light Acura MDX 2004 Owner's Manual

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To use the horn, press the pad around the ‘‘A’’ logo.
:
Your Vehicle at a Glance
3
HEADLIGHTS/
TURN SIGNALS
FOG LIGHTS REMOTE AUDIO
CONTROLS STEERING WHEEL
ADJUSTMENT CRUISE CONTROL
HORN
WINDSHIELD WIPERS/WASHERS
VEHICLE STABILITY
ASSIST SYSTEM
OFF SWITCH
CRUISE CONTROL INSTRUMENT PANEL BRIGHTNESS
REAR WINDOW
DEFOGGER
VTM-4 LOCK
(P.72)
(P.184)
(P.144)
(P.75) (P.128) (P.76) (P.144)
(P.69) (P.
74)
(P.
75)
(P.
30)
(P.176)
(P.74) PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF
INDICATOR
HAZARD WARNING
BUTTON

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This section gives you important
inf ormation about how to protect
yourself and your passengers. It
shows you how to use seat belts
properly. It explains how your airbag
work, and it tells you how to properly
restrain inf ants and children in your
vehicle.
.........
Important Safety Precautions . 6
.......
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features . 7
.......................................
Seat Belts .8
...........................................
Airbags .9
.........
Protecting Adults and Teens . 11
.....
1. Close and Lock the Doors . 11
...........
2. Adjust the Front Seats . 11
............
3. Adjust the Seat-Backs . 12
...
4. Adjust the Head Restraints . 13
5. Fasten and Position the Seat .....................................
Belts .14
....
6. Adjust the Steering Wheel . 16
7. Maintain a Proper Sitting ................................
Position .16
.....
Advice f or Pregnant Women . 17
...
Additional Safety Precautions . 17Additional Inf ormation About Your
.................................
Seat Belts .19
..
Seat Belt System Components . 19
......................
Lap/Shoulder Belt .19
........ 20
...............
Seat Belt Maintenance . 21
Additional Inf ormation About Your .....................................
Airbags .22
......
Airbag System Components . 22
......... 23
........................
Advanced Airbag .25
...
How Your Side Airbags Work . 27
How Your Side Curtain Airbag .........................................
Work .28
How the SRS Indicator Light .......................................
Works .28
How The Side Airbag Of f ......................
Indicator Works .29
How the Passenger Airbag ...............
Of f indicator Works . 30
.............................
Airbag Service .31
...
Additional Safety Precautions . 32
Protecting Children General ................................
Guidelines .33
All Children Must Be ...............................
Restrained .33 All Children Should Sit in a Back
...........................................
Seat .34
The Passenger’s Front Airbag Can Pose Serious Risks to ...............................
Children .34
If You Must Drive with Several ...................................
Children .36
If a Child Requires Close ..................................
Attention .36
...
Additional Safety Precautions . 36
Protecting inf ants and .........................
Small Children .38
.......................
Protecting Inf ants .38
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Protecting Small Children . 39
.....................
Selecting a Child Seat .40
....................
Installing a Child Seat .41
Installing a Child Seat with .....................................
LATCH .42
Installing a Child Seat with ...............
a Lap/Shoulder Belt . 44
Installing a Child Seat with ...................................
a Tether .45
...........
Protecting Larger Children . 47
.............
Carbon Monoxide Hazard . 51
...................................
Saf ety Labels .52
Automatic Seat Belt Tensioners
How Your Front Airbags Work
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Driver and Passenger Saf ety5

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The f ollowing pages provide
instructions on how to properly
protect the driver, adult passengers,
and teenagers who are large enough
and mature enough to ride in the
f ront seat. See pages f or
important guidelines on how to
properly protect inf ants, small
children, and larger children who
ride in your vehicle.
See page f or how to lock the
doors, and page f or how the
monitor light works. Locking the doors reduces the
chance of someone being thrown out
of the vehicle during a crash, and it
helps prevent passengers f rom
accidentally opening a door and
f alling out.
Locking the doors also helps prevent
an outsider f rom unexpectedly
opening a door when you come to a
stop. Your vehicle has a door and tailgate
monitor indicator on the instrument
panel to indicate when a specif ic
door or the tailgate is not tightly
closed. Af ter everyone has entered the
vehicle, be sure the doors and
tailgate are closed and locked.Adjust the driver’s seat as far to the
rear as possible while allowing you to
maintain f ull control of the vehicle.
Have a front passenger adjust their
seat as far to the rear as possible.
33 37
8060
Protecting A dults and Teens
Introduction Close and L ock the DoorsA djust the Front Seats
1. 2.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety11

