2004 Acura MDX Owner's Manual

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.Adjust the driver’s head restraint so
the back of your head rests against
the center of the restraint.
Have passengers with adjustable
restraints adjust their restraints
properly as well. Taller persons
should adjust their restraint as high
as possible.See page f or how to adjust the
head restraints. Properly adjusted head restraints
will help protect occupants f rom
whiplash and other crash injuries.
See page f or how to adjust seat-
backs.
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84
CONT INUED
Protecting A dults and Teens
A djust the Head Restraints
4.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety13
Improperly positioning head
restraints reduces their
effectiveness and you can be
seriously injured in a crash.
Make sure head restraints are
in place and positioned properly
before driving.
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.

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.If necessary, pull up on the shoulder
belt again to remove any slack, 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.
Insert the latch plate into the buckle,
then tug on the belt to make sure the
belt is securely latched. Check that
the belt is not twisted, because a
twisted belt can cause serious
injuries in a crash.
In the second row center seat and
thethirdrowseats,besurethe
detachable anchors are also latched. Fasten and Position the Seat
Belts
5.
Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety14
Improperly positioning the seat
belts can cause serious injury
or death in a crash.
Make sure all seat belts are
properly positioned before
driving.

This could cause
very serious injuries in a crash.
If a seat belt does not seem to work
as it should, it may not protect the
occupant in a crash.
If the seat belt touches or crosses
your neck, or if it crosses your arm
instead of your shoulder, you need to
adjust the seat belt anchor height.
To adjust the height of a f ront seat
belt anchor, squeeze the two release
buttons and slide the anchor up or
down as needed (it has f our
positions).
See page f or additional
inf ormation about your seat belts
and how to take care of them.Anyone using a
seat belt that is not working properly
can be seriously injured or killed.
Have your Acura dealer check the
belt as soon as possible.
19
Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Never place t he shoulder port ion of alap/shoulder belt under your arm orbehind your back.
No one should sit in a seat wit h aninoperat ive seat belt .
15
RELEASE
BUTTONS

Adjust the steering wheel, if needed,
so that the wheel points toward your
chest, not toward your f ace. This
provides optimal protection f rom the
f ront airbag.
See page f or how to adjust the
steering wheel.After all occupants have adjusted
their seats and put on seat belts, it is
very important that they continue to
sit upright, well back in their seats,
with their feet on the floor, until the
vehicle is parked and the engine is
off.
Sitting improperly can increase the
chance of injury during a crash. For
example, if an occupant slouches,
lies down, turns sideways, sits
forward, leans forward or sideways,
or puts one or both f eet up, the
chance of injury during a crash is
greatly increased.
In addition, an occupant who is out of
position in the f ront seat can be
seriously or f atally injured in a crash
by striking interior parts of the
vehicle or being struck by an
inflating f ront airbag. Being struck
by an inf lating side airbag can result
in possibly serious injuries.
76
Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Adjust the Steering Wheel Maintain a Proper Sitting
Position
6.
7.
16
Sitting improperly or out of
position can result in serious
injury or death.
Always sit upright, well back in
the seat, with your feet on the
floor.

If you are pregnant, the best way to
protect yourself and your unborn
child when driving or riding in a
vehicle is to always wear a seat belt,
and keep the lap part of the belt as
low as possible across the hips.When driving, remember to sit
upright and adjust the seat as f ar
back as possible while allowing f ull
control of the vehicle. When riding
as a f ront passenger, adjust the seat
as far back as possible.
This will reduce the risk of injuries
to both you and your unborn child
that can be caused by a crash or an
inflating front airbag.
Each time you have a check-up, ask
your doctor if it’s okay f or you to
drive.
All passengers
must sit in locked, upright seats
andbeproperlyrestrainedbyseat
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
could be very seriously injured in a
crash.
CONT INUED
Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Advice f or Pregnant Women Additional Saf ety Precautions
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 .
17

Devices intended to improve
occupant comf ort or reposition the
shoulder part of a seat belt can
reduce the protective capability of
the seat belt and increase the
chance of serious injury in a crash.
Carrying hard or sharp
objects on your lap, or driving with
a pipe or other sharp objects in
your mouth, can result in injuries
if your f ront airbag inf lates.
Do not place the rear f loor mat
under the f ront passenger’s seat.
This could make the front
passenger’s weight sensors
inef f ective. Make sure the rear
f loor mat is hooked over the f loor
mat anchor (see page ). If your
hands or arms are close to an
airbag cover, they could be injured
if the airbag inf lates. If a side airbag or a
side curtain airbag inf lates, a cup
holder or other hard object
attached on or near the door could
be propelled inside the vehicle and
hurt someone.
This could cause
problems with the driver’s seat
position sensor or the f ront
passenger’s seat weight sensors.
(See page f or more inf ormation.) This could make the driver’s seat
position sensor or the f ront
passenger’s seat weight sensors
inef f ective (see page f or more
inf ormation).
Objects on
the covers marked ‘‘SRS AIRBAG’’
could interf ere with the proper
operation of the airbags or be
propelled inside the vehicle and
hurt someone if the airbags inf late.
3232
218
Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Do not put any accessories on seat belts.
Do not place hard or sharp object sbet ween yourself and a f rontairbag. K eep your hands and arms away
f rom t he airbag covers. Do not at t ach hard object s on or
near a door.
Do not place any it ems under t hefront seats.
Do not modif y t he f ront seat s.
Do not at t ach or place object s on
the f ront airbag covers.
18

Your seat belt system includes lap/
shoulder belts in all seven seating
positions. The f ront seat belts are
also equipped with automatic seat
belt tensioners.The seat belt system
includes an indicator on the
instrument panel and a beeper to
remind you and your passengers to
f asten your belts.
If you continue driving without
f astening your seat belt, the beeper
sounds and the indicator f lashes
again at regular intervals. The lap/shoulder belts in the center
seat of the second row and both of
the third row seats are equipped with
a detachable anchor that has two
parts: a small latch plate and a
buckle.
The detachable anchor should
normally be latched whenever the
seats-backs are in an upright position.
To fasten the belt, insert the latch
plate into the buckle, then tug on the
belt to make sure the buckle is
latched (see page f or how to
properly position the belt).
To unlock the belt, push the red
PRESSbuttononthebuckle.Guide
the belt across your body so that it
retracts completely. Af ter exiting the
vehicle, be sure the belt is out of the
way and will not get closed in the
door.
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.
If you turn the ignition switch to ON
(II) bef ore f astening your seat belt,
the beeper will sound and the
indicator will f lash. If you do not
f asten your seat belt bef ore the
beeper stops, the indicator will stop
f lashing but remain on.
The lap and shoulder belt goes over
your shoulder, across your chest,
and across your hips. 14
Additional Inf ormation About Your Seat Belts
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Seat Belt System Components L ap/Shoulder Belt
19

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
page ).
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.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.When the tensioners are activated,
the seat belts will remain tight until
they are unbuckled in the normal
manner. The tensioners are designed to
activate in any collision severe
enough to cause a f ront, side, or side
curtainairbagtoinflate.
However, the tensioners can be
activated during a collision in which
there is no airbag deployment. In
this case, the airbags would not be
needed, but the additional restraint
provided by the tensioners could be
helpf ul.
44
A utomatic Seat Belt T ensioners
Additional Inf ormation About Your Seat Belts
Driver and Passenger Saf ety20