2009 Acura MDX Owner's Manual

If the indicator comes on or the
beeper sounds when the driver's seat
belt is latched and there is no front
seat passenger and no items on the
front seat, something may be
interfering with the monitoring
system. Look for and remove:●Any items under the front
passenger's seat.●Any object(s) hanging on the seat
or in the seat-back pocket.●Any object(s) touching the rear of
the seat-back.
If no obstructions are found, have
your vehicle checked by a dealer. Lap/Shoulder Belt
The lap/shoulder belt goes over your
shoulder, across your chest, and
across your hips.
To fasten the belt, insert the latch
plate into the buckle, then tug on the
belt to make sure the buckle is
latched (see page15for how to
properly position the belt).
To unlock the belt, press the red
PRESS button on the buckle. Guide
the belt across your body so that it
retracts completely. After 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 freely 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 page50).
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 freely.
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 far as needed.
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The lap/shoulder belts in the center
seat of the second row and both of
the third row seats are equipped with
a detachable anchor that has two
parts: a small latch plate and a
buckle.
The detachable seat belt should
normally be latched whenever the
seat-backs are in an upright position.
For more information about the
detachable seat belt, see page144.Automatic Seat Belt Tensioners
For added protection, the front seat
belts are equipped with automatic
seat belt tensioners. When activated,
the tensioners immediately tighten
the belts to help hold the driver and a
front passenger in position.
The tensioners are designed to
activate in any collision severe
enough to cause the front airbags to
deploy, or if a sensor detects your
vehicle is about to roll over (see page
32).
If a side curtain airbag deploys
during a side impact, the tensioner
on that side of the vehicle will also
deploy.
The tensioners can also be activated
during a collision in which the front
airbags
do not deploy.
In this case, the
airbags would not be needed, but the
additional restraint could be helpful.
When the tensioners are activated,
the seat belts will remain tight until
they are unbuckled.
DETACHABLE ANCHORAdditional Information About Your Seat Belts2208/06/06 16:58:07 09 ACURA MDX MMC North America Owner's M 50 31STX620 enu
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Seat Belt Maintenance
For safety, you should check the
condition of your seat belts regularly.
Pull each belt out fully, and look for
frays, 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
409).Any belt that is not in good
condition or working properly will
not provide good protection and
should be replaced as soon as
possible.
Acura provides a limited warranty on
seat belts. See your
Acura Warranty
Information
booklet for details. If a seat belt is worn during a crash,
it must be replaced by the dealer. A
belt that has been worn during a
crash may not provide the same level
of protection in a subsequent crash.
The dealer should also inspect the
anchors for damage and replace
them if needed. If the automatic seat
belt tensioners activate during a
crash, they must be replaced.
Not checking or maintaining
seat belts can result in serious
injury or death if the seat belts
do not work properly when
needed.
Check your seat belts regularly
and have any problem
corrected as soon as possible.
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Airbag System Components(1) Driver's Front Airbag
(2) Passenger's Front Airbag
(3) Control Unit
(4) Front Seat Belt Tensioners
(5) Side Airbags
(6) Driver's Seat Position Sensor
(7) Front Passenger's Weight Sensors
(8) Passenger Airbag Off Indicator
(9) Occupant Position Detection System (OPDS) Sensors
(10) Front Passenger's Weight Sensors/OPDS Sensors Control Unit
(11) SRS Indicator
(1) (11) (8)
(6)
(2)
(3)
(5)
(10) (9)
(7) (4)
(5)
(4)
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Your Airbag System (SRS) includes:●Two SRS (Supplemental Restraint
System) front airbags. The driver's
airbag is stored in the center of the
steering wheel; the front
passenger's airbag is stored in the
dashboard. Both are marked‘‘SRS
AIRBAG ’’(see page27).●Two side airbags, one for the
driver and one for a front
passenger. The airbags are stored
in the outer edges of the seat-
backs. Both are marked ‘‘SIDE
AIRBAG ’’(see page30).●Two side curtain airbags, one for
each side of the vehicle. The
airbags are stored in the roof
above the side windows. The front
and rear pillars are marked ‘‘SIDE
CURTAIN AIRBAG ’’(see page32).
