Acura MDX 2003 Owner's Manua

Your vehicle is equipped with many
features that work together to
protect you and your passengers
during a crash.
These saf ety f eatures are designed
to reduce the severity of injuries in a
crash. However, you and your
passengers can’t take f ull advantage
of these saf ety f eatures unless you
remain sitting in a proper position
andIn f act, some saf ety
f eatures can contribute to injuries if
they are not used properly. Some saf ety f eatures do not require
anyactiononyourpart.These
include a strong steel f ramework
that forms a safety cage around the
passenger compartment; f ront and
rear crush zones that are designed to
crumple and absorb energy during a
crash; a collapsible steering column;
and seat belt tensioners that
automatically tighten the front seat
belts in the event of a crash.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
always wear your seat belts
properly.
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(1) Safety Cage
(2) Crush Zones
(3) Seats & Seat-Backs
(4) Head Restraints
(5) Collapsible Steering Column
(6) Seat Belts
(7) Front Airbags
(8) Front Seat Belt Tensioners
(9) Door Locks
(10) Side Airbags
(7) (10)(9) (3) (1) (4)
(2)
(6)
(10)
(7) (8)
(5)
(2)

Your seat belt system also
includes a light on the
instrument panel to remind you and
your passengers to f asten your seat
belts.
Seat belts are the single most
effectivesafetydeviceforadultsand
larger children. (Inf ants and smaller
children must be properly restrained
in child seats.)
Not wearing a seat belt properly
increases the chance of serious
injury or death in a crash, even
though your vehicle has airbags. Foryoursafety,andthesafetyof
your passengers, your vehicle is
equipped with seat belts in all seating
positions. In addition, most states and all
Canadian provinces require you to
wear seat belts.
Help protect you in almost every
type of crash, including f rontal,
side, and rear impacts and
rollovers. Keep you connected to the vehicle
so you can take advantage of the
vehicle’s built-in saf ety f eatures.
When properly worn, seat belts: Help keep you f rom being thrown
against the inside of the vehicle
and against other occupants.
Keep you f rom being thrown out
of the vehicle.
Help keep you in a good position
should the airbags ever deploy. A
good position reduces the risk of
injury f rom an inf lating airbag, and
allows you to get the best
advantage f rom the airbag.
Of course, seat belts cannot
completely protect you in every
crash.Butinmostcases,seatbelts
can reduce your risk of serious
injury. Always wear
your seat belt, and make sure you
wear it properly.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Seat Belts
Why Wear Seat Belt s
What you should do:
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
8
Not wearing a seat belt properly
increases the chance of serious
injury or death in a crash, even
if you have airbags.
Be sure you and your
passengers always wear seat
belts and wear them properly.

They are designed to supplement
the seat belts.
To do their job, airbags must
inf late with tremendous f orce and
speed. So while airbags help save
lives, they can cause minor injuries,
or more serious or even fatal
injuries if occupants are not
properly restrained or sitting
properly.Always wear
your seat belt properly, and sit
upright and as f ar back as possible
f rom the steering wheel or
dashboard.
Your vehicle also has side airbags to
help protect the upper torso of the
driver or a f ront seat passenger
during a moderate to severe side
impact.
The most important things you need
to know about your airbags are:
Your vehicle has a Supplemental
Restraint System (SRS) with dual-
stage, dual-threshold f ront airbags to
help protect the heads and chests of
the driver and a f ront seat passenger
during a moderate to severe frontal
collision. Airbags
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
Airbags do not replace seat belts.
A irbags of f er no prot ect ion in rearimpact s, rollovers, or minorf ront al or side collisions.
Airbags can pose serious hazards.
What you should do:
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Head restraints can help protect you
f rom whiplash and other injuries. For
maximum protection, the back of
your head should rest against the
center of the head restraint.
Reclining a seat-back too f ar reduces
the seat belt’s ef f ectiveness and
increases the chance that the seat’s
occupant will slide under the seat
belt in a crash and be seriously
injured. Move the f ront
seats as far back as possible, and
keep adjustable seat-backs in an
upright position whenever the
vehicle is moving.
Your vehicle’s seats are designed to
keep you in a comf ortable, upright
position so you can take f ull
advantage of the protection offered
by seat belts and the energy
absorbing materials in the seats.
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 the risk of you or your
passenger being injured by striking
theinsideof thevehicle,orbyan
inf lating airbag. Keeping your doors locked reduces
thechanceof beingthrownoutof
the vehicle during a crash. It also
helps prevent occupants f rom
accidentally opening a door and
f alling out, and outsiders f rom
unexpectedly opening your doors.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Seats & Seat-Backs
Head RestraintsDoor L ocks
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
What you should do:
10

