airbag Acura MDX 2009 User Guide

6. Maintain a Proper SittingPosition
After all occupants have adjusted
their seats and head restraints, and
put on their 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 feet up, the chance of
injury during a crash is greatly
increased. In addition, an occupant who is out of
position in the front seat can be
seriously or fatally injured in a crash
by striking interior parts of the
vehicle or being struck by an
inflating front airbag.
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.
Protecting Adults and Teens
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Advice for Pregnant WomenIf 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.When driving, remember to sit
upright and adjust the seat as far
back as possible while allowing full
control of the vehicle. When riding
as a front 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 for you to
drive.Protecting Adults and Teens1808/06/06 16:58:07 09 ACURA MDX MMC North America Owner's M 50 31STX620 enu
2009 MDX

Additional Safety Precautions●Never let passengers ride in thecargo area or on top of a folded-
down back seat.
If they do, they
could be very seriously injured in a
crash.
●Passengers should not stand up or change seats while the vehicle is
moving.
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.
●Two people should never use the
same seat belt.
If they do, they
could be very seriously injured in a
crash.
●Do not put any accessories on seat
belts.
Devices intended to improve
occupant comfort or reposition the
shoulder part of a seat belt can
reduce the protective capability of
the belt and increase the chance of
serious injury in a crash.
●Do not place hard or sharp objects between yourself and a front
airbag.
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
front airbag inflates.
●Keep your hands and arms away
from the airbag covers.
If your
hands or arms are close to an
airbag cover, they could be injured
if the airbag inflates.
●Do not attach or place objects on
the front airbag covers.
Objects on
the covers marked ‘‘SRS AIRBAG ’’
could interfere with the proper
operation of the airbags or be
propelled inside the vehicle and
hurt someone if the airbags inflate.
●Do not attach hard objects on or
near a door.
If a side airbag or a
side curtain airbag inflates, a cup
holder or other hard object
attached on or near the door could
be propelled inside the vehicle and
hurt someone.
Protecting Adults and Teens
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2009 MDX

Seat Belt System Components
Your seat belt system includes lap/
shoulder belts in all seating
positions. The front seat belts are
also equipped with automatic seat
belt tensioners.
This system uses the same sensors
as the front airbags to monitor
whether the front seat belts are
latched or unlatched, and how much
weight is on the front passenger's
seat (see pages29and30).
The seat belt system
includes an indicator on the
instrument panel and a beeper to
remind you and your passengers to
fasten your seat belts.
This system monitors the front seat
belts. If you turn the ignition switch
to the ON (II) position before your
seat belt is fastened, the beeper will
sound and the indicator will flash. If
your seat belt is not fastened before
the beeper stops, the indicator will
stop flashing but remain on.
If a front passenger does not fasten
their seat belt, the indicator will
come on about 6 seconds after the
ignition switch is turned to the ON
(II) position. If either the driver or a front
passenger does not fasten their seat
belt while driving, the beeper will
sound and the indicator will flash
again at regular intervals.
You will also see a
‘‘FASTEN SEAT
BELT ’’or ‘‘FASTEN PASSENGER
SEAT BELT ’’message on the multi-
information display (see page81).
When no one is sitting in the front
passenger's seat, or a child or small
adult is riding there, the indicator
should not come on and the beeper
should not sound.
Additional Information About Your Seat Belts2008/06/06 16:58:07 09 ACURA MDX MMC North America Owner's M 50 31STX620 enu
2009 MDX

The lap/shoulder belts in the center
seat of the second row and both of
the third row seats are equipped with
a detachable anchor that has two
parts: a small latch plate and a
buckle.
The detachable seat belt should
normally be latched whenever the
seat-backs are in an upright position.
For more information about the
detachable seat belt, see page144.Automatic Seat Belt Tensioners
For added protection, the front seat
belts are equipped with automatic
seat belt tensioners. When activated,
the tensioners immediately tighten
the belts to help hold the driver and a
front passenger in position.
The tensioners are designed to
activate in any collision severe
enough to cause the front airbags to
deploy, or if a sensor detects your
vehicle is about to roll over (see page
32).
If a side curtain airbag deploys
during a side impact, the tensioner
on that side of the vehicle will also
deploy.
The tensioners can also be activated
during a collision in which the front
airbags
do not deploy.
In this case, the
airbags would not be needed, but the
additional restraint could be helpful.
When the tensioners are activated,
the seat belts will remain tight until
they are unbuckled.
DETACHABLE ANCHORAdditional Information About Your Seat Belts2208/06/06 16:58:07 09 ACURA MDX MMC North America Owner's M 50 31STX620 enu
2009 MDX

Airbag System Components(1) Driver's Front Airbag
(2) Passenger's Front Airbag
(3) Control Unit
(4) Front Seat Belt Tensioners
(5) Side Airbags
(6) Driver's Seat Position Sensor
(7) Front Passenger's Weight Sensors
(8) Passenger Airbag Off Indicator
(9) Occupant Position Detection System (OPDS) Sensors
(10) Front Passenger's Weight Sensors/OPDS Sensors Control Unit
(11) SRS Indicator
(1) (11) (8)
(6)
(2)
(3)
(5)
(10) (9)
(7) (4)
(5)
(4)
Additional Information About Your Airbags2408/06/06 16:58:07 09 ACURA MDX MMC North America Owner's M 50 31STX620 enu
2009 MDX

