µ
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
.....
1.Close and Lock the Doors .11
...........
2.Adjust the Front Seats .11
............
3.Adjust the Seat-Backs .12
...
4.Adjust the Head Restraints .13
5.Fasten and Position the
.............................
Seat Belts .14
6.Maintain a Proper Sitting ................................
Position .15
.....
Advice f or Pregnant Women .16
...
Additional Safety Precautions .17 Additional Inf ormation About
.......................
Your Seat Belts .18
..
Seat Belt System Components .18
......................
Lap/Shoulder Belt .19
Automatic Seat Belt
...............................
Tensioners .20
...............
Seat Belt Maintenance .20
Additional Inf ormation About ...........................
Your Airbags .22
......
Airbag System Components .22
How Your Front Airbags
.........................................
Work .25
...
How Your Side Airbags Work .28
How Your Side Curtain
..........................
Airbags Work .30
..
How the SRS Indicator Works .30
How the Side Airbag Of f
......................
Indicator Works .31
How the Passenger Airbag ...............
Of f Indicator Works .31
.............................
Airbag Service .32
...
Additional Safety Precautions .33
Protecting Children General ................................
Guidelines .34
All Children Must Be ...............................
Restrained .34 All Children Should Sit in a
.................................
Back Seat .35
The Passenger’s Front Airbag .........
Can Pose Serious Risks .35
If You Must Drive with Several ...................................
Children .37
If a Child Requires Close ..................................
Attention .37
...
Additional Safety Precautions .38
Protecting Inf ants and Small ...................................
Children .39
.......................
Protecting Inf ants .39
.........
Protecting Small Children .40
.....................
Selecting a Child Seat .41
....................
Installing a Child Seat .42
...............................
With LATCH .43
.........
With a Lap/Shoulder Belt .45
..............................
With a Tether .47
...........
Protecting Larger Children .49
...............
Checking Seat Belt Fit .49
..................
Using a Booster Seat .50
When Can a Larger Child Sit in
.........................................
Front .51
...
Additional Safety Precautions .52
.............
Carbon Monoxide Hazard .53
...................................
Saf ety Labels .54
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
5
——y
y
(
y
y
2008 Fit
µ
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.
3438
62
79
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
11
\f—\f—y\f
y
(
\fy\f\f
y
2008 Fit
The lap/shoulder belt goes over
your shoulder, across your chest,
and across your hips.
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.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 ).
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).
The lap/shoulder belt in the center
seating position on the rear seat is
equipped with a detachable seat belt
that has two parts: a small latch plate
and an anchor 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 .
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.
14
45
93
Additional Inf ormation About Your Seat Belts
L ap/Shoulder Belt
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
19
DETACHABLE ANCHOR
\f—\f—y\f
\fy
(
\fy\f\fy
2008 Fit
µ
If you are not wearing a
seat belt in a crash, you could be
thrown forward and crush the
child against the dashboard or a
seat-back. If you are wearing a
seat belt, the child can be torn
from your arms and be seriously
hurt or killed.
If they do, they
could be very seriously injured in a
crash. During a crash, the
belt could press deep into the child
and cause serious or fatal injuries. For example, infants and small
childrenleftinavehicleonahot
day can die f rom heatstroke. A
child lef t alone with the key in the
ignition switch can accidentally set
the vehicle in motion, possibly
injuring themselves or others.
Children who play in vehicles can
accidentally get trapped inside.
Teach your children not to play in
or around vehicles.
Even very young
children learn how to unlock
vehicle doors, turn on the ignition
switch, and open the tailgate,
which can lead to accidental injury
or death.
If a child wraps a loose
seat belt around their neck, they
can be seriously or f atally injured.
(See pages and f or how to
activate and deactivate the
lockable retractor.)
This can prevent
children f rom accidentally f alling
out (see page ).
Leaving children without
adult supervision is illegal in most
states and Canadian provinces,
and can be very hazardous. 4546
80
Neverholdaninfantorchildonyour lap.
Never let two children use thesame seat belt .
Never put a seat belt over yourself
and a child. Lock all doors and the tailgate
when your vehicle is not in use.
K eep vehicle keys/remot etransmitters out of the reach ofchildren.
Make sure any unused seat belt
t hat a child can reach is buckled,the lockable retractor is activated,and the belt is f ully retracted andlocked.
Use t he childproof door locks t oprevent children f rom opening t herear doors.
Do not leave children alone in avehicle.
Protecting Children General Guidelines
Additional Saf ety Precautions
38
\f—\f—y\f
y
(
\fy\f\fy
2008 Fit
Only a rear-f acing child seat provides
proper support f or a baby’s head,
neck, and back.
