2008 HONDA ODYSSEY drive

µAfter everyone has entered the
vehicle, be sure the doors and the
tailgate are closed and locked.
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. 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.
The door and tailgate open indicator
appears on the multi-inf ormation
display to indicate when a specif ic
door or the tailgate is not tightly
closed.
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On Touring modelsIntroduction
Close and L ock the Doors
1.
Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
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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 front passenger adjust their
seat as far to the rear as possible.
When one or more doors are not
tightly closed, the ‘‘DOOR OPEN’’
message will come on.
When the tailgate is not tightly
closed, the ‘‘TAILGATE OPEN’’
message will come on.
When both tailgate and one or more
doors are not tightly closed, the
‘‘DOOR & TAILGATE OPEN’’
message will come on.
Locking the doors and the tailgate
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 or the tailgate and
f alling out. 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.
See page f or how to lock the
doors and the tailgate, and page
f or how the door and tailgate
monitor indicator works.
This vehicle has auto door locking/
unlocking f eatures. See page f or
how to set them.
This vehicle has auto door locking/
unlocking f eatures. See pages and f or how to set them.
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On Touring models
Except Touring models
Adjust the Front Seats
2.
Protecting A dults and Teens
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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.
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, and in
and out (see page ).
If you cannot get f ar enough away
f rom the steering wheel and still
reach the controls, we recommend
that you extend the adjustable driver’s
f oot pedals (Touring models only,
see page ), or investigate
whether some type of adaptive
equipment may help.
See pages and for how to
adjust the f ront seats. After you adjust a manual seat, rock
it back and forth to make sure the
seat is locked in position.
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Adjust the Seat-Backs
3.
Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
13
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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Properly adjusted head restraints
will help protect occupants f rom
whiplash and other crash injuries.
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 pages and for how to
adjust the seat-backs.
Have passengers adjust their head
restraints properly as well. Taller
persons should adjust their restraint
as high as possible.See page f or how to adjust the
head restraints and how the driver’s
and f ront passenger’s active head
restraints work.
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A djust the Head Restraints
4.
Protecting A dults and Teens
14
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.
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.
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Position the lap part of the belt as
low as possible across your hips,
then pull up on the shoulder part of
the belt so the lap part f its snugly.
This lets your strong pelvic bones
take the force of a crash and reduces
the chance of internal injuries.
Insert the latch plate into the buckle,
then tug on the belt to make sure the
belt is securely latched. Check that
the belt is not twisted, because a
twisted belt can cause serious
injuries in a crash.
The center seating position of the
third row has a detachable seat belt
that can be unlatched and retracted
into the ceiling to allow the seat to be
f olded down. See page f or how to
unlatch and relatch the seat belt.
This spreads the f orces of a crash
over the strongest bones in your
upper body.
If the seat belt touches or crosses
your neck, or if it crosses your arm
instead of your shoulder, you need to
adjust the seat belt anchor height.
If necessary, pull up on the belt again
to remove any slack, then check that
the belt rests across the center of
your chest and over your shoulder.
Theplus-oneseatthatcanbe
installed in the center seating
position of the second row also has a
detachable seat belt. 16
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Except U.S. LX and Canadian DX
models
Fasten and Position the Seat
Belts
5.
Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
15
Improperly positioning the seat
belts can cause serious injury
or death in a crash.
Make sure all seat belts are
properly positioned before
driving.
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Insert the hook at the end of the
anchor latch into the anchor buckle
by lining up the triangle marks on
the anchor latch in and buckle. Make
sure the belt is not twisted. Push the
anchor latch until it locks. Then
f ollow the procedure f or f astening
and positioning an ordinary seat belt
(see page ).To unlatch the detachable anchor
latch, insert your ignition key into
the slot on the side of the anchor
buckle. Line up the triangle marks
on the plate and buckle when
reattaching the belt and buckle.
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Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
17
TRIANGLE
MARKS ANCHOR
BUCKLE
ANCHOR
LATCH
ANCHOR LATCH
ANCHOR BUCKLE
Using the seat belt with the
detachable anchor unlatched
increases the chance of serious
injury or death in a crash.
Before using the seat belt,
make sure the detachable
anchor is correctly latched.
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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.
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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 .
Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
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2008 Odyssey

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).If either the driver or a f ront
passenger does not f asten their seat
belt while driving, the beeper will
sound and the indicator will f lash
again at regular intervals.
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. 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.
You will also see a ‘‘FASTEN SEAT
BELT’’ or ‘‘FASTEN PASSENGER
SEAT BELT’’ message on the multi-
inf ormation display (see page ).
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.
Your seat belt system includes lap/
shoulder belts in all seating positions.
The f ront seat belts are also
equipped with automatic seat belt
tensioners.
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On Touring model
Seat Belt System Components
Additional Inf ormation About Your Seat Belts
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
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2008 Odyssey