(12) Front Impact Sensors
(13) Side Curtain Airbags
(14) Side Impact Sensors (First)
(15) Side Impact Sensors (Second)
(16) Roll Rate Sensor
(17) Safing Sensor
(12)
(13)
(16)
(17)
(15) (14)
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●Automatic front seat belt
tensioners (see page22).●Sensors that can detect a moderate
to severe front impact, side impact,
or if your vehicle is about to
rollover.●Sensors that can detect whether a
child is in the passenger's side
airbag path and signal the control
unit to turn the airbag off (see
page31).●Sensors that can detect whether
the driver's seat belt and the front
passenger's seat belt are latched or
unlatched (see page20).●A driver's seat position sensor that
monitors the distance of the seat
from the front airbag. If the seat is
too far forward, the airbag will
inflate with less force (see page
29).
●Weight sensors that monitor the
weight on the front passenger's
seat. If the weight is about 65 lbs
(29 kg) or less (the weight of an
infant or small child), the
passenger's front airbag will be
turned off (see page29).●A rollover sensor that can detect if
your vehicle is about to roll over
and signal the control unit to
deploy both side curtain airbags
and front seat belt tensioners (see
page32).●A sophisticated electronic system
that continually monitors and
records information about the
sensors, the control unit, the
airbag activators, the seat belt
tensioners, and driver and front
passenger seat belt use when the
ignition switch is in the ON (II)
position.
●An indicator on the instrument
panel that alerts you to a possible
problem with your airbags,
sensors, or seat belt tensioners
(see page33).●An indicator on the instrument
panel that alerts you that the
passenger's side airbag has been
turned off (see page33).●An indicator on the dashboard that
alerts you that the passenger's
front airbag has been turned off
(see page34).●Emergency backup power in case
your vehicle's electrical system is
disconnected in a crash.
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How Your Front Airbags WorkIf you ever have a moderate to severe
frontal collision, sensors will detect
the vehicle's rapid deceleration.
If the rate of deceleration is high
enough, the control unit will instantly
inflate the driver's and front
passenger's airbags, at the time and
with the force needed.During a frontal crash, your seat belt
restrains your lower body and torso,
and the front airbag helps protect
your head and chest.
Although both airbags normally
inflate within a split second of each
other, it is possible for only one
airbag to deploy.
This can happen if the severity of a
collision is at the margin, or
threshold, that determines whether
or not the airbags will deploy. In
such cases, the seat belt will provide
sufficient protection, and the
supplemental protection offered by
the airbag would be minimal.
Only the driver's airbag can deploy if
there is no passenger in the front
seat, or if the advanced airbag
system has turned the passenger's
airbag off (see page34).
After inflating, the front airbags
immediately deflate, so they won't
interfere with the driver's visibility,
or the ability to steer or operate other
controls.
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The total time for inflation and
deflation is one-tenth of a second, so
fast that most occupants are not
aware that the airbags deployed until
they see them lying in their laps.
After a crash, you may see what
looks like smoke. This is actually
powder from the airbag's surface.
Although the powder is not harmful,
people with respiratory problems
may experience some temporary
discomfort. If this occurs, get out of
the vehicle as soon as it is safe to do
so.
Dual-Stage AirbagsYour front airbags are dual-stage
airbags. This means they have two
inflation stages that can be ignited
sequentially or simultaneously,
depending on crash severity.
In a
more severe
crash, both stages
will ignite simultaneously to provide
the quickest and greatest protection.
In a
less severe
crash, one stage will
ignite first, then the second stage will
ignite a split second later. This
provides longer airbag inflation time
with a little less force.
Dual-Threshold AirbagsYour front airbags are also dual-
threshold airbags. Airbags with this
feature have two deployment
thresholds that depend on whether
sensors detect the occupant is
wearing a seat belt or not.
If the occupant's belt is
not latched,
the airbag will deploy at a slightly
lower threshold, because the
occupant would need extra
protection.
If the occupant's belt is
latched,
the
airbag will inflate at a slightly higher
threshold, when the airbag would be
needed to supplement the protection
provided by the seat belt.
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