child seat Acura TL 2004 Owner's Manual

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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
airbags work. And it tells you how to
properly restrain infants 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 ...
Lap/Shoulder 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 . 18
Additional Inf ormation About Your .................................
Seat Belts .19
..
Seat Belt System Components . 19
......................
Lap/Shoulder Belt .19
Automatic Seat Belt ...............................
Tensioners .20
...............
Seat Belt Maintenance . 21
Additional Inf ormation About Your .....................................
Airbags .22
......
Airbag System Components . 22
How Your Front Airbags .........................................
Work .23
...
How Your Side Airbags Work . 25
How Your Side Curtain Airbags .........................................
Work .26
..
How the SRS Indicator Works . 26
How The Side Airbag Cutof f ......................
Indicator Works .27
.............................
Airbag Service .28
...
Additional Safety Precautions . 28
Protecting Children General ................................
Guidelines .29
All Children Must Be ...............................
Restrained .29 All Children Should Sit in the
.................................
Back Seat .30
The Passenger’s Front Airbag ................
Poses Serious Risks . 30
If You Must Drive with Several ...................................
Children .32
If a Child Requires Close ..................................
Attention .32
...
Additional Safety Precautions . 33
...........................
Protecting Inf ants .34
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Protecting Small Children . 35
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Selecting a Child Seat .36
....................
Installing a Child Seat .37
Installing a Child Seat Using .....................................
LATCH .38
Installing a Child Seat with a ..................
Lap/Shoulder Belt . 40
Installing a Child Seat with a ......................................
Tether .41
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Protecting Larger Children . 42
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Checking Seat Belt Fit . 43
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Using a Booster Seat . 43
...
Additional Safety Precautions . 45
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Carbon Monoxide Hazard . 46
...................................
Saf ety Labels .47
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Driver and Passenger Saf ety5

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.
A seat belt is your best protection in
all types of collisions. Airbags
supplement seat belts, but airbags
are designed to inf late only in a
moderate to severe f rontal collision.
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 theycanusethebeltproperlywithouta
booster (see page ).
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.
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 ).
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Important Saf ety Precautions
Always Wear Your Seat Belt
Restrain All ChildrenBe Aware of Airbag Hazards
Don’t Drink and Drive
Control Your Speed
K eep Your Vehicle in Saf e
Condition
Driver and Passenger Saf ety6

The f ollowing pages provide
instructions on how to properly
protect the driver, adult passengers
and teenage children who are large
enough and mature enough to ride in
the front seat.
See page f or important guidelines
on how to properly protect inf ants,
small children, and larger children
who ride in your vehicle.Af ter everyone has entered the
vehicle, be sure the doors are closed
and locked.
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.
See page f or how to lock the
doors.
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. Adjust the driver’s seat as far to the
rear as possible while allowing you to
maintain control of the vehicle. Have
your f ront passenger adjust their
seat as far to the rear as possible.
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CONT INUED
Protecting A dults and Teens
Adjust the Front Seats
Close and L ock the Doors 2.
1.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety11

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
inf lating 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.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.
Each time you have a check-up, ask
your doctor if it’s okay f or you to
drive. This will reduce the risk of injuries
to both you and your unborn child
that can be caused by a crash or an
inf lating airbag.
Protecting A dults and Teens
Advice f or Pregnant Women
Driver and Passenger Saf ety17
Sitting improperly or out of
position can result in serious
injury or death.
Always sit upright, well back in
the seat, with your feet on the
floor.

Your seat belt system includes lap/
shoulder belts in all f ive seating
positions. The f ront seat belts are
also equipped with automatic seat
belt tensioners.The seat belt system
includes an indicator on the
instrument panel to remind you and
your passengers to f asten your belts.
If you turn the ignition switch to ON
(II) without f astening your belt, a
beeper will sound and the indicator
will blink. The beeper will stop af ter
a f ew seconds, but the indicator will
stay on until the driver’s seat belt is
f astened.
If you do not f asten your seat belt
bef ore the beeper stops, the
indicator will stop blinking but
remain on. If you continue driving
without f astening your seat belt, the
indicator will start blinking again and
the beeper will sound at regular
intervals. The lap and shoulder belt goes over
your shoulder, across your chest,
and across your hips.
To fasten the belt, insert the latch
plate into the buckle, then tug on the
belt to make sure the buckle is
latched (see page f or how to
properly position the belt).
To unlock the belt, push the red
PRESSbuttononthebuckle.Guide
the belt across your body so that it
retracts completely. Af ter exiting the
vehicle, be sure the belt is out of the
way and will not get closed in the
door.
All seat belts have an emergency
locking retractor. In normal driving,
the retractor lets you move f reely in
your seat while it keeps some
tension on the belt. During a collision
or sudden stop, the retractor
automatically locks the belt to help
restrain your body.
The seat belts in all positions except
the driver’s have an additional
locking mechanism that must be
activated to secure a child seat (see
page ).
If the shoulder part of the belt is
pulled all the way out, the locking
mechanism will activate. The belt
will retract, but it will not allow the
passenger to move f reely.
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CONT INUED
Additional Inf ormation About Your Seat Belts
Seat Belt System Components L ap/Shoulder Belt
Driver and Passenger Saf ety19

