2010 HONDA RIDGELINE Owners Manual

Af ter selecting a proper child seat
and a good place to install the seat,
there are three main steps in
installing the seat:All child seats must be
secured to the vehicle with the lap
part of a lap/shoulder belt or with
the LATCH (Lower Anchors and
Tethers f or CHildren) system. A
child whose seat is not properly
secured to the vehicle can be
endangered in a crash.
Af ter installing a child
seat, push and pull the seat
f orward and f rom side-to-side to
verif y that it is secure.
A child seat secured with a seat belt
should be installed as f irmly as
possible. However, it does not need
to be ‘‘rock solid.’’ Some side-to-side movement can be expected and
should not reduce the child seat’s
ef f ectiveness.
If the child seat is not secure, try
installing it in a dif f erent seating
position, or use a dif f erent style of
child seat that can be f irmly secured.
Bef ore purchasing a conventional
child seat, or using a previously
purchased one, we recommend that
you test the seat in the specif ic
vehicle seating position or positions
where the seat will be used.
Make sure the child is properly
strappedinthechildseat
according to the child seat maker’s
instructions. A child who is not
properly secured in a child seat
can be seriously injured in a crash.
The f ollowing pages provide
guidelines on how to properly install
a child seat. A f orward-f acing child
seat is used in all examples, but the
instructions are the same f or rear-
f acing child seats.
Selecting a Child Seat, Installing a Child Seat
Installing a Child Seat
Properly secure t he child seat t o the vehicle.
Make sure t he child seat is f irmlysecured.
T he child seat should f it the
vehicle seat ing posit ion (orposit ions) where it will be used.
Secure the child in the child seat.
1.
2. 3.
3.
42
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To install a LATCH-compatible child
seat:Make sure there are no objects
near the anchors that could
prevent a secure connection
between the child seat and the
anchors. When using the tether strap on
the child seat, attach the tether
strap hook to the center tether
anchor bef ore installing the child
seat to the lower anchors f or the
LATCH system, because the
center tether anchor is positioned
behind the child seat.
If needed, move the seat belt
buckle or tongue away f rom the
lower anchors.
Whenever using the center tether
anchor point, make sure to push
down the head restraint to the lowest
position, route the strap over the
seat-back, then around the upper
guide bef ore attaching the tether
strap hook to the center tether
anchor (see page ).
The location of each lower anchor is
indicated by a small button above the
anchor point.
The lower anchors are located
between the seat-back and seat
bottom, and are to be used only with
a child seat designed f or use with
LATCH.
Your vehicle is equipped with
LATCH (Lower Anchors and
Tethers f or CHildren) at the rear
seats.
1. 2.3.
48
CONT INUED
On the center seating position
Installing a Child Seat
Installing a Child Seat with
LATCH
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
43
BUTTON UPPERGUIDE
CENTER TETHER ANCHOR
LATCH
ANCHOR
POINTS
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Make sure the head restraint is in
the lowest position. Lif t the cover,
then route the tether strap around
the upper guide. Route the tether
strap downward properly, making
sure the strap is not twisted, then
attach the strap hook to the center
tether anchor.Place the child seat on the vehicle
seat, then attach the seat to the
lower anchors according to the
child seat maker’s instructions.
Some LATCH-compatible seats
have a rigid-type connector as
shown above.Other LATCH-compatible seats
have a f lexible-type connector as
shown above.
Whatever type you have, f ollow
the child seat maker’s instructions
f or adjusting or tightening the f it.
5.
4.
Installing a Child Seat
44
Flexible type
Rigid type
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Lif t the head restraint (see page), then route the tether strap
over the seat-back and through
the head restraint legs.
Lift the cover, then route the
tether strap around the upper
guide. Route the tether strap
downward properly, making sure
the strap is not twisted, then
attach the strap hook to the tether
anchor on the outside of the seat
bottom (see page ). Push and pull the child seat
f orward and f rom side-to-side to
verif y that it is secure.
