2003 HONDA ACCORD COUPE Owners Manual

Excessive speed is a major f actor in
crash injuries and deaths. Generally,
the higher the speed the greater the
risk, but serious accidents can also
occur at lower speeds. Never drive
f aster than is saf e f or current
conditions, regardless of the
maximum speed posted.
While airbags can save lives, they
can cause serious or fatal injuries to
occupants who sit too close to them,
or are not properly restrained.
Inf ants, young children, and short
adults are at the greatest risk. Be
sure to f ollow all instructions and
warnings in this manual. (See page
.)
Children are saf est when they are
properly restrained in the back seat,
notthefrontseat.Achildwhoistoo
smallforaseatbeltmustbeproperly
restrained in a child saf ety seat. (See
page .) Having a tire blowout or a
mechanical f ailure can be extremely
hazardous. To reduce the possibility
of such problems, check your tire
pressures and condition f requently,
and perform all regularly scheduled
maintenance. (See page .)
You’ll f ind many saf ety
recommendations throughout this
section, and throughout this manual.
Therecommendationsonthispage
are the ones we consider to be the
most important.
A seat belt is your best protection in
all types of collisions. Airbags
supplement seat belts, but airbags
are designed to inf late only in a
moderate to severe f rontal collision.
So even though your car is equipped
with airbags, make sure you and
your passengers always wear your
seat belts, and wear them properly.
(See page .)
Alcohol and driving don’t mix. Even
one drink can reduce your ability to
respond to changing conditions, and
your reaction time gets worse with
every additional drink. So don’t drink
and drive, and don’t let your f riends
drink and drive, either.
21 16 9
274
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Important Saf ety Precautions
Always Wear Your Seat BeltBe Aware of Airbag Hazards Control Your Speed
Restrain All Children K eep Your Car in Saf e Condition
Don’t Drink and Drive
6

ÎÎ
Î
Your car is equipped with many
features that work together to
protect you and your passengers
during a crash.
Some saf ety f eatures do not require
anyactiononyourpart.These
include a strong steel f ramework
that forms a safety cage around the
passenger compartment; f ront and
rear crush zones that are designed to
crumple and absorb energy during a
crash; a collapsible steering column;
and seat belt tensioners that
automatically tighten the front seat
belts in the event of a crash.
CONT INUED
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Your Car’s Saf ety Features
7
(1)
(2)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5) (7)
(8)
(7) (10)
(11)
(9)
(6)
(6) Seat Belts
(7) Front Airbags
(8) Side Airbags
(9) Side Curtain Airbags
(10) Door Locks
(11) Seat Belt Tensioners
If equipped
: (1) Safety Cage
(2) Crush Zones
(3) Seats and Seat-Backs
(4) Head Restraints
(5) Collapsible Steering Column

In addition, most states and all
Canadian provinces require you to
wear seat belts.
When properly worn, seat belts:Help protect you in almost every
type of crash, including f rontal,
side, and rear impacts and
rollovers.
Foryoursafety,andthesafetyof
your passengers, your car is
equipped with seat belts in all seating
positions.
Seat belts are the single most
effectivesafetydeviceforadultsand
larger children. (Inf ants and smaller
children must be properly restrained
in child seats.)
Not wearing a seat belt properly
increases the chance of serious
injury or death in a crash, even
though your car has airbags.
Your seat belt system also
includes a light on the
instrument panel to remind you and
your passengers to f asten your seat
belts.
These saf ety f eatures are designed
to reduce the severity of injuries in a
crash. However, you and your
passengers can’t take f ull advantage
of these saf ety f eatures unless you
remain sitting in a proper position
and
In f act, some saf ety
f eatures can contribute to injuries if
they are not used properly.
Keep you connected to the vehicle
so you can take advantage of the
vehicle’s built-in saf ety f eatures.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Your Car’s Saf ety Features
Seat Belts
Why Wear Seat Belt s
always wear your seat belts
properly.
8
Not wearing a seat belt properly
increases the chance of serious
injury or death in a crash, even
if you have airbags.
Be sure you and your
passengers always wear seat
belts and wear them properly.

Of course, seat belts cannot
completely protect you in every
crash.Butinmostcases,seatbelts
can reduce your risk of serious
injury.Always wear
your seat belt, and make sure you
wear it properly. Help keep you in a good position
should the airbags ever deploy. A
good position reduces the risk of
injury f rom an inf lating airbag, and
allows you to get the best
advantage f rom the airbag. Help keep you f rom being thrown
against the inside of the car and
against other occupants.
Keep you f rom being thrown out
of the car.
Your car also has side airbags to help
protect the upper torso of the driver
or a f ront seat passenger during a
moderate to severe side impact.
Your car has a Supplemental
Restraint System (SRS) with dual-
stage, dual-threshold f ront airbags to
help protect the heads and chests of
the driver and a f ront seat passenger
during a moderate to severe frontal
collision.
CONT INUED
Optional on LX model
Standard on EX and all V 6 models
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Your Car’s Saf ety Features
Airbags
What you should do:
9

Always wear
your seat belt properly, and sit
upright and as f ar back as possible
f rom the steering wheel or
dashboard.
To do their job, airbags must
inf late with tremendous f orce and
speed. So while airbags help save
lives, they can cause minor injuries,
or more serious or even fatal
injuries if occupants are not
properly restrained or sitting
properly. They are designed to supplement
the seat belts.
The most important things you need
to know about your airbags are:
Your car also has side curtain
airbags. During a moderate to severe
side impact, side curtain airbags help
to protect the heads of the driver,
f ront seat passenger, and passengers
sitting in the outer rear seating
positions.
Standard on U.S. EX-V6 model
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Your Car’s Saf ety Features
What you should do:
Airbags can pose serious hazards.
A irbags of f er no prot ect ion in rear
impact s, rollovers, or minorf ront al or side collisions.
Airbags do not replace seat belts.
10

Your car’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 thecar,orbyan
inf lating airbag.
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 car is
moving. 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.
Keeping your doors locked reduces
thechanceof beingthrownoutof
the car 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.
Seats & Seat-Backs
Head Restraints
Door L ocks
What you should do:
Your Car’s Saf ety Features
Driver and Passenger Saf ety11

To make sure you and your
passengers get the maximum
protection f rom your car’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
inthebackseat(seepage ). 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 ).
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.
Both doors are closed and locked
(see page ).
16
21 14
15 16
13 234
Pre-Drive Saf ety Checklist
Your Car’s Saf ety Features
Driver and Passenger Saf ety12

The f ollowing pages provide
instructions on how to properly
protect the driver and other adult
occupants.
These instructions also apply to
children who have outgrown child
seats and are large enough to wear
lap/shoulder belts. (See page f or
important additional guidelines on
how to properly protect larger
children.)Af ter everyone has entered the car,
be sure the doors are closed and
locked.
Your car has a door monitor light on
the instrument panel to indicate
when a specif ic door is not tightly
closed.
For saf ety, locking the doors reduces
the chance that a passenger,
especially a child, will open a door
while the car is moving and
accidentally f all 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 f rom
unexpectedly opening a door when
you come to a stop.
See page f or how to lock the
doors.
38 86
Introduction
Close and L ock the Doors
1.
Protecting Adults
Driver and Passenger Saf ety13