airbag off HONDA ODYSSEY 1998 Owners Manual

Your Vehicle's Safety Features

Airbags
Your vehicle has a Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) with frontal
airbags to help protect the driver and
a front seat passenger.
This system also includesan indicator light on the
instrument panel to alert you to a
possible problem with the system. Following are the most important
things you need to know about your
airbags:
Airbags do not replace seat belts.
They supplement seat belts by providing extra protection for the
heads and chests of front seat

occupants.

Airbags offer no protection in side impacts, rear impacts, rollovers,or minor or moderate collisions.
Airbags are designed to deploy only during a severe frontal
collision (such as a 25 mph [40
km/h] crash into a parked vehicle of similar size and weight). Airbags can pose serious hazards.
To do their job, airbags must inflate with tremendous force and
speed. So while airbags save lives,
they can cause serious injuries to
adults and larger children who are
not wearing seat belts, are not wearing them properly, are sitting
too close to the airbag, or are notsitting in a proper position. Infants
and small children are at an even
greater risk of injury or death.

What you should do: Always wear

your seat belt properly and sit upright and as far back as possible
from the steering wheel or dashboard.

Driver and Passenger Safety
SRS
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Your Vehicle's Safety Features
Seats & Seat-Backs
Your vehicle's seats are designed to keep you in a comfortable, upright
position so you can take full advantage of the protection offered
by seat belts and the seats' energy absorbing materials.
How you adjust your seats and seat-
backs can also affect your safety. For example, sitting too close to the
steering wheel or dashboard
increases your risk of being injured
by striking the inside of the vehicle or being injured by an inflating

airbag.

Reclining a seat-back too far makes
your seat belt less effective and increases your chance of sliding
under the seat belt and beingseriously injured in a crash.
What you should do: Move the front

seats as far back as possible, and
keep adjustable seat-backs in an upright position whenever the
vehicle is moving.
Head Restraints
Head restraints can help protect you
from whiplash and other injuries. For maximum protection, the back of
your head should rest against the center of the head restraint.

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Protecting Adults

6.Adjust the Steering Wheel
Adjust the steering wheel, if needed, so that the wheel points toward your
chest, not toward your face.
Pointing the steering wheel toward
your face decreases the protective capability of the driver's airbag.
See page 63 for how to adjust the

steering wheel.
7.Maintain a Proper Sitting
Position
After all occupants have adjusted their seats and put on seat belts, it is
very important that they continue to sit upright, with their bodies well
back in their seats and both feet on
the floor, until the vehicle is 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 puts one or both feet up, their chance of
injury during a crash is greatly

increased.

In addition, if an occupant is out of
position in the front seat, they can be seriously or fatally injured by
striking interior parts of the vehicle,
or by being struck by an inflating

airbag.
Remember, to get the best
protection from your vehicle's
airbags and other safety features,
you must sit properly and wear your seat belt properly.
Driver and Passenger Safety 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 the

floor.ProCarManuals.comMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Additional Information About Your SRS
SRS Components

Your Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) includes: Two frontal 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".

Sensors that can detect a severe

frontal collision.
A sophisticated electronic system that continually monitors thesensors, control unit, the airbagactivators, and all related wiring
when the ignition is ON (II). An indicator light on the
instrument panel to alert you to a
possible problem with the system (see page 45). Emergency backup power in case
your vehicle's electrical system is disconnected in a crash. How Your Airbags Work
If you ever have a severe frontal collision, the sensors will detect
rapid deceleration and signal the
control unit to instantly inflate the
airbags.

During a crash, your seat belt helps
restrain your lower body and torso.
Your airbag provides a cushion to help restrain and protect your head
and chest. Since both airbags use the same
sensors, both airbags normally
inflate at the same time. However, it is possible for only one airbag to
inflate.
This can occur when the severity of a collision is at the margin, or
threshold, that determines whether or not the airbags will deploy. Insuch cases, the seat belt will provide
sufficient protection, and the
supplemental protection offered by
the airbag would be minimal.
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Additional Information About Your SRS
If the light comes on or flashes on
and off while you drive.
If you see any of these indications,
your airbags may not deploy when
you need them. See your Honda dealer as soon as possible. SRS Service
Your Supplemental Restraint System is virtually maintenance-free, and
there are no parts you can safely service. However, you must have
your vehicle serviced if:
Your airbags ever inflate. The

airbags and the control unit must
be replaced. Do not try to remove or replace the airbags yourself.
This must be done by a Honda dealer or a knowledgeable body

shop.
The SRS indicator light alerts you

to a problem. Take your vehicle to
an authorized Honda dealer as
soon as possible. If you ignore this
indication, the airbags might not
inflate when you need them. Additional Safety Precautions Do not attempt to deactivate your
airbags. Together, airbags and
seat belts provide the best
protection in a severe frontal collision. Do not tamper with SRS
components or wiring for any
reason. Tampering could cause
the airbags to deploy, possibly causing very serious injury.
See page 115 for further information
and precautions relating to your SRS.

Driver and Passenger Safety

Ignoring the SRS indicator light
can result in serious injury or
death if the airbags do not inflate when needed.
Have your vehicle checked by a
dealer as soon as possible if
the SRS light alerts you to a potential problem.ProCarManuals.comMain Menu Table of Contents s t