Page 14 of 273

Pre-Drive Safety Checklist 
To make sure you and your 
passenger  get the  maximum 
protection  from your car's  safety 
features,  check the  following each 
time  before  you drive 
away: 
• You and any adult  passenger,  or a 
larger  child who has outgrown 
child  seats,  are wearing  your seat 
belts  and wearing 
them properly 
(see  page 
15 ) . 
• A small  child riding in a forward
facing  child seat is properly 
restrained  (see page 
26). 
• 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 ). 
• Both  doors  are closed  and locked 
(see  page 
12 ). 
• All cargo  is properly  stored or 
secured  (see page  124). 
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 air bags  deploy. 
Your Car's Safety  Features 
Driver and Passenger Safety 11  
         
        
        
     
        
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Protecting Adults 
Introduction 
The following pages provide 
instructions  on how  to properly 
protect  adult occupants. 
These instructions  also apply  to a 
child  whom  you have  decided  is 
large  enough  and mature  enough  to 
ride  as a passenger.  (See page 
29 for 
important  additional  guidelines  on 
how  to properly  protect larger 
children.) 
1.  Close  and Lock  the Doors 
After  everyone  has entered  the car, 
be  sure  the doors  are closed  and 
locked. 
12 
Driver  and Passenger Safety 
~ Your car has  a door 
~ monitor  light on the 
instrument  panel to indicate  when a 
specific  door is 
not tightly  closed. 
For  safety,  locking  the doors  reduces 
the  chance 
that a passenger, 
especially  a child, 
will open  a door 
while  the car is moving  and 
accidentally  fall out. 
It also  reduces 
the  chance  of someone  being thrown 
out  of the  car during  a crash. 
For  security,  locked doors  can 
prevent  an outsider  from 
unexpectedly  opening a door  when 
you  come  to a stop. 
See  page 
58 for how  to lock  the 
doors. 
2.Adjust the Front Seats 
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.  
         
        
        
     
        
        Page 18 of 273

4.Fasten and Position the Seat 
Belts 
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. 
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 
Protecting  Adults 
spreads the forces of  a crash  over 
the  strongest  bones 
in your upper 
body. 
Improperly positioning  the seat 
belts can  cause  serious  injury 
or  death 
in a crash. 
Make  sure 
all seat belts are 
properly positioned  before 
driving. 
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. 
CONTINUED 
Driver and Passenger Safety 15  
         
        
        
     
        
        Page 27 of 273

Protecting Children 
Placing a Child Seat 
This  page  briefly  summarizes 
Honda's  recommendations  on where 
to  place  a child  seat in your  car. 
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 this 
car,  follow  the instructions 
provided  in this  section. 
24 Driver and Passenger Safety 
Passenger's Seat 
Infants: Never  in the passenger's 
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 this car, move  the vehicle  seat 
to  the  rear-most  position and 
secure  a front-facing  child seat 
with 
the seat  belt.  (see page 27). 
This  car is not  equipped  with a 
tether  attachment  point.  
         
        
        
     
        
        Page 28 of 273

Installing a Child Seat 
Mter selecting  a proper  child seat, 
there  are three  main steps  in 
installing  the seat: 
1. Secure the child seat to the car 
with  a 
seat belt. All child  seats 
must  be secured  to the  car with 
the lap part  of a lap/shoulder  belt. 
A  child  whose  seat is not  properly 
secured  to 
the car can  be 
endangered 
in a  crash.  See page 
27 for instructions  on how  to 
secure  a forward-facing  child seat 
in this car. 
2. Make sure the child seat is firmly 
secured. Mter 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." 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. 
Protecting Children 
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  properly 
secured.  An unsecured  child seat can 
be  thrown  around the car during  a 
crash  or sudden  stop and injure 
someone. 
Driver and Passenger Safety 25  
         
        
        
     
        
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Child Seat Installation 
The passenger's seat belt has a 
locking  mechanism  that must  be 
activated  to secure  a child  seat. 
The following  pages provide 
instructions  and tips on how  to 
secure  a forward-facing  child seat 
with  this type  of seat  belt. 
1. Move  the vehicle  seat to the rear
most  position.  Moving the  seat as 
far  back  as possible  reduces the 
chance  of a child  being  injured  or 
killed 
if the passenger's  airbag 
inflates.  (See page 
68 for 
instructions  on how  to adjust  the 
seat.) 
2. With  the child  seat in position, 
route  the belt  through  the child 
seat  according  to the  seat  maker's 
instructions,  then insert  the latch 
plate  into the buckle. 
Protecting Children 
3. 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). 
4. 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 27  
         
        
        
     
        
        Page 31 of 273

Protecting Children 
5. After confirming that the belt  is 
locked,  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. 
28 Driver and Passenger Safety 
6. 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 
in order  to remove  a 
child  seat, unlatch 
the buckle, 
unroute  the seat  belt,  and let the  belt 
fully  retract. 
Additional Precautions for Small 
Children 
• Never hold a small child on your 
lap. If you  are not wearing  a seat 
belt 
in a  crash,  you could  be 
thrown  forward  into the 
dashboard  and crush  the child. 
If you  are wearing  a seat  belt,  the 
child  can be torn  from  your arms 
during  a crash.  For example, 
if 
your  car crashes  into a parked 
vehicle  at 
30 mph ( 48 km/h), a 
30-lb (14 kg) child  will become  a 
900-lb (410 kg) force,  and you  will 
not  be able  to hold  on. 
• Never put a seat belt over yourself 
and a child. During  a crash,  the 
belt  could  press deep into the child 
and  cause  very serious  injuries.  
         
        
        
     
        
        Page 35 of 273
Protecting Children 
If you decide that a child  can safely 
ride  in this  car, be sure  to: 
• Carefully  read the owner's  manual 
and  make  sure you understand 
all 
seat  belt instructions  and all safety 
information. 
• Move  the vehicle  seat to the rear
most  position. 
• Have  the child  sit up  straight,  back 
against  the seat,  and feet  on or 
near  the floor. 
• Check  that the child's  seat belt is 
properly  positioned  and secured. 
32 Driver and Passenger Safety 
• Supervise  the child.  Even a mature 
child  sometimes  needs to be 
reminded  to fasten  the seat  belt or 
sit  properly.