To make sure you and your
passengers get the maximum
protection f rom your vehicle’s saf ety
f eatures, check the f ollowing each
time before you drive away:All adults, and children who have
outgrown child saf ety seats, are
wearing their seat belts and
wearingthemproperly(seepage ).
Any inf ant or small child is
properly restrained in a child seat
in a back seat (see page ). The rest of this section gives more
detailed inf ormation about how you
can maximize your saf ety.
Remember, however, that no saf ety
system can prevent all injuries or
deaths that can occur in severe
crashes, even when seat belts are
properly worn and the airbags deploy.
Frontseatoccupantsaresitting
upright and as f ar back as possible
f rom the steering wheel and
dashboard (see page ).
Seat-backs are upright (see page
).
Head restraints are properly
adjusted (see page ).
Alldoorsandthetailgateare
closed and locked (see page ).
All cargo is properly stored or
secured (see page ).
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13 14
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Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
Pre-Drive Saf ety Checklist
11

The f ollowing pages provide
instructions on how to properly
protect the driver and other adult
occupants.
These instructions also apply to
children who have outgrown child
seats and are large enough to wear
lap/shoulder belts. (See page f or
important additional guidelines on
how to properly protect larger
children.)Your vehicle has a door and tailgate
monitor light on the instrument
panel to indicate when a specif ic
door or the tailgate is not tightly
closed.
For security, locked doors can
prevent an outsider f rom
unexpectedly opening a door when
you come to a stop.
See page f or how to lock the
doors. For saf ety, locking the doors reduces
the chance that a passenger,
especially a child, will open a door
while the vehicle is moving and
accidentally f all out. It also reduces
the chance of someone being thrown
out of the vehicle during a crash.
Af ter everyone has entered the
vehicle, be sure the doors and
tailgate are closed and locked. Any driver who sits too close to the
steering wheel is at risk of being
seriously injured or killed by striking
the steering wheel or f rom being
struck by an inflating front airbag
during a crash.
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Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Protecting Adults
Introduction A djust the Front Seats
Close and L ock the Doors
1. 2.
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CONT INUED
See page f or how to adjust the
f ront seats. Once your seat is adjusted correctly,
rock it back and f orth to make sure
the seat is locked in position. Most shorter drivers can get f ar
enough away f rom the steering
wheel and still reach the pedals.
However, if you are concerned about
sitting too close, we recommend that
you investigate whether some type
of adaptive equipment may help.Adjust the driver’s seat-back to a
comf ortable, upright position,
leaving ample space between your
chest and the airbag cover in the
center of the steering wheel. If you
sit too close to the steering wheel,
you could be injured if the f ront
airbag inflates.
To reduce the chance of injury, wear
your seat belt properly, sit upright
with your back against the seat, and
movetheseatawayfromthe
steering wheel to the f arthest
distance that allows you to maintain
f ull control of the vehicle.
The National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration and Transport
Canada recommend that drivers
adjust the seat so the center of the
chest is at least 10 inches away f rom
the center of the steering wheel. In
addition to adjusting the seat, you
can adjust the steering wheel in and
out (see page ).
Also make sure your f ront seat
passenger moves the seat as f ar to
the rear as possible.
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101
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Protecting Adults
Adjust the Seat-Backs
3.
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Sitting too close to a front
airbag can result in serious
injury or death if the front
airbags inflate.
Always sit as far back from the
front airbags as possible.

Bef ore driving, make sure everyone
with an adjustable head restraint has
properly positioned the head
restraint. The restraint should be
positioned so the back of the
occupant’s head rests against the
center of the restraint. A taller
person should adjust the restraint as
high as possible.
See page f or how to adjust seat-
backs.
A f ront passenger should also adjust
the seat-back to an upright position,
but as f ar f rom the dashboard as
possible. A passenger who sits too
close to the dashboard could be
injured if the airbag inflates.
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.
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Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Protecting Adults
A djust the Head Restraints
4.
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Reclining the seat-back too far
can result in serious injury or
death in a crash.
Adjusttheseat-backtoan
upright position and sit well
back in the seat.

CONT INUED
Position the lap part of the belt as
low as possible across your hips,
then pull up on the shoulder part of
thebeltsothelappartfitssnugly.
This lets your strong pelvic bones
take the force of a crash and reduces
the chance of internal injuries.
Properly adjusted head restraints
will help protect occupants f rom
whiplash and other crash injuries.
See page f or how to adjust the
head restraints. Insert the latch plate into the buckle,
then tug on the belt to make sure the
belt is securely latched. Also check
that the belt is not twisted, because a
twisted belt can cause serious
injuries in a crash.
In the second row center seat and
thethirdrowseats,besurethe
detachable anchors are also latched
(see page ).
Check that the seat belt is not
twisted, because a twisted belt can
cause serious injuries in a crash.
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Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Protecting Adults
Fasten and Position the Seat
Belts
5.
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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.

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.To adjust the height of a f ront seat
belt anchor, squeeze the two release
buttons and slide the anchor up or
down as needed (it has f our
positions).
If necessary, pull up on the shoulder
belt again to remove any slack from
the shoulder belt, then check that
the belt rests across the center of
your chest and over your shoulder.
This spreads the f orces of a crash
over the strongest bones in your
upper body.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Protecting Adults
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RELEASE
BUTTON
Improperly positioning the seat
belts can cause serious injury
or death in a crash.
Make sure all seat belts are
properly positioned before
driving.