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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 .13
............
3. Adjust the Seat-Backs .14
...
4. Adjust the Head Restraints .14
5. Fasten and Position the
.............................
Seat Belts .15
6. Maintain a Proper Sitting ................................
Position .17
.....
Advice f or Pregnant Women .17
...
Additional Safety Precautions .18 Additional Inf ormation About
.......................
Your Seat Belts .19
..
Seat Belt System Components .19
......................
Lap/Shoulder Belt .20
Automatic Seat Belt
...............................
Tensioners .21
...............
Seat Belt Maintenance .22
Additional Inf ormation About ...........................
Your Airbags .23
......
Airbag System Components .23
How Your Front Airbags
.........................................
Work .25
...
How Your Side Airbags Work .29
How Your Side Curtain Airbags
.........................................
Work .31
..
How the SRS Indicator Works .31
How the Side Airbag Of f
......................
Indicator Works .32
How the Passenger Airbag Of f ......................
Indicator Works .33
.............................
Airbag Service .34
...
Additional Safety Precautions .34
Protecting Children General ................................
Guidelines .36
All Children Must Be ...............................
Restrained .36 All Children Should Sit in a
.................................
Back Seat .37
The Passenger’s Front Airbag .........
Can Pose Serious Risks .37
If You Must Drive with Several ...................................
Children .39
If a Child Requires Close ..................................
Attention .39
...
Additional Safety Precautions .39
Protecting Inf ants and .........................
Small Children .41
.......................
Protecting Inf ants .41
.........
Protecting Small Children .42
.....................
Selecting a Child Seat .43
....................
Installing a Child Seat .44
...............................
With LATCH .46
.........
With a Lap/Shoulder Belt .48
..............................
With a Tether .50
...........
Protecting Larger Children .51
...............
Checking Seat Belt Fit .51
..................
Using a Booster Seat .52
When Can a Larger Child Sit
....................................
in Front .53
...
Additional Safety Precautions .54
.............
Carbon Monoxide Hazard .55
...................................
Saf ety Labels .56
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
5
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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.
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 ).
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 ).
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 ).
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.
15 3654
409
Important Saf ety Precautions
Don’t Drink and Drive
Be Aware of Airbag Hazards
Restrain All Children
Always Wear Your Seat Belt K eep Your Vehicle in Saf e
Condition
Control Your Speed
6
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2009 TSX
Your vehicle is equipped with many
features that work together to
protect you and your passengers
during a crash.
The f ollowing pages explain how you
cantakeanactiveroleinprotecting
yourself and your passengers.
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.
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
(2) (4)
(6)
(5)
(7)
(10)
(1) (9)
(3)
(2)
(7)
(8)
(8)(11)
(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) Door Locks
(11) Seat Belt Tensioners
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2009 TSX
The most important things you need
to know about your airbags are: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.
They are designed to supplement
the seat belts. 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
What you should do:
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.
Airbags can pose serious hazards.
10
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2009 TSX
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.
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.
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 investigate whether some
type of adaptive equipment may help.
See page f or how to adjust the
f ront seats.
118
134
CONT INUED
Protecting A dults and Teens
Adjust the Front Seats2.
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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2009 TSX
Adjust the driver’s head restraint so
the center of the back of your head
rests against the center of the
restraint.
Have passengers adjust their head
restraints properly as well. Taller
persons should adjust their restraint
as high as possible.
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.
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.
134
Protecting A dults and Teens
A djust the Head RestraintsAdjust the Seat-Backs 4.3.
14
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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This could cause
very serious injuries in a crash.
If a seat belt does not seem to work
properly, it may not protect the
occupant in a crash.
Using a seat
belt that is not working properly can
result in serious injury or death.
Have your dealer check the belt as
soon as possible.
See page f or additional
inf ormation about your seat belts
and how to take care of them.
The front seats have adjustable seat
belt anchors. To adjust the height of
an anchor, press and hold the release
button and slide the anchor up or
down as needed (it has f our
positions).
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.
This spreads the f orces of a crash
over the strongest bones in your
upper body.
19
Protecting A dults and Teens
Never place t he shoulder port ion of a
lap/shoulder belt under your arm or
behind your back.
No one should sit in a seat wit h an
inoperat ive seat belt .
16
RELEASE BUTTON
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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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.
In addition, an occupant who is out of
position in the f ront seat can be
seriously or f atally injured in a crash
by striking interior parts of the
vehicle or being struck by an
inflating front airbag.
After all occupants have adjusted
their seats and head restraints, and
put on their seat belts, it is very
important that they continue to sit
upright, well back in their seats, with
their feet on the floor, until the
vehicle is parked and the engine is
off.
Sitting improperly can increase the
chance of injury during a crash. For
example, if an occupant slouches,
lies down, turns sideways, sits
forward, leans forward or sideways,
or puts one or both f eet up, the
chance of injury during a crash is
greatly increased.
CONT INUED
Protecting A dults and Teens
Advice f or Pregnant WomenMaintain a Proper Sitting
Position
6.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
17
Sitting improperly or out of
position can result in serious
injury or death in a crash.
Always sit upright, well back in
the seat, with your feet on the
floor.
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