2010 HONDA ELEMENT seats

Seat Belts
Your vehicle is equipped with seat
belts in all seating positions.
Your seat belt system also includes
an indicator on the instrument panel
and a beeper to remind you and your
passengers to fasten your seat belts.
Why Wear Seat Belts
Seat belts are the single most
effective safety device for adults and
larger children. (Infants and smaller
children must be properly restrained
in child seats.)
Not wearing a seat belt properly
increases the chance of serious
injury or death in a crash, even
though your vehicle has airbags.
In addition, most states, all Canadian
provinces and territories require you
to wear seat belts.
Not wearing a seat belt properly
increases the chance of serious
injury or death in a crash, even
though your vehicle hasairbags.
Be sure you and your
passengers always wear seat
belts and wear them properly.
When properly worn, seat belts: ● Keep you connected to the vehicle
so you can take advantage of the
vehicle's built-in safety features.
● Help protect you in almost every
type of crash, including:
– frontal impacts
– side impacts
– rear impacts
– rollovers ●
Help keep you from being thrown
against the inside of the vehicle
and against other occupants.
● Keep you from being thrown out of
the vehicle.
● Help keep you in a good position
should the airbags ever deploy. A
good position reduces the risk of
injury from an inflating airbag and
allows you to get the best
advantage from the airbag.
Of course, seat belts cannot
completely protect you in every
crash. But in most cases, seat belts
can reduce your risk of seriousinjury.
What You Should Do:
Always wear your seat belt, and
make sure you wear it properly.
Your Vehicle's Safety Features
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Introduction
The following 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 front.
See pages 35－51 for important
guidelines on how to properly protect
infants, small children, and larger
children who ride in your vehicle. 1. Close and Lock the Doors
After everyone has entered the
vehicle, be sure the doors, the hatch,
and the tailgate are closed and locked.
Your vehicle has a door and
tailgate open indicator on
the instrument panel to indicate
when a specific door, the tailgate or
the hatch is not tightly closed.
Locking the doors, the hatch, and the
tailgate reduces the chance of
someone being thrown out of the
vehicle during a crash, and it helps
prevent passengers from accidentally
opening a door, the hatch, or the
tailgate and falling out.
Locking the doors, the hatch, or the
tailgate also helps prevent an
outsider from unexpectedly opening
a door when you come to a stop.
See page 80 for how to lock the
doors, and page 61 for how the door
and tailgate indicator system works. 2. Adjust the Front Seats
Adjust the driver's seat as far to the
rear as possible while allowing you to
maintain full control of the vehicle.
Have a front 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 inflating front
airbag, or by striking the steering
wheel or dashboard.
CONTINUED
Protecting Adults and Teens
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Driver and Passenger Safety
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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 (see
page 74).
If you cannot get far enough away
from the steering wheel and still
reach the controls, we recommend
that you investigate whether some
type of adaptive equipment may help.
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.Once a seat is adjusted correctly,
rock it back and forth to make sure it
is locked in position.
See page 83 for how to adjust the
front seats.
3. Adjust the Seat-Backs
Adjust the driver's seat-back to a
comfortable, 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 comfortable, uprightposition.
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Never place the shoulder portion of alap/shoulder belt under your arm or
behind your back.
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.
No one should sit in a seat with an inoperative seat belt.
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 18 for additional
information about your seat belts and
how to take care of them. 6. Maintain a Proper Sitting
Position
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 safely 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 feet up, the chance of
injury during a crash is greatlyincreased. In addition, an occupant who is out of
position in the front seat can be
seriously or fatally injured in a crash
by striking interior parts of the
vehicle or being struck by an
inflating front airbag.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 thefloor.
Protecting Adults and Teens
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Driver and Passenger Safety
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Advice for Pregnant Women
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 far
back as possible while allowing full
control of the vehicle. When riding
as a front 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 for you to drive.
Additional Safety Precautions
●
Never let passengers ride in the
cargo area or on top of a folded-
down back seat.
If they do, they
could be very seriously injured in a crash.
●
Passengers should not stand up or change seats while the vehicle is
moving.
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.
●
Two people should never use the same seat belt.If they do, they
could be very seriously injured in acrash.
Protecting Adults and Teens
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Advanced Airbags
Your front airbags are also advanced
airbags. The main purpose of this
feature is to help prevent airbag-
caused injuries to short drivers and
children or small statured adults who
ride in front.
For both advanced airbags to work properly:● Occupants must sit upright and
wear their seat belts properly.
● Do not spill any liquids on or
under the seats, cover the sensors,
or put any objects or metal items
under the front seats.
Failure to follow these instructions
could damage the sensors or prevent
them from working properly.
The driver's advanced front airbag
system includes a seat position
sensor under the seat. If the seat is
too far forward, the airbag will inflate
with less force, regardless of the
severity of the impact.
If there is a problem with the sensor,
the SRS indicator will come on, and
the airbag will inflate in the normal
manner regardless of the driver's
seating position.The passenger's advanced front
airbag system has weight sensors
under the seat. Although Honda does
not encourage carrying an infant or
small child in front, if the sensors
detect the weight of an infant or
small child (up to about 65 lbs or 29
kg), the system will automatically
turn the passenger's front airbag off.
Be aware that objects placed on the
passenger's seat can also cause the
airbag to be turned off.
DRIVER'S SEAT
POSITION SENSORPASSENGER'S SEAT
WEIGHT SENSOR
CONTINUED
Additional Information About Your Airbags
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Driver and Passenger Safety
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Only one airbag will deploy during a
side impact. If the impact is on the
passenger's side, the passenger's
side airbag will deploy even if there
is no passenger.
To get the best protection from the
side airbags, front seat occupants
should wear their seat belts and sit
upright and well back in their seats.Side Airbag Cutoff System
Your vehicle has a side airbag cutoff
system designed primarily to protect
a child riding in the front passenger'sseat.
Although Honda does not encourage
children to ride in front, if the
position sensors detect a child has
leaned into the side airbag's
deployment path, the airbag will shutoff.
The side airbag may also shut off if a
short adult leans sideways, or a
larger adult slouches and leans
sideways into the airbag's
deployment path.
Objects placed on the front
passenger seat can also cause the
side airbag to be shut off.If the side airbag off indicator comes
on (see page 32), have the passenger
sit upright. Once the passenger is
out of the airbag's deployment path,
the system will turn the airbag back
on, and the indicator will go out.
There will be some delay between
the moment the passenger moves
into or out of the airbag deployment
path and when the indicator comes
on or goes off.
A front seat passenger should not
use a cushion or another object as a
backrest. It may prevent the cutoff
system from working properly.
Additional Information About Your Airbags
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Driver and Passenger Safety
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How Your Side Curtain Airbags Work
In a Side Impact
In a moderate to severe side impact,
sensors will detect rapid acceleration
and signal the control unit to
instantly inflate the side curtain
airbag and activate the seat belt
tensioner on the driver's or the
passenger's side of the vehicle.If the impact is on the passenger's
side, the passenger's side curtain
airbag will inflate even if there are no
occupants on that side of the vehicle.
In a Rollover
If the rollover sensor detects your
vehicle is about to roll over, it signals
the control unit, which immediately
deploys both side curtain airbags and
activates both front seat belttensioners.
The airbag on the passenger's side
will deploy, and the seat belt
tensioner will activate, even if there
are no passengers on that side of the vehicle.
To get the best protection from the
side curtain airbags, occupants
should wear their seat belts and sit
upright and well back in their seats.
SIDE CURTAIN AIRBAG
Additional Information About Your Airbags
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