2001 HONDA ODYSSEY dashboard

The most important things you need
to know about your airbags are:
Your vehicle has a Supplemental
Restraint System (SRS) with frontal
airbags to help protect the driver and
a f ront seat passenger.
This system also includes an
indicator light on the instrument
paneltoalertyoutoapossible
problem with the system. The seat belts are the occupants’
primary protection in all types of
collisions. The airbags supplement
the seat belts by providing extra
protection f or the head and chest
of each f ront seat occupant in a
moderate to severe frontal
collision.
Airbags are
designed to deploy only during a
moderate to severe frontal
collision.
To do their job, airbags must
inf late with tremendous f orce and
speed. So while airbags save lives,
they can cause serious injuries to
adults and larger children who are not wearing seat belts, are not
wearing them properly, are sitting
too close to the airbag, or are not
sitting in a proper position. Inf ants
and small children are at an even
greater risk of injury or death.
Always wear
your seat belt properly, and sit
upright and as f ar back as possible
f rom the steering wheel or
dashboard.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Airbags
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
Airbags do not replace seat belts.
Airbags of f er no protection in sideimpact s, rear impact s, rollovers,or minor collisions.
Airbags can pose serious hazards. What you should do:
9

Head restraints can help protect you
f rom whiplash and other injuries. For
maximum protection, the back of
your head should rest against the
center of the head restraint.
Reclining a seat-back too f ar reduces
the seat belt’s ef f ectiveness and
increases the chance that the seat’s
occupant will slide under the seat
belt in a crash and be seriously
injured. Move the f ront
seats as far back as possible, and
keep adjustable seat-backs in an
upright position whenever the
vehicle is moving.
Your vehicle’s seats are designed to
keep you in a comf ortable, upright
position so you can take f ull
advantage of the protection offered
by seat belts and the energy
absorbing materials in the seats.
How you adjust your seats and seat-
backs can also affect your safety. For
example, sitting too close to the
steering wheel or dashboard
increases the risk of you or your
passenger being injured by striking
theinsideof thevehicle,orbyan
inf lating airbag. Keeping your doors locked reduces
thechanceof beingthrownoutof
the vehicle during a crash. It also
helps prevent occupants f rom
accidentally opening a door and
f alling out, and outsiders f rom
unexpectedly opening your doors.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Seats & Seat-Backs
Head RestraintsDoor L ocks
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
What you should do:
10

To make sure you and your
passengers get the maximum
protection f rom your vehicle’s saf ety
f eatures, check the f ollowing each
time before you drive away:All adults, and children who have
outgrown child saf ety seats, are
wearing their seat belts and
wearingthemproperly(seepage ).
Any inf ant or small child is
properly restrained in a child seat
in a back seat (see page ).
Frontseatoccupantsaresitting
upright and as f ar back as possible
f rom the steering wheel and
dashboard (see page ).
Seat-backs are upright (see page ). Head restraints are properly
adjusted (see page ).
Alldoorsandthetailgateare
closed and locked (see page ).
All cargo is properly stored or
secured (see page ).
The rest of this section gives more
detailed inf ormation about how you
can maximize your saf ety.
Remember, however, that no saf ety
system can prevent all injuries or
deaths that can occur in severe
crashes, even when seat belts are
properly worn and the airbags deploy.
15
22
12
13 14
12
205
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
Pre-Drive Saf ety Checklist
11

Bef ore driving, make sure everyone
with an adjustable head restraint has
properly positioned the head
restraint. The restraint should be
positioned so the back of the
occupant’s head rests against the
center of the restraint. A taller
person should adjust the restraint as
high as possible.
See page f or how to adjust seat-
backs.
A f ront passenger should also adjust
the seat-back to an upright position,
but as f ar f rom the dashboard as
possible. A passenger who sits too
close to the dashboard could be
injured if the airbag inflates.
Reclining a seat-back so that the
shoulder part of the belt no longer
rests against the occupant’s chest
reduces the protective capability of
the belt. It also increases the chance
of sliding under the belt in a crash
and being seriously injured. The
farther a seat-back is reclined, the
greater the risk of injury.
106
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Protecting Adults
A djust the Head Restraints
4.
14 Reclining the seat-back too far
can result in serious injury or
death in a crash.
Adjust the seat-back to an
upright position and sit well
back in the seat.

Pregnant women should also sit
upright and as f ar back as possible
f rom the steering wheel or
dashboard. This will reduce the risk
of injuries to both the mother and
her unborn child that can be caused
by a crash or an inf lating airbag.
Each time you have a check-up, ask
your doctor if it’s okay f or you to
drive.
Because protecting the mother is the
best way to protect her unborn child,
a pregnant woman should always
wear a seat belt whenever she drives
or rides in a vehicle.
Remember to keep the lap portion of
the belt as low as possible across
your hips. All passengers
must sit in locked, upright seats
and be properly restrained by seat
belts.
A passenger who is not
wearing a seat belt during a crash
or emergency stop can be thrown
against the inside of the vehicle,
against other occupants, or out of
the vehicle.
If they do, they
couldbeveryseriouslyinjuredina
crash.
Advice f or Pregnant Women
Additional Saf ety Precautions
Protecting Adults
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Never let passengers ride in t he
cargo area or on t op of a f olded-down back seat .
Passengers should not st and up orchange seats while the vehicle ismoving.
T wo people should never use t hesame seat belt .
20

If your
hands or arms are close to the
airbag covers in the center of the
steering wheel and on top of the
dashboard, they could be injured if
the airbags inf late.
Carrying hard or sharp objects on
your lap, or driving with a pipe or
other sharp object in your mouth,
can result in injuries if your
airbags inflate. Devices intended to improve
occupant comf ort or reposition the
shoulder part of a seat belt can
severely compromise the
protective capability of the seat
belt and increase the chance of
serious injury in a crash.
Any object
attached to or placed on the covers
marked ‘‘SRS AIRBAG,’’ in the
center of the steering wheel and
on top of the dashboard, could
interf ere with the proper operation
of the airbags. Or, if the airbags
inf late, the objects could be
propelled inside the car and hurt
someone.
Protecting Adults
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
K eep your hands and arms away
f rom t he airbag covers.
Do not place hard or sharp object s bet ween yourself and an airbag.
Do not put any accessories on seat
belts.
Do not at t ach or place object s onthe airbag covers.
21

According to accident statistics,
children of all ages and sizes are
saf er when they are restrained in the
back seat, not the f ront seat. The
National Highway Traf f ic Saf ety
Administration and Transport
Canada recommend that all children
ages 12 and under be properly
restrained in a back seat.
In a 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 inf lating airbag
when they ride in the back.
During a
crash, the belt could press deep
into the child and cause very
serious injuries. If you are not wearing a
seat belt in a crash, you could be
thrown f orward into the
dashboard and crush the child.
If youarewearingaseatbelt,the
child can be torn f rom your arms
during a crash. For example, if
your vehicle crashes into a parked
vehicleat30mph(48km/h),a
20-lb (9 kg) inf ant will become a
600-lb (275 kg) f orce, and you will
not be able to hold on.
Protecting Children
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Children Should Sit in the Back
Seat
Never put a seat belt over yourself
and an inf ant or child.
A ddit ional Precaut ions t o Parent s
Neverholdaninfantorchildonyour lap.
23

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 f ront passenger’s visors.
Please read and follow the
instructions on these labels.To remind you of the airbag hazards,
your vehicle has warning labels on
the driver’s and f ront passenger’s
visors. Please read and f ollow the
instructions on these labels.
U.S. Models Canadian Models
Protecting Children
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
25