2008 HONDA ELEMENT airbag

They are designed to supplement
the seat belts.
The most important things you need
to know about your airbags are:
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 injures or
deaths that can occur in a severe
crash, even when seat belts are
properly worn and the airbags deploy.
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.
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.
Airbags do not replace seat belts. What you should do:
A irbags of f er no prot ect ion in rear impact s, or minor f ront al or sidecollisions.
Airbags can pose serious hazards.
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
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µAdjust 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.
If you sit too close to the steering
wheel or dashboard, you can be
seriously injured by an inf lating f ront
airbag, or by striking the steering
wheel or dashboard.
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 are closed
and locked.
Your vehicle has a door and
tailgate open monitor on
the instrument panel to indicate
when a specif ic door or the tailgate
or the hatch is not tightly closed.
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.
See page f or how to lock the
doors, and page f or how the door
and tailgate monitor system works.
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CONT INUED
Protecting A dults and Teens
Adjust the Front Seats
Close and L ock the Doors
Introduction 2. 1.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
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Adjust the driver’s seat-back to a
comf ortable, 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 comf ortable, upright
position.
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.
Once a seat is adjusted correctly,
rock it back and f orth to make sure it
is locked in position.
See page f or how to adjust the
f ront seats.
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Protecting A dults and Teens
Adjust the Seat-Backs
3.
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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.
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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.
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.
After all occupants have adjusted
their seats and head restraints, and
put on their 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
off.
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.
If a seat belt does not seem to work
properly, it may not protect the
occupant in a crash.
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.
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Protecting A dults and Teens
Maintain a Proper Sitting
Position
6.Never place t he shoulder port ion of a
lap/shoulder belt under your arm orbehind your back.
No one should sit in a seat wit h aninoperat ive seat belt .
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
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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.
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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.
If they do, they
could be very seriously injured in a
crash.
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.
Protecting A dults and Teens
Advice f or Pregnant Women Additional Saf ety Precautions
Never let passengers ride in t he
cargo area or on t op of a f olded-down back seat .
Passengers should not stand up orchange seats while the vehicle ismoving.
T wo people should never use t hesame seat belt .
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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. 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 your
hands or arms are close to an
airbag cover, they could be injured
if the front airbag inflates.
If a side airbag or a
side curtain airbag inf lates, a cup
holder or other hard object
attached on or near the door could
be propelled inside the vehicle and
hurt someone.
Protecting A dults and Teens
Do not put any accessories on seat
belts.
Do not place hard or sharp object sbet ween yourself and a f rontairbag. Do not at t ach or place object s on
the f ront airbag covers. K eep your hands and arms away
f rom t he airbag covers.
Do not at t ach hard object s on or near a door.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
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This system uses the same sensors
as the front airbags to monitor
whether the f ront seat belts are
latched or unlatched, and how much
weight is on the f ront passenger’s
seat (see pages and ).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.
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 object(s) hanging on the seat
or in the seat-back pocket.
Any objects, such as a f olded-down
back seat, that are touching the
rear of the seat-back.
If no obstructions are f ound, have
your vehicle checked by a dealer.
Your seat belt system includes lap/
shoulder belts in all f our seating
positions. The f ront seat belts are
also equipped with automatic seat
belt tensioners.
If either the driver or a f ront
passenger does not f asten their seat
belt, the beeper will sound and the
indicator will f lash again at regular
intervals.
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Seat Belt System Components
Additional Inf ormation About Your Seat Belts
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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.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.
Honda provides a limited warranty
on seat belts. See your booklet f or
details.
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
).
When the tensioners are activated,
the seat belts will remain tight until
they are unbuckled.
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.
If a side airbag or side curtain airbag
deploys during a side impact, the
tensioner on that side of the vehicle
will also deploy. 32
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Honda
Warranty Inf ormation
do not deploy
Seat Belt Maintenance
A utomatic Seat Belt T ensioners
Additional Inf ormation About Your Seat Belts
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