2018 Acura RDX side

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Safe Driving
For Safe Driving
The following pages explain your vehicle’s safety features and how to use them
properly. The safety precautions below are ones that we consider to be among the
most important.
Important Safety Precautions
■Always wear your seat belt
A seat belt is your best protection in all types of collisions. Airbags are designed to
supplement seat belts, not replace them. So even though your vehicle is equipped
with airbags, make sure you and your passen gers always wear your seat belts, and
wear them properly.
■Restrain all children
Children age 12 and under should ride prop erly restrained in a back seat, not the
front seat. Infants and small children shoul d be restrained in a child seat. Larger
children should use a booster seat and a lap/ shoulder seat belt until they can use the
belt properly without a booster seat.
■Be aware of airbag hazards
While airbags can save lives, they can caus e serious or fatal injuries to occupants
who sit too close to them, or are not prop erly restrained. Infants, young children,
and short adults are at the greatest risk. Be sure to follow all instructions and
warnings in this manual.
■Don’t drink and drive
Alcohol and driving don’t mix. Even one dr ink can reduce your ability to respond to
changing conditions, and your reaction time gets worse with every additional drink.
So don’t drink and drive, and don’t let your friends drink and drive, either.
1Important Safety Precautions
Some states, provinces and territories prohibit the use
of cell phones other than hands-free devices by the
driver while driving.

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uuFor Safe Driving uYour Vehicle’s Safety Features
Continued
Safe Driving
Your Vehicle’s Safety Features
The following checklist will he lp you take an active role in protecting yourself and
your passengers.
1 Your Vehicle’s Safety Features
Your vehicle is equipped wi th many features that
work together to help protect you and your
passengers during a crash.
Some features do not require any action on your part.
These include a strong steel framework that forms a
safety cage around the passenger compartment,
front and rear crush zone s, a collapsible steering
column, and tensioners that tighten the front seat
belts in a sufficient crash.
However, you and your passe ngers cannot take full
advantage of these features unless you remain seated
in the correct position and always wear your seat
belts. In fact, some safety features can contribute to
injuries if they are not used properly.
678910
Safety Cage
Crush Zones
Seats and Seat-Backs
Head Restraints
Collapsible Steering Column
Seat Belts
Front Airbags
Side Curtain Airbags
Door Locks Side Airbags
11Seat Belt Tensioners
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7
7
8
8
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10
10
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uuFor Safe Driving uYour Vehicle’s Safety Features
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Safe DrivingFor the safety of you and your passenge rs, make a habit of checking these items
each time before you drive.
• After everyone has entered the vehicle, be sure all doors and the tailgate are
closed and locked. Locking the doors and the tailgate helps prevent an occupant
from being ejected and an outsider from unexpectedly opening a door or the
tailgate.
2 Locking/Unlocking the Doors from the Inside P. 130
•Adjust your seat to a position suitable for driving. Be sure the front seats are
adjusted as far to the rear as possible while allowing the driver to control the
vehicle. Sitting too close to a front airbag can result in serious or fatal injury in a
crash.
2 Adjusting the Seats P. 164
•Adjust head restraints to the proper posi tion. Head restraints are most effective
when the center of the head restraint alig ns with the center of your head. Taller
persons should adjust their head restraint to the highest position.
2 Adjusting the Head Restraints P. 166
•Always wear your seat belt, and make sure you wear it properly. Confirm that any
passengers are properly belted as well.
2 Fastening a Seat Belt P. 34
•Protect children by using seat belts or chil d seats according to a child’s age, height
and weight.
2 Child Safety P. 52
■Safety Checklist1Safety Checklist
If the door and tailgate open indicator
* is on and a
message appears on the multi-information display, a
door and/or the tailgate is not completely closed.
Close all doors and the ta ilgate tightly until the
message disappears. 2 Door and Tailgate Open Indicator
* P. 74
2 Multi-Information Display Warning and
Information Messages P. 89
Models with
full color displayModels without
full color display
*
* Not available on all models

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Safe Driving
Seat Belts
About Your Seat Belts
Seat belts are the single most effective safety device because they keep you
connected to the vehicle so that you can take advantage of many built-in safety
features. They also help keep you from be ing thrown against the inside of the
vehicle, against other passengers, or out of the vehicle. When worn properly, seat
belts also keep your body properly positioned in a crash so that you can take full
advantage of the additional protec tion provided by the airbags.
In addition, seat belts help protect you in almost every type of crash, including:
- frontal impacts
- side impacts
- rear impacts
- rollovers
■Lap/shoulder seat belts
All five seating positions are equipped with lap/shoulder seat belts with emergency
locking retractors. In normal driving the retractor lets you move freely while keeping
some tension on the belt. During a collision or sudden stop the retractor locks to
restrain your body. The front passenger’s a nd rear seat belts also have a lockable
retractor for use with child seats.
2 Installing a Child Seat with a Lap/Shoulder Seat Belt P. 59
1About Your Seat Belts
Seat belts cannot complete ly protect you in every
crash. But in most cases, seat belts can reduce your
risk of serious injury.
Most states and all Canadian provinces and territories
require you to wear seat belts.
If you extend the seat belt t oo quickly, it will lock in
place. If this happens, sli ghtly retract the seat belt,
then extend it slowly.
3WARNING
Not wearing a seat belt properly increases
the chance of serious injury or death in a
crash, even though your vehicle has
airbags.
Be sure you and your passengers always
wear seat belts and wear them properly.

