belt Acura RL 2005 Owner's Manual

2005 RL Online Reference Owner's Manual
Use these links (and links throughout this manual) to navigate through\
this reference.
For a printed owner's manual, click on authorized manuals or go to www.h\
elminc.com.
Contents


Owner's Identification Form
Introduction ........................................................................\
................................................................. i
A Few Words About Safet y........................................................................\
.........................................ii
Your Vehicle at a Glance........................................................................\
............................................ .4
Driver and Passenger Safety ........................................................................\
..................................... .7
Proper use and care of your vehicle's seat belts, and Supplemental Restr\
aint System.
Instruments and Controls........................................................................\
........................................ .57
Instrume nt panel indicator and gauge, and how to use dashboard and steering colu\
mn controls.
Features ........................................................................\
................................................................... .161
How to operate the climate control system, the audio system, and other c\
onvenience features.
Before Driving........................................................................\
..........................................................247
What gasoline to use, how to break -in your new vehicle, and how to load luggage and other cargo.
Driving ........................................................................\
......................................................................261
The proper way to start the engine, shift the transmission, and park, pl\
us towing a trailer.
Maintenance........................................................................\
.............................................................289
The Maintenance Schedule shows you when you need to take you r vehicle to the dealer.
Taking Care of the Unexpected........................................................................\
..............................335
This section covers several problems motorists sometimes experience, an d how to handle them.
Technical Information........................................................................\
............................................ .363
ID numbers, dimensions, capacities, and technical information.
Warranty and Customer Relations (U.S. and Canada)................................................................377
A summary of the warranties covering your new Acura, and how to contact \
us.
Authorized Manuals (U.S. only)........................................................................\
..............................381
How to order manuals and other technical literature.
Index........................................................................\
........................................................................\
...... I
Service Information Summary
A summary of information you need when you pull up to the fuel pump.

µ
This section gives you important
inf ormation about how to protect
yourself and your passengers. It
shows you how to use seat belts. It
explains how your airbags work. And
it tells you how to properly restrain
inf ants and children in your vehicle.
.........
Important Safety Precautions . 8
.......
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features . 9
.........
Protecting Adults and Teens . 13
.....
1. Close and Lock the Doors . 13
...........
2. Adjust the Front Seats . 14
............
3. Adjust the Seat-Backs . 15
...
4. Adjust the Head Restraints . 16
5. Fasten and Position the Seat .....................................
Belts .17
6. Maintain a Proper Sitting ................................
Position .18
.........
Advice f or Pregnant Women . 19
.......
Additional Safety Precautions . 20Additional Inf ormation About
.......................
Your Seat Belts .21
..
Seat Belt System Components . 21
......................
Lap/Shoulder Belt .21
Automatic Seat Belt ...............................
Tensioners .22
...............
Seat Belt Maintenance . 23
Additional Inf ormation About ...........................
Your Airbags .24
......
Airbag System Components . 24
How Your Front Airbags .........................................
Work .27
...
How Your Side Airbags Work . 30
How Your Side Curtain ..........................
Airbags Work .32
..
How the SRS Indicator Works . 32
How the Side Airbag Of f ......................
Indicator Works .33
How the Passenger Airbag ...............
Of f Indicator Works . 33
.............................
Airbag Service .34
...
Additional Safety Precautions . 35
Protecting Children General ................................
Guidelines .36
All Children Must Be ...............................
Restrained .36 All Children Should Sit in a
.................................
Back Seat .37
The Passenger’s Front Airbag .........
Can Pose Serious Risks . 37
If You Must Drive with Several ...................................
Children .39
If a Child Requires Close ..................................
Attention .39
...
Additional Safety Precautions . 40
Protecting Inf ants and Small ...................................
Children .41
.......................
Protecting Inf ants .41
.........
Protecting Small Children . 42
.....................
Selecting a Child Seat .43
....................
Installing a Child Seat .44
...............................
With LATCH .45
..........................
With a Seat Belt .47
..............................
With a Tether .49
...........
Protecting Larger Children . 50
...............
Checking Seat Belt Fit . 50
..................
Using a Booster Seat . 51
When Can a Larger Child Sit in .........................................
Front .52
...
Additional Safety Precautions . 53
.............
Carbon Monoxide Hazard . 54
...................................
Saf ety Labels .55
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
7

µ
You’ll f ind many saf ety
recommendations throughout this
section, and throughout this manual.
Therecommendationsonthispage
are the ones we consider to be the
most important.
Excessive speed is a major f actor 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
f aster than is saf e f or current
conditions, regardless of the
maximum speed posted.
Having a tire blowout or a
mechanical f ailure can be extremely
hazardous. To reduce the possibility
of such problems, check your tire
pressures and condition f requently,
and perform all regularly scheduled
maintenance (see page ).
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 ).
Children age 12 and under should
ride properly restrained in a back
seat. Infants and small children
should be restrained in a child seat.
Larger children should use a booster
and a lap/shoulder belt until they
canusethebeltproperlywithouta
booster (see pages ). 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.
Inf ants, young children, and short
adults are at the greatest risk. Be
sure to f ollow all instructions and
warnings in this manual.
Alcohol 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 f riends
drink and drive, either.
17
50 53 298
Important Saf ety Precautions
Always Wear Your Seat BeltControl Your Speed
K eep Your Vehicle in Saf e
Condition
Restrain All Children Be Aware of Airbag Hazards
Don’t Drink and Drive
8

Your vehicle is equipped with many
features that work together to
protect you and your passengers
during a crash.
Some f eatures do not require any
action on your part. These include a
strong steel f ramework that f orms a
saf ety cage around the passenger
compartment; front and rear crush
zones; a collapsible steering column;
and tensioners that tighten the f ront
seat belts in a crash.
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 fact, some safety
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 Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
always wear
your seat belt s
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
9
(1)
(2)
(2) (4)
(5) (7)
(7)
(11)
(9)
(6)
(8)
(3)
(6)
(10)
(8)
(9)
(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) Door Locks
(11) Front Seat Belt Tensioners

Your vehicle is equipped with seat
belts in all seating positions.
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. 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’s Saf ety Features
Seat Belts
Why Wear Seat Belt s
What You Should Do:
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.

The most important things you need
to know about your airbags are: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. 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. 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 a severe
crash, even when seat belts are
properly worn and the airbags deploy.
They are designed to supplement
the seat belts.
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
A irbags can pose hazards. What you should do:
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.
12

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.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.
See page f or how to adjust the
seat-backs. 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. 119 120
A djust the Head Restraints
4.
Protecting A dults and Teens
16
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.

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.
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.
This spreads the f orces of a crash
over the strongest bones in your
upper body.
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.
If necessary, pull up on the belt again
to remove any slack, then check that
the belt rests across the center of
your chest and over your shoulder.
CONT INUED
Fasten and Position the Seat
Belts
5.
Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
17
Improperly positioning the seat
belts can cause serious injury
or death in a crash.
Make sure all seat belts are
properly positioned before
driving.

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
of f .
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.
This could cause
very serious injuries in a crash.
See page f or additional
inf ormation about your seat belts
and how to take care of them. If a seat belt does not seem to work
properly, it may not protect the
occupant in a crash.
The front seats have adjustable seat
belt anchors. To adjust the height of
an anchor, press and hold the 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 Maintain a Proper Sitting
Position
6.
Never place t he shoulder port ion of a
lap/shoulder belt under your arm orbehind your back.
No one should sit in a seat wit h aninoperat ive seat belt .
Protecting A dults and Teens
18
RELEASE
BUTTON

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 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.
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.
Advice f or Pregnant Women
Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
19
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.