Acura MDX 2006 User Guide

Your vehicle is equipped with seat
belts in all seating positions.
However, you and your passengers
can’t take f ull advantage of these
f eatures unless you remain sitting in
a proper position and
. In f act, some saf ety
f eatures can contribute to injuries if
they are not used properly.
The f ollowing pages explain how you
cantakeanactiveroleinprotecting
yourself and your passengers. Your seat belt system also includes
an indicator 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.
In addition, most states and all
Canadian provinces require you to
wear seat belts.When properly worn, seat belts:
Keep you connected to the vehicle
so you can take advantage of the
vehicle’s built-in saf ety f eatures.
Help protect you in almost every
type of crash, including f rontal,
side, and rear impacts and
rollovers.
Seat Belts
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
always wear
your seat belts
Why Wear Seat Belt s
10
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.

Your vehicle has a supplemental
restraint system (SRS) with f ront
airbags to help protect the heads and
chests of the driver and a front seat
passenger during a moderate to
severe f rontal collision (see pagef or more inf ormation on how
your f ront airbags work).
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. 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 (see page f or more
information on how your side airbags
work).
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Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
Airbags
What you should do:
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
11

The rest of this section gives more
detailed inf ormation about how you
can maximize your saf ety.
The most important things you need
to know about your airbags are:
They are designed to supplement
the seat belts.
To do their job, airbags must
inf late with tremendous f orce. 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. Remember, however, that no saf ety
system can prevent all injuries or
deaths that can occur in a severe
crash, even when seat belts are
properly worn and the airbags deploy.Always wear
your seat belt properly, and sit
upright and as f ar back f rom the
steering wheel as possible while
allowing f ull control of the vehicle. A
f ront passenger should move their
seat as far back from the dashboard
as possible.
Your vehicle also has side curtain
airbags to help protect the heads of
the driver, f ront passenger, and
passengers in the outer rear seating
positions during a moderate to
severe side impact or rollover (see
page f or more inf ormation on how
your side curtain airbags work). 31
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Airbags do not replace seat belts.
A irbags of f er no prot ect ion in rearimpact s, or minor f ront al or sidecollisions.
Airbags can pose serious hazards. What you should do:
12

µLocking 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. After 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.
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
front seat.
See pages f or important
guidelines on how to properly
protect inf ants, small children, and
larger children who ride in your
vehicle.
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.
See page f or how to lock the
doors, and page f or how the door
and tailgate monitor indicator works.
35 39
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CONT INUED
Protecting A dults and Teens
Introduction Close and L ock the DoorsA djust the Front Seats
1. 2.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
13

If you sit too close to the steering
wheel or dashboard, you can be
seriously injured by an inf lating f ront
airbag, or by striking the steering
wheel or dashboard.
The National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration and Transport
Canada recommend that drivers
allow at least 10 inches (25 cm)
between the center of the steering
wheel and the chest.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.
Passengers with adjustable seat-
backs should also adjust their seat-
back to a comf ortable, upright
position.
If you cannot get f ar enough away
f rom the steering wheel and still
reach the controls, we recommend
that you investigate whether some
type of adaptive equipment may help.
If your seat is adjusted manually,
rock it back and f orth to make sure
the seat is locked in position. See
page f or more inf ormation on
how to adjust the f ront seats.
86
Protecting A dults and Teens
Adjust the Seat-Backs
3.
14
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.

Adjust the driver’s head restraint so
the back of your head rests against
the center of the restraint.
Have passengers with adjustable
head restraints adjust their restraints
properly as well. Taller persons
should adjust their restraint as high
as possible.See page f or how to adjust the
head restraints. Properly adjusted head restraints
will help protect occupants f rom
whiplash and other crash injuries.
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.
See page f or how to adjust the
seat-backs.
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CONT INUED
Protecting A dults and Teens
A djust the Head Restraints
4.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
15
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.
Reclining the seat-back too far
can result in serious injury or
death in a crash.
Adjust the seat-back to an
upright position, and sit well
back in the seat.

Position the lap part of the belt as
low as possible across your hips,
then pull up on the shoulder part of
the belt so the lap part f its snugly.
This lets your strong pelvic bones
take the force of a crash and reduces
the chance of internal injuries.
Insert the latch plate into the buckle,
then tug on the belt to make sure the
belt is securely latched. Check that
the belt is not twisted, because a
twisted belt can cause serious
injuries in a crash.
The second row center seat, and
both third row seats, have a
detachable shoulder belt that can be
unlatched and retracted, to allow the
seats to be f olded down. See page
for how to unlatch and relatch
the seat belts. If necessary, pull up on the shoulder
belt again to remove any slack, 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.
88 Fasten and Position the Seat
Belts
5.
Protecting A dults and Teens
16
Improperly positioning the seat
belts can cause serious injury
or death in a crash.
Make sure all seat belts are
properly positioned before
driving.

This could cause
very serious injuries in a crash.
If a seat belt does not seem to work
as it should, it may not protect the
occupant in a crash.
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.
See page f or additional
inf ormation about your seat belts
and how to take care of them.
The front seats have adjustable seat
belt anchors.
To adjust the height of a belt anchor,
squeeze the two release buttons and
slide the anchor up or down as
needed (it has f our positions).
Using a seat
belt that is not working properly can
result in serious injury or death.
Have your dealer check the belt as
soon as possible.
21
Protecting A dults and Teens
Never place t he shoulder port ion of alap/shoulder belt under your arm orbehind your back.
No one should sit in a seat wit h aninoperat ive seat belt .
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
17
RELEASE
BUTTONS

After all occupants have adjusted
their seats and put on seat belts, it is
very important that they continue to
sit upright, well back in their seats,
with their 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 sideways,
or puts one or both f eet up, the
chance of injury during a crash is
greatly increased.In addition, an occupant who is out of
position in the f ront seat can be
seriously or f atally injured in a crash
by striking interior parts of the
vehicle or being struck by an
inflating front airbag.
If you are pregnant, the best way to
protect yourself and your unborn
child when driving or riding in a
vehicle is to always wear a seat belt,
and keep the lap part of the belt as
low as possible across the hips.
Protecting A dults and Teens
Maintain a Proper Sitting
Position Advice f or Pregnant Women
6.
18
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.

CONT INUED
When driving, remember to sit
upright and adjust the seat as f ar
back as possible while allowing f ull
control of the vehicle. When riding
as a f ront passenger, adjust the seat
as far back as possible.
This will reduce the risk of injuries
to both you and your unborn child
that can be caused by a crash or an
inflating front airbag.
Each time you have a checkup, ask
your doctor if it’s okay f or you to
drive.If they do, they
could be very seriously injured in a
crash.
A passenger who is not
wearing a seat belt during a crash
or emergency stop can be thrown
against the inside of the vehicle,
against other occupants, or out of
the vehicle. If they do, they
could be very seriously injured in a
crash.
Devices intended to improve
occupant comf ort or reposition the
shoulder part of a seat belt can
reduce the protective capability of
the seat belt and increase the
chance of serious injury in a crash.
Carrying hard or sharp
objects on your lap, or driving with
a pipe or other sharp object in
your mouth, can result in injuries
if your f ront airbag inf lates.
Protecting A dults and Teens
Additional Saf ety Precautions
Never let passengers ride in t he
cargo area or on t op of a f olded-down back seat .
Passengers should not stand up orchange seats while the vehicle ismoving. T wo people should never use t he
same seat belt .
Do not put any accessories on seatbelts.
Do not place hard or sharp object sbet ween yourself and a f rontairbag.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
19