Tighten the strap according to the
seat maker’s instructions.
6.
7. 8.
48
123
On the outer seating position
Installing a Child Seat
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
45
UPPER
GUIDE
Outer Position UPPER
GUIDE
Center Position TETHER ANCHOR
TETHER ANCHOR
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When not using the LATCH system,
all child seats must be secured to the
vehicle with the lap part of a lap/
shoulder belt.With the child seat in the desired
seating position, route the belt
through the child seat according
to the seat maker’s instructions,
then insert the latch plate into the
buckle and remove any slack f rom
the lap portion of the belt.To activate the lockable retractor,
slowly pull the shoulder part of the
belt all the way out until it stops,
then let the belt f eed back into the
retractor.
Af ter the belt has retracted, tug on
it. If the belt is locked, you will not
be able to pull it out. If you can pull
thebeltout,itisnotlocked,and
you will need to repeat these steps.
In addition, the lap/shoulder belts in
all seating positions except the
driver’s have a lockable retractor
that must be activated to secure a
child seat.
If you intend to install the child seat
in the rear center seating position
and use the tether strap for
additional security, make sure to
push down the head restraint to the
lowest position and hook the tether
strap hook to the anchor bef ore
securing the child seat with the lap/
shoulder belt. Ref er to page f or
how to route the tether strap
properly.
1.
2. 3.
48
Installing a Child Seat with a L ap/
Shoulder Belt
Installing a Child Seat
46
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Af ter conf irming that the belt is
locked, grab the shoulder part of
the belt near the buckle, and pull
up to remove any slack from the
lap part of the belt. Remember, if
the lap part of the belt is not tight,
the child seat will not be secure.Push and pull the child seat
f orward and f rom side-to-side to
verif y that it is secure enough to
stay upright during normal driving
maneuvers. If the child seat is not
secure, unlatch the belt, allow it to
retract f ully, then repeat these
steps.
To remove slack, it may help to
putweightonthechildseat,or
push on the back of the seat while
pulling up on the belt. To deactivate the lockable retractor
and remove a child seat, unlatch the
buckle, unroute the seat belt, and let
the belt fully retract.
4. 5.
Installing a Child Seat
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
47
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When using a tether anchor, always
hook the tether strap through the
upper guide to route it properly.
Since a tether can provide additional
security to the lap/shoulder belt
installation, we recommend using a
tether whenever one is required or
available.
Each outer seating position has a
tether anchor at the outside of the
seat bottom. The center seating
position has a tether anchor between
the lower anchors f or the LATCH-
compatible child seat. Each anchor
point is shown above. Lif t the cover, then hook the
tether strap through the upper
guide as shown.
Af ter properly securing the child
seat (see page ), lif t the head
restraint, then route the tether
strap over the seat-back and
through the head restraint legs.
A child seat with a tether can be
installed in any seating position in
the back seat. 1. 2.46
Installing a Child Seat
Installing a Child Seat with a
TetherUsing an Out er T et her A nchor
48
COVER
UPPER
GUIDE UPPER
GUIDE
CENTERTETHER
ANCHOR
OUTERTETHER
ANCHOR OUTER TETHER ANCHOR
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Route the tether strap downward
properly, making sure the strap is
not twisted.
Attach the tether strap hook to the
outertetheranchorontheoutside
of the seat bottom.Make sure to attach the tether strap
hook to the anchor bef ore installing
the child seat, because the tether
anchor is positioned behind the child
seat.
Place the child seat on the rear
seat.
Push down the rear center head
restraint to the lowest position. Route the tether strap over the
seat-back, lift the cover, then hook
the tether strap through the upper
guide as shown.
Route the tether strap downward
properly along the seat-back,
making sure the strap is not
twisted.
Tighten the strap according to the
seat maker’s instructions.
1. 2.
3. 4.5.
3. 4.
CONT INUED
Installing a Child Seat
Using t he Cent er T et her A nchor
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
49
UPPERGUIDE
CENTER TETHER ANCHOR
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