2011 Acura MDX information

This section gives you important
information about how to protect
yourself and your passengers. It shows
you how to use seat belts. It explains
how your airbags work. And it tells you
how to properly restrain infants and
children in your vehicle.
Important Safety Precautions
..............
6
Your Vehicle's Safety Features
............
8
Seat Belts
.....................................
9
Airbags
.......................................
10
Protecting Adults and Teens
.............
12
1. Close and Lock the Doors
..........
12
2. Adjust the Front Seats
...............
14
3. Adjust the Seat-Backs
................
15
4. Adjust the Head Restraints
.........
15
5. Fasten and Position the Seat Belts
...................................
16
6. Maintain a Proper Sitting Position
...............................
18
Advice for Pregnant Women
..........
19
Additional Safety Precautions
........
20
Additional Information About Your Seat Belts
...............................
21
Seat Belt System Components
.......
21 Lap/Shoulder Belt
........................
22
Automatic Seat Belt Tensioners
.....
23
Seat Belt e-pretensioners
...............
24
Seat Belt Maintenance
..................
25
Additional Information About Your
Airbags
...................................
26
Airbag System Components
..........
26
How Your Front Airbags Work
......
29
How Your Side Airbags Work
........
32
How Your Side Curtain Airbags Work
......................................
34
How the SRS Indicator Works
.......
35
How the Side Airbag Off Indicator Works
.....................................
35
How the Passenger Airbag Off Indicator Works
.......................
36
Airbag Service
.............................
37
Additional Safety Precautions
........
38
Protecting Children －General
Guidelines
..............................
39
All Children Must Be Restrained
...............................
39
All Children Should Sit in a Back Seat
........................................
40
The Passenger's Front Airbag Can Pose Serious Risks
...................
40 If You Must Drive with Several
Children
..................................
42
If a Child Requires Close Attention
.................................
42
Additional Safety Precautions
........
43
Protecting Infants and Small Children
.................................
44
Protecting Infants
.........................
44
Protecting Small Children
.............
45
Selecting a Child Seat
......................
47
Installing a Child Seat
......................
48
Installing a Child Seat with LATCH
...................................
49
Installing a Child Seat with a Lap/
Shoulder Belt
...........................
52
Installing a Child Seat with a Tether
.....................................
53
Protecting Larger Children
...............
56
Checking Seat Belt Fit
..................
56
Using a Booster Seat
....................
57
When Can a Larger Child Sit in Front
.......................................
58
Additional Safety Precautions
........
59
Carbon Monoxide Hazard
................
60
Safety Labels
..................................
61
Driver and Passenger Safety
5
Driver and Passenger Safety
10/06/29 11:59:04 11 ACURA MDX MMC North America Owner's M 50 31STX640 enu

AirbagsYour vehicle has a supplemental
restraint system (SRS) with front
airbags to help protect the heads and
chests of the driver and a front seat
passenger during a moderate to
severe frontal collision (see page 29
for more information on how your
front airbags work).
Your vehicle also has side airbags to
help protect the upper torso of the
driver or a front seat passenger
during a moderate to severe side
impact (see page 32 for more
information on how your side airbags
work).
In addition, your vehicle has side
curtain airbags to help protect the
heads of the driver, front passenger,
and passengers in the outer rear
seating positions during a moderate
to severe side impact or rollover (see
page 34 for more information on how
your side curtain airbags work).
Your Vehicle's Safety Features1010/06/29 11:59:04 11 ACURA MDX MMC North America Owner's M 50 31STX640 enu

The most important things you need
to know about your airbags are:●
Airbags do not replace seat belts.They are designed to supplement
the seat belts.
●
Airbags offer no protection in rearimpacts, or minor frontal or sidecollisions.
●
Airbags can pose serious hazards.To do their job, airbags must
inflate with tremendous force. 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.
What you should do:
Always wear
your seat belt properly, and sit
upright and as far back from the
steering wheel as possible while
allowing full control of the vehicle. A
front passenger should move their
seat as far back from the dashboard
as possible. The rest of this section gives more
detailed information about how you
can maximize your safety.
Remember, however, that no safety
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.
Your Vehicle's Safety Features
11
Driver and Passenger Safety
10/06/29 11:59:04 11 ACURA MDX MMC North America Owner's M 50 31STX640 enu

