Acura Integra 2000 Hatchback Owner's Guide

Protectin
g Childre n

Installing a Child Seat

After selecting a proper child seat, and a good position to install the seat,
there are three main steps in
installing the seat:

1.Secure the child seat to the car
with a seat belt. All child seats
must be secured to the car with
the lap part of a lap/shoulder belt.
A child whose seat is not properly secured to the car can be
endangered in a crash. See pages 30 and 34 for instructions on how
to secure child seats in this car.

2.Make sure the child seat is firmly

secured. After installing a child
seat, push and pull the seat forward and from side to side to
verify that it is secure.

To provide security during normal
driving maneuvers as well as during
a collision, we recommend that
parents secure a child seat as firmly as possible.
However, a child seat does not need
to be "rock solid." In some vehicles or seating positions, it may be
difficult to install a child seat so that
it does not move at all. Some side-to- side or back-and-forth movement can
be expected and should not reduce
the child seat's effectiveness.
If the child seat is not secure, try
installing it in a different seating
position, or use a different style of child seat that can be firmly secured
in the desired seating position.
3.Secure the child in the child seat.

Make sure the child is properly
strapped in the child seat
according to the child seat maker's
instructions. A child who is not
properly secured in a child seat can be thrown out of the seat in a
crash and seriously injured.

Storing a Child Seat

When you are not using a child seat, either remove it and store it in a safe
place, or make sure it is properly secured. An unsecured child seat can
be thrown around the car during a
crash or sudden stop and injure
someone.

Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

Protectin
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Protectin g Infant s
Child Seat Type
Only a rear-facing child seat provides
proper support for a baby's head, neck, and back. Infants up to aboutone year of age must be restrained in
a rear-facing child seat.
Two types of seats may be used: a seat designed exclusively for infants,
or a convertible seat used in the rear-
facing, reclining mode. We recommend that an infant be
restrained in a rear-facing child seat
until the infant reaches the seat
maker's weight or height limit and is able to sit up without support.
Rear-Facing Child Seat Placement

In this car, a rear-facing child seat
can be placed in any seating position
in the back seat, but not in the front
seat.

Never put a rear-facing child seat in

the front seat. If the passenger's

airbag inflates, it can hit the back of
the child seat with enough force to
kill or seriously injure an infant. If an infant must be closely watched, we
recommend that another adult sit in
the back seat with the baby.

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.

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Placing a rear-facing child seat
in the front seat can result in
serious injury or death if the
airbags inflate.
Always place a rear-facing child
seat in the back seat, not the
front.

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Rear-Facing Child Seat Installation
The lap/shoulder belts in the back seats have a locking mechanism that
must be activated to secure a child
seat.

The following pages provide instructions and tips on how tosecure a rear-facing child seat with
this type of seat belt.
1. With the child seat in the desired
back seating position, route the
belt through the child seataccording to the seat maker's
instructions, then insert the latch
plate into the buckle.

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 (you might hear a
clicking noise as the belt retracts).

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.

Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

Protectin
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4. After confirming that the belt is
locked, 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 seat

forward 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 locking
mechanism and remove a child seat,
unlatch the buckle, unroute the seat
belt, and let the belt fully retract.

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Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

Protectin
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Rear-Facing Child Seat Installation
Tips
For proper protection, an infant must
ride in a reclined, or semi-reclined
position. To determine the proper
reclining angle, check with the baby's doctor or follow the seat maker's

recommendations.

To achieve the desired reclining angle, it may help to put a rolled up
towel under the toe of the child seat,
as shown.
When properly installed, a rear-
facing child seat may prevent the driver or a front-seat passenger from
moving the seat as far back as
recommended (see page 13). Or it
may prevent them from locking the seat-back in the desired upright
position (see page 14).
In either case, we recommend that
you place the child seat directly behind the front passenger seat,move the front seat as far forward as
needed, and leave it unoccupied. Or
you may wish to get a smaller child seat that allows you to safely carry a
front passenger.
Additional Precautions for Infants
Never hold an infant on your lap.

