2010 HONDA RIDGELINE Owners Manual

The rest of this section gives more
detailed inf ormation about how you
can maximize your saf ety.
The most important things you need
to know about your airbags are:
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.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.
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.
In addition, your vehicle has side
curtain airbags to help protect the
heads of the driver, f ront passenger,
and passengers in the outer rear
seating positions during a moderate
to severe side impact or rollover (see
page f or more inf ormation on how
your side curtain airbags work).
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Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
Airbags do not replace seat belts. What you should do:
Airbags can pose serious hazards.
A irbags of f er no prot ect ion in rear
collisions, or minor f ront al or sidecollisions.
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µ
See pages f or important
guidelines on how to properly
protect inf ants, small children, and
larger children who ride in your
vehicle.
The f ollowing 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 f ront.
Af ter everyone has entered the
vehicle, be sure the doors are closed
and locked. Bef ore driving, be sure
the tailgate is also closed.
Your vehicle has a door and
tailgate open indicator on
the instrument panel to indicate
when any door or the tailgate is not
tightly closed. Your vehicle also has an
In-Bed Trunk open
indicator to show when the In-Bed
Trunk lid is not tightly closed (see
page ). Your vehicle also has a tailgate, In-
Bed Trunk, and door open indicator
on the multi-information display to
indicate when the tailgate, the In-
Bed Trunk, or a specif ic door is not
tightly closed. You will see the
appropriate indicator(s) and
message(s) f or each condition.
You will also hear a beep when you
turn the ignition switch to the ON
(II) position, and each time you open
any door, the tailgate, or the In-Bed
Trunk with the key in the ON (II)
position.
Your vehicle also has a
tailgate and door open
indicator on the inf ormation display
to indicate when the tailgate or a
specif ic door is not tightly closed.
You will see the appropriate
indicator(s) f or each condition.
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54
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On models with navigation system
On models without navigation system
Protecting A dults and Teens
Introduction
Close and L ock the Doors
1.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
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When one or more doors are open,
the ‘‘DOOR OPEN’’ message will
come on.When the In-Bed Trunk is not tightly
closed, the ‘‘TRUNK OPEN’’
message will come on.When the tailgate is not tightly
closed, the ‘‘TAILGATE OPEN’’
message will come on.
Protecting A dults and Teens
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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 front passenger adjust their
seat as far to the rear as possible.
Locking the doors reduces the
chance of someone being thrown out
of the vehicle during a crash, and it
helps prevent passengers f rom
accidentally opening a door and
f alling out.
Locking the doors also helps prevent
an outsider f rom unexpectedly
opening a door when you come to a
stop.
This vehicle has auto door locking/
unlocking f eatures. See page f or
how to set them.
When the In-Bed Trunk, tailgate,
and one or more doors are not
tightly closed, the ‘‘DOOR, TRUNK
& TAILGATE OPEN’’ message will
come on. 104
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Protecting A dults and Teens
Adjust the Front Seats
2.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
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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.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.
Once your seat is adjusted correctly,
rock it back and f orth to make sure it
is locked into position. See page
f or how to adjust the f ront seats.
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.
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 ).
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119
On RT and Canadian DX and VP models
Protecting A dults and Teens
Adjust the Seat-Backs
3.
14
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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Adjust the driver’s head restraint so
the center of the back of your head
rests against the center of the
restraint.
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. When a passenger is seated in the
rear center seating position, make
sure the center head restraint is
adjusted to its highest position.
Properly adjusted head restraints
will help protect occupants f rom
whiplash and other crash injuries.
Have passengers adjust their head
restraints properly as well. Taller
persons should adjust their restraint
as high as possible.
See page f or how to adjust the
manual adjustable seat-back, and
page f or the power adjustable
seat-back. See page f or how to adjust the
head restraints and how the driver’s
and f ront passenger’s active head
restraints work.
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121 123
Protecting A dults and Teens
A djust the Head Restraints
4.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
15
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. Improperly positioning head
restraints reduces their
effectiveness and you can be
seriously injured in a crash.
Make sure head restraints are
in place and positioned properly
before driving.
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Position the lap part of the belt as
low as possible across your hips,
then pull up on the shoulder part of
the belt so the lap part f its snugly.
This lets your strong pelvic bones
take the force of a crash and reduces
the chance of internal injuries.
Insert the latch plate into the buckle,
then tug on the belt to make sure the
belt is securely latched. Check that
the belt is not twisted, because a
twisted belt can cause serious
injuries in a crash.
If necessary, pull up on the belt again
to remove any slack, then check that
the belt rests across the center of
your chest and over your shoulder.
This spreads the f orces of a crash
over the strongest bones in your
upper body.
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.
Fasten and Position the Seat
Belts
5.
Protecting A dults and Teens
16
Improperly positioning the seat
belts can cause serious injury
or death in a crash.
Make sure all seat belts are
properly positioned beforedriving.
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This could cause
very serious injuries in a crash.
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, squeeze the two release
buttons, and slide the anchor up or
down as needed (it has f our
positions). If a seat belt does not seem to work
as it should, it may not protect the
occupant in a crash.
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 of f .
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. 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.
20
Protecting A dults and Teens
Never place t he shoulder port ion of a
lap/shoulder belt under your arm orbehind your back.
No one should sit in a seat wit h aninoperat ive seat belt .Maintain a Proper Sitting
Position
6.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
17
RELEASE
BUTTONS
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