Acura MDX 2011 User Guide

You'll find many safety
recommendations throughout this
section, and throughout this manual.
The recommendations on this page
are the ones we consider to be the
most important.Always Wear Your Seat Belt
A seat belt is your best protection in
all types of collisions. Airbags are
designed to supplement seat belts,
not replace them. So even though
your vehicle is equipped with
airbags, make sure you and your
passengers always wear your seat
belts, and wear them properly (see
page 16).
Restrain All Children
Children age 12 and under should
ride properly restrained in a back
seat, not the front seat. Infants and
small children should be restrained
in a child seat. Larger children
should use a booster seat and a lap/
shoulder belt until they can use the
belt properly without a booster seat
(see pages 39
－59). Be Aware of Airbag Hazards
While airbags can save lives, they
can cause serious or fatal injuries to
occupants who sit too close to them,
or are not properly restrained.
Infants, young children, and short
adults are at the greatest risk. Be
sure to follow all instructions and
warnings in this manual.
Don't Drink and DriveAlcohol and driving don't mix. Even
one drink can reduce your ability to
respond to changing conditions, and
your reaction time gets worse with
every additional drink. So don't drink
and drive, and don't let your friends
drink and drive, either.
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Pay Appropriate Attention to the
Task of Driving SafelyEngaging in mobile phone
conversation or other activities that
keep you from paying close attention to
the road, other vehicles and
pedestrians could lead to a crash.
Remember, situations can change
quickly, and only you can decide when
it is safe to divert attention away from
driving.
Control Your SpeedExcessive speed is a major factor in
crash injuries and deaths. Generally,
the higher the speed, the greater the
risk, but serious injuries can also occur
at lower speeds. Never drive faster
than is safe for current conditions,
regardless of the maximum speed
posted.
Keep Your Vehicle in Safe ConditionHaving a tire blowout or a mechanical
failure can be extremely hazardous. To
reduce the possibility of such
problems, check your tire pressures
and condition frequently, and perform
all regularly scheduled maintenance
(see page 501).
Important Safety Precautions
7
Driver and Passenger Safety
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Your vehicle is equipped with many
features that work together to protect
you and your passengers during a
crash.
Some features do not require any
action on your part. These include a
strong steel framework that forms a
safety cage around the passenger
compartment, front and rear crush
zones, a collapsible steering column,
and tensioners that tighten the front
seat belts in a crash.
However, you and your passengers
can't take full advantage of these
features unless you remain sitting in
the correct position and
always wear
your seat belts.
In fact, some safety
features can contribute to injuries if
they are not used properly.
The following pages explain how you
can take an active role in protecting
yourself and your passengers.
(1) Safety Cage
(2) Crush Zones
(3) Seats and Seat-Backs
(4) Head Restraints
(5) Collapsible Steering Column
(6) Seat Belts
(7) Front Airbags
(8) Side Airbags
(9) Side Curtain Airbags
(10) Front seat Belt Tensioners/ Seat Belt e-pretensioners
ꭧ
(11) Door Locks
(12)Occupant Position DetectionSystem (OPDS) Sensor
(1) (3)
(7)
(5)
(2) (11)
(6)
(10) (8)
(2) (9)
(4)
On models with Collision Mitigation
Braking System™(CMBS ™)
ꭧ
:(11) (8)
(12)
(7)
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Seat Belts
Your vehicle is equipped with seat
belts in all seating positions.
Your seat belt system also includes
an indicator on the instrument panel
and a beeper to remind you and your
passengers to fasten your seat belts.Why Wear Seat BeltsSeat belts are the single most
effective safety device for adults and
larger children. (Infants 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 and territories
require you to wear seat belts.
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.
When properly worn, seat belts:
●
Keep you connected to the vehicle
so you can take advantage of the
vehicle's built-in safety features.
●
Help protect you in almost every
type of crash, including: – frontal impacts
– side impacts
– rear impacts
– rollovers
●
Help keep you from being thrown
against the inside of the vehicle
and against other occupants.
●
Keep you from 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 from an inflating airbag and
allows you to get the best
advantage from the airbag.
