2004 HONDA ODYSSEY ect

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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).
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 page
f or more inf ormation on how
your f ront airbags work).
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.
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Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Airbags
What You Should Do:
9
Not wearing a seat belt properly
increases the chance of serious
injury or death in a crash, even
though your vehicle has airbags.
Be sure you and your passengers
always wear seat belts and wear
them properly.

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’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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The f ollowing pages provide
instructions on how to properly
protect the driver, adult passengers,
and teenagers who are large enough
and mature enough to ride in the
front. See pages for
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 and
tailgate are closed and locked.
Your vehicle has a door and tailgate
monitor indicator on the instrument
panel to indicate when a specif ic
door or the tailgate is not tightly
closed.
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.
See page f or how to lock the
doors, and page f or how the
monitor indicator works.
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Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Introduction Close and L ock the DoorsA djust the Front Seats
1. 2.
Protecting A dults and Teens
11

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.
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.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.
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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.

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.
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.
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 seat-
backs.
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Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
A djust the Head Restraints
4.
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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.

Insert the latch plate into the buckle,
then tug on the belt to make sure the
belt is securely latched.
The center belt in the third row has a
shoulder belt that must be attached
to the lap belt before the seat belt is
used (see page ).
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.
Check that the belt is not twisted.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. 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.
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Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Fasten and Position the Seat
Belts
5.
Using a L ap/Shoulder Belt
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Improperly positioning the seat
belts can cause serious injury
or death in a crash.
Make sure all seat belts are
properly positioned before
driving.

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Insert the hook at the end of the
shoulder belt plate into the metal
loop on the latch plate marked
CENTER.Makesuretheshoulder
belt is not twisted, as a twisted belt
can cause serious injuries in a crash.
Pull on the shoulder belt to make
sure it is securely attached.
Unlatch the metal shoulder belt plate
f rom the anchor on the ceiling, then
extend the belt by pulling the metal
plate.
The f ront seats and second row seats
have adjustable seat belt anchors. To
adjust the height of an anchor, press
andholdthereleasebuttonandslide
the anchor up or down as needed
(the anchor has f our positions).
Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Using t he L ap/Shoulder Belt in t he
Cent er Posit ion of t he T hird Row
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METAL
HOOK
LATCH PLATE
RELEASE
BUTTON METAL PLATE

Pull upon 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 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.
See page f or additional
inf ormation about your seat belts
and how to take care of them.
Position the lap belt as low as
possible across your hips, then pull
on the loose end of the lap belt f or a
snug but comf ortable f it.
Insert the latch plate on the lap belt
into the buckle marked CENTER. If
the belt is too short, hold the latch
plate at a right angle and pull on the
plate to extend the belt. Then insert
the latch plate into the buckle, and
tug on the lap and shoulder belts to
make sure the belt is securely
latched. 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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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 .
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