2000 HONDA ODYSSEY ecu

You
r Vehicle' s Safet y Feature s

Pre-Driv e Safet y Checklis t
To make sure you and your passengers get the maximum
protection from your vehicle's safety
features, check the following each
time before you drive away: All adults, and children who have
outgrown child safety seats, are
wearing their seat belts and
wearing them properly (see page 15).
Any infant or small child is
properly restrained in a child seat

in a back seat (see page 22). Front seat occupants are sitting
upright and as far back as possible
from the steering wheel and dashboard (see page 12). Seat-backs are upright (see page
13). Head restraints are properly
adjusted (see page 14). All doors and the tailgate are
closed and locked (see page 12). All cargo is properly stored or
secured (see page 197).
The rest of this section gives more detailed information about how you
can maximize your safety.
Remember, however, that no safety
system can prevent all injuries or
deaths that can occur in severe
crashes, even when seat belts are properly worn and the airbags deploy.

Driver an d Passenge r Safet y

Protecting Adult s
Introductio n
The following pages provide instructions on how to properly
protect the driver and other adult
occupants.
These instructions also apply to children who have outgrown child
seats and are large enough to wear
lap/shoulder belts. (See page 39 for important additional guidelines on
how to properly protect larger
children.) 1
. Clos e an d Loc k th e Door s
After everyone has entered the
vehicle, be sure the doors and tailgate are closed and locked.
Your vehicle has a door and tailgate monitor light on the instrument
panel to indicate when a specific door or the tailgate is not tightly
closed.
For safety, locking the doors reduces
the chance that a passenger, especially a child, will open a door
while the vehicle is moving and accidentally fall out.It also reduces
the chance of someone being thrown out of the vehicle during a crash.
For security, locked doors can
prevent an outsider from
unexpectedly opening a door when
you come to a stop.
See page 79 for how to lock the
doors. 2.Adjus
t th e Fron t Seat s
Any driver who sits too close to the steering wheel is at risk of being
seriously injured or killed by striking
the steering wheel, or from being struck by an inflating airbag during a
crash.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

Protecting Adult s
Properly adjusted head restraints
will help protect occupants from
whiplash and other crash injuries.
See page 104 for how to adjust the
head restraints. 5.Faste
n an d Positio n th e Sea t
Belt s
Using a Lap/Shoulder Belt
(Except the center position of the
third row)
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.
CONTINUED
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.

Protecting Adult s
Using the Lap/Shoulder Belt in the
Center Position of the Third Row
Unlatch the metal plate of the
shoulder belt from the anchor on the
ceiling and extend the belt by pulling
the metal plate.
META L
HOO K
LATC H PLAT E
Attach the metal hook on the edge of
the shoulder belt to the metal loop
on the latch plate of the lap belt
marked CENTER. Make sure the shoulder belt is securely attached
and it is not twisted. A twisted belt
can cause serious injuries in a crash. Insert the latch plate of the lap belt
into the buckle marked CENTER. If
the belt is too short, hold the latch
plate at a right angle and pull on the
plate to extend the belt. Then insert
the latch plate into the buckle, and
tug on the lap and shoulder belts to
make sure the belt is securely
latched.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y
META
L PLAT E
CONTINUED

Protecting Childre n
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 the driver'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 onthe driver's and front passenger's
visors. Please read and follow the instructions on these labels.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y
CAUTIO NTO 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 FURTHER
INFORMATION 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 POUR
ENFANTS FAISANT FACE A L'ARRIERE 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
PLUS AMPLES RENSEIGNEMENTS.

Protecting Childre n
If Yo u Mus t Driv e wit h Severa l
Childre n
Your vehicle has two rows of back
seats where children can be properly
restrained.
If you ever have to carry a group ofchildren (when carpooling for
example), and a child must ride in
front:
Place the largest child in the frontseat, 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). I
f a Chil d Require s Clos e
Attentio n
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 seatexposes the child to hazards from
the airbag, and paying close attention to a child distracts thedriver 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. Additiona
l Safet y Precaution s
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 Canadian 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.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

Protecting Childre n
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 theseat 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-facingchild seat with the seat belt (see
page 36).
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y
Airbag s Pos e Seriou s
Risk s t o Childre n
The passenger's airbag inflates with enough force to kill orseriously 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 thrownforward 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
provided in this section.

Protecting Childre n
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 vehiclecan 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 vehiclesor 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 ofchild seat that can be firmly secured
in the desired seating position.
3. Secure the child in the child seat.
Make sure the child is properly
strapped 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.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y