2007 HONDA RIDGELINE Owners Manual

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. When
a passenger is seated in the
rear center seating position, make
sure the center head restraint is
ad justed to its highest position.
Properly adjusted head restraints
will help protect occupants from
whiplash and other crash injuries.
See page for how to adjust the
head restraints.
See pages and 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.
98 102
100
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.

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.
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.
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.
Fasten and Position the Seat
Belts
5.
Protecting A dults and Teens
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.

CONTINUED
This could cause
very serious injuries in a crash.
See page f or additional
inf ormation about your seat belts
and how to take care of them.
The front seats have adjustable seat
belt anchors. To adjust the height of
an anchor, squeeze the two release
buttons, and slide the anchor up or
down as needed (it has f our
positions). If a seat belt does not seem to work
as it should, it may not protect the
occupant 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
of f .
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.
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.
18
Protecting A dults and Teens
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.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
15
RELEASE
BUTTONS

In addition, an occupant who is out of
position in the f ront seat can be
seriously or f atally injured in a crash
by striking interior parts of the
vehicle or being struck by an
inflating front airbag.If you are pregnant, the best way to
protect yourself and your unborn
child when driving or riding in a
vehicle is to always wear a seat belt,
and keep the lap part of the belt as
low as possible across the hips.When driving, remember to sit
upright and adjust the seat as f ar
back as possible while allowing f ull
control of the vehicle. When riding
as a f ront passenger, adjust the seat
as far back as possible.
This will reduce the risk of injuries
to both you and your unborn child
that can be caused by a crash or an
inflating front airbag.
Each time you have a checkup, ask
your doctor if it’s okay f or you to
drive.
Advice f or Pregnant Women
Protecting A dults and Teens
16
Sitting improperly or out of
position can result in serious
injury or death in a crash.
Always sit upright, well back in
the seat, with your feet on the
floor.

If they do, they could be very
seriously injured in a crash.
If they do, they could
be killed or very seriously injured
in a crash.
They could be
killed or injured in a crash, or
become ill or even die f rom carbon
monoxide poisoning if engine
exhaust enters the cap.
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.
Devices intended to improve
occupant comf ort or reposition the
shoulder part of a seat belt can
reduce 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 your
hands or arms are close to an
airbag cover, they could be injured
if the airbag inf lates.
Objects on
the covers marked ‘‘SRS AIRBAG’’
could interf ere with the proper
operation of the airbags or be
propelled inside the vehicle and
hurt someone if the airbags inf late.
If a side airbag or a
side curtain airbag inf lates, a cup
holder or other solid object
attached on or near the door could
be propelled inside the vehicle and
hurt someone.
Protecting A dults and Teens
Additional Saf ety Precautions
Never let passengers ride in t he
area in front of a folded-up rearseat .
Never let passengers ride in t hepickup bed.
Never let passengers ride inside atruck cap (shell).
Passengers should not stand up orchange seats while the vehicle ismoving. T wo people should never use t he
same seat belt .
Do not put any accessories on seatbelts.
Do not place hard or sharp object sbet ween yourself and a f rontairbag. K eep your hands and arms away
f rom t he airbag covers.
Do not at t ach or place object s onthe f ront airbag covers.
Do not at t ach solid object s on ornear a door.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
17

Your seat belt system includes lap/
shoulder belts in all five seating
positions. The front seat belts are
also equipped with automatic seat
belt tensioners.
This system uses the same sensors
as the front airbags to monitor
whether the front seat belts are
latched or unlatch ed, and how much
weight is on the front passenger’s
seat (see pages and ).
This system monitors the f ront seat
belts. If you turn the ignition switch
to the ON (II) position bef ore your
seat belt is f astened, the beeper will
sound and the indicator will f lash. If
your seat belt is not f astened bef ore the beeper stops, the indicator will
stop f lashing but remain on.
If a f ront passenger does not f asten
their seat belt, the indicator will
come on about 6 seconds af ter the
ignition switch is turned to the ON
(II) position.
When no one is sitting in the f ront
passenger’s seat, or a child or small
adult is riding there, the indicator
should not come on and the beeper
should not sound.
If the indicator comes on or the
beeper sounds when the driver’s seat
belt is latched and there is no f ront
seat passenger and no items on the
front seat, something may be
interf ering with the monitoring
system. Look f or and remove:
Any items under the f ront
passenger’s seat.
Any objects hanging on the seat or
in the seat-back pocket.
If either the driver or a f ront
passenger does not f asten their seat
belt while driving, the beeper will
sound and the indicator will f lash
again at regular intervals.
The seat belt system
includes an indicator on the
instrument panel and a beeper to
remind you and your passengers to
f asten your seat belts. Any object on the f loor that is
touching the rear of the seat-back.
If no obstructions are f ound, have
your vehicle checked by a dealer.
2625
Additional Inf ormation About Your Seat Belts
Seat Belt System Components
18

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.
All
seat belts have an emerge ncy
locking retractor. In normal driving,
the retractor lets you move freely in
your seat while it keeps some
tension on the belt. During a collision
or sudden stop, the retractor
automati cally locks the belt to help
restrain your body.
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 freely.
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 far as
needed.
The
lap/shoulder belt goes over
your shoulder, across your chest,
and across your hips.
To fasten the belt, insert the latch
plate into the buckl e, then tug on the
belt to make sure the buckle is
latched (see page f or how to
properly position the belt).
To unlock the belt, press the red
PRESSbuttononthebuckle.Guide
the belt across your body so that it
retracts completely. Af ter exiting the
vehicle, be sure the belt is out of the
way and will not get closed in the
door. 44
14
CONT INUED
A utomatic Seat Belt T ensioners
L ap/Shoulder Belt
Additional Inf ormation About Your Seat Belts
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
19

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.
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. For safety, you should check the
condition of your seat belts regularly.
The
tensioners are designed to
activate in any collision severe
enough to cause the front airbags to
deploy, or if a sensor detects your
vehicle is about to roll over (see page
).
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. Honda provides a limited warranty
on seat belts. See your
booklet f or
details.
28
261
do not deploy Honda
Warranty Inf ormation
Seat Belt Maintenance
Additional Inf ormation About Your Seat Belts
20
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.