CONT INUED
Your f ront airbags are dual-stage
airbags. This means they have two
inf lation stages that can be ignited
sequentially or simultaneously,
depending on crash severity.
In acrash, both stages
will ignite simultaneously to provide
the quickest and greatest protection.
In a crash, one stage will
ignite first, then the second stage
will ignite a split second later. This
provides longer airbag inf lation time
with a little less force. Your f ront airbags are also dual-
threshold airbags. Airbags with this
f eature have two deployment
thresholds that depend on whether
or not the occupant is wearing a seat
belt.
If the occupant’s belt is
,
the airbag will deploy at the same
threshold as a conventional airbag,
because the occupant would need
extra protection.
If the occupant’s belt , the
airbag will inf late at a slightly higher
threshold, when the airbag would be
needed to supplement the protection
provided by the seat belt. Your f ront airbags are also advanced
airbags. The main purpose of this
feature is to prevent airbag-caused
injuries to short drivers and children
who ride in f ront.
For the advanced airbags to work
properly, occupants must sit upright
and wear their seat belts properly. If
a child seat is installed in the f ront, it
must be properly secured.
In addition, do not spill any liquids on
or under the seats, cover the sensors,
or put any cargo or metal objects
under the f ront seats. Ask second
row passengers to not put their f eet
under the f ront seats. Any of these
actions could damage the sensors or
prevent them f rom working properly.
Failure to f ollow these instructions
could damage the sensors or prevent
them f rom working properly.
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Dual-Stage A irbags
more severeless severe Dual-T hreshold A irbags
not lat chedis latchedAdvanced Airbags
25

In a moderate to severe side impact,
sensors will detect rapid deceleration
and signal the control unit to
instantly inflate the side curtain
airbag on the driver’s or the
passenger’s side of the vehicle.If sensors detect the vehicle is
continuing to roll over to the other
side, the control unit will deploy the
other side curtain airbag.Side curtain airbags are designed to
help protect the heads of the driver,
f ront passenger, and passengers in
the outer seating positions of the
second and third rows.
In a rollover toward the passenger’s
side of the vehicle, the side curtain
airbag will inflate even if there are no
occupants on that side of the vehicle. To get the best protection f rom the
side curtain airbags, occupants
should wear their seat belts and sit
upright and well back in their seats.
The SRS indicator light
alerts you to a potential
problem with your f ront airbags, side
airbags, side curtain airbags, or seat
belt tensioners.
When you turn the ignition to ON
(II), this indicator will come on
brief ly then go out. This tells you the
system is working properly.
If the impact is on the passenger’s
side, the passenger’s side curtain
airbag will inflate even if there are no
occupants on that side of the vehicle.
If sensors detect your vehicle is
about to tip over, the control unit will
instantly deploy the side curtain
airbag on the downward side of the
rolling motion.
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
How Your Side Curtain A irbags
Work
How the SRS Indicator Works
In a Side ImpactIn a Rollover
28

To reduce the chance of airbag-
caused injuries, the system shuts of f
the passenger’s f ront airbag when
the total weight on the f ront
passenger’s seat is about 65 lbs
(30 kg) or less.
If no one is riding in the f ront
passenger’s seat, the airbag will be
automatically shut off, but the
indicator light will not come on.
However, if the light comes on with
no passenger in the f ront, or with an
adult in the seat, there may be a
problem with the advanced airbag
system. Have the vehicle checked by
the dealer as soon as possible.
The Passenger Airbag Of f indicator
may also come on and of f repeatedly
if total weight on the seat is near the
airbag cutof f threshold (65 lbs or 30
kg).
This indicator alerts you that the
passenger’s f ront airbag has been
shut of f . It does not mean there is a
problem with the airbag.
When you turn the ignition switch to
ON (II), the indicator should come
on brief ly and go out (see page ).
If it doesn’t light, stays on, or comes
on while driving without a passenger
in the front seat, have the system
checked. A f ront seat passenger should not
use a cushion or other object as a
backrest. It may prevent the cutof f
system f rom working properly.
58How the Passenger Airbag Of f
Indicator Works
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
Driver and Passenger Saf ety30
PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF INDICATOR

