This section gives you important
information about how to protect
yourself and your passengers. It shows
you how to use seat belts properly. 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
.............
13
3. Adjust the Seat-Backs
..............
14
4. Adjust the Head Restraints
......
15
5. Fasten and Position the Seat Belts
..................................
15
6. Maintain a Proper Sitting Position
..............................
17
Advice for Pregnant Women
........
18
Additional Safety Precautions
......
19
Additional Information About Your Seat Belts
...............................
20
Seat Belt System Components
.....
20 Lap/Shoulder Belt
......................
21
Automatic Seat Belt Tensioners
.............................
22
Seat Belt Maintenance
................
23
Additional Information About Your Airbags
..................................
24
Airbag System Components
........
24
How Your Front Airbags Work
....
26
How Your Side Airbags Work
......
30
How Your Side Curtain Airbags Work
.....................................
31
How the SRS Indicator Works
.....
32
How the Side Airbag Off Indicator Works
.....................
32
How the Passenger Airbag Off Indicator Works
.....................
33
Airbag Service
............................
34
Additional Safety Precautions
......
35
Protecting Children -General
Guidelines
..............................
36
All Children Must Be
Restrained
..............................
36
All Children Should Sit in a Back Seat
.......................................
37
The Passenger's Front Airbag Can Pose Serious Risks
...........
37 If You Must Drive with Several
Children
................................
39
If a Child Requires Close Attention
................................
39
Additional Safety Precautions
......
40
Protecting Infants and Small Children
.................................
41
Protecting Infants
.......................
41
Protecting Small Children
...........
42
Selecting a Child Seat
.....................
44
Installing a Child Seat
.....................
45
Installing a Child Seat with
LATCH
..................................
46
Installing a Child Seat with a Lap/Shoulder Belt
..................
50
Installing a Child Seat with a Tether
...................................
51
Protecting Larger Children
.............
53
Checking Seat Belt Fit
................
53
Using a Booster Seat
...................
54
When Can a Larger Child Sit in
Front
.....................................
55
Additional Safety Precautions
......
56
Carbon Monoxide Hazard
...............
57
Safety Labels
..................................
58
Driver and Passenger Safety
5
Driver and Passenger Safety
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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 36-56 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 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.
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.
You will also hear a beep when you
turn the ignition switch to the ON
(II) position, and each time you open
any door or the tailgate with the key
in the ON (II) position.
Protecting Adults and Teens1210/06/08 17:42:32 11 ACURA RDX MMC North America Owner's M 50 31STK640 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 15 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 50).
CONTINUED
Additional Information About Your Seat Belts
21
Driver and Passenger Safety
10/06/08 17:42:32 11 ACURA RDX MMC North America Owner's M 50 31STK640 enu
Additional Safety Precautions●Never hold an infant or child onyour 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
or 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 a
crash.
●Use the childproof door locks to prevent children from opening the
rear doors.
This can prevent
children from accidentally falling
out (see page 127).
●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 50 and 51 for how to
activate and deactivate the
lockable retractor.)
●Do not leave children alone in a
vehicle.
Leaving children without
adult supervision is illegal in most
states, Canadian provinces/
territories and can be very
hazardous.
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/remotetransmitters 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 Guidelines4010/06/08 17:42:32 11 ACURA RDX MMC North America Owner's M 50 31STK640 enu
Protecting InfantsChild Seat TypeAn 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 PlacementA 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
41
Driver and Passenger Safety
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Installing a Child Seat with a Lap/
Shoulder Belt
When not using the LATCH system,
all child seats must be secured to the
vehicle with the lap part of a lap/
shoulder belt.
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.
1. With the child seat in the desiredseating 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 from
the lap portion of the belt.
2. To activate the lockable retractor,slowly pull the shoulder part of the
belt all the way out until it stops,
then let the belt feed back into the
retractor.
3. After 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
the belt out, it is not locked, and
you will need to repeat these steps.
Installing a Child Seat5010/06/08 17:42:32 11 ACURA RDX MMC North America Owner's M 50 31STK640 enu
4. After confirming that the belt islocked, 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.
To remove slack, it may help to put
weight on the child seat, or push
on the back of the seat while
pulling up on the belt.
5. Push and pull the child seatforward and from side-to-side to
verify 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 fully, then repeat these
steps.
To deactivate the lockable retractor
and remove a child seat, unlatch the
buckle, unroute the seat belt, and let
the belt fully retract. Installing a Child Seat with a
Tether
A child seat with a tether can be
installed in any seating position in
the back seat.
Since a tether can provide additional
security to the lap/shoulder belt
installation, we recommend using a
tether whenever one is required or
available.
TETHER ANCHORAGE POINT
CONTINUED
Installing a Child Seat
51
Driver and Passenger Safety
10/06/08 17:42:32 11 ACURA RDX MMC North America Owner's M 50 31STK640 enu
This section gives information about
the controls and displays that
contribute to the daily operation of
your vehicle. All the essential
controls are within easy reach.
Control Locations
..........................
62
Instrument Panel
..........................
63
Instrument Panel Indicators
..........
64
Gauges
..........................................
73
Turbo Boost Meter
...................
73
Fuel Gauge
...............................
73
Multi-Information Display
.............
74
System Messages
.....................
79
Customized Settings
.................
82
Controls Near the Steering
Wheel
.....................................
113
Windshield Wipers and
Washers
..............................
114
Rear Window Wiper and Washer
...............................
115 Turn Signals and Headlights
.......
116
Instrument Panel Brightness
......
120
Rear Window Defogger
...............
121
Hazard Warning Button
..............
121
Steering Wheel Adjustments
.......
122
Keys and Locks
...........................
122
Immobilizer System
....................
124
Ignition Switch
............................
125
Door Locks
.................................
126
Power Door Locks
..................
126
Childproof Door Locks
............
127
Tailgate
.......................................
128
Remote Transmitter
....................
130
Seats
...........................................
134
Front Seat Power
Adjustments
........................
134
Head Restraints
.......................
135
Armrests
.................................
138
Folding the Rear Seats Down
..................................
138
Seat Heaters
................................
141
Power Windows
..........................
142
Moonroof
....................................
144 Mirrors
.......................................
146
Adjusting the Power
Mirrors
...............................
146
Reverse Tilt Door Mirror
........
147
Heated Mirrors
.......................
147
Driving Position Memory
System
....................................
148
Parking Brake
.............................
150
Interior Lights
.............................
151
Ceiling Lights
.........................
151
Individual Map Lights
.............
152
Courtesy Lights
......................
153
Cargo Area Light
.....................
153
Interior Convenience Items
.........
154
Glove Box
...............................
155
Front Door Pockets
.................
155
Beverage Holders
...................
156
Accessory Power Sockets
.......
157
Sun Visor
................................
157
Vanity Mirror
..........................
158
Console Compartment
............
158
Cargo Area Cover
...................
160
Coat Hook
...............................
161
Instruments and Controls
61
Instruments and Controls
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