2008 Acura TSX Owner's Manual

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.
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.
Acura provides a limited warranty on
seat belts. See your booklet f or details. If a seat belt is worn during a crash,
it must be replaced by your dealer. A
belt that has been worn during a
crash may not provide the same level
of protection in a subsequent crash.
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Acura Warranty
Inf ormation
Additional Inf ormation About Your Seat Belts
Seat Belt Maintenance
22
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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CONT INUED
A irbag System Components
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
23
(1)(3)
(4)
(5)
(8)
(7)
(10) (9)
(6) (4)
(8)
(10)(5)
(14)
(13) (14) (13)
(15)
(11)
(2)
(7) (12)(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) Front Impact Sensors
(9) Passenger Airbag Off Indicator
(10) Side Impact Sensors (First)
(11) Occupant Position Detection System (OPDS) Sensors
(12) Front Passenger’s Weight Sensors/OPDS Sensors Control Unit
(13) Side Impact Sensors (Second)
(14) Side Curtain Airbags
(15) Supplemental Restraint System ( SRS) Indicator
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Your airbag system includes: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 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 curtain airbags, one f or
each side of the vehicle. The
airbags are stored in the ceiling,
above the side windows. The f ront
and rear pillars are marked ‘‘SIDE
CURTAIN AIRBAG’’ (see page
).
Automatic front seat belt
tensioners (see page ). 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
frontpassenger’sseatbeltare
latched or unlatched (see page
).
A driver’s seat position sensor
that monitors the distance of
theseatfromthefrontairbag.If
the seat is too f ar f orward, the
airbag will inf late with less f orce
(see page ).
Sensors that can detect a
moderate to severe frontal or side
impact.
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30 31
30
19
28
21
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
24
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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.
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.
An indicator on the instrument
panel that alerts you to a possible
problem with your airbags,
sensors, or seat belt tensioners
(see page ). 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 ).
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28
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
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2008 TSX

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.
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 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 ).
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.
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Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
How Your Front Airbags Work
26
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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.
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.
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.
CONT INUED
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
Dual-T hreshold A irbags
Dual-Stage A irbags
more severeless severe not lat ched
latched
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
27
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Your f ront airbags are also advanced
airbags. The main purpose of this
feature is to help prevent airbag-
caused injuries to short drivers and
children who ride in f ront.
For both advanced airbags to work
properly:Occupants must sit upright and
wear their seat belts properly.
Back-seat passengers should not
put their f eet under the f ront seats.
Failure to f ollow these instructions
could damage the sensors or prevent
them f rom working properly. The driver’s advanced front airbag
system includes a seat position
sensor under the seat. If the seat is
too far forward, the airbag will
inf late with less f orce, regardless of
the severity of the impact.
If there is a problem with the sensor,
the SRS indicator will come on, and
the airbag will inf late in the normal
manner regardless of the driver’s
seating position.The passenger’s advanced f ront
airbag system has weight sensors
under the seat. Although Acura does
not encourage carrying an inf ant or
small child in f ront, if the sensors
detect the weight of an inf ant or
small child (up to about 65 lbs or 29
kg), the system will automatically
turn the passenger’s front airbag off.
Do not spill any liquids on or
under the seats, cover the sensors,
or put any objects or metal items
under the f ront seats.
Advanced Airbags
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
28
DRIVER’S
SEAT
POSITION
SENSOR
PASSENGER’S
SEAT WEIGHT
SENSOR
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2008 TSX

Also,makesurethefloormatbehind
the f ront passenger’s seat is hooked
to the floor mat anchor (see page). If it is not, the mat may
interf ere with the proper operation
of the sensors and operation of the
seat.
To ensure that the passenger’s
advanced front airbag system will
work properly,
This includes:
A rear passenger pushing or
pulling on the back of the f ront
passenger’s seat.
Moving the f ront seat f orcibly
back against cargo on the seat or
f loor behind it.
When the airbag is turned of f , a
‘‘passenger airbag of f ’’ indicator in
the center of the dashboard comes
on (see page ).
If the weight sensors detect there is
no passenger in the f ront seat, the
airbag will be off. However, the
passenger airbag of f indicator will
not come on.
Be aware that objects placed on the
passenger’s seat can also cause the
airbag to be turned off.
Hanging heavy items on the f ront
passenger seat, or placing heavy
items in the seat-back pocket.
Moving the front seat or seat-back
f orcibly back against the f olded
rear seat.
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310
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
do not do anyt hing
t hat would increase or decrease t he weight on the f ront passenger’s seat.Driver and Passenger Saf ety
29
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