2008 HONDA ODYSSEY Page

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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. 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 ).
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 ).
15 5938
407
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 f ull 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
7
(1)
(2)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5) (6)
(7) (8)
(8)(9)
(9)
(11)
(10)
(7)
(6) Seat Belts
(7) Front Airbags
(8) Side Airbags
(9) Side Curtain Airbags
(10) Front Seat Belt Tensioners
(11) Door Locks (1) Safety Cage
(2) Crush Zones
(3) Seats and Seat-Backs
(4) Head Restraints
(5) Collapsible Steering Column
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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). 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).
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 or rollover (see
page f or more inf ormation on how
your side curtain airbags work).
27 31
33
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
Airbags
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
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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.
75
152
151
125
123
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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193 168 169
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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.
168 170 171
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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