2008 Acura MDX Owner's Manual

All seat belts have an emergency
locking retractor. In normal driving,
the retractor lets you move f reely in
your seat while it keeps some
tension on the belt. During a collision
or sudden stop, the retractor
automatically locks the belt to help
restrain your body.
The seat belts in all positions except
the driver’s have a lockable retractor
that must be activated to secure a
child seat (see page ).
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 buckle, 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.
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 object(s) hanging on the seat
or in the seat-back pocket.
Any object(s) touching the rear of
the seat-back.
If no obstructions are f ound, have
your vehicle checked by a dealer. 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.
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Additional Inf ormation About Your Seat Belts
L ap/Shoulder Belt
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
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For added protection, the f ront seat
belts are equipped with automatic
seat belt tensioners. When activated,
the tensioners immediately tighten
the belts to help hold the driver and
a f ront passenger in position.The tensioners are designed to
activate in any collision severe
enough to cause the f ront airbags to
deploy, or if a sensor detects your
vehicle is about to roll over (see page
).
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.
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 lap/shoulder belts in the center
seat of the second row and both of
the third row seats are equipped with
a detachable anchor that has two
parts: a small latch plate and a
buckle.
The detachable seat belt should
normally be latched whenever the
seat-backs are in an upright position.
For more inf ormation about the
detachable seat belt, see page . 144 32do not deploy
A utomatic Seat Belt T ensioners
Additional Inf ormation About Your Seat Belts
22
DETACHABLE ANCHOR
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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. 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.
Acura provides a limited warranty on
seat belts. See your booklet f or details.
409
Acura Warranty
Inf ormation
Additional Inf ormation About Your Seat Belts
Seat Belt Maintenance
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
23
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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Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
A irbag System Components
24
(5)(3)
(4) (2)
(9) (1)
(6)
(4)(5)
(8)
(10) (11)
(7)
(1) Driver’s Front Airbag
(2) Passenger’s Front Airbag
(3) Control Unit
(4) Front Seat Belt Tensioners
(5) Side Airbags
(6) Driver’s Seat Position Sensor
(7) Front Passenger’s Weight Sensors
(8) Passenger Airbag Off Indicator
(9) Occupant Position Detection System (OPDS) Sensors
(10) Front Passenger’s Weight Sensors/OPDS Sensors Control Unit
(11) SRS Indicator
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Your Airbag System (SRS) includes: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’’ (see page ).
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 roof
above the side windows. The f ront
and rear pillars are marked ‘‘SIDE
CURTAIN AIRBAG’’ (see page ). 27
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Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
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(12)
(13)
(16)
(15) (14)
(17)
(12) Front Impact Sensors
(13) Side Curtain Airbags
(14) Side Impact Sensors (First)
(15) Side Impact Sensors (Second)
(16) Roll Rate Sensor
(17) Safing Sensor
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Automatic front seat belt
tensioners (see page ).An indicator on the instrument
panel that alerts you to a possible
problem with your airbags,
sensors, or seat belt tensioners
(see page ).
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. If the weight is about 65 lbs
(29 kg) or less (the weight of an
inf ant or small child), the
passenger’s f ront airbag will be
turned of f (see page ).
A rollover sensor that can detect if
your vehicle is about to roll over
and signal the control unit to
deploy both side curtain airbags
and f ront seat belt tensioners (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.
Sensors that can detect a
moderate to severe front impact,
side impact, or if your vehicle is
about to rollover.
Sensors that can detect whether a
child is in the passenger’s side
airbag path and signal the control
unit to turn the airbag of f (see
page ).
Sensors that can detect whether
the driver’s seat belt and the f ront
passenger’s seat belt are latched
or unlatched (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
). 22
29 29
33
31 32 33
34
20
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
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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 can 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 ).Af ter inf lating, the f ront airbags
immediately def late, so they won’t
interf ere with the driver’s visibility,
or the ability to steer or operate
other controls.
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How Your Front Airbags Work
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
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 inf late at a slightly higher
threshold, when the airbag would be
needed to supplement the protection
provided by the seat belt.
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.
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.
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 deploy at a slightly
lower threshold, because the
occupant would need extra
protection.
Dual-T hreshold A irbags
latched
Dual-Stage A irbags
more severeless severe not lat ched
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
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