2001 HONDA CIVIC Owners Manual

The exact location of each anchor is
marked with a small circle above the
lower anchor point.To install a child seat designed to
attach to the lower anchorages:
Your car is equipped with lower
anchorages at the outer rear seats.
These anchorages are located
between the seat-back and seat
bottom and are only to be used with
a child seat designed to attach to the
lower anchorages. Move the seat belt buckle or
center seat belt away from the
anchorages.
Make sure there are no f oreign
objects around the anchorages.
Foreign objects could get in the
way of a secure connection
between the child seat and the
anchorage.
Put the child seat in the rear lef t
or right vehicle seat and attach the
child seat to the lower anchorages
according to the child seat maker’s
instructions.
1. 2.
3.
Protecting Children
Using the L ower Anchorages
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
42
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Follow the child seat maker’s
instructions f or any additional
advice on adjusting or tightening
the fit.Attach the tether strap hook to the
tether anchorage point and tighten
the strap according to the child
seat maker’s instructions.
Push and pull the child seat
f orward and f rom side to side to
verif y that it is secure enough to
stay upright during normal driving
maneuvers.
4.
5. 6.
Protecting Children
Driver and Passenger Saf ety43
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This seat belt has a single belt that
goes over your shoulder, across your
chest and across your hips.
Your seat belt system includes lap/
shoulder belts in all f ive seating
positions.
The seat belt system also
includes a light on the
instrument panel to remind you and
your passengers to f asten your belts.
If the driver’s seat belt is not
fastened before the ignition is turned
ON (II), the light will come on and a
beeper will also sound. The beeper
will stop af ter a f ew seconds, but the
light will stay on until the driver’s
seat belt is f astened.
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 and f or instructions on
how to secure child seats with this
type of seat belt.)
All seat belts have an emergency
locking retractor. In normal driving,
the retractor lets you move f reely in
your seat while it keeps some
tension on the belt. During a collision
or sudden stop, the retractor
automatically locks the belt to help
restrain your body.
Guide the belt across your body to
the door pillar. Af ter exiting the car,
be sure the belt is out of the way and
will not get closed in the door.
To unlock the belt, push the red
PRESSbuttononthebuckle.
To fasten the belt, insert the latch
plate into the buckle, then tug on the
belt to make sure the buckle is
latched. 31 35
Seat Belt System Components L ap/Shoulder Belt
Additional Inf ormation About Your Seat Belts
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
44

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 f reely.
To deactivate the locking
mechanism, unlatch the buckle and
let the seat belt f ully retract. To
ref asten the belt, pull it out only as
f ar as needed.
See page f or instructions on how
to wear the lap/shoulder belt
properly.The tensioners are designed to
activate primarily in f rontal collisions.
The tensioners are independent of
the airbag system, so they can be
activated during a collision that
might not cause the airbags to
deploy. In this case, the airbags
would not be needed but the
additional seat belt tension can be
helpf ul.
The tensioners will be activated in a
collision severe enough to cause the
f ront airbags to inf late.
For added protection, the f ront seat
belts are equipped with automatic
seat belt tensioners. When activated,
the tensioners immediately tighten
the belts to help hold the driver and
a f ront passenger in place.
16
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A utomatic Seat Belt T ensioners
Additional Inf ormation About Your Seat Belts
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
45

For saf ety, you should check the
condition of your seat belts regularly.
Pull each belt out f ully and look f or
f rays, cuts, burns, and wear. Check
that the latches work smoothly and
that the lap/shoulder belts retract
easily. Any belt not in good condition
or not working properly will not
provide good protection and should
be replaced as soon as possible.
Honda provides a lif etime warranty
on seat belts. Honda will repair or
replace any seat belt component that
f ails to f unction properly during
normal use. Please see yourbooklet f or
details.
When the tensioners are activated,
the seat belts will remain tight until
they are unbuckled in the normal
way.
The SRS indicator light will
come on if there is a
problem with your automatic seat
belt tensioners (see page ). 51
Honda
Warranty Inf ormation
Seat Belt Maintenance
U.S. Models
Additional Inf ormation About Your Seat Belts
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
46 Not checking or maintaining
seat belts can result in serious
injury or death if the seat belts
do not work properly whenneeded.
Check your seat belts regularly
and have any problem
corrected as soon as possible.

If a seat belt is worn during a crash,
you should have your dealer inspect
the belt, and replace it if necessary.
A belt that has been worn during a
crash may not provide the same level
of protection in a subsequent crash.
The dealer should also inspect the
anchors f or damage and replace
them if needed.
Automatic seat belt tensioners that
deployed during a crash must be
replaced.
For inf ormation on how to clean your
seat belts, see page .257
Additional Inf ormation About Your Seat Belts
Driver and Passenger Saf ety 47

Your Supplemental Restraint System
(SRS) includes:Two f ront airbags. The driver’s
airbag is stored in the center of
the steering wheel; the f ront
passenger’sairbagisstoredinthe
dashboard. Both are marked ‘‘SRS
AIRBAG.’’
If you ever have a moderate to
severe f rontal collision, the sensors
will detect the vehicle’s rapid
deceleration. If the rate of
deceleration is high enough, the
control unit will instantly inf late the
f ront airbags.
A sophisticated electronic system
that continually monitors and
records inf ormation about the
sensors, the control unit, the
airbag activators, and driver and
passenger seat belt use when the
ignition is ON (II).
Sensors that can detect a
moderate to severe frontal
collision.
Automatic seat belt tensioners
(see page ).
An indicator light on the
instrument panel that alerts you to
a possible problem with the
system (see page ).
Emergency backup power in case
your car’s electrical system is
disconnected in a crash.
45
51
SRS Components
How Your Front A irbags Work
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
48

This can occur when the severity of
a collision is at the margin, or
threshold, that determines whether
or not the airbags will deploy. In
such cases, the seat belt will provide
suf f icient protection, and the
supplemental protection of f ered by
the airbag would be minimal.
Since both airbags use the same
sensors, both airbags normally
inf late at the same time. However, it
is possible f or only one airbag to
inf late.
Af ter inf lating, the f ront airbags
immediately def late, so they won’t
interf ere with the driver’s visibility,
or the ability to steer or operate
other controls.
During a f rontal crash, your seat
belts help restrain your lower body
and torso. Your airbag provides a
cushion to help restrain and protect
your head and chest.
The total time for inflation and
def lation is approximately one-tenth
of a second, so f ast that most
occupants are not aware that the
airbags deployed until they see them
lying in their laps.
After a crash, you may see what
looks like smoke. This is actually
powder f rom the airbag’s surf ace.
Although the powder is not harmf ul,
people with respiratory problems
may experience some temporary
discomf ort. If this occurs, get out of
the car as soon as it is safe to do so.
CONT INUED
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
49