2011 HONDA FIT Owners Manual

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.
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.
See page 93 for how to adjust the seat-backs. 4. Adjust the Head Restraints
Adjust the driver's head restraint so
the center of the back of your head
rests against the center of therestraint.
Have passengers adjust their head
restraints properly as well. Taller
persons should adjust their restraint
as high as possible.When a passenger is seated in the
rear center seating position, make
sure the center head restraint is
properly positioned.
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.
Properly adjusted head restraints will
help protect occupants from whiplash
and other crash injuries.
See page 94 for how to adjust the
head restraints and how the driver's
and front passenger's active head
restraints work.
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5. Fasten and Position the SeatBelts
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.
The seat belt in the center position of
the back seat can be unlatched and
retracted to allow the back seat to be
folded up or down. This seat belt
should be latched whenever the seat-
back is in an upright position. See
page 99 for how to unlatch and
relatch the seat belt.
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 fits snugly. This lets your strong
pelvic bones take the force of a crash
and reduces the chance of internalinjuries.
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 beforedriving.
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.
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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 fourpositions).
Never place the shoulder portion of alap/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 18 for additional
information about your seat belts and
how to take care of them. 6. Maintain a Proper Sitting
Position
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 off.
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 feet up, the chance of
injury during a crash is greatlyincreased.
RELEASE BUTTONS
CONTINUED
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In addition, an occupant who is out of
position in the front seat can be
seriously or fatally injured in a crash
by striking interior parts of the
vehicle or being struck by an
inflating front airbag.
Sitting improperly or out of
position can result in serious
injury or death in a crash.
Always sit upright, well back in
the seat, with your feet on thefloor.Advice for Pregnant Women
If you are pregnant, the best way to
protect yourself and your unborn
child when driving or riding in a
vehicle is to always wear a seat belt,
and keep the lap part of the belt as
low as possible across the hips. When driving, remember to sit
upright and adjust the seat as far
back as possible while allowing full
control of the vehicle. When riding
as a front passenger, adjust the seat
as far back as possible.
This will reduce the risk of injuries to
both you and your unborn child that
can be caused by a crash or an
inflating front airbag.
Each time you have a checkup, ask
your doctor if it's okay for you todrive.
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Additional Safety Precautions
Never let passengers ride in the
cargo area or on top of a folded-
down back seat.
If they do, they
could be very seriously injured in a crash.

Never let passengers ride in the area in front of a folded-up rearseat or on top of a folded-down rear
seat.
If they do, they could be very
seriously injured in a crash.

Passengers should not stand up or change seats while the vehicle is
moving.
A passenger who is not
wearing a seat belt during a crash
or emergency stop can be thrown
against the inside of the vehicle,
against other occupants, or out of
the vehicle.

Two people should never use the same seat belt.
If they do, they
could be very seriously injured in acrash.
Do not put any accessories on seat
belts.
Devices intended to improve
occupant comfort or reposition the
shoulder part of a seat belt can
reduce the protective capability of
the belt and increase the chance of
serious injury in a crash.

Do not place hard or sharp objects between yourself and a front
airbag.
Carrying hard or sharp
objects on your lap, or driving with
a pipe or other sharp object in your
mouth, can result in injuries if your
front airbag inflates.

Keep your hands and arms away from the airbag covers.
If your
hands or arms are close to an
airbag cover, they could be injured
if the airbag inflates.
Do not attach or place objects on
the front airbag covers.
Objects on
the covers marked ‘‘SRS AIRBAG ’’
could interfere with the proper
operation of the airbags or be
propelled inside the vehicle and
hurt someone if the airbags inflate.

Do not attach hard objects on or near a door.
If a side airbag or a
side curtain airbag inflates, a cup
holder or other hard object
attached on or near the door could
be propelled inside the vehicle and
hurt someone.

Do not cover or replace front seat- back covers without consulting
your dealer.
Improperly replacing
or covering front seat-back covers
can prevent your side airbags from
inflating during a side impact.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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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 14 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 thedoor.
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 45).
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.
The lap/shoulder belt in the center
seating position on the rear seat is
equipped with a detachable seat belt
that has two parts: a small latch plate
and an anchor buckle.
The detachable seat belt should
normally be latched whenever the
seat-backs are in an upright position.
For more information about the
detachable seat belt, see page 99.
Make sure all rear shoulder belts are
positioned in front of the rear seat-
backs and the seat belt buckles are
on the seat cushion whenever the
seat-back is in its upright position.
DETACHABLE ANCHOR
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Automatic Seat Belt Tensioners
For added protection, the front seat
belts are equipped with automatic
seat belt tensioners. When activated,
the tensioners immediately tighten
the belts to help hold the driver and a
front passenger in position.The tensioners can be activated
during a collision in which the frontairbags
do not deploy. In this case, the
airbags would not be needed, but the
additional restraint could be helpful.
If the tensioner is activated, the SRS
indicator comes on and the tensioner
must be replaced. Seat Belt Maintenance
For safety, you should check the
condition of your seat belts regularly.
Pull each belt out fully, and look for
frays, cuts, burns, and wear. Check
that the latches work smoothly and
the belts retract easily. If a belt does
not retract easily, cleaning the belt
may correct the problem (see page
269). Any belt that is not in good
condition or working properly will
not provide good protection and
should be replaced as soon aspossible.
Honda provides a limited warranty
on seat belts. See your
Honda
Warranty Information
booklet for
details.
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