2004 HONDA ODYSSEY Owners Manual

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,
andtheyshouldactivateinany
collision severe enough to cause
front-airbag inflation.
However, the tensioners can be
activated during a collision in which
the f ront airbags do not deploy. In
this case, the airbags would not be
needed, but the additional restraint
could be helpf ul.
When the tensioners are activated,
the seat belts will remain tight until
they are unbuckled in the normal
manner.
For saf ety, you should check the
condition of your seat belts regularly.
Pull each belt out f ully and look f or
f rays, cuts, burns, and wear. Check
that the latches work smoothly and
the belts retract easily. Any belt that
is not in good condition or not
working properly will not provide
good protection and should be
replaced as soon as possible.
Honda provides a lif etime warranty
on seat belts f or U.S. models. See
your
booklet f or details.
Honda Warranty Inf ormation
Additional Inf ormation About Your Seat Belts
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
A utomatic Seat Belt T ensioners
Seat Belt Maintenance
22

If a seat belt is worn during a crash,
it must be replaced by the dealer. A
belt that has been worn during a
crash may not provide the same level
of protection in a subsequent crash.
The dealer should also inspect the
anchors f or damage and replace
them if needed. If the automatic seat
belt tensioners activate during a
crash, they must be replaced.
For inf ormation on how to clean your
seat belts, see page .226
Additional Inf ormation About Your Seat Belts
Driver and Passenger Saf ety23
Not checking or maintaining
seat belts can result in serious
injury or death if the seat belts
do not work properly when
needed.
Check your seat belts regularly
and have any problem
corrected as soon as possible.

Two side airbags, one f or the
driver and one f or a f ront
passenger. The airbags are stored
in the outer edges of the seat-
backs. Both are marked ‘‘SIDE
AIRBAG’’ (see page ).
Automatic seat belt tensioners
(see page ).
Sensors that can detect a
moderate to severe frontal or side
impact.
Your Airbag System includes:
Two SRS (Supplemental Restraint
System) f ront airbags. The driver’s
airbag is stored in the center of
the steering wheel; the f ront
passenger’sairbagisstoredinthe
dashboard. Both are marked ‘‘SRS
AIRBAG’’ (see page ).
22 29
25
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
A irbag System Components
24
(8)
(3)
(4)
(6)
(10)
(5) (11) (1) (8) (9)
(2)
(10)
(4)
(7)
(5)
(7)
(1) Driver’s Front Airbag
(2) Passenger’s Front Airbag
(3) Control Unit
(4) Seat Belt Tensioners
(5) Side Airbags
(6) Driver’s Seat Position Sensor (7) Front Passenger’s Weight Sensors
(8) Front Impact Sensors
(9) Passenger Airbag Off Indicator
(10) Side Impact Sensors
(11) Occupant Position Detection
System (OPDS) Sensors

CONT INUED
A sophisticated electronic system
that continually monitors and
records inf ormation about the
sensors, the control unit, the
airbag activators, and driver and
frontpassengerseatbeltusewhen
the ignition is in the ON (II)
position.
Weight sensors that monitor the
weight on the f ront passenger’s
seat. These prevent the passenger’s
f ront airbag f rom inf lating if the
weight is less than about 65 lbs
(30 kg) (see page ).
An indicator on the instrument
panel that alerts you to a possible
problem with your airbags (see
page ).An indicator on the instrument
panel that alerts you that the f ront
passenger’s side airbag has been
turned of f (see page ).
An indicator on the dashboard that
alerts you that the passenger’s
f ront airbag has been turned of f
(see page ).
Emergency backup power in case
your vehicle’s electrical system is
disconnected in a crash.
A driver’s seat position sensor that
monitors the seat position. If the
seat is too far forward, the airbag
will inf late with less f orce (see
page ).
If you ever have a moderate to
severe f rontal collision, sensors will
detect the vehicle’s rapid
deceleration. If the rate of
deceleration is high enough, the
control unit will instantly inf late the
driver’s and f ront passenger’s f ront
airbags, at the appropriate time and
with the f orce needed.
28
30 31
32
28
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
How Your Front Airbags Work
25

