2000 Acura TL ECU

Protecting Children
4. After confirming that the belt islocked, grab the shoulder part of
the belt near the buckle and pull
up to remove any slack from the
lap part of the belt. Remember, if
the lap part of the belt is not tight,
the child seat will not be secure.
To remove slack, it may help to put weight on the child seat, or
push on the back of the seat, while
pulling up on the belt. 5. Push and pull the child seat
forward and from side to side to
verify that it is secure enough to stay upright during normal driving
maneuvers. If the child seat is not
secure, unlatch the belt, allow it to
retract fully, then repeat these steps. To deactivate the locking
mechanism and remove a child seat,
unlatch the buckle, unroute the seat
belt, and let the belt fully retract.
Driver and Passenger Safety

Protecting Children
Protecting Small Children
Child Seat Type A child who can sit up without support, and who fits within the childseat maker's weight and height
limits, should be restrained in a
forward-facing, upright child seat.
Of the different seats available, we
recommend those that have a five-
point harness system as shown. We also recommend that a small
child stay in the child seat as long as
possible, until the child reaches the
weight or height limit for the seat.
Child Seat Placement
In this car, the best place to install a
forward-facing child seat is in one of
the seating positions in the back seat.
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 the
child with enough force to cause
very serious or fatal injuries. If a small child must be closely watched,
we recommend that another adult sit in the back seat with the child. Improperly placing a forward-
facing child seat in the front
seat can result in serious injury or death if the front airbags inflate.
If you must place a forward-
facing child seat in front, move
the vehicle seat as far back as possible and properly restrain
the child.
If it is necessary to put a forward-
facing child seat in the front, move
the vehicle seat as far to the rear as
possible, be sure the child seat is
firmly secured to the car, and the child is properly strapped in the seat.
Driver and Passenger Safety

Protecting Children
Child Seat Installation
The lap/shoulder belts in the backand front passenger seating positions
have a locking mechanism that must
be activated to secure a child seat.
The following pages provide instructions and tips on how tosecure a forward-facing child seat
with this type of seat belt.
1. With the child seat in the desiredback 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).
3. After the belt has retracted, tug on it. If the belt is locked, you will not
be able to pull it out. If you can pull
the belt out, it is not locked and
you will need to repeat these steps.
CONTINUED
Driver and Passenger Safety

Protecting Children
4. After confirming that the belt islocked, grab the shoulder part of
the belt near the buckle and pull
up to remove any slack from the
lap part of the belt. Remember, if
the lap part of the belt is not tight,
the child seat will not be secure. It may help to put weight on the
child seat, or push on the back of
the seat, while pulling up on the
belt. 5. Push and pull the child seat
forward and from side to side to
verify that it is secure enough tostay upright during normal driving
maneuvers. If the child seat is not secure, unlatch the belt, allow it to
retract fully, then repeat these steps. To deactivate the locking
mechanism in order to remove a
child seat, unlatch the buckle,
unroute the seat belt, and let the belt
fully retract.
Driver and Passenger Safety

Protecting Children
Of course, children vary widely. And
while age may be one indicator of
when a child can safely ride in the
front, there are other important
factors you should consider.
Physical Size
Physically, a child must be large
enough for the lap/shoulder belt to
properly fit over the hips, chest, and shoulder (see pages 15 and 36). If
the seat belt does not fit properly, the child should not sit in the front. Maturity
To safely ride in front, a child must be able to follow the rules, including sitting properly and wearing the seat
belt properly throughout a ride.
If you decide that a child can safely
ride up front, be sure to:
• Carefully read the owner's manual and make sure you understand allseat belt instructions and all safety
information.
• Move the vehicle seat to the rear-
most position.
• Have the child sit up straight, backagainst the seat, and feet on or
near the floor.
• Check that the child's seat belt is properly positioned and secured.
• Supervise the child. Even maturechildren sometimes need to be
reminded to fasten the seat beltsor sit properly.
Driver and Passenger Safety

Protecting Children
Using Child Seats with Tethers
Your car has three tether anchorage points on the rear shelf for securing
a tether-style child seat to the car.
Since a tether can provide additionalsecurity, we recommend using a
tether whenever one is required or available. Attach the tether strap hook to the
tether anchorage point and tighten
the strap according to the child seat
maker's instructions.
Driver and Passenger Safety

Additional Information About Your Seat Belts
All seat belts have an emergencylocking retractor. In normal driving,
the retractor lets you move freely in
your seat while it keeps some tension on the belt. During a collisionor sudden stop, the retractor
automatically locks the belt to help
restrain your body.
The seat belts in all seating positions except the driver's have an additional
locking mechanism that must be activated to secure a child seat. (See
pages 29 and 33 for instructions on
how to secure child seats with this type of seat belt.) If the shoulder part of the belt is
pulled all the way out, the locking
mechanism will activate. The belt
will retract, but it will not allow the passenger to move freely.
To deactivate the locking mechanism, unlatch the buckle and
let the seat belt fully retract. To
refasten the belt, pull it out only as
far as needed. See page 15 for instructions on how
to wear the lap/shoulder belt
properly.
Driver and Passenger Safety

Controls Near the Steering Wheel
Make sure the rear window is clear
and you have good visibility before
starting to drive.
The defogger and antenna wires on the inside of the rear window can beaccidentally damaged. When
cleaning the glass, always wipe side
to side. Steering Wheel Adjustment
See page 17 for important safety
information about how to properly
position the steering wheel.
Make any steering wheel adjustment
before you start driving.
Adjusting the steering wheelposition while driving may
cause you to lose control of the
car and be seriously injured in a
crash.
Adjust the steering wheel only
when the car is stopped.
To adjust the steering wheel upward or downward:
1. Push the lever under the steering column all the way down. 2. Move the steering wheel to the
desired position, making sure the
wheel points toward your chest, not toward your face. Make sure
you can see the instrument panel gauges and the indicator lights.
3. Push the lever up to lock the steering wheel in that position.
4. Make sure you have securely locked the steering wheel in place
by trying to move it up and down.
Instruments and Controls