2010 HONDA ELEMENT Owners Manual

If the indicator comes on with no
front seat passenger and no objects
on the seat, or with an adult riding
there, something may be interfering
with the weight sensors. 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 as
soon as possible. Airbag Service
Your airbag systems are virtually
maintenance free, and there are no
parts you can safely service.
However, you must have your
vehicle serviced if:
●
An airbag ever inflates.Any airbag
that has deployed must be
replaced along with the control
unit and other related parts. Any
seat belt tensioner that activates
must also be replaced.
Do not try to remove or replace
any airbag by yourself. This must
be done by an authorized dealer or
a knowledgeable body shop.
●
The SRS indicator alerts you to a problem.
Take your vehicle to an
authorized dealer as soon as
possible. If you ignore this
indication, your airbags may not
operate properly. ●
If your vehicle has a moderate to
severe impact.
Even if your airbags
do not inflate, your dealer should
inspect the driver's seat position
sensor, the front passenger's
weight sensors, the front seat belt
tensioners, and all seat belts and
their anchors worn during a crash
to make sure they are operating properly.
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Additional Safety Precautions●
Do not attempt to deactivate your
airbags.
Together, airbags and
seat belts provide the best protection.
●
Do not tamper with airbag components or wiring for any
reason.
Tampering could cause
the airbags to deploy, possibly
causing very serious injury.
●
Do not expose the front passenger's seat-back to liquid.If
water or another liquid soaks into
the seat-back, it can prevent the
side airbag cutoff system from
working properly. ●
Do not remove or modify a front
seat without consulting your
dealer.
This could make the
driver's seat position sensor or the
front passenger's weight sensors
ineffective. If it is necessary to
remove or modify a front seat to
accommodate a person with
disabilities, first contact Honda
Automobile Customer Service at
(800) 999-1009.
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Children depend on adults to protect
them. However, despite their best
intentions, many adults do not know
how to
properlyprotect child
passengers.
If you have children, or ever need to
drive with a child in your vehicle, be
sure to read this section. It begins
with important general guidelines,
then presents special information for
infants, small children, and largerchildren. All Children Must Be Restrained
Each year, many children are injured
or killed in vehicle crashes because
they are either unrestrained or not
properly restrained. In fact, traffic
accidents are the number one cause
of death of children age 12 andunder.
To reduce the number of child
deaths and injuries, every state,
Canadian province and territory
requires that infants and children be
properly restrained when they ride in
a vehicle.Infants and small children must be
restrained in an approved child seatthat is properly secured to the vehicle
(see pages 40 －48).
Children who are unrestrained
or improperly restrained can be
seriously injured or killed in a crash.
Any child too small for a seat
belt should be properly
restrained in a child seat. A
larger child should be properly
restrained with a seat belt and
use a booster seat if necessary.
Larger children must be restrained
with a lap/shoulder belt and ride on a
booster seat until the seat belt fits
them properly
(see pages 49 －51).
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All Children Should Sit in a Back Seat
According to statistics, children of all
ages and sizes are safer when they
are restrained in a back seat.
The National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration and Transport
Canada recommend that all children
aged 12 and under be properly
restrained in a back seat.
Some states have laws restricting
where children may ride.
Children who ride in back are less
likely to be injured by striking
interior vehicle parts during a
collision or hard braking. Also,
children cannot be injured by an
inflating front airbag when they ride
in the back.The Passenger's Front Airbag Can
Pose Serious Risks
Front airbags have been designed to
help protect adults in a moderate to
severe frontal collision. To do this,
the passenger's front airbag is quite
large, and it can inflate with enough
force to cause very serious injuries.
Even though your vehicle has an
advanced front airbag system that
automatically turns the passenger's
front airbag off under certain
circumstances (see page 32), please
follow these guidelines:
Infants
Never put a rear-facing child seat inthe front seat of a vehicle equipped
with a passenger's front airbag.
If the
airbag inflates, it can hit the back of
the child seat with enough force to
kill or very seriously injure an infant.
Small Children
Placing a forward-facing child seat inthe front seat of a vehicle equipped
with a passenger's front airbag can be
hazardous.
If the vehicle seat is too
far forward, or the child's head is
thrown forward during a collision, an
inflating front airbag can strike the
child with enough force to kill or
very seriously injure a small child.
