2003 HONDA ELEMENT ECU

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
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 ).
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.
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167
Pre-Drive Saf ety Checklist
Your Vehicle’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
vehicle, be sure the doors and
tailgate (including the hatch glass)
are closed.Your vehicle has a door
monitor light on the
instrument panel to indicate when
any door is not tightly closed. Any driver who sits too close to the
steering wheel is at risk of being
seriously injured or killed by striking
the steering wheel or f rom being
struck by an inflating front airbag
during a crash.
Your vehicle also has a
tailgate and hatch open
indicator light on the instrument
panel to indicate when the tailgate or
the hatch 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 vehicle is moving and
accidentally f all out. It also reduces
the chance of someone being thrown
out of the vehicle 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.
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CONT INUED
Introduction
Close and L ock the Doors Adjust the Front Seats
1. 2.
Protecting Adults
Driver and Passenger Saf ety13

CONT INUED
Position the lap part of the belt as
low as possible across your hips,
then pull up on the shoulder part of
the belt so the lap part f its snugly.
This lets your strong pelvic bones
take the force of a crash and reduces
the chance of internal injuries.
Insert the latch plate into the buckle,
then tug on the belt to make sure the
belt is securely latched. Also check
that the belt is not twisted, because a
twisted belt can cause serious
injuries in a crash.
If necessary, pull up on the shoulder
belt again to remove any slack from
the shoulder belt, then check that
the belt rests across the center of
your chest and over your shoulder.
This spreads the f orces of a crash
over the strongest bones in your
upper body.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Protecting Adults
Fasten and Position the Seat
Belts
5.
17
Improperly positioning the seat
belts can cause serious injury
or death in a crash.
Make sure all seat belts are
properly positioned before
driving.

Place the largest child in the f ront
seat, provided the child is large
enough to wear a seat belt
properly (see page ).
Move the vehicle seat as far to the
rear as possible (see page ).
Your vehicle has two seating
positions in the back seat where
children can be properly restrained.
If you ever have to carry more than
two children in your vehicle:
Many parents say they pref er to put
an inf ant or small child in the f ront
passenger seat so they can watch the
child, or because the child requires
attention.
Placing a child in the f ront seat
exposes the child to hazards f rom
the passenger’s f ront airbag, and
paying close attention to a child
distracts the driver f rom the
important tasks of driving, placing
both of you at risk.
If a child requires physical attention
or frequent visual contact, we
strongly recommend that another
adult ride with the child in the back
seat. The back seat is far safer for a
child than the front.
Have the child sit upright and well
backintheseat(seepage ).
Make sure the seat belt is properly
positioned and secured (see page
).
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Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Protecting Children
If You Must Drive with Several
Children If a Child Requires Close
Attention
28

If a small child must ride in the
f ront, f ollow the instructions
provided in this section.
This page brief ly summarizes
Honda’s recommendations on where
to place rear-facing and forward-
f acing child seats in your vehicle.
The passenger’s f ront airbag
inf lates with enough f orce to kill
or seriously injure an inf ant in a
rear-facing child seat.
A small child in a f orward-f acing
child seat is also at risk. If the
vehicle seat is too f ar f orward,
or the child’s head is thrown
f orward during a collision, an
inf lating f ront airbag can kill or
seriously injure the child. Never in the f ront seat, due
to the f ront airbag hazard.
Not recommended,
due to the f ront airbag hazard. If a
small child must ride in f ront,
move the vehicle seat to the rear-
most position and secure a
forward-facing child seat with the
seat belt (see page ).
Recommended positions.
Properlysecurearear-facingchild
seat (see page ).
Recommended
positions. Properly secure a
forward-facing child seat (see
page ). 39
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Placing a Child Seat Front Passenger’s Seat
Inf ant s:
Small children:
Back Seat sInf ant s:
Small children:
Airbags Pose SeriousRisks to Children
Protecting Children
Driver and Passenger Saf ety32

Af ter selecting a proper child seat,
and a good position to install the seat,
there are three main steps in
installing the seat:Make sure the child is properly
strappedinthechildseat
according to the child seat maker’s
instructions. A child who is not
properly secured in a child seat
canbethrownoutof theseatina
crash and be seriously injured.
To provide security during normal
driving maneuvers as well as during
a collision, we recommend that
parents secure a child seat as f irmly
as possible.
When you are not using a child seat,
either remove it and store it in a saf e
place, or make sure it is properly
secured. An unsecured child seat can
be thrown around the vehicle during
a crash or sudden stop and injure
someone.
However, a child seat does not need
to be ‘‘rock solid.’’ In some vehicles
or seating positions, it may be
dif f icult to install a child seat so that
it does not move at all. Some side-to-
side or back-and-f orth movement can
be expected and should not reduce
the child seat’s ef f ectiveness.
If the child seat is not secure, try
installing it in a dif f erent seating
position, or use a dif f erent style of
child seat that can be f irmly secured
in the desired seating position.
All child seats are
designed to be secured to the
vehicle with the lap part of a lap/
shoulder belt. Some child seats
can be secured to the vehicle’s
LATCH anchorage system instead.
A child whose seat is not properly
secured to the vehicle can be
endangered in a crash. See pages , and f or instructions on
howtoproperlysecurechildseats
in this vehicle.
Af ter installing a child
seat, push and pull the seat
f orward and f rom side to side to
verif y that it is secure. 483935
Inst alling a Child Seat
Secure t he child in t he child seat .
Storing a Child Seat
Properly secure t he child seat t o
the vehicle.
Make sure t he child seat is f irmlysecured.
1.
2. 3.
Protecting Children
Driver and Passenger Saf ety33

CONT INUED
The lap/shoulder belts in the back
seats have a locking mechanism that
must be activated to secure a child
seat.
The f ollowing pages provide
instructions and tips on how to
secure a rear-f acing child seat with
this type of seat belt.With the child seat in the desired
back seating position, route the
belt through the child seat
according to the seat maker’s
instructions, then insert the latch
plate into the buckle.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 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.
If you have a child seat designed to
attach to the vehicle’s LATCH
anchorage system, follow the
instructions on page .
481.
2.
3.
Protecting Children
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Rear-Facing Child Seat Inst allat ion
35

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.
To remove slack, it may help to
putweightonthechildseat,or
push on the back of the seat, while
pulling up on the belt.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.To deactivate the locking
mechanism and remove a child seat,
unlatch the buckle, unroute the seat
belt, and let the belt f ully retract.
5.
4.
Protecting Children
Driver and Passenger Saf ety36