2007 HONDA FIT Owners Manual

Your vehicle is equipped with many
features that work together to
protect you and your passengers
during 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. 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.
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
always wear
your seat belts
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
7
(5) (7)
(10)
(3)
(1)
(2)
(8) (6)
(2) (9)
(11) (4)
(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
(9) Side Curtain Airbags
(10) Front Seat Belt Tensioners
(11) Door Locks

Your vehicle is equipped with seat
belts in all seating positions.
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:
Help protect you in almost every
type of crash, including f rontal,
side, and rear impacts and
rollovers. Keep you connected to the vehicle
so you can take advantage of the
vehicle’s built-in saf ety f eatures. Always wear your seat belt, and
make sure you wear it properly. Of course, seat belts cannot
completely protect you in every
crash.Butinmostcases,seatbelts
can reduce your risk of serious
injury.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. Keep you f rom being thrown out
of the vehicle. Help keep you f rom being thrown
against the inside of the vehicle
and against other occupants.
Your seat belt system also includes
an indicator on the instrument panel
and a beeper to remind you and your
passengers to f asten your seat belts.
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
Seat Belts
Why Wear Seat Belt s
What You Should Do:
8
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.

CONTINUED
Your vehicle has a supplemental
restraint system (SRS) with front
airbags to help protect the heads and
chests of the driver and a front seat
passenger during a moderate to
severe frontal collision (see page
for more information on how
your front airbags work). Your
vehicle also has side curtain
airbags to help protect the heads of
the driver, front passenger, and
passengers in the outer rear seating
positions during a moderate to
severe side impact (see page for
more information on how your side
cu rtain airbags work).
Your
vehicle also has side airbags to
help protect the upper torso of the
driver or a front seat passenger
during a moderate to severe side
impact (see page for more
information on how your side airbags
work). 28
30
25
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
Airbags
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
9

The most important things you need
to know about your airbags are:They are designed to supplement
the seat belts. Always wear
your seat belt properly, and sit
upright and as f ar back f rom the
steering wheel as possible while
allowing f ull control of the vehicle. A
f ront passenger should move their
seat as far back from 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 a severe
crash, even when seat belts are
properly worn and the airbags deploy.
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.
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
Airbags do not replace seat belts.
A irbags of f er no prot ect ion in rearimpact s, or minor f ront al or sidecollisions. What you should do:
Airbags can pose serious hazards.
10

µ
The
following pages pro vide
instru ctions 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 front.
See pages for important
guidelines on how to properly
protect infants, small children, and
larger children who ride in your
vehicle.
Adjust the driver’s seat as far to the
rear as possible while allowing you to
maintain full control of the vehicl e.
Have a front passenger adjust their
seat as far to the rear as possible.
After
everyone has entered the
vehicl e, be sure the doors and the
ta ilgate are closed and locked.
Lo cking the doors reduces the
ch ance of someone being thro wn out
of the vehicle during a crash, and it
helps prevent passengers from
accidentally opening a door and
falling out.
Lo cking the doors also helps prevent
an outsider from unexp ectedly
opening a door when you come to a
stop.
See page for how to lock the
doors, and page f or how the door
and tailgate open indicator works. Your vehicle has a door and
tailgate open indicator on
the instrument panel to indicate
when any door or the tailgate is not
tightly closed.
34 38
7862
CONT INUED
Close and L ock the Doors A djust the Front Seats
Introduction 1. 2.
Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
11

If you sit too close to the steering
wh eel or dashboard, you can be
seriously injured by an inflating front
ai rbag, or by striking the steering
wh eel or dashboard.
Adjust the driver’s seat-back to a
comfortable, 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 comfo rtable, upright
position.
Once
your seat is adjusted correctly,
rock it back and forth to make sure
the seat is locked in position.
See page for how to adjust the
front seats.
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. In addition to
adjusting the seat, you can adjust the
steering wheel up and down (see
page ).
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. 74
85Adjust the Seat-Backs
3.
Protecting A dults and Teens
12
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.

Adjust the driver’s head restraint so
the back of your head rests against
the center of the restraint.
Reclining
a seat-back so that the
shoulder part of the belt no longer
rests against the occupant’s chest
reduces the pro tective 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 for how to adjust the
seat-backs. Have
passengers adjust their head
restraints properly as well. Taller
persons should adjust their restraint
as high as possible. See page for how to adjust the
head restraints. Properly adjusted head restraints
will help protect occupants f rom
whiplash and other crash injuries. When a passenger is seated in the
rear center seating position, make
sure the center head restraint is in
its highest position.
86 86
Protecting A dults and Teens
A djust the Head Restraints
4.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
13
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. 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.

This spreads the forces 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.
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 fits snugly.
This lets your strong pelvic bones
take the force of a crash and reduces
the chance of internal injuries.
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.
Insert
the latch plate into the buckle,
then tug on the belt to make sure the
belt is securely latched. Check that
the belt is not twisted, because a
twisted belt can cause serious
injuries in a crash.
The seat belt in the center position
of the back seat can be unlatched
and retracted to allow the back seat
to be f olded up or down. This seat
belt should be latched whenever the
seat-back is in an upright position.
See page for how to unlatch and
relatch the seat belt. 92
Protecting A dults and Teens
Fasten and Position the Seat
Belts
5.
14
Improperly positioning the seat
belts can cause serious injury
or death in a crash.
Make sure all seat belts are
properly positioned before
driving.