Of course, seat belts cannot
completely protect you in every
crash. But in most cases, seat belts
can reduce your risk of serious
injury.
What you should do:
Always wear
your seat belt, and make sure you
wear it properly.
Your Vehicle's Safety Features
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Driver and Passenger Safety
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AirbagsYour vehicle has a supplemental
restraint system (SRS) with front
airbags to help protect the heads and
chests of the driver and a front seat
passenger during a moderate to
severe frontal collision (see page 29
for more information on how your
front airbags work).
Your vehicle also has side airbags to
help protect the upper torso of the
driver or a front seat passenger
during a moderate to severe side
impact (see page 32 for more
information on how your side airbags
work).
In addition, your vehicle has side
curtain airbags to help protect the
heads of the driver, front passenger,
and passengers in the outer rear
seating positions during a moderate
to severe side impact or rollover (see
page 34 for more information on how
your side curtain airbags work).
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The most important things you need
to know about your airbags are:●
Airbags do not replace seat belts.They are designed to supplement
the seat belts.
●
Airbags offer no protection in rearimpacts, or minor frontal or sidecollisions.
●
Airbags can pose serious hazards.To do their job, airbags must
inflate with tremendous force. 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.
What you should do:
Always wear
your seat belt properly, and sit
upright and as far back from the
steering wheel as possible while
allowing full control of the vehicle. A
front passenger should move their
seat as far back from the dashboard
as possible. The rest of this section gives more
detailed information about how you
can maximize your safety.
Remember, however, that no safety
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.
Your Vehicle's Safety Features
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Driver and Passenger Safety
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Introduction
The following pages provide
instructions on how to properly
protect the driver, adult passengers,
and teenage children who are large
enough and mature enough to drive
or ride in the front.
See pages 39－59 for important
guidelines on how to properly protect
infants, small children, and larger
children who ride in your vehicle. 1. Close and Lock the Doors
After everyone has entered the
vehicle, be sure the doors and the
tailgate are closed and locked.
Your vehicle has a door/
tailgate open indicator (red)
on the instrument panel to indicate
when any door or the tailgate is not
tightly closed.
See page 139 for how to lock the
doors, and page 74 for how the door/
tailgate open indicator works.
Your vehicle has a door and tailgate
open indicator on the multi-
information display to indicate when
a specific door or the tailgate is not
tightly closed. You will see the
appropriate indicator and the
message for each condition.
When one or more doors are not
tightly closed, the ‘‘DOOR OPEN ’’
message will come on.
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When the tailgate is not tightly
closed, the‘‘TAILGATE OPEN ’’
message will come on.
When both tailgate and one or more
doors are not tightly closed, the
‘‘ DOOR & TAILGATE OPEN ’’
message will come on. Locking the doors reduces the
chance of someone being thrown out
of the vehicle during a crash, and it
helps prevent passengers from
accidentally opening a door and
falling out.
Locking the doors also helps prevent
an outsider from unexpectedly
opening a door when you come to a
stop.
Your vehicle has the auto door
locking/unlocking feature. For more
information, see page 139.
Protecting Adults and Teens
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Driver and Passenger Safety
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2. Adjust the Front SeatsAdjust the driver's seat as far to the
rear as possible while allowing you to
maintain full control of the vehicle.
Have a front passenger adjust their
seat as far to the rear as possible.If you sit too close to the steering
wheel or dashboard, you can be
seriously injured by an inflating front
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. In addition to
adjusting the seat, you can adjust the
steering wheel up and down, and in
and out (see page 133).
If you cannot get far enough away
from the steering wheel and still
reach the controls, we recommend
that you investigate whether some
type of adaptive equipment may help.
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.
See page 148 for how to adjust the
front seats.
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3. Adjust the Seat-BacksAdjust the driver's seat-back to a
comfortable, 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 comfortable, upright
position.
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.
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 148 for how to adjust the
seat-backs. 4. Adjust the Head Restraints
Adjust the driver's head restraint so
the center of the back of your head
rests against the center of the
restraint.
Have passengers adjust their head
restraints properly as well. Taller
persons should adjust their restraint
as high as possible.
CONTINUED
Protecting Adults and Teens
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Driver and Passenger Safety
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