2003 HONDA ELEMENT ECU

With the child seat in the desired
seating position, route the belt
through the child seat according
to the seat maker’s instructions,
then insert the latch plate into the
buckle.
The lap/shoulder belts in the back
and f ront passenger seating positions
have a locking mechanism that must
be activated to secure a child seat.
The f ollowing pages provide
instructions on how to secure a
f orward-f acing child seat with this
type of seat belt.
If it is necessary to put a f orward-
f acing child seat in the f ront, move
the vehicle seat as far to the rear as
possible, be sure the child seat is
f irmly secured to the vehicle, and
that the child is properly strapped in
the seat. If you have a child seat designed to
attach to the vehicle’s LATCH
anchorage system, follow the
instructions on page .
481.
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Protecting Children
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Child Seat Inst allat ion
39
Improperly placing a forward-
facing child seat in the front
seat can result in serious injury
or death if the front airbags
inflate.
Ifyoumustplaceaforward-
facing child seat in front, move
the vehicle seat as far back as
possible and properly restrain
the child.

To activate the lockable retractor,
slowly pull the shoulder part of the
belt all the way out until it stops,
then let the belt f eed back into the
retractor (you might hear a
clicking noise as the belt retracts).Af ter conf irming that the belt is
locked, grab the shoulder part of
the belt near the buckle and pull
up to remove any slack from the
lap part of the belt. Remember, if
the lap part of the belt is not tight,
the child seat will not be secure. It
mayhelptoputweightonthe
child seat, or push on the back of
the seat, while pulling up on the
belt.
Af ter 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.
2. 3.
4.
Protecting Children
Driver and Passenger Saf ety40

To deactivate the locking
mechanism in order to remove a
child seat, unlatch the buckle,
unroute the seat belt, and let the belt
fully retract.
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. If the child seat is not
secure, unlatch the belt, allow it to
retract f ully, then repeat these
steps.
5.
Protecting Children
Driver and Passenger Saf ety41

Whichever style you select, f ollow
the booster seat maker’s instructions.
If the shoulder part of the belt rests
over the child’s collarbone and
against the center of the chest, and
the lap belt rests over the child’s
hipbones and touches the tops of
their thighs as shown, the child is
probably big enough to wear the seat
belt.
However, if the shoulder belt
touchesorcrossesthechild’sneck,
or if the lap belt crosses the child’s
stomach, the child needs to use a
booster seat.
This could result in serious neck and
internal injuries during a crash.
If they do, they could
be very seriously injured in a crash. Devices intended to improve
occupant comf ort or reposition the
shoulder part of a seat belt, severely
compromise the protective capability
of the seat belt and increase the
chance of serious injury in a crash. This could cause
very serious injuries during a crash.
It also increases the chance that the
child will slide under the belt in a
crash and be injured.
If a child needs a booster seat, we
recommend choosing a high or low-
back style that allows the child to be
directly secured with the lap/
shoulder belt.
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Using a Boost er Seat
Do not let a child wear a seat belt
across t he neck or over t he st omach.
T wo children should never use t hesame seat belt .
Do not put any accessories on a seat
belt.
Do not let a child put the shoulder
part of a seat belt behind t he back orunder t he arm.
Protecting Children
Driver and Passenger Saf ety43

If you decide that a child can saf ely
ride up f ront, be sure to:Caref ully read the owner’s manual
and make sure you understand all
seat belt instructions and all saf ety
inf ormation.
Move the vehicle seat to the rear-
most position.
Have the child sit up straight, back
against the seat, and feet on or
near the f loor.
Check that the child’s seat belt is
properly positioned and secured.
Physically, a child must be large
enough f or the lap/shoulder belt to
properly f it over the hips, chest, and
shoulder (see pages and ). If
the seat belt does not f it properly,
the child should not sit in the f ront.
To saf ely ride in f ront, a child must
be able to f ollow the rules, including
sitting properly and wearing the seat
belt properly throughout a ride.
On models with side airbags,
remind the child not to lean
toward the door because of the
side airbag.Supervise the child. Even mature
children sometimes need to be
reminded to f asten the seat belts
or sit properly.
17 42Physical Size
Maturity
Protecting Children
Driver and Passenger Saf ety45

Since a tether can provide additional
security, we recommend using a
tether whenever one is required or
available. (Tethers are required in
Canada.)Remove the head restraint where
you want to place the child seat.
Your vehicle has two tether
anchorage points on the ceiling near
the hatch opening f or securing a
tether-style child seat to the vehicle. The tether anchorage points are
located under plastic covers. Select
the anchorage point you want to use,
and slide the cover to open it. You can remove the head restraint
by pressing the release button.
Using Child Seats with T ethers
Protecting Children
Driver and Passenger Saf ety46
COVERS
TETHER ANCHORAGE POINT

Make sure the removed head
restraints are secured in the cargo
area. Reinstall the head restraints
when the child seat is removed.Attach the attaching clip to the
tether anchorage point as shown in
the illustration, then tighten the
strap according to the child seat
maker’s instructions. Make sure the
strap is not twisted.Your vehicle is equipped with
LATCH (Lower Anchors and
Tethers f or Children) at the rear
seats. The lower anchors are located
between the seat-back and seat
bottom and are to be used only with
a child seat designed f or use with
LATCH.
The exact location of each lower
anchorage is marked with a small
button above the lower anchorage
point.
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Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Protecting Children
Using L A T CH
47
LOWER ANCHORSMARKS

To install a LATCH-compatible child
seat:Remove the plastic cover by
pulling it f orward.
Make sure there are no f oreign
objects around the anchors.
Foreign objects could get in the
way of a secure connection
between the child seat and the
anchors. Put the child seat in the rear lef t
or right vehicle seat and attach the
child seat to the lower anchors
according to the child seat maker’s
instructions.
Follow the child seat maker’s
instructions f or any additional
advice on adjusting or tightening
the fit.
1.
2. 3.
4.
Protecting Children
Driver and Passenger Saf ety48
Flexible type
Rigid type