This section gives inf ormation about
the controls and displays that
contribute to the daily operation of
your Acura. All the essential controls
are within easy reach............................
Control Locations .56
............................
Instrument Panel .57
....................
Instrument Indicators .58
.............................................
Gauges .66
Controls Near the Steering ...........................................
Wheel .68
Windshield Wipers and ...................................
Washers .69
Rear Window Wiper and .....................................
Washer .71
...........
Turn Signal and Headlights . 72
........
Instrument Panel Brightness . 74
.................
Hazard Warning Button . 74
.................
Rear Window Def ogger . 75
.........................................
Fog Light .75
..........
Steering Wheel Adjustment . 76
..................................................
Keys .77
........................
Immobilizer System .78
................................
Ignition Switch .79
......................................
Door Locks .80
.......................
Remote Transmitter .81
.................................................
Seats .84
....................................
Seat Heaters .89
..............................
Power Windows .90
.........................................
Moonroof .91
.................................
Parking Brake .92 .............................................
Mirrors .92
Driving Position Memory ..........................................
System .94
.................................
Interior Lights .96
...........
Interior Convenience Items . 98
.......................
Beverage Holders .99
...............
Console Compartment . 99
....................................
Glove Box .99
...................
Rear Compartment . 100
.............................
Cargo Hooks .100
...................................
Sun Visor .100
............................
Vanity Mirror .100
........
Accessory Power Sockets . 101
Inst rument s and Cont rols
Instruments and Controls
55

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The U.S. instrument panel is shown. Dif f erences f or the Canadian models are noted in the text.
CONT INUED
Instrument Panel
Inst rument s and Cont rols57
VEHICLE STABILITY ASSIST
SYSTEM (VSA) INDICATOR
MALFUNCTION INDICATOR
LAMP
LOW OIL PRESSURE
INDICATOR
IMMOBILIZER SYSTEM
INDICATORSUPPLEMENTAL RESTRAINT
SYSTEM INDICATOR
DOOR AND TAILGATE
OPEN MONITOR
TIRE PRESSURE MONITOR
LOW FUEL INDICATOR LIGHTS ON
INDICATOR
WASHER LEVEL
INDICATOR
SEAT BELT
REMINDER
INDICATOR PARKING
BRAKE AND
BRAKE
SYSTEM
INDICATOR
TPMS INDICATOR
LOW TIRE PRESSURE
INDICATOR
BRAKE LAMP
INDICATOR
VSA ACTIVATION
INDICATOR SIDE AIRBAG OFF
INDICATOR
ANTI-LOCK BRAKE SYSTEM
INDICATOR
CRUISE CONTROL
INDICATOR
HIGH BEAM INDICATOR
MAINTENANCE
REQUIRED
INDICATOR
VTM- 4INDICATOR
A/T TEMPERATURE
INDICATOR (P.243)
(P.58)
(P.58)
(P.65)
CHARGING SYSTEM
INDICATOR
(P.62)
(P.62) (P.60)/
(P.60,64)
(P. 61)
(P.63)
(P.61)
(P.61)
(P.
58)
(P. 59)
(P.59) (P.61)
(P.62)
(P.58) (P.58)(P.64)
(P.64)
(P. 59)
(P.
60)
(P. 63)

The lef t or right turn signal indicator
blinks when you signal a lane change
or turn. If the indicator does not
blink or blinks rapidly, it usually
means one of the turn signal bulbs is
burned out. Replace the bulb as soon
as possible, since other drivers
cannot see that you are signaling
(see page ).If a brake light does not work, the
indicator comes on
when you push the brake pedal with
the ignition switch to ON (II).
A burned out brake light is a hazard
when drivers behind you cannot tell
you are braking. Replace the bulb as
soon as possible (see page ). The appropriate indicator comes on
in this display if the tailgate or any
door is not closed tightly.
All of the indicators in the monitor
display come on f or a f ew seconds
when you turn the ignition switch to
ON (II).
When you push the hazard warning
button, both turn signal lights blink.
All turn signals on the outside of the
vehicle should f lash. 216
215
Inst rument s and Cont rols
Turn Signal and
Hazard Warning
Indicators Brake L amp Indicator Door and Tailgate Open Monitor
Instrument Panel Indicators
60
BRAKE LAMP

This indicator comes on when you
turn the ignition switch to ON (II)
with the headlight switch off and the
parking brake set. It should go of f if
youturnontheheadlightsorrelease
the parking brake. If it comes on at
any other time, it means there is a
problem with the DRL. There may
also be a problem with the high
beam headlights.
This indicator comes on when you
set the cruise control. See pagef or inf ormation on operating the
cruise control. This indicator comes on with the
high beam headlights. See page
f or inf ormation on the headlight
controls.
On Canadian models, this indicator
comes on with reduced brightness
when the Daytime Running Lights
(DRL) are on (see page ).
This indicator comes on as a
reminder that you must ref uel soon. This indicator comes on when the
washer f luid level is low. Add washer
fluidwhenyouseethisindicator
comes on (see page ).
72
74 209
144
Canadian models only
Inst rument s and Cont rols
‘‘Daytime Running
Lights’’ Indicator
Cruise Control Indicator High Beam Indicator
Low Fuel Indicator
Washer Level Indicator
Instrument Panel Indicators
61