 244

Engine Coolant........................... 237

Engine Oil................................... 233
Power Steering Fluid................. 245
Windshield Washer Fluid......... 242
Additional Information About Your Seat Belts........................ 45
Lap/Shoulder Belt....................... 45
Seat Belt Maintenance................ 47
Seat Belt System Components... 45
Additional Information About Your SRS................................... 48
Additional Safety Precautions.... 52
How the Automatic Seat Belt

Tensioners Work..................... 50

How the SRS Indicator
Works...................................... 50

How Your Airbags Work............ 48

SRS Components......................... 48
Additives, Engine Oil..................... 235
Adjustments Head Restraints......................... 104
Mirrors........................................ 115
Seats............................................ 100

Steering Wheel............................
72

Airbag (SRS)............................... 9
, 49
Air Cleaner Element...................... 246
Air Conditioning Filter.................. 256 Air Conditioning System.......130, 138 Maintenance............................... 255
Rear A/C Control......................

146

Usage..................................130 ,


138

Air Outlet
s
(Vents)................132, 138
Air Pressure, Tires........................ 25

7

Alcohol i n
Gasoline........................ 321
Aluminum Wheels, Cleaning........ 279
Antifreeze....................................... 237
Anti-lock Brakes (ABS) Indicator Light..................... 59, 206 Operation.................................... 205
Anti-theft, Audio System............... 180 Anti-theft Steering Column Lock .. 78
Appearance Care........................... 277
Armrests......................................... 103
Audio Controls, Remote................ 179
Audio System......................... 149, 161Automatic Seat Belt Tensioners.... 50
Automatic Lighting Off Feature.... 67
Automatic Speed Control................ 73
Automatic Transmission............... 198
Capacity, Fluid........................... 316

Checking Fluid Level................ 243
Shifting........................................199
Shift Lever Position Indicator.. 198 Shift Lever Positions................. 199
Shift Lock Release..................... 201

CONTINUEDProCarManuals.comMain Menu s t