An inf ant must be properly
restrained in a rear-f acing, reclining
child seat until the child reaches the
seat maker’s weight or height limit
f or the seat, and the child is at least
one year old.Two types of seats may be used: a
seat designed exclusively f or inf ants,
or a convertible seat used in the rear-
f acing, reclining mode.
If placed
f acing f orward, an inf ant could be
very seriously injured during a
f rontal collision. A rear-f acing child seat can be placed
in any seating position in the back
seat, but not in the f ront.
If the passenger’s front airbag
inflates, it can hit the back of the
child seat with enough f orce to kill or
seriously injure an inf ant.
When properly installed, a rear-
f acing child seat may prevent the
driver or a f ront passenger f rom
moving their seat as far back as
recommended, or f rom locking their
seat-back in the desired position.
It could also interf ere with proper
operation of the passenger’s
advanced front airbag system.
CONT INUED
Do not put a rear-f acing child seat in
a f orward-f acing position.
Child Seat T ype Never put a
rear-f acing child seat in t he f ront seat .
Rear-f acing Child Seat Placement
Protecting Inf ants
Protecting Inf ants and Small Children
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
39
\f—\f—y\f
y
(
\fy\f\fy
2008 Fit
When not using the LATCH system,
all child seats must be secured to the
vehicle with the lap part of a lap/
shoulder belt.With the child seat in the desired
seating position, route the belt
through the child seat according
to the seat maker’s instructions,
then insert the latch plate into the
buckle.To activate the lockable retractor,
slowly pull the shoulder part of the
belt all the way out until it stops,
then let the belt feed back into the
retractor.
Af ter the belt has retracted, tug on
it. If the belt is locked, you will not
be able to pull it out. If you can pull
thebeltout,itisnotlocked,and
you will need to repeat these steps.
In addition, the lap/shoulder belts in
all seating positions except the
driver’s have a lockable retractor
that must be activated to secure a
child seat.
If you intend to install a child seat in
the center seating position of the
rear seat, remove its head restraint,
and make sure the detachable seat
belt is securely latched (see page
). 2.
1.
3.
93
CONT INUED
Installing a Child Seat with a L ap/
Shoulder Belt
Installing a Child Seat
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
45
\f—\f—y\f
y
(
\fy\f\f\fy
2008 Fit
Af ter conf irming that the belt is
locked, grab the shoulder part of
the belt near the buckle, and pull
up to remove any slack from the
lap part of the belt. Remember, if
the lap part of the belt is not tight,
the child seat will not be secure.Push and pull the child seat
f orward and f rom side-to-side to
verify that it is secure enough to
stay upright during normal driving
maneuvers. If the child seat is not
secure, unlatch the belt, allow it to
retract f ully, then repeat these
steps.To deactivate the lockable retractor
andremoveachildseat,unlatchthe
buckle, unroute the seat belt, and let
the belt fully retract.
To remove slack, it may help to
putweightonthechildseat,or
push on the back of the seat while
pulling up on the belt.
4. 5.
Installing a Child Seat
46
\f—\f—y\fy
(
\fy\f\f
y
2008 Fit
This section gives inf ormation about
the controls and displays that
contribute to the daily operation of
your vehicle. All the essential
controls are within easy reach............................
Control Locations .58
............................
Instrument Panel .59
..........
Instrument Panel Indicators .60
.............................................
Gauges .67
...................................
Trip Meter .67
.....................................
Odometer .68
..................................
Fuel Gauge .68
..........
Check Fuel Cap Indicator .68
..................
Maintenance Minder .69
Controls Near the Steering ...........................................
Wheel .70
.
Windshield Wipers and Washers .71
.........
Turn Signals and Headlights .72
........
Instrument Panel Brightness .74
.................
Hazard Warning Button .74
.................
Rear Window Def ogger .74
..........
Steering Wheel Adjustment .75
...............................
Keys and Locks .76
........................
Immobilizer System .77
................................
Ignition Switch .78
......................................
Door Locks .79
......................
Power Door Locks .79
..............
Childproof Door Locks .80
............................................
Tailgate .81
.......................
Remote Transmitter .83
.................................................
Seats .86 ..............................
Power Windows .94
.............................................
Mirrors .95
.................................
Parking Brake .96
...........
Interior Convenience Items .97
.......................
Beverage Holders .98
....................................
Glove Box .98
...........
Accessory Power Socket .99
......................................
Sun Visor .99
.................................
Interior Lights .99
Instruments and Controls
Inst rument s and Cont rols
57
\f—\f—y\f
y
(
\fy\f\fy
2008 Fit