2001 Acura RL 3.5 Owner's Manual

Protecting Children

U.S. Models
To remind you of the passenger's front airbag hazards, and thatchildren must be properly restrainedin the back seat, your car 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 front airbag hazards, your car has warning labelson the driver's and front passenger's
visors. Please read and follow the instructions on these labels.
Driver and Passenger Safety CAUTION
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 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 POURENFANTS 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 Children

If You Must Drive with Several
Children
Your car has three seating positions in the back seat where children can
be properly restrained.
If you ever have to carry more than
three 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 35). 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 17). Make sure the seat belt is properly
positioned and secured (see page 15). If a Child Requires Close
Attention
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 seat
exposes the child to hazards from
the passenger's front airbag, and
paying close attention to a child distracts the driver from the
important tasks of driving, placing
both of you at risk.
If a child requires physical attention
or frequent visual contact, westrongly recommend that another
adult ride with the child in the back
seat. The back seat is far safer for a
child than the front. Additional Safety Precautions
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).
Use the main power window
switch to prevent children from

opening the rear windows. Using

this feature will prevent children
from playing with the windows,
which could expose them to hazards or distract the driver (seepage 107).

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Driver and Passenger Safety

Protecting Children

Lock all doors and the trunk when

your car is not in use. Children

who play in cars can accidentally get trapped inside the trunk.
Teach your children not to play in or around cars. Know how to
operate the emergency trunk
opener (US models only) and
decide if your children should be shown how to use this feature (see
page 87).
Keep car keys and remote
transmitters out of the reach of

children. Even very young
children learn how to unlock
vehicle doors, turn on the ignition, and open the trunk, which can
lead to accidental injury or death.
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. General Guidelines for Using
Child Seats
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.

Driver and Passenger Safety

Protecting Children
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 28 for additional information on
protecting infants. 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 3 2 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.
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Driver and Passenger Safety

Protecting Children
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 front airbag hazard.

Small children: Not recommended,
due to the front 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 32).

Back Seats
Infants: Recommended positions.
Secure a rear-facing child seat
with the seat belt (see page 28) .

Small children: Recommended
positions. Secure a front-facingchild seat with the seat belt (see
page 32).
Driver and Passenger Safety
Airbags Pose Serious Risks to Children
The passenger's front airbag inflates with enough force to killor 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 front airbag can kill orseriously injure the child.
If a small child must ride in the
front, follow the instructions
provided in this section.

Protecting Children

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 29 and 33 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 properlystrapped 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 and Passenger Safety

Protecting Children
Protecting Infants

Child Seat Type

Only a rear-facing child seat provides
proper support for a baby's head,
neck, and back. Infants up to about
one year of age must be restrained in
a rear-facing child seat.
Two types of seats may be used: a seat designed exclusively for infants,
or a convertible seat used in the rear-
facing, reclining mode. We recommend that an infant be
restrained in a rear-facing child seat
until the infant reaches the seat
maker's weight or height limit and is
able to sit up without support.
Rear-Facing Child Seat Placement

In this car, a rear-facing child seat
can be placed in any seating position in the back seat, but not in the front

seat.

Never put a rear-facing child seat in the front seat. If the passenger's
front airbag inflates, it can hit the
back of the child seat with enough
force to kill or seriously injure an infant. If an infant must be closely
watched, we recommend that another adult sit in the back seat
with the baby.
Do not put a rear-facing child seat in
a forward-facing position. If placed
facing forward, an infant could be
very seriously injured during a frontal collision.

Driver and Passenger Safety
Placing a rear-facing child seat
in the front seat can result in
serious injury or death if the passenger's front airbag inflates.
Always place a rear-facing child
seat in the back seat, not the

front.

Protecting Children

Rear-Facing Child Seat Installation
The lap/shoulder belts in the back seats have a locking mechanism that
must be activated to secure a child

seat.

The following pages provide instructions and tips on how tosecure a rear-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 seat
according 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.

Driver and Passenger Safety
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