If you are not wearing a seat belt
in a crash, you could be thrown
forward into the dashboard and crush the infant.
If you are wearing a seat belt, the
infant can be torn from your arms.
For example, if your car crashes
into a parked vehicle at 30 mph (48 km/h), a 20-lb (9 kg) infant
will become a 600-lb (275 kg) force, and you will not be able to hold on.

Never put a seat belt over yourself

and an infant. During a crash, the

belt could press deep into theinfant and cause very serious
injuries.

Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

Protectin
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Protectin g Smal l Childre n

Child Seat Type

A child who can sit up without support, and who fits within the child
seat maker's weight and height
limits, should be restrained in a
forward-facing, upright child seat. Of the different seats available, we
recommend those that have a five-
point harness system as shown.
We also recommend that a small child stay in the child seat as long as
possible, until the child reaches the
weight or height limit for the seat.
Child Seat Placement

In this car, the best place to install a
forward-facing child seat is in one of
the seating positions in the back seat.

Placing a forward-facing child seat in
the front seat of a vehicle equipped

with a passenger's airbag can be

hazardous. If the vehicle seat is too
far forward, or the child's head is
thrown forward during a collision, an
inflating passenger's airbag can strike the child with enough force to
cause very serious or fatal injuries. If
a small child must be closely
watched, we recommend that another adult sit in the back seat
with the child.

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Protectin
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If it is necessary to put a forward-
facing child seat in the front, move the vehicle seat as far to the rear as
possible, be sure the child seat is
firmly secured to the car, and the child is properly strapped in the seat.
Child Seat Installation

The lap/shoulder belts in the back and front passenger seating positions
have a locking mechanism that must
be activated to secure a child seat.
The following pages provide instructions on how to secure a
forward-facing child seat with this
type of seat belt.
1. With the child seat in the desired
back seating position, route the
belt through the child seat
according to the seat maker's
instructions, then insert the latch
plate into the buckle.

Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

Improperly placing a forward-

facing child seat in the front seat can result in serious injury
or death if the airbags inflate.
If you must place a forward-
facing child seat in front, move
the vehicle seat as far back as possible and properly restrain

the child.

Protectin
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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 theretractor (you might hear a
clicking noise as the belt retracts).
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. 4. After confirming that the belt is
locked, 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. It may help to put weight on thechild seat, or push on the back of
the seat, while pulling up on the
belt.

5. Push and pull the child seat

forward 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.

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Protectin
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To deactivate the locking
mechanism in order to remove a

child seat, unlatch the buckle,

unroute the seat belt, and let the belt

fully retract.
Additional Precautions for Small

Children Never hold a small child on your

lap. If you are not wearing a seat
belt in a crash, you could be
thrown forward into the dashboard and crush the child.
If you are wearing a seat belt, the child can be torn from your arms
during a crash. For example, if
your car crashes into a parked
vehicle at 30 mph (48 km/h), a 30-lb (14 kg) child will become a
900-lb (410 kg) force, and you will
not be able to hold on.
Never put a seat belt over yourself
and a child. During a crash, the

belt could press deep into the child
and cause very serious injuries.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

Protectin
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Protectin g Large r Childre n
When a child reaches the recommended weight or height limit
for a forward-facing child seat, the child should sit in one of the back
seats and wear a lap/shoulder belt.
If a child is too short for the shoulder
part of the belt to properly fit, we recommend that the child use a
booster seat until tall enough to use
the seat belt without a booster.
The following pages give instructions on how to check properseat belt fit, what kind of booster
seat to use if one is needed, and
important precautions for children
who must sit in the front seat.
Checking Seat Belt Fit

To determine if a lap/shoulder belt properly fits a child, have the child
put on the seat belt. Follow theinstructions on page 16. Then check
how the belt fits.

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Allowing a larger child to sit
improperly in the front seat canresult in injury or death if the
airbags inflate.
If a larger child must sit in front,

make sure the child moves the

seat as far back as possible and wears the seat belt properly.