2010 HONDA FIT Owners Manual

●If your vehicle has a moderate tosevere 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 worn
during a crash to make sure they
are operating properly. Additional Safety Precautions
●Do not attempt to deactivate your
airbags.
Together, airbags and
seat belts provide the bestprotection.
●
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
a seat-back, it can prevent the side
airbag cutoff system from workingproperly. ●
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.
Additional Information About Your Airbags
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Driver and Passenger Safety
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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, vehicle
accidents are the number one cause
of the death of children aged 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 seat that is properly secured to the vehicle
(see pages 39 －48).
Children who are unrestrained
or improperly restrained can be
seriously injured or killed in acrash.
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 abooster seat until the seat belt fits
them properly
(see pages 49 －52).
Protecting Children －General Guidelines
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All Children Should Sit in a Back Seat
According to accident 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 31), 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 equippedwith 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).
CONTINUED
Protecting Children －General Guidelines
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Driver and Passenger Safety
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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. ModelsDASHBOARD
SUN VISORS
Canadian Models
SUN VISORS
Protecting Children －General Guidelines
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If You Must Drive with Several Children
Your vehicle has a back seat where
children can be properly restrained.
If you ever have to carry a group of
children, and a child must ride infront:● 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 93).
● 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 close physical
attention or frequent visual contact,
we strongly recommend that another
adult ride with the child in a back
seat. The back seat is far safer for a
child than the front.
Protecting Children
－General Guidelines
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Driver and Passenger Safety
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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 orkilled.
●
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 pages 45 and 46 for how to
activate and deactivate the
lockable retractor.)
●
Use the childproof door locks to prevent children from opening the
rear doors.
This can prevent
children from accidentally falling
out (see page 82).
●
Do not leave children alone in a vehicle.
Leaving children without
adult supervision is illegal in most
states, Canadian provinces and
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 and the tailgate 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/remote transmitters out of the reach of
children.
Even very young
children learn how to unlock
vehicle doors, turn on the ignition
switch, and open the tailgate,
which can lead to accidental injury
or death.
Protecting Children －General Guidelines
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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 yearold.
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.
CONTINUED
Protecting Infants and Small Children
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In any of these situations, we
strongly recommend that you install
the child seat directly behind the
front passenger's seat, move the seat
as far forward as needed, and leave it
unoccupied. Or, you may wish to get
a smaller rear-facing child seat.
Placing a rear-facing child seat
in the front seat can result in
serious injury or death during acollision.
Always place a rear-facing child
seat in the back seat, not thefront.Protecting Small Children
Child Seat Type
Many states, Canadian provinces and
territories allow a child one year of age
or order who also meets the minimum
size and weight requirements to
transition from a rea-facing child seat
to a forward facing seat. Know the
requirements where you are driving
and follow the child seat instructions.
Many experts recommend use of a
rear-facing seat up to age two, if the
child's height and weight are
appropriate for a rear-facing seat. Of the different seats available, we
recommend those that have a five-
point harness system as shown.
We also recommend that a small child
use the child seat until the child
reaches the weight or height limit for
the seat.
Child Seat Placement
We strongly recommend placing a
forward-facing child seat in a back
seat, not the front.
Placing a forward-facing child seat in
the front seat of a vehicle equipped
with a passenger's 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
airbag can strike the child with
enough force to cause very serious or
fatal injuries.
Protecting Infants and Small Children
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