2008 Acura MDX Owner's Manual

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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.
.........
Important Safety Precautions .6
.......
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features .7
.......................................
Seat Belts .8
...........................................
Airbags .9
.........
Protecting Adults and Teens .11
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1. Close and Lock the Doors .11
...........
2. Adjust the Front Seats .12
............
3. Adjust the Seat-Backs .13
...
4. Adjust the Head Restraints .14
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
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Additional Safety Precautions .19 Additional Inf ormation About
.......................
Your Seat Belts .20
..
Seat Belt System Components .20
......................
Lap/Shoulder Belt .21
Automatic Seat Belt
...............................
Tensioners .22
...............
Seat Belt Maintenance .23
Additional Inf ormation About ...........................
Your Airbags .24
......
Airbag System Components .24
How Your Front Airbags
.........................................
Work .27
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How Your Side Airbags Work .30
How Your Side Curtain Airbags
.........................................
Work .32
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How the SRS Indicator Works .33
How The Side Airbag Of f
......................
Indicator Works .33
How the Passenger Airbag ...............
Of f Indicator Works .34
.............................
Airbag Service .35
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Additional Safety Precautions .35
Protecting Children General ................................
Guidelines .37
All Children Must Be ...............................
Restrained .37 All Children Should Sit in a
.................................
Back Seat .38
The Passenger’s Front Airbag .........
Can Pose Serious Risks .38
If You Must Drive with Several ...................................
Children .40
If a Child Requires Close ..................................
Attention .40
...
Additional Safety Precautions .41
Protecting inf ants and .........................
Small Children .42
.......................
Protecting Inf ants .42
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Protecting Small Children .43
.....................
Selecting a Child Seat .45
....................
Installing a Child Seat .46
...............................
With LATCH .47
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With a Lap/Shoulder Seat Belt .50
..............................
With a Tether .51
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Protecting Larger Children .54
...............
Checking Seat Belt Fit .54
..................
Using a Booster Seat .55
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When Can a Child Sit in Front .56
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Additional Safety Precautions .57
.............
Carbon Monoxide Hazard .58
...................................
Saf ety Labels .59
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
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2008 MDX

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You’ll f ind many saf ety
recommendations throughout this
section, and throughout this manual.
Therecommendationsonthispage
are the ones we consider to be the
most important.
A seat belt is your best protection in
all types of collisions. Airbags are
designed to supplement seat belts,
not replace them. So even though
your vehicle is equipped with airbags,
make sure you and your passengers
always wear your seat belts, and
wear them properly (see page ). Children age 12 and under should
ride properly restrained in a back
seat, not the front seat. Infants and
smallchildrenshouldberestrained
in a child seat. Larger children
should use a booster seat and a lap/
shoulder belt until they can use the
belt properly without a booster seat
(see pages ).
While airbags can save lives, they
can cause serious or fatal injuries to
occupants who sit too close to them,
or are not properly restrained.
Inf ants, young children, and short
adults are at the greatest risk. Be
sure to f ollow all instructions and
warnings in this manual.
Having a tire blowout or a
mechanical f ailure can be extremely
hazardous. To reduce the possibility
of such problems, check your tire
pressures and condition f requently,
and perform all regularly scheduled
maintenance (see page ).
Excessive speed is a major f actor in
crash injuries and deaths. Generally,
the higher the speed, the greater the
risk, but serious injuries can also
occur at lower speeds. Never drive
f aster than is saf e f or current
conditions, regardless of the
maximum speed posted.
Alcohol and driving don’t mix. Even
one drink can reduce your ability to
respond to changing conditions, and
your reaction time gets worse with every additional drink. So don’t drink
and drive, and don’t let your f riends
drink and drive, either.
15 3757
415
Always Wear Your Seat Belt
Restrain All Children
K eep Your Vehicle in Saf e
Condition
Control Your Speed
Don’t Drink and Drive
Be Aware of Airbag Hazards
Important Saf ety Precautions
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2008 MDX

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’sSaf ety Features
always wear
your seat belts
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
7
(7) (9)
(3) (1)
(2)
(6)
(10) (8)
(5)
(2)(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
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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:
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 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’sSaf 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.
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CONT INUED
Your vehicle has a supplemental
restraint system (SRS) with f ront
airbags to help protect the heads and
chests of the driver and a front seat
passenger during a moderate to
severe f rontal collision (see pagef or more inf ormation on how
your f ront airbags work). Your vehicle also has side airbags to
help protect the upper torso of the
driver or a f ront seat passenger
during a moderate to severe side
impact (see page f or more
information on how your side airbags
work).
27 30
Your Vehicle’sSaf ety Features
Airbags
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
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In addition, your vehicle has side
curtain airbags to help protect the
heads of the driver, f ront passenger,
and passengers in the outer rear
seating positions during a moderate
to severe side
impact or rollover
(see page 32for more inf ormation
on how your side curtain airbags
work).
2008 MDX

The most important things you need
to know about your airbags are:They are designed to supplement
the seat belts.
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. 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.
Your Vehicle’sSaf 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.
Airbags can pose serious hazards. What you should do:
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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 pages f or important
guidelines on how to properly
protect inf ants, small children, and
larger children who ride in your
vehicle.
After everyone has entered the
vehicle, be sure the doors and the
tailgate are closed and locked.
When the tailgate is not tightly
closed, the ‘‘TAILGATE OPEN’’
message will come on.
When one or more doors are not
tightly closed, the ‘‘DOOR OPEN’’
message will come on.
Your vehicle has a door and tailgate
monitor on the multi-inf ormation
display to indicate when a specif ic
door or the tailgate is not tightly
closed. You will see the appropriate
indicator and the message f or each
condition.
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Introduction
Close and L ock the Doors
1.
Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
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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.
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 a door and
f alling out.
Locking the doors also helps prevent
an outsider f rom unexpectedly
opening a door when you come to a
stop.
When both tailgate and one or more
doors are not tightly closed, the
‘‘DOOR & TAILGATE OPEN’’
message will come on. Your vehicle has the auto door
locking/unlocking f eature. For more
inf ormation, see page .
130Adjust the Front Seats
2.
Protecting A dults and Teens
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