2008 HONDA FIT Owners Manual

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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 ).
Alcohol and driving don’t mix. Even
one drink can reduce your ability to
respond to changing conditions, and
your reaction time gets worse withevery additional drink. So don’t drink
and drive, and don’t let your f riends
drink and drive, either.
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.
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 ). 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.
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 ).
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Important Saf ety Precautions
Always Wear Your Seat Belt
Don’t Drink and Drive
Be Aware of Airbag Hazards
Restrain All ChildrenControl Your Speed
K eep Your Vehicle in Saf e
Condition
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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 full 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’s Saf ety Features
always wear
your seat belts
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
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(5) (7)
(10)
(3)
(1)
(2)
(8) (6)
(2) (9)
(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:
Help protect you in almost every
type of crash, including f rontal,
side, and rear impacts and
rollovers.
Keep you connected to the vehicle
so you can take advantage of the
vehicle’s built-in saf ety f eatures. Always wear your seat belt, and
make sure you wear it properly.
Of course, seat belts cannot
completely protect you in every
crash.Butinmostcases,seatbelts
can reduce your risk of serious
injury.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.
Keep you f rom being thrown out
of the vehicle.
Help keep you f rom being thrown
against the inside of the vehicle
and against other occupants.
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’s Saf ety Features
Seat Belts
Why Wear Seat Belt s
What You Should Do:
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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). 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 (see page
f or more inf ormation on how
your side curtain 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).
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Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
Airbags
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
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The most important things you need
to know about your airbags are:They are designed to supplement
the seat belts. 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.
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.
Your Vehicle’s Saf 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. What you should do:
Airbags can pose serious hazards.
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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.
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 f ront passenger adjust their
seat as far to the rear as possible.
After everyone has entered the
vehicle, be sure the doors and the
tailgate are closed and locked.
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.
See page f or how to lock the
doors, and page f or how the door
and tailgate open indicator works. Your vehicle has a door and
tailgate open indicator on
the instrument panel to indicate
when any door or the tailgate is not
tightly closed.
Locking the doors and the tailgate
also helps prevent an outsider from
unexpectedly opening a door or the
tailgate when you come to a stop.
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CONT INUED
Close and L ock the Doors A djust the Front Seats
Introduction 1. 2.
Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
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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.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.
See page f or how to adjust the
f ront seats.
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.
75 86Adjust the Seat-Backs
3.
Protecting A dults and Teens
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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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Adjust the driver’s head restraint so
the center of 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 protective 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.
See page f or how to adjust the
seat-backs.
See page f or how to adjust the
head restraints.
Properly adjusted head restraints
will help protect occupants f rom
whiplash and other crash injuries.
Have passengers adjust their head
restraints properly as well. Taller
persons should adjust their restraint
as high as possible. When a passenger is seated in the
rear center seating position, make
sure the center head restraint is
properly positioned.
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Protecting A dults and Teens
A djust the Head Restraints
4.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
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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.
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