2004 HONDA ELEMENT belt

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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
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You’ll f ind many saf ety
recommendations throughout this
section, and throughout this manual.
Therecommendationsonthispage
are the ones we consider to be the
most important.
A seat belt is your best protection in
all types of collisions. Airbags
supplement seat belts, but airbags
are designed to inf late only in a
moderate to severe f rontal collision.
So even though your vehicle is
equipped with airbags, make sure
you and your passengers always
wear your seat belts, and wear them
properly. (See page .)
Children age 12 and under should
ride properly restrained in a back
seat. Infants and small children
should be restrained in a child seat.
Larger children should use a booster
and a lap/shoulder belt until theycanusethebeltproperlywithouta
booster (see page ). Excessive speed is a major f actor in
crash injuries and deaths. Generally,
the higher the speed the greater the
risk, but serious accidents can also
occur at lower speeds. Never drive
f aster than is saf e f or current
conditions, regardless of the
maximum speed posted.
Having a tire blowout or a
mechanical f ailure can be extremely
hazardous. To reduce the possibility
of such problems, check your tire
pressures and condition f requently,
and perform all regularly scheduled
maintenance (see page ).
While airbags can save lives, they
can cause serious or fatal injuries to
occupants who sit too close to them,
or are not properly restrained.
Inf ants, young children, and short
adults are at the greatest risk. Be
sure to f ollow all instructions and
warnings in this manual.
Alcohol and driving don’t mix. Even
one drink can reduce your ability to
respond to changing conditions, and
your reaction time gets worse with
every additional drink. So don’t drink
and drive, and don’t let your f riends
drink and drive, either.
14 29
152
Important Saf ety Precautions
Always Wear Your Seat Belt
Restrain All ChildrenBe Aware of Airbag Hazards
Control Your Speed
K eep Your Vehicle in Saf e
Condition
Don’t Drink and Drive
Driver and Passenger Saf ety6
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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
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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
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When properly worn, seat belts:Help keep you f rom being thrown
against the inside of the vehicle
and against other occupants.
Keep you f rom being thrown out
of the vehicle.
Help keep you in a good position
should the airbags ever deploy. A
good position reduces the risk of
injury f rom an inf lating airbag, and
allows you to get the best
advantage f rom the airbag.Of course, seat belts cannot
completely protect you in every
crash.Butinmostcases,seatbelts
can reduce your risk of serious
injury.
Always wear your seat belt, and
make sure you wear it properly.
Keep you connected to the vehicle
so you can take advantage of the
vehicle’s built-in saf ety f eatures.
Help protect you in almost every
type of crash, including f rontal,
side, and rear impacts and
rollovers.
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
What You Should Do:
9
Not wearing a seat belt properly
increases the chance of serious
injury or death in a crash, even
if you have airbags.
Be sure you and your
passengers always wear seat
belts and wear them properly.
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Your vehicle has a Supplemental
Restraint System (SRS) with f ront
airbags to help protect the heads and
chests of the driver and a front seat
passenger during a moderate to
severe f rontal collision (see pagef or more inf ormation on how
your f ront airbags work). The most important things you need
to know about your airbags are:
Your vehicle also has side airbags to
help protect the upper torso of the
driver or a f ront seat passenger
during a moderate to severe side
impact (see page f or more
information on how your side airbags
work). 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,
sit upright, and as far back from 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.
22
25Optional on EX models
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Airbags
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:
10
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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
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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.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.
See page f or how to adjust the
seat-backs.
73
Adjust the Seat-Backs
3.
Protecting A dults and Teens
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.
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