Larger Children
Children who have outgrown childseats are also at risk of being injuredor killed by an inflating passenger's
front airbag.
Whenever possible,
larger children should sit in the back
seat, on a booster seat if needed, and
be properly restrained with a seat
belt (see page 49 for important
information about protecting largerchildren).
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To remind you of the passenger's
front airbag hazards, and that
children must be properly restrained
in a back seat, your vehicle has
warning labels on the dashboard
(U.S. models) and on the front visors.
Please read and follow the
instructions on these labels.U.S. Models
DASHBOARD
Canadian Models
SUN VISORS
SUN VISORS
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If You Must Drive with Several Children
Your vehicle has two back seats
where children can be properly
restrained. If you ever have to carry a
group of children, and a child must
ride in front:● Place the largest child in the front
seat, provided the child is large
enough to wear the lap/shoulder
belt properly (see page 49).
● Move the vehicle seat as far to the
rear as possible (see page 83).
● Have the child sit upright and well
back in the seat (see page 15).
● Make sure the seat belt is properly
positioned and secured (see page14). If a Child Requires CloseAttention
Many parents say they prefer to put
an infant or a small child in the front
passenger seat so they can watch the
child, or because the child requiresattention.
Placing a child in the front seat
exposes the child to hazards in a
frontal collision, and paying close
attention to a child distracts the
driver from the important tasks of
driving, placing both of you at risk.
If a child requires physical attention
or frequent visual contact, we
strongly recommend that another
adult ride with the child in the back
seat. The back seat is far safer for a
child than the front.
Protecting Children
－General Guidelines
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Additional Safety Precautions●
Never hold an infant or child on
your lap.
If you are not wearing a
seat belt in a crash, you could be
thrown forward and crush the
child against the dashboard or a
seat-back. If you are wearing a seat
belt, the child can be torn from
your arms and be seriously hurt or killed.
●
Never put a seat belt over yourself and a child.During a crash, the
belt could press deep into the child
and cause serious or fatal injuries.
●
Never let two children use the same seat belt.If they do, they
could be very seriously injured in acrash. ●
Make sure any unused seat belt
that a child can reach is buckled,the lockable retractor is activated,
and the belt is fully retracted and
locked.
If a child wraps a loose
seat belt around their neck, they
can be seriously or fatally injured.
(See page 46 for how to activate
and deactivate the lockableretractor.)
●
Do not leave children alone in a vehicle.
Leaving children without
adult supervision is illegal in most
states, Canadian provinces/
territories, and can be veryhazardous.
For example, infants and small
children left in a vehicle on a hot
day can die from heatstroke. A
child left alone with the key in the
ignition switch can accidentally set
the vehicle in motion, possibly
injuring themselves or others. ●
Lock all doors, the tailgate and the
hatch when your vehicle is not in
use.
Children who play in vehicles
can accidentally get trapped inside.
Teach your children not to play in
or around vehicles.
●
Keep vehicle keys and remote transmitters out of the reach of
children.
Even very young
children learn how to unlock
vehicle doors, turn on the ignition,
and open the tailgate or hatch,
which can lead to accidental injury
or death.
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Protecting Infants
Child Seat Type
An infant must be properly restrained
in a rear-facing, reclining child seat
until the child reaches the seat
maker's weight or height limit for the
seat, and the child is at least one year old.
Only a rear-facing child seat provides
proper support for a baby's head,
neck, and back.Two types of seats may be used: a
seat designed exclusively for infants,
or a convertible seat used in the rear-
facing, reclining mode.
Do not put a rear-facing child seat in
a forward-facing position.If placed
facing forward, an infant could be
very seriously injured during a
frontal collision.
Rear-facing Child Seat Placement
A rear-facing child seat can be placed
in any seating position in the back
seat, but not in the front.
Never put a
rear-facing child seat in the front seat.
If the passenger's front airbag
inflates, it can hit the back of the
child seat with enough force to kill or
seriously injure an infant.
When properly installed, a rear-
facing child seat may prevent the
driver or a front passenger from
moving their seat as far back as
recommended, or from locking their
seat-back in the desired position.
It could also interfere with proper
operation of the passenger's
advanced front airbag system.
Protecting Infants and Small Children
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