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uuSeat Belts uAbout Your Seat Belts
Safe DrivingThe front seats are equipped with automatic seat belt tensioners to enhance safety.
The tensioners automatically tighten the front seat belts during a moderate-to-
severe frontal collision, sometimes even if the collision is not severe enough to
inflate the front airbags.
■Automatic Seat Belt Tensioners1 Automatic Seat Belt Tensioners
The seat belt tensioners can only operate once.
If a tensioner is activated, the SRS indicator will come
on. Have a dealer repl ace the tensioner and
thoroughly inspect the seat belt system as it may not
offer protection in a subsequent crash.
During a moderate-to-severe side impact, the
tensioner on that side of the vehicle also activates.

uuSeat Belts uFastening a Seat Belt
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Safe Driving1. Pull out the seat belt’s small latch plate and
the latch plate from each holding slot in the
ceiling.
2. Line up the triangle marks on the small
latch plate and anchor buckle. Make sure
the seat belt is not twisted. Attach the belt
to the anchor buckle.
3. Insert the latch plate into the buckle.
Properly fasten the seat belt the same way
you fasten the lap/shoulder seat belt.
■Seat Belt with Detachable Anchor1Seat Belt with Detachable Anchor
To unlatch the detachable anchor, insert the latch
plate into the slot on the side of the anchor buckle.
3WARNING
Using the seat belt with the detachable
anchor unlatched incr eases the chance of
serious injury or death in a crash.
Before using the seat belt, make sure the
detachable anchor is correctly latched.
Small Latch Plate Latch Plate
Small Latch Plate
Latch Plate
Small Latch Plate
Anchor Buckle
Latch
Plate
Buckle

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uuAirbags uAirbag System Components
Safe Driving
The front, front side, and side curtain
airbags are deployed according to the
direction and severity of impact. Both side
curtain airbags are deployed in a rollover.
The airbag system includes:
aTwo SRS (Supplemental Restraint System)
front airbags. The driver’s airbag is stored
in the center of the steering wheel; the
front passenger’s airbag is stored in the
dashboard. Both are marked SRS
AIRBAG.
bTwo side airbags, one for the driver and
one for a front passenger. The airbags are
stored in the outer edges of the seat-
backs. Both are marked SIDE AIRBAG .
cTwo side curtain airbags, one for each
side of the vehicle. The airbags are stored
in the ceiling, above the side windows.
The front and rear pillars are marked
SIDE CURTAIN AIRBAG.
dAn electronic control unit that, when the
vehicle is on, continually monitors
information about the various impact
sensors, seat and buckle sensors, rollover
sensor, airbag activators, seat belt
tensioners, and other vehicle
information. During a crash event the
unit can record such information.
eAutomatic front seat belt tensioners. In
addition, the driver’s and front
passenger’s seat belt buckles incorporate
sensors that detect whether or not the
belts are fastened.
fA driver’s seat position sensor. If the seat
is too far forward, the airbag will inflate
with less force.
gWeight sensors in the front passenger’s
seat. The front passenger’s airbag will be
turned off if the weight on the seat is 65
lbs (29 kg) or less (the weight of an infant
or small child).
hImpact sensors that can detect a
moderate-to-severe front or side impact.
iAn indicator on the dashboard that alerts
you that the front passenger’s front
airbag has been turned off.
jAn indicator on the instrument panel that
alerts you to a possible problem with your
airbag system or seat belt tensioners.
kA rollover sensor that detects whether
the vehicle is about to roll over.

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uuAirbags uAirbag System Components
Safe DrivingAirbags can pose serious hazards. To do their job, airbags must inflate with
tremendous force. So, while airbags help sa ve lives, they can cause burns, bruises,
and other minor injuries, and sometimes even fatal ones if occupants are not
wearing their seat belts properly and sitting correctly.
What you should do: Always wear your seat belt properly, and sit upright and as
far back from the steering wheel as possibl e while allowing full control of the
vehicle. A front passenger should move thei r seat as far back from the dashboard as
possible.
Remember, however, that no safety system ca n prevent all injuries or deaths that
can occur in a severe crash, even when s eat belts are properly worn and the airbags
deploy.
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 in juries if your front 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 an d hurt someone if the airbags inflate.
■Important Facts About Your Airbags1Important Facts About Your Airbags
Do not attempt to deactivate your airbags. Together,
airbags and seat belts pr ovide the best protection.
When driving, keep hands and arms out of the
deployment path of the fro nt airbag by holding each
side of the steering wheel. Do not cross an arm over
the airbag cover.