2004 Acura RL 3.5 Owner's Manual

Of course, children vary widely. And
while age may be one indicator of
when a child can saf ely ride in the
f ront, there are other important
f actors you should consider.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.
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.
Supervise the child. Even mature
children sometimes need to be
reminded to f asten the seat belts
or sit properly. Remind the child not to lean
toward the door. Move the vehicle seat to the rear-
most position.
15 35
Protecting Children
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Physical Size
Maturity
38

CONT INUED
Your car has three tether anchorage
points f or securing a tether-style
child seat to the vehicle. One tether
anchorage point f or each of the outer
rear seats and center rear seat is
located under the rear window.Since a tether can provide additional
security, we recommend using a
tether whenever one is required or
available. (Tethers are required in
Canada.)
To use either outside anchorage
point, lif t the rear head restraint,
then route the tether strap over the
seat-back between the legs of the
head restraint.
Protecting Children
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Using Child Seats with T ethers
39

Your car is equipped with LATCH
(Lower Anchors and Tethers f or
Children) at the outer 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.
Attach the tether strap hook 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.
Protecting Children
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Using L A T CH
40
TETHER STRAP HOOK
TETHER ANCHORAGE POINT TETHER STRAP HOOK
TETHER ANCHORAGE POINT LOWERANCHORMARKS
LOWER
ANCHORS

Pull up the seat-back trim cover.
Make sure there are no f oreign
obj ects around the anchors.
Fo reign objects could get in the
wa yof 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 se
at to the lower anchors
accordi ng to the child seat maker’s
instructions.
Small marks are positioned to
indicate the locations of each anchor
point.
To install a LATCH-compatible child
seat:
Move the seat belt buckle or seat
belt tongue away f rom the lower
anchors.
1.
2.
3.4.
CONT INUED
Protecting Children
Driver and Passenger Saf ety41
SEAT-BACK TRIM COVER
Rigid type

Follow the child seat maker’s
instructions f or any additional
advice on adjusting or tightening
the fit.Lif t the rear head restraint, then
route the tether strap over the
seat-back between the legs of the
head restraint.Attach the tether strap hook to the
tether anchorage point, and
tighten the strap according to the
child seat maker’s instructions.
Make sure the strap is not twisted.
6.
7.
5.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Protecting Children
42
Flexible type TETHER STRAP HOOK
TETHER ANCHORAGE POINT

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.
8.
Protecting Children
Driver and Passenger Saf ety43

This seat belt has a single belt that
goes over your shoulder, across your
chest and across your hips.
Your seat belt system includes lap/
shoulder belts in all f ive seating
positions. The f ront seat belts are
also equipped with automatic seat
belt tensioners.
To unlock the belt, push the red
PRESSbuttononthebuckle.
To fasten the belt, insert the latch
plate into the buckle, then tug on the
belt to make sure the buckle is
latched.
The seat belt system also
includes a light on the
instrument panel to remind you and
your passengers to f asten your belts.
If the driver’s seat belt is not
fastened before the ignition is turned
ON (II), the light will come on and a
beeper will also sound. The beeper
will stop af ter a f ew seconds, but the
light will stay on until the driver’s
seat belt is f astened. Guide the belt across your body to
the door pillar. 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.
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
pages and f or instructions on
how to secure child seats with this
type of seat belt.)
29 33
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Additional Inf ormation About Your Seat Belts
Seat Belt System Components L ap/Shoulder Belt
44

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.
See page f or instructions on how
to wear the lap/shoulder belt
properly.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.
The tensioners are designed to
activate primarily in f rontal collisions.
The tensioners are independent of
the airbag system, so they can be
activated during a collision that might not cause the airbags to
deploy. In this case, the airbags
would not be needed but the
additional seat belt tension can be
helpf ul.
The tensioners will be activated in a
collision severe enough to cause the
f ront airbags to inf late.
The SRS indicator light will
come on if there is a
problem with your automatic seat
belt tensioners (see page ). When the tensioners are activated,
the seat belts will remain tight until
they are unbuckled in the normal
way.
15
50
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Additional Inf ormation About Your Seat Belts
A utomatic Seat Belt T ensioners
45