2007 Acura RL Owner's Manual

For added protection, the front seat
belts are equipped with automatic
seat belt tensioners. When activated,
the tensioners immediately tighten
the belts to help hold the driver and
a front passenger in position.
The
seat belts in all positions except
the driver’s have an additional
lockable retractor that must be
activated to secure a child seat (see
page ).
If the shoulder part of the belt is
pulled all the way out, the lockable
retractor will activate. The belt will
retract, but it will not allow the
passenger to move f reely.
To deactivate the lockable retractor,
unlatch the buckle and let the seat
belt fully retract. To refasten the
seat belt, pull it out only as f ar as
needed. The tensioners are designed to
activate in any collision severe
enough to cause f ront airbag
inf lation.
If a side airbag or side curtain airbag
deploys during a side impact, the
tensioner on that side of the vehicle
will also deploy.
The tensioners can also be activated
during a collision in which the f ront
airbags
. 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.
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do not deploy
A utomatic Seat Belt T ensioners
Additional Inf ormation About Your Seat Belts
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
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The e-pretensioners do not activate
when the seat belts are not worn or
when the vehicle stability assist
(VSA) off indicator on the
instrument panel is on.
For added safety, the front seat belts
are equipped with e-pretensioners
that work in combination with the
collision mitigation brake system
(CMBS) (see page ) and the
brake pedal assist function (see page
). If
your vehicle gets too close to the
vehicle ahead of it in your lane, the
driver’s e-pretensioner slightly
retracts the seat belt to alert the
driver of the approaching vehicle. If
a collision with the vehicle in front of
you is likely, the e-pretensioners on
both front seats retract the seat belts
with enough force to properly
restrain you and your front
passenger. After they activate, the
e-pretensioners release the retracted
seat belts.
To get the full benefit of the
e-pretensioners, you and your front
passenger must sit normally in your
seats and wear your seat belts
properly (see page ). In
addition, the front 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
front passenger’s seat.
If
the automatic seat belt tensioners
are activated by a collision, both
front seat belts and all related
components must be
replaced (see page ). If only the
e-pretensioners were activated, no
components need to be replaced.
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352 355
On models with Collision Mitigation
Brake System
Seat Belt E-pretensioners
Additional Inf ormation About Your Seat Belts
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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 for damage and replace
them if needed. If the automatic seat
belt tensioners activate during a
crash, they must be replaced.
For
safety, you should check the
condition of your seat belts regularly.
Pull each belt out fully, and look for
frays, 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 limited warranty on
seat belts. See your booklet f or details.
411
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.
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:On models with CMBS
A irbag System Components
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
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(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
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Your airbag system includes:
Two side airbags, one for the
driver and one for a front
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 for
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) front airbags. The driver’s
airbag is stored in the center of
the steering wheel; the front
passenger’sairbagisstoredinthe
dashboard. Both are marked ‘‘SRS
AIRBAG’’ (see page ).
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34 29
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-pretensioner Control Unit
(12) Front Impact Sensors
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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 signal the control
unit to turn the airb ag off (see
page ).
On
models with CMBS, front seat
belt e-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
CMBS, seat belt e-pretensioners
(see page ).
An indicator on the instrument
panel that alerts you that the
passenger’s side airbag has been
turned off (see page ).
An indicator on the dashboard that
alerts you that the passenger’s
front airbag has been turned off
(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 distance of the seat
from the front airbag. If the seat is
too far forward, the airbag will
inflate with less force (see page
).
Sensors that monitor the weight
on the front passenger’s seat. If
the weight is about 65 lbs (29 kg)
or less (the weight of an infant or
small child), the passenger’s front
airbag will be turned off (see page
).
A sophisticated electronic system
that continually monitors and
records information about the
sensors, the control unit, the
airbag activators, the seat belt
tensioners, and driver and front
passenger seat belt use when the
ignition switch is in the ON (II)
position.
Sensors
that can detect whether
the driver’s seat belt and a front
passenger’s seat belt is latched or
unlatched (see page ). 23
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Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
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CONTINUED
After inflating, the front airbags will
immediately deflate, so they won’t
interfere with the driver’s visibility,
or the ability to steer or operate
other controls.
The total time for inflation and
deflation is one-tenth of a second, so
fast that most occupants are not
aware that the airbags deployed until
they see them lying in their laps.
Du
ring a frontal crash, your seat belt
restrains your lower body and torso,
and the front airbag helps protect
your head and chest.
Al though both airbags normally
inflate within a split second of each
other, it is possible for 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
sufficient protection, and the
supplemental protection offered by
the airbag would be minimal.
If
you ever have a moderate to
severe frontal collision, sensors will
detect the vehicle’s rapid
deceleration.
If the rate of deceleration is high
enough, the control unit will instantly
infl ate the driver’s and front
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 ).
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Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
How Your Front Airbags Work
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
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Your f ront airbags are also dual-
threshold airbags. Airbags with this
f eature have two deployment
thresholds that depend on whether
sensors detect the occupant is
wearing a seat belt or not.
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
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