2004 HONDA ACCORD COUPE Owners Manual

The most important things you need
to know about your airbags are:They are designed to supplement
the seat belts.
To do
their job, airbags must inf late with
tremendous f orce. 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. Always wear
your seat belt properly, and sit
upright, and as f ar back f rom the
steering wheel while allowing f ull
control of the vehicle. A f ront
passenger should move their seat as
f ar back f rom the dashboard as
possible.
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.
Your vehicle also has side curtain
airbags to help protect the heads of
the driver, f ront passenger, and
passengers in the outer rear seating
positions (see page f or more
inf ormation on how your side curtain
airbags work). 27
Standard on U.S. 4-cylinder EX-L and
EX-V6 models
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Airbags do not replace seat belts.
A irbags of f er no prot ect ion in rearimpact s, rollovers, or minorf ront al or side collisions.
A irbags can pose hazards. What you should do:
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CONT INUED
The f ollowing pages provide
instructions on how to properly
protect the driver, adult passengers,
and teenage children who are large
enough and mature enough to ride in
the f ront. See pages f or
important guidelines on how to
properly protect inf ants, small
children, and larger children who
ride in your vehicle.Af ter everyone has entered the
vehicle, be sure the doors are closed
and locked.
Locking the doors reduces the
chance of someone being thrown out
of the vehicle during a crash, and it
helps prevent passengers f rom
accidentally opening a door and
f alling out.
Locking the doors also helps prevent
an outsider f rom unexpectedly
opening a door when you come to a
stop.
Adjust the driver’s seat as far to the
rear as possible while allowing you to
maintain f ull control of the vehicle.
Have a front passenger adjust their
seat as far to the rear as possible.
Your vehicle has a door monitor
indicator on the instrument panel to
indicate when a specif ic door is not
tightly closed.
See page f or how to lock the
doors, and page f or how the
monitor indicator works.
32 36
61
78
Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Introduction Close and L ock the Doors A djust the Front Seats
1.2.
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If you sit too close to the steering
wheel or dashboard, you can be
seriously injured by an inf lating f ront
airbag, or by striking the steering
wheel or dashboard.
The National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration and Transport
Canada recommend that drivers
allow at least 10 inches (25 cm)
between the center of the steering
wheel and the chest. In addition to
adjusting the seat, you can adjust the
steering wheel in and out (see page). Adjust the driver’s seat-back to a
comf ortable, upright position,
leaving ample space between your
chest and the airbag cover in the
center of the steering wheel.
Passengers with adjustable seat-
backs should also adjust their seat-
back to a comf ortable, upright
position.
Once your seat is adjusted correctly,
rock it back and f orth to make sure
the seat is locked into position. See
page f or how to adjust the f ront
seats.
If you cannot get f ar enough away
f rom the steering wheel and still
reach the controls, we recommend
that you investigate whether some
type of adaptive equipment may help. 74 83
Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Adjust the Seat-Backs
3.
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Sitting too close to a front
airbag can result in serious
injury or death if the front
airbags inflate.
Always sit as far back from the
front airbags as possible.
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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.Properly adjusted head restraints
will help protect occupants f rom
whiplash and other crash injuries.
See page f or how to adjust the
head restraints.
See page f or how to adjust seat-
backs. 83 88
Protecting A dults and Teens
A djust the Head Restraints
4.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety13
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. 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.
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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.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.
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 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.
See page f or additional
inf ormation about your seat belts
and how to take care of them.Using a seat
belt that is not working properly can
result in serious injury or death.
Have your Honda dealer check the
belt as soon as possible.
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Fasten and Position the L ap/
Shoulder Seat Belts
5.
Never place t he shoulder port ion of a
lap/shoulder belt under your arm orbehind your back.
No one should sit in a seat wit h aninoperat ive seat belt .
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 beforedriving.
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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
inf lating f ront airbag. Being struck
by an inf lating side airbag can
possibly result in serious injuries.
74
Adjust the Steering Wheel Maintain a Proper Sitting
Position
6.
7.
Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety15
Sitting improperly or out of
position can result in serious
injury or death in a crash.
Always sit upright, well back in
the seat, with your feet on thefloor.
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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.
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 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.
Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Advice f or Pregnant Women Additional Saf ety Precautions
T wo people should never use t he
same seat belt .
Do not put any accessories on seatbelts.
Do not place hard or sharp object sbet ween yourself and a f rontairbag.
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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.
If your
hands or arms are close to an
airbag cover, they could be injured
if the airbag inf lates.
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. This could make the driver’s seat
position sensor or the f ront
passenger’s seat weight sensors
inef f ective. This could make the front
passenger’s weight sensors
inef f ective. Make sure the right
rear f loor mat is hooked over the
f loor mat anchor (see page ).
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). 240
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Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
On models wit h side airbags, do not at t ach hard object s on or neara door.
K eep your hands and arms away
f rom t he airbag covers.
Do not at t ach or place object s onthe f ront airbag covers.
Do not modif y t he f ront seat s.Do not place t he right rear f loor
mat under t he f ront passenger’sseat .
Do not place any it ems under t he front seats.
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