2006 Acura RL Owner's Manual

In addition, the f ront passenger’s
e-pretensioner does not activate
when the passenger’s airbag is
automatically turned off because the
weight sensor detects a child in the
f ront passenger’s seat.
Additional Inf ormation About Your Seat Belts
24

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 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. If a belt does
not retract easily, cleaning the belt
may correct the problem (see page
). Any belt that is not in good
condition or working properly will
not provide good protection and
should be replaced as soon as
possible.
Acura provides a lif etime warranty
on seat belts f or U.S. models. See
your
booklet f or details. 379
Acura Warranty Inf ormation
Additional Inf ormation About Your Seat Belts
Seat Belt Maintenance
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
25
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.

Î
Î
On models with Adaptive Cruise Control
:
A irbag System Components
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
26
(1)
(2)
(3) (4)
(5) (8)
(7)
(6) (4)(5)
(10)
(9)
(9)
(10) Occupant Position Detection System (OPDS) Sensors (6) Driver’s Seat Position Sensor
(7) Front Passenger’s Seat Weight Sensors
(8) Passenger Airbag Off Indicator
(9) Side Impact Sensors (First) (1) Driver’s Airbag
(2) Front Passenger’s Airbag
(3) Control Unit
(4) Front Seat Belt Tensioners/
Seat Belt E-pretensioners
(5) Side Airbags

Your airbag system includes: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 ).
Two side curtain airbags, one f or
each side of the vehicle. The
airbags are stored in the ceiling,
above the side windows. The front
and rear pillars are marked ‘‘SIDE
CURTAIN AIRBAG’’ (see page ).
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.’’
32
34
CONT INUED
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
27
(12) (15)
(14)
(13)
(11) (13)
(13) Side Impact Sensors (Second)
(14) Rear Safing Sensor
(15) Side Curtain Airbags
(11) E-pretensioners Control Unit
(12) Front Impact Sensors

An indicator on the instrument
panel that alerts you that the
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.
Weight sensors that monitor the
weight on the f ront passenger’s
seat. These automatically turn off
the passenger’s front airbag if
they detect an inf ant or small child
maybeintheseat(seepage ).
Automatic front seat belt
tensioners (see page ).
Sensors that can detect a
moderate to severe front impact or
side impact.
Sensors that can detect whether a
child is in the passenger’s side
airbag path and automatically turn
the airbag of f (see page ).
A driver’s seat position sensor that
monitors the distance of the seat
from the front airbag. If the seat is
too f ar f orward, the airbag will
inf late with less f orce (see page
). A sophisticated electronic system
that continually monitors and
records inf ormation about the
sensors, the control unit, the
airbag activators, the seat belt
tensioners, and driver and f ront
passenger seat belt use when the
ignition switch is in the ON (II)
position.
Frontseatbelte-pretensioners
(see page ).
An indicator on the instrument
panel that alerts you to a possible
problem with your airbags,
sensors, seat belt tensioners (see
page ), or, on models with ACC,
seat belt e-pretensioners (see page).
31 22
35 35
35
35
34
23
23
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
28

CONT INUED
Af ter inf lating, the f ront airbags will
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.
During a f rontal crash, your seat belt
restrains your lower body and torso,
and the f ront airbag helps protect
your head and chest.
Although both airbags normally
inf late within a split second of each
other, it is possible f or only one
airbag to deploy.
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.
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 airbags, at the time and
with the f orce needed. Only the driver’s airbag will 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 ).
35
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
How Your Front Airbags Work
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
29

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 a slightly
lower threshold, because the
occupant would need extra
protection.
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 a
crash, 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.
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.
If 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.
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
Dual-T hreshold A irbags
not lat ched
Dual-Stage A irbags
more severeless severe latched
30

CONT INUED
Your f ront airbags are also advanced
airbags. The main purpose of this
feature is to help prevent airbag-
caused injuries to short drivers and
children who ride in f ront.
For both advanced airbags to work
properly:Occupants must sit upright and
wear their seat belts properly.
Do not spill any liquids on or
under the seats, cover the sensors,
or put any cargo or metal objects
under the f ront seats.
Back-seat passengers should not
put their f eet under the f ront seats.
Failure to f ollow these instructions
could damage the sensors or prevent
them f rom working properly. The driver’s advanced front airbag
system includes a seat position
sensor under the seat. If the seat is
too f ar f orward, the airbag will
inf late with less f orce, 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
an inf ant or small child may be in the
seat, the system will automatically
turn the passenger’s front airbag off.
If there is a problem with the sensor,
the SRS indicator will come on, and
the airbag will inf late in the normal
manner regardless of the driver’s
seating position.
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
Advanced Airbags
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
31
DRIVER’S
SEAT
POSITION
SENSOR PASSENGER’S
SEAT WEIGHT
SENSOR