2005 HONDA ELEMENT seats

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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. It
explains how your airbags work. And
it tells you how to properly restrain
inf ants and children in your vehicle.
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Important Safety Precautions . 8
.......
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features . 9
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Seat Belts .10
.........................................
Airbags .11
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Protecting Adults and Teens . 12
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1. Close and Lock the Doors . 12
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2. Adjust the Front Seats . 12
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3. Adjust the Seat-Backs . 14
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4. Adjust the Head Restraints . 15
5. Fasten and Position the ............................
Seat Belts .15
6. Maintain a Proper Sitting ................................
Position .17
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Advice f or Pregnant Women . 18 ...
Additional Safety Precautions . 19
Additional Inf ormation About Your .................................
Seat Belts .20
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Seat Belt System Components . 20
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Lap/Shoulder Belt .20
Automatic Seat Belt ...............................
Tensioners .21
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Seat Belt Maintenance . 21
Additional Inf ormation About Your .....................................
Airbags .23
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Airbag System Components . 23
How Your Front Airbags .........................................
Work .24
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How Your Side Airbags Work . 26
How the SRS Indicator .......................................
Works .27
How the Side Airbag Cutof f ......................
Indicator Works .28
.............................
Airbag Service .28
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Additional Safety Precautions . 29
Protecting Children General ................................
Guidelines .30
All Children Must Be ...............................
Restrained .30
All Children Should Sit in a .................................
Back Seat .31 The Passenger’s Front Airbag
...............
Poses Serious Risks . 31
If You Must Drive with Several ...................................
Children .33
If a Child Requires Close ..................................
Attention .33
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Additional Safety Precautions . 34
Protecting Inf ants and .........................
Small Children .35
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Protecting Inf ants .35
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Protecting Small Children . 36
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Selecting a Child Seat .37
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Installing a Child Seat .38
...............................
With LATCH .39
..........................
With a Seat Belt .41
..............................
With a Tether .43
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Protecting Larger Children . 44
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Checking Seat Belt Fit . 44
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Using a Booster Seat . 45
When Can a Larger Child Sit in .........................................
Front .45
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Additional Safety Precautions . 46
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Carbon Monoxide Hazard . 47
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Saf ety Labels .48
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
7

Your vehicle is equipped with many
features that work together to
protect you and your passengers
during a crash.
Some f eatures do not require any
action on your part. These include a
strong steel f ramework that f orms a
saf ety cage around the passenger
compartment; front and rear crush
zones; a collapsible steering column;
and tensioners that tighten the f ront
seat belts in a crash.
However, you and your passengers
can’t take f ull advantage of these
f eatures unless you remain sitting in
a proper position and. In fact, some safety
f eatures can contribute to injuries if
they are not used properly.
The f ollowing pages explain how you
cantakeanactiveroleinprotecting
yourself and your passengers.
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
always wear
your seat belt s
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
9
(9) (2)
(6)
(4)
(3)
(1)
(7)
(5)
(2)
(10) (8)
(8)
(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(standard on EX model)
(9)Front Seat Belt Tensioners
(10) Door Locks

Your vehicle is equipped with seat
belts in all seating positions.
Your seat belt system also includes
an indicator on the instrument panel
to remind you and your passengers
to f asten your seat belts.
Seat belts are the single most
effectivesafetydeviceforadultsand
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.When properly worn, seat belts:
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. 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.
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
Seat Belts
Why Wear Seat Belt s
What You Should Do:
10
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.

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The rest of this section gives more
detailed inf ormation about how you
can maximize your saf ety.
Af ter everyone has entered the
vehicle, be sure the doors are closed
and locked.
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.
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 pages 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 drive
or ride in the f ront.
See page f or how to lock the
doors, and page f or how the door
monitor indicator works. Locking the doors also helps prevent
an outsider f rom unexpectedly
opening a door when you come to a
stop.Your vehicle
has a door
monitor indicator on the instrument
panel to indicate when a specif ic
door or the tailgate or the hatch 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 and f alling out.
Remember, however, that no saf ety
system can prevent all injuries or
deaths that can occur in a severe
crash, even when seat belts are
properly worn and the airbags deploy.
30 46 7057
Close and L ock the Doors
A djust the Front Seats
Introduction 1.
2.
Protecting A dults and Teens
12

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.
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Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
13
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.

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.The front seats have adjustable seat
belt anchors. To adjust the height of
an anchor, press and hold the release
buttons and slide the anchor up or
down as needed (it has f our
positions).
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. 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.
Protecting A dults and Teens
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RELEASE
BUTTONS
Improperly positioning the seat
belts can cause serious injury
or death in a crash.
Make sure all seat belts are
properly positioned before
driving.

If a seat belt does not seem to work
properly, it may not protect the
occupant in a crash.This could cause
very serious injuries in a crash. 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.
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 dealer check the belt as
soon as possible.
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CONT INUED
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 .Maintain a Proper Sitting
Position
6.
Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
17

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 object in
your mouth, can result in injuries
if your f ront airbag inf lates.
If they do, they
could be very seriously injured in a
crash.
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.
Additional Saf ety Precautions
On models wit h side airbags, do
not 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.
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.
Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
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