2004 HONDA ELEMENT seats

µ
This section gives you important
inf ormation about how to protect
yourself and your passengers. It
shows you how to use seat belts
properly. It explains how your
airbags work. And it tells you how to
properly restrain infants and
children in your vehicle.
.........
Important Safety Precautions . 6
.......
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features . 7
.......................................
Seat Belts . 8
.........................................
Airbags . 10
.........
Protecting Adults and Teens . 11
.....
1. Close and Lock the Doors . 11
...........
2. Adjust the Front Seats . 11 ............
3. Adjust the Seat-Backs . 13
...
4. Adjust the Head Restraints . 14
5. Fasten and Position the
..
Lap/Shoulder Seat Belts . 14
....
6. Adjust the Steering Wheel . 16
7. Maintain a Proper Sitting
................................
Position . 16
.....
Advice f or Pregnant Women . 17
...
Additional Safety Precautions . 18
Additional Inf ormation About Your .................................
Seat Belts . 19
..
Seat Belt System Components . 19
......................
Lap/Shoulder Belt . 19
Automatic Seat Belt
...............................
Tensioners . 20
...............
Seat Belt Maintenance . 21
Additional Inf ormation About Your .....................................
Airbags . 22
......
Airbag System Components . 22
How Your Front Airbags
.........................................
Work . 22
...
How Your Side Airbags Work . 25
How the SRS Indicator
.......................................
Works . 26
How the Side Airbag Of f ......................
Indicator Works . 27 .............................
Airbag Service . 27
...
Additional Safety Precautions . 28
Protecting Children General ................................
Guidelines . 29
All Children Must Be ...............................
Restrained . 29
All Children Should Sit in the .................................
Back Seat . 30
The Passenger’s Front Airbag ...............
Poses Serious Risks . 30
If You Must Drive with Several ...................................
Children . 32
If a Child Requires Close ..................................
Attention . 32
...
Additional Safety Precautions . 32
Protecting Inf ants and .........................
Small Children . 34
.......................
Protecting Inf ants . 34
.........
Protecting Small Children . 36
.....................
Selecting a Child Seat . 37
....................
Installing a Child Seat . 38
...........
Protecting Larger Children . 44
.............
Carbon Monoxide Hazard . 48
...................................
Saf ety Labels . 49
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Driver and Passenger Saf ety5
—
—y
y
(+
y
y

Your vehicle is equipped with many
features that work together to
protect you and your passengers
during a crash.
Some saf ety f eatures do not require
anyactiononyourpart.These
include a strong steel f ramework
that forms a safety cage around the
passenger compartment; f ront and
rear crush zones; a collapsible
steering column; and seat belt
tensioners that tighten the front seat
belts in the event of a crash.
CONT INUED
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
Driver and Passenger Saf ety7
(1)(2)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(8)(6)
(9)
(7)
(10)
(1) Safety Cage
(2) Crush Zones
(3) Seats and Seat-Backs
(4) Head Restraints
(5) Collapsible Steering Column
(6) Seat Belts
(7) Front Airbags
(8) Side Airbags
(optional on EX model)
(9) Front Seat Belt Tensioners
(10) Door Locks
—
—y
y
(+
y
y

However, you and your passengers
can’t take f ull advantage of these
saf ety f eatures unless you remain
sitting in a proper position and
Infact,somesafetyfeaturescan
contribute to injuries if they are not
used properly.Your vehicle is equipped with seat
belts in all seating positions.
Your seat belt system also includes a
light on the instrument panel to
remind you and your passengers to
f asten your seat belts.Seat belts are the single most
ef f ective saf ety device f or adults and
larger children. (Inf ants and smaller
children must be properly restrained
in child seats.)
Not wearing a seat belt properly
increases the chance of serious
injury or death in a crash, even
though your vehicle has airbags.
In addition, most states and all
Canadian provinces require you to
wear seat belts.
The f ollowing pages explain how you
cantakeanactiveroleinprotecting
yourself and your passengers.
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
always wear your seat belts properly.
Why Wear Seat Belt s
Seat Belts
Driver and Passenger Saf ety8
—
—y

y
(+
y
y

Af ter everyone has entered the
vehicle, be sure the doors are closed
and locked.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.
See page f or important guidelines
on how to properly protect inf ants,
small children, and larger children
who ride in your vehicle.
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 front seat.
Remember however, that no saf ety
system can prevent all injures or
deaths that can occur in severe
crashes, even where seat belts are
properly worn and the airbags deploy.
The rest of this section gives more
detailed inf ormation about how you
can maximize your saf ety.
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.
See page f or how to lock the
doors.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.
34 70
CONT INUED
Close and L ock the Doors A djust the Front Seats
Introduction 1. 2.
Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety11
—
—y
y
(+
y
y

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.
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.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.
73
Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety12
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.
—
—y
y
(+
y
y

If a seat belt does not seem to work
as it should, it may not protect the
occupant in a crash.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.
See page f or additional
inf ormation about your seat belts
and how to take care of them. 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
of f .
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.
19
64
No one should sit in a seat wit h aninoperat ive seat belt .
Adjust the Steering Wheel Maintain a Proper Sitting Position
6.
7.
Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety16
—
—y
y
(+
y
y

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. Objects on
the covers marked ‘‘SRS AIRBAG’’
could interf ere with the proper
operation of the airbags. Or, if the
airbags inflate, the objects could
be propelled inside the vehicle and
hurt someone if the airbags inf late.
If a side airbag
inflates,acupholderorotherhard
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 front airbag inflates.
Devices intended to improve
occupant comf ort or reposition the
shoulder part of a seat belt can
severely compromise 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.
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 . Do not at t ach or place object s on
the f ront airbag covers.
On models wit h side airbags, donot at t ach hard object s on or neara f ront door.
K eep your hands and arms awayf rom t he airbag covers.
Do not put any accessories on seat
belts.
Do not place hard or sharp object sbet ween yourself and a f rontairbag.
Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety18
—
—y
y
(+
yy

If you ever have a moderate to
severe side impact, the sensors will
detect rapid deceleration and signal
the control unit to instantly inf late
either the driver’s or the passenger’s
side airbag.Only one airbag will deploy during a
side impact. If the impact is on the
passenger’s side, the passenger’s
side airbag will deploy even if there
is no passenger.
To get the best protection f rom the
side airbags, occupants should wear
their seat belts and sit upright and
well back in their seats.
The passenger’s side airbag has a
cutof f system designed to turn of f
the passenger’s side airbag if a child’s
head is in the airbag’s deployment
path (see page ).
If the side airbag of f indicator comes
on, have the passenger sit upright.
Once the passenger is out of the
deployment path of the side airbag,
the system will turn the airbag back
on and the indicator will go out
within a f ew seconds.
A f ront seat passenger should not
use a cushion or other object as a
backrest. It may prevent the cutof f
system f rom working properly.
27
Optional on EX models
How Your Side A irbags Work
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
Driver and Passenger Saf ety25
—
—y

y
(+
yy