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 39－59 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 and the
tailgate are closed and locked.
Your vehicle has a door/
tailgate open indicator (red)
on the instrument panel to indicate
when any door or the tailgate is not
tightly closed.
See page 139 for how to lock the
doors, and page 74 for how the door/
tailgate open indicator works.
Your vehicle has a door and tailgate
open indicator on the multi-
information display to indicate when
a specific door or the tailgate is not
tightly closed. You will see the
appropriate indicator and the
message for each condition.
When one or more doors are not
tightly closed, the ‘‘DOOR OPEN ’’
message will come on.
Protecting Adults and Teens1210/06/29 11:59:04 11 ACURA MDX MMC North America Owner's M 50 31STX640 enu

When the tailgate is not tightly
closed, the‘‘TAILGATE OPEN ’’
message will come on.
When both tailgate and one or more
doors are not tightly closed, the
‘‘ DOOR & TAILGATE OPEN ’’
message will come on. Locking the doors reduces the
chance of someone being thrown out
of the vehicle during a crash, and it
helps prevent passengers from
accidentally opening a door and
falling out.
Locking the doors also helps prevent
an outsider from unexpectedly
opening a door when you come to a
stop.
Your vehicle has the auto door
locking/unlocking feature. For more
information, see page 139.
Protecting Adults and Teens
13
Driver and Passenger Safety
10/06/29 11:59:04 11 ACURA MDX MMC North America Owner's M 50 31STX640 enu

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 forces of a crash
over the strongest bones in your
upper body.
Improperly positioning the seat
belts can cause serious injury
or death in a crash.
Make sure all seat belts are
properly positioned before
driving.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.
The front seats have adjustable seat
belt anchors. To adjust the height of
an anchor, squeeze the release
button and slide the anchor up or
down as needed (it has four
positions).
Never place the shoulder portion of a
lap/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 21 for additional
information about your seat belts and
how to take care of them.
RELEASE
BUTTON
Protecting Adults and Teens
17
Driver and Passenger Safety
10/06/29 11:59:04 11 ACURA MDX MMC North America Owner's M 50 31STX640 enu

Seat Belt System Components
Your seat belt system includes lap/
shoulder belts in all seating
positions. The front seat belts are
also equipped with automatic seat
belt tensioners and, on models with
collision mitigation braking system™
(CMBS ™), seat belt e-pretensioners.
The seat belt system
includes an indicator on the
instrument panel and a beeper to
remind you and your passengers to
fasten your seat belts.
This system monitors the front seat
belts. If you turn the ignition switch
to the ON (II) position before your
seat belt is fastened, the beeper will
sound and the indicator will flash. If
your seat belt is not fastened before
the beeper stops, the indicator will
stop flashing but remain on.
If a front passenger does not fasten
their seat belt, the indicator will
come on about 6 seconds after the
ignition switch is turned to the ON
(II) position. If either the driver or a front
passenger does not fasten their seat
belt while driving, the beeper will
sound and the indicator will flash
again at regular intervals.
You will also see a
‘‘FASTEN SEAT
BELT ’’or ‘‘FASTEN PASSENGER
SEAT BELT ’’message on the multi-
information display (see page 86).
When no one is sitting in the front
passenger's seat, or a child or small
adult is riding there, the indicator
should not come on and the beeper
should not sound.
CONTINUED
Additional Information About Your Seat Belts
21
Driver and Passenger Safety
10/06/29 11:59:04 11 ACURA MDX MMC North America Owner's M 50 31STX640 enu

If the indicator comes on or the
beeper sounds when the driver's seat
belt is latched and there is no front
seat passenger and no items on the
front seat, something may be
interfering with the monitoring
system. 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. Lap/Shoulder Belt
The lap/shoulder belt goes over your
shoulder, across your chest, and
across your hips.
To fasten the belt, insert the latch
plate into the buckle, then tug on the
belt to make sure the buckle is
latched (see page 16 for how to
properly position the belt).
To unlock the belt, press the red
PRESS button on the buckle. Guide
the belt across your body so that it
retracts completely. After exiting the
vehicle, be sure the belt is out of the
way and will not get closed in the
door.All seat belts have an emergency
locking retractor. In normal driving,
the retractor lets you move freely in
your seat while it keeps some tension
on the belt. During a collision or
sudden stop, the retractor
automatically locks the belt to help
restrain your body.
The seat belts in all positions except
the driver's have a lockable retractor
that must be activated to secure a
child seat (see page 52).
If the shoulder part of the belt is
pulled all the way out, the lockable
retractor will activate. The belt will
retract, but it will not allow the
passenger to move freely.
To deactivate the lockable retractor,
unlatch the buckle and let the seat
belt fully retract. To refasten the seat
belt, pull it out only as far as needed.
Additional Information About Your Seat Belts2210/06/29 11:59:04 11 ACURA MDX MMC North America Owner's M 50 31STX640 enu