During a f rontal crash, your seat belt
restrains your lower body and torso,
and the airbag helps protect your
head and chest.
This can happen if the severity of a
collision is at the margin, or
threshold, that determines whether
or not the airbags will deploy. In
such cases, the seat belt will provide
suf f icient protection, and the
supplemental protection of f ered by
the airbag would be minimal.Af ter inf lating, the f ront airbags
immediately def late, so they won’t
interf ere with the driver’s visibility,
or the ability to steer or operate
other controls.The total time for inflation and
def lation is one-tenth of a second, so
f ast that most occupants are not
aware that the airbags deployed until
they see them lying in their laps.
After a crash, you may see what
looks like smoke. This is actually
powder f rom the airbag’s surf ace.
Although the powder is not harmf ul,
people with respiratory problems
mayexperiencesometemporary
discomf ort. If this occurs, get out of
the vehicle as soon as it is saf e to do
so.
Only the driver’s airbag can deploy if
there is no passenger in the f ront
seat, or if the advanced airbag
system has turned the passenger’s
airbag off (see page ). Although both airbags normally
inf late within a split second of each
other, it is possible f or only one
airbag to deploy.
31
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
Driver and Passenger Saf ety26

CONT INUED
Your f ront airbags are dual-stage
airbags. This means they have two
inf lation stages that can be ignited
sequentially or simultaneously,
depending on crash severity.
In acrash, both stages
will ignite simultaneously to provide
the quickest and greatest protection.
In a crash, one stage will
ignite first, then the second stage
will ignite a split second later. This
provides longer airbag inf lation time
with a little less force. Your f ront airbags are also dual-
threshold airbags. Airbags with this
f eature have two deployment
thresholds that depend on whether
or not the occupant is wearing a seat
belt.
If the occupant’s belt is
,
the airbag will deploy at the same
threshold as a conventional airbag,
because the occupant would need
extra protection.
It the occupant’s belt is , the
airbag will inf late at a slightly higher
threshold, when the airbag would be
needed to supplement the protection
provided by the seat belt. Your f ront airbags are also advanced
airbags. The main purpose of this
feature is to prevent airbag-caused
injuries to short drivers and children
who ride in f ront.
In addition, do not spill any liquids,
cover the sensors, or put any cargo
or metal objects under the f ront
seats. Ask second row passengers to
not put their f eet under the f ront
seats. Any of these actions could
damage the sensors or prevent them
f rom working properly. For the advanced airbags to work
properly, occupants must sit upright
and wear their seat belts properly. If
a child seat is installed in the f ront, it
must be properly secured.
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Dual-Stage A irbags
more severeless severe Dual-T hreshold A irbags
not lat chedlatchedAdvanced Airbags
27

If there is a problem with the seat
position sensor, the SRS indicator
will come on in the instrument panel.
In this case, the driver’s airbag will
inf late in the normal manner during
a crash regardless of the driver’s
seating position. The driver’s advanced front airbag
system includes a seat position
sensor under the seat. If the seat is
positioned too f ar f orward, the
airbag will inf late sequentially,
regardless of the severity of the
impact.The passenger’s advanced f ront
airbag system has weight sensors
under the seat. If the sensors detect
a total weight on the seat of about 65
lbs (30 kg) or less, the system will
automatically turn the passenger’s
front airbag off.
When the airbag is turned of f , an
indicator in the center of the
dashboard will come on indicating
‘‘Passenger Airbag Of f ’’ (see page). If there is no passenger in the f ront
seat, the
but the
indicator .
To ensure that the passenger’s
advanced front airbag system will
work properly,
This includes: A rear passenger pushing or
pulling on the back of the
passenger’s seat.
Moving the f ront seat f orcibly
back against cargo on the seat or
f loor behind it.
Hanging heavy items on the f ront
passenger seat, or placing heavy
items in the seat-back pocket.
32
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
airbag will be of f will not come on
do not do anyt hing
t hat would increase or decrease t he weight on t he f ront passenger’s seat .
28
DRIVER’S
SEAT
POSITION
SENSOR PASSENGER’S
SEAT WEIGHT
SENSOR

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.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 ).
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.
If a short adult leans sideways, or a
larger adult slouches and leans
sideways into the side airbag
deployment path, the system may
also shut of f the side airbag.
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.
To get the best protection f rom the
side airbags, front seat occupants
should wear their seat belts and sit
upright and well back in their seats. When you turn the ignition to ON
(II), the indicator should come on
brief ly and go out (see page ). If it
doesn’t come on, stays on, or comes
on while driving without a passenger
in the front seat, have the system
checked.
31
61
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
How Your Side A irbags Work
29