2000 Acura RL 3.5 Owner's Manual

Protectin
g Adult s

A front passenger should also adjust the seat-back to an upright position,
but as far from the dashboard as
possible. A passenger who sits too close to the dashboard could be
injured if the front airbag inflates.
Reclining a seat-back so that theshoulder part of the belt no longer
rests against the occupant's chest
reduces the protective capability of
the belt. It also increases the chance of sliding under the belt in a crash
and being seriously injured. The
farther a seat-back is reclined, the
greater the risk of injury.
See page 94 for how to adjust seat-

backs.
4.Adjus
t th e Hea d Restraint s
Before driving, make sure everyone
with an adjustable head restraint has properly positioned the head
restraint. The restraint should be
positioned so the back of theoccupant's head rests against the
center of the restraint. A taller
person should adjust the restraint as
high as possible.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y Reclining the seat-back too far
can result in serious injury or
death in a crash.
Adjust the seat-back to anupright position and sit well

back in the seat.

Protectin
g Adult s

Properly adjusted head restraints
will help protect occupants from
whiplash and other crash injuries.
See page 95 for how to adjust the
head restraints. 5. Faste
n an d Positio n th e Sea t
Belt s
Insert the latch plate into the buckle,
then tug on the belt to make sure the
belt is securely latched. Also check
that the belt is not twisted, because a
twisted belt can cause serious injuries in a crash.
Position the lap part of the belt as
low as possible across your hips, then pull up on the shoulder part of
the belt so the lap part fits snugly.
This lets your strong pelvic bones take the force of a crash and reduces
the chance of internal injuries.

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Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

Improperly positioning head
restraints reduces their
effectiveness and you can be
seriously injured in a crash.
Make sure head restraints are
in place and positioned properly
before driving.

Protectin
g Adult s

If necessary, pull up on the belt again
to remove any slack from the shoulder part, then check that the
belt rests across the center of your
chest and over your shoulder. This spreads the forces of a crash over
the strongest bones in your upper
body.
If the seat belt touches or crosses
your neck, or if it crosses your arm instead of your shoulder, you need to
adjust the seat belt anchor height. To adjust the height of a front seat
belt anchor, press the release button
and slide the anchor up or down as
needed (it has four positions).
Never place the shoulder portion of a lap/shoulder belt under your arm or
behind your back. This could cause
very serious injuries in a crash. If a seat belt does not seem to work
as it should, it may not protect the
occupant in a crash. No one should
sit in a seat with an inoperative seat

belt. Anyone using a seat belt that is

not working properly can be
seriously injured or killed. Have your
Acura dealer check the belt as soon as possible.
See page 40 for additionalinformation about your seat belt
system and how to take care of your
belts.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

Improperly positioning the seat
belts can cause serious injury
or death in a crash.
Make sure all seat belts are
properly positioned before
driving.

Protectin
g Adult s

6 . Adjus t th e Steerin g Whee l
Adjust the steering wheel, if needed, so that the wheel points toward your
chest, not toward your face.
Pointing the steering wheel toward
your chest provides optimal protection from the airbag.
See page 71 for how to adjust the
steering wheel. 7.Maintai
n a Prope r Sittin g
Positio n
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
car 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 car, or
by being struck by an inflating front
airbag. Being struck by an inflating side airbag can result in possibly
serious injuries.

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Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

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.

Protectin
g Adult s

Remember, to get the best
protection from your car's airbags and other safety features, you must
sit properly and wear your seat belt
properly. Advic
e fo r Pregnan t Wome n
Because protecting the mother is the
best way to protect her unborn child, a pregnant woman should always
wear a seat belt whenever she drives or rides in a car.
Remember to keep the lap portion of
the belt as low as possible across
your hips. Pregnant women should also sit
upright and as far back as possible
from the steering wheel or dashboard. This will reduce the risk
of injuries to both the mother and
her unborn child that can be caused by a crash or an inflating airbag.
Each time you have a check-up, ask
your doctor if it's okay for you to drive.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

Protectin
g Adult s

Additiona l Safet y Precaution sTwo people should never use the
same seat belt. If they do, they
could be very seriously injured in a

crash.
Do not put any accessories on seat

belts. Devices intended to improve
occupant comfort or reposition the shoulder part of a seat belt can
severely compromise the
protective capability of the seat
belt and increase the chance of serious injury in a crash.
Do not place hard or sharp objects
between yourself and a front

airbag. Carrying hard or sharp
objects on your lap, or driving with
a pipe or other sharp object in
your mouth, can result in injuries if your front airbag inflates.
Do not attach or place objects on

the front airbag covers. Any object

attached to or placed on the covers
marked "SRS AIRBAG," in the
center of the steering wheel and on top of the dashboard, could
interfere with the proper operation
of the airbags. Or, if the airbags
inflate, the objects could be
propelled inside the car and hurt
someone.
Do not attach hard objects on or

near a front door. If a side airbag

inflates, a cup holder or other hard object attached on or near the
door could be propelled inside the
car and hurt someone.
Keep your hands and arms away

from the airbag covers. If your

hands or arms are close to the airbag cover in the center of the
steering wheel or on top of the
dashboard, they could be injured if
the front airbags inflate.

Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

Protectin
g Childre n

Children depend on adults to protect
them. However, despite their best
intentions, many parents and other
adults may not know how to properly
protect young passengers.
So if you have children, or if you ever
need to drive with a grandchild or
other children in your car, be sure to
read this section. Al
l Childre n Mus t B e Restraine d
Each year, many children are injured
or killed in vehicle crashes because
they are either unrestrained or not
properly restrained. In fact, vehicle accidents are the number one cause
of death of children ages 12 and
under.
To reduce the number of child deaths and injuries, every state and
Canadian province requires that
infants and children be restrained
whenever they ride in a vehicle.
Any child who is too small to wear a seat belt should be properly

restrained in a child seat. (See page
24.)
A larger child should always be restrained with a seat belt. (See page 35.)
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y Children who are unrestrained
or improperly restrained can be
seriously injured or killed in a
crash.
Any child too small for a seat
belt should be properlyrestrained in a child seat. A
larger child should be properly restrained with a seat belt.

Protectin
g Childre n

Childre n Shoul d Si t i n th e Bac k

Sea t

According to accident statistics, children of all ages and sizes aresafer when they are restrained in the
back seat, not the front seat. The
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration and Transport Canada recommend that all children
ages 12 and under be properly
restrained in the back seat.
In the back seat, children are less
likely to be injured by striking hard interior parts during a collision or
hard braking. Also, children cannot
be injured by an inflating airbag
when they ride in the back. Th
e Passenger' s Fron t Airba g
Pose s Seriou s Risk s t o Childre n
Front airbags have been designed to
help protect adults in a moderate to severe frontal collision. To do this,
the passenger's front airbag is quite
large, and it inflates with tremendous
speed.

Infants
Never put a rear-facing child seat in the front seat of a vehicle equipped
with a passenger's front airbag. If

the airbag inflates, it can hit the back of the child seat with enough force
to kill or very seriously injure an
infant.
Small Children

Placing a forward-facing child seat in the front seat of a vehicle equipped
with a passenger's front airbag can

be hazardous. If the vehicle seat is
too far forward, or the child's head is thrown forward during a collision, an
inflating front airbag can strike thechild with enough force to kill or
very seriously injure a small child.

Larger Children
Children who have outgrown child
seats are also at risk of being injured or killed by an inflating passenger's

front airbag. Whenever possible,

larger children should sit in the back seat, properly restrained with a seat
belt. (See page 35 for important information about protecting larger
children.)
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Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y