2001 Acura Integra Owner's Manual

Protectin
g Childre n
Any child who is too small to wear a seat belt should be properly
restrained in a child seat. (See page 26.)
A larger child should always be restrained with a seat belt. (See page 38.) Childre
n Shoul d Si t i n th e Bac k
Sea t
According to accident statistics, children of all ages and sizes are
safer 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 Airba g Pose s
Seriou s Risk s t o Childre n
Airbags have been designed to help protect adults in a moderate tosevere frontal collision. To do this,
the passenger's airbag is quite large, and it inflates with tremendous

speed.

Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

Protectin
g Childre n

Infants
Never put a rear-facing child seat in the front seat of a vehicle equipped

with a passenger's 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 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 airbag can strike the child
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

airbag. Whenever possible, larger

children should sit in the back seat,
properly restrained with a seat belt. (See page 38 for important
information about protecting larger
children.)

CONTINUED

Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

Protectin
g Childre n

U.S. Models
To remind you of the passenger's airbag hazards, and that children
must be properly restrained in the
back seat, your car has warning labels on the dashboard and on thedriver'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 car has warning labels on the 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
N

TO 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 FRONTPASSENGER 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 POURENFANTS FAISANT FACE A L'ARRIERE SUR
LE SIEGE DU PASSAGER AVANT.
NE VOUS APPUYEZ PAS ET NE VOUS ASSEYEZPAS 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.

Protectin
g Childre n
I f Yo u Mus t Driv e wit h Severa l
Childre n
Your car has two seating positions in the back seat where children can be
properly restrained.
If you ever have to carry more than
two children in your car: Place the largest child in the front
seat, provided the child is large
enough to wear a seat belt
properly (see page 38). Move the vehicle seat as far to the
rear as possible (see page 13).
Have the child sit upright and well
back in the seat (see page 18).
Make sure the seat belt is properly
positioned and secured (see page 16). 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 the
driver from the important task 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 the back
seat. The back seat is far safer for a
child than the front. Additiona
l Safet y Precaution s 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. Lock both doors and the hatch
when your vehicle is not in use.
Children who play in cars can
accidentally get trapped inside the
car. Teach your children not to
play in or around cars.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

Protectin
g Childre n

Genera l Guideline s fo r Usin g
Chil d Seat s
The following pages give general guidelines for selecting and installingchild seats for infants and small
children.
Selecting a Child Seat
To provide proper protection, a child seat should meet three
requirements:
1. The child seat should meet safety

standards. The child seat should

meet Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 213 (FMVSS 213)
or Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 213 (CMVSS 213). Look
for the manufacturer's statement of compliance on the box and seat.

2. The child seat should be of the
proper type and size to fit the child.

Infants: Children up to about one
year old should be restrained in a rear-facing, reclining child seat. Only
a rear-facing seat provides the
proper support to protect an infant's
head, neck, and back. See page 30 for additional information on
protecting infants.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

Protectin
g Childre n

Small Children: A child who is too

large for a rear-facing child seat, and
who can sit up without support, should be restrained in a forward-
facing child seat. See page 34 for additional information on protecting

small children.
3. The child seat should fit the
vehicle seating position (or
positions) where it will be used.
Due to variations in the design of child seats, vehicle seats, and seat
belts, all child seats will not fit all
vehicle seating positions.
However, Acura is confident that one
or more child seat models can fit and
be properly installed in all recommended seating positions in
your car. Before purchasing a child seat, we
recommend that parents test the
child seat in the specific vehicle
seating position (or positions) where
they intend to use the seat. If a
previously purchased child seat does
not fit, you may need to buy a different one that will fit.

CONTINUED

Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

Protectin
g Childre n

Placing a Child Seat

This page briefly summarizes Acura's recommendations on where to place
rear-facing and forward-facing childseats in your car.
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 the seat belt (see page 35).

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 35).
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 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 orseriously injure the child.
If a small child must ride in the
front, follow the instructions provided in this section.

Protectin
g 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 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 pages 31 and 35 for instructions on how
to secure child seats in this car.

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 vehicles or 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 of child 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 be 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 an d Passenge r Safet y