Your Airbag System (SRS) includes:●Two SRS (Supplemental Restraint
System) front 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
AIRBAG ’’(see page27).●Two side airbags, one for the
driver and one for a front
passenger. The airbags are stored
in the outer edges of the seat-
backs. Both are marked ‘‘SIDE
AIRBAG ’’(see page30).●Two side curtain airbags, one for
each side of the vehicle. The
airbags are stored in the roof
above the side windows. The front
and rear pillars are marked ‘‘SIDE
CURTAIN AIRBAG ’’(see page32).
(12) Front Impact Sensors
(13) Side Curtain Airbags
(14) Side Impact Sensors (First)
(15) Side Impact Sensors (Second)
(16) Roll Rate Sensor
(17) Safing Sensor
(12)
(13)
(16)
(17)
(15) (14)
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Additional Information About Your Airbags
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●Automatic front seat belt
tensioners (see page22).●Sensors that can detect a moderate
to severe front impact, side impact,
or if your vehicle is about to
rollover.●Sensors that can detect whether a
child is in the passenger's side
airbag path and signal the control
unit to turn the airbag off (see
page31).●Sensors that can detect whether
the driver's seat belt and the front
passenger's seat belt are latched or
unlatched (see page20).●A driver's seat position sensor that
monitors the distance of the seat
from the front airbag. If the seat is
too far forward, the airbag will
inflate with less force (see page
29).
●Weight sensors that monitor the
weight on the front passenger's
seat. If the weight is about 65 lbs
(29 kg) or less (the weight of an
infant or small child), the
passenger's front airbag will be
turned off (see page29).●A rollover sensor that can detect if
your vehicle is about to roll over
and signal the control unit to
deploy both side curtain airbags
and front seat belt tensioners (see
page32).●A sophisticated electronic system
that continually monitors and
records information about the
sensors, the control unit, the
airbag activators, the seat belt
tensioners, and driver and front
passenger seat belt use when the
ignition switch is in the ON (II)
position.
●An indicator on the instrument
panel that alerts you to a possible
problem with your airbags,
sensors, or seat belt tensioners
(see page33).●An indicator on the instrument
panel that alerts you that the
passenger's side airbag has been
turned off (see page33).●An indicator on the dashboard that
alerts you that the passenger's
front airbag has been turned off
(see page34).●Emergency backup power in case
your vehicle's electrical system is
disconnected in a crash.
Additional Information About Your Airbags2608/06/06 16:58:07 09 ACURA MDX MMC North America Owner's M 50 31STX620 enu
2009 MDX

How Your Front Airbags WorkIf you ever have a moderate to severe
frontal collision, sensors will detect
the vehicle's rapid deceleration.
If the rate of deceleration is high
enough, the control unit will instantly
inflate the driver's and front
passenger's airbags, at the time and
with the force needed.During a frontal crash, your seat belt
restrains your lower body and torso,
and the front airbag helps protect
your head and chest.
Although both airbags normally
inflate within a split second of each
other, it is possible for only one
airbag to deploy.
This can happen if the severity of a
collision is at the margin, or
threshold, that determines whether
or not the airbags will deploy. In
such cases, the seat belt will provide
sufficient protection, and the
supplemental protection offered by
the airbag would be minimal.
Only the driver's airbag can deploy if
there is no passenger in the front
seat, or if the advanced airbag
system has turned the passenger's
airbag off (see page34).
After inflating, the front airbags
immediately deflate, so they won't
interfere with the driver's visibility,
or the ability to steer or operate other
controls.
CONTINUED
Additional Information About Your Airbags
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The total time for inflation and
deflation is one-tenth of a second, so
fast that most occupants are not
aware that the airbags deployed until
they see them lying in their laps.
After a crash, you may see what
looks like smoke. This is actually
powder from the airbag's surface.
Although the powder is not harmful,
people with respiratory problems
may experience some temporary
discomfort. If this occurs, get out of
the vehicle as soon as it is safe to do
so.
Dual-Stage AirbagsYour front airbags are dual-stage
airbags. This means they have two
inflation stages that can be ignited
sequentially or simultaneously,
depending on crash severity.
In a
more severe
crash, both stages
will ignite simultaneously to provide
the quickest and greatest protection.
In a
less severe
crash, one stage will
ignite first, then the second stage will
ignite a split second later. This
provides longer airbag inflation time
with a little less force.
Dual-Threshold AirbagsYour front airbags are also dual-
threshold airbags. Airbags with this
feature have two deployment
thresholds that depend on whether
sensors detect the occupant is
wearing a seat belt or not.
If the occupant's belt is
not latched,
the airbag will deploy at a slightly
lower threshold, because the
occupant would need extra
protection.
If the occupant's belt is
latched,
the
airbag will inflate at a slightly higher
threshold, when the airbag would be
needed to supplement the protection
provided by the seat belt.
Additional Information About Your Airbags2808/06/06 16:58:07 09 ACURA MDX MMC North America Owner's M 50 31STX620 enu
2009 MDX