If you ever have a moderate to
severe side impact, the sensors will
detect rapid deceleration and signal
the control unit to instantly inf late
either the driver’s or the passenger’s
side airbag.To get the best protection f rom the
side airbags, front seat occupants
should wear their seat belts and sit
upright and well back in their seats.
The passenger’s side airbag has a
cutof f system designed to turn of f
the passenger’s side airbag if a child’s
head is in the airbag’s deployment
path (see page ).
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.If a short adult leans sideways, or a
larger adult slouches and leans
sideways into the side airbag
deployment path, the system may
also shut off the side airbag.
If the side airbag of f indicator comes
on, have the passenger sit upright.
Once the passenger is out of the
deployment path of the side airbag,
the system will turn the airbag back
on, and the indicator will go out.
Only one airbag will deploy during a
side impact. If the impact is on the
passenger’s side, the passenger’s
side airbag will deploy even if there
is no passenger. 27
How Your Side A irbags Work
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
25

If the indicator comes on or
flashesonandoff whileyoudrive.
If you see any of these indications,
the airbags and the seat belt
tensioners may not work properly
when you need them. This indicator alerts you
that the passenger’s side
airbag has been automatically shut
of f . It does mean there is a
problem with your side airbags.
To reduce the risk of injury f rom an
inf lating side airbag, your vehicle has
an automatic cutoff system for the
passenger’s side airbag.
Although Acura does not encourage
children to ride in f ront, this system
is designed to shut of f the side
airbag if a child leans sideways and
the child’s head is in the side airbag
deployment path. 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.
When you turn the ignition to ON
(II), the indicator should come on
brief ly and go out. If it doesn’t come
on, stays on, or comes on while
driving without a passenger in the
f ront seat, have the system checked.
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
How the Side Airbag Of f
Indicator Works
not
Driver and Passenger Saf ety27
Ignoring the SRS indicator can
result in serious injury or death
if the airbag systems or
tensioners do not work properly.
Have your vehicle checked by a
dealer as soon as possible if
the SRS indicator alerts you to
a possible problem.

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Children depend on adults to protect
them. However, despite their best
intentions many adults do not know
how to properly protect child
passengers.If you have children, or if you ever
need to drive with a child in your
vehicle, be sure to read this section.
It begins with important general
guidelines, then presents special
inf ormation f or inf ants, small
children, and larger children.
Each year, many children are injured
or killed in vehicle crashes because
they are either unrestrained or not
properly restrained. In f act, vehicle
accidents are the number one cause
of death of children ages 12 and
under.
To reduce the number of child
deaths and injuries, every state and
Canadian province requires that
inf ants and children be properly
restrained when they ride in a
vehicle.
CONT INUED
All Children Must Be Restrained
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Protecting Children General Guidelines
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Children who are unrestrained
or improperly restrained can be
seriously injured or killed in a
crash.
Any child too small for a seat
belt should be properly
restrained in a child seat. A
larger child should be properly
restrained with a seat belt and
use a booster if necessary.

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(see pages ).(see pages ).
According to accident statistics,
children of all ages and sizes are
saf er when they are restrained in the
back seat. The National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration and
Transport Canada recommend that
all children age 12 and under be
properly restrained in the back seat. If the vehicle seat is too
f ar f orward, or the child’s head is
thrown f orward during a collision, an
inflating front airbag can strike the
child with enough f orce to kill or
very seriously injure a small child.
Whenever possible,
larger children should sit in the back
seat, in a booster seat if needed, and
be properly restrained with a seat
belt (see page f or important
inf ormation about protecting larger
children).
Children who ride in back are less
likely to be injured by striking
interior vehicle parts during a
collision or hard braking.
Front airbags have been designed to
help protect adults in a moderate to
severe f rontal collision. To do this
the passenger’s f ront airbag is quite
large and it can inf late with enough
f orce to cause very serious injuries.
If
the airbag inf lates, it can hit the back
of the child seat with enough force
to kill or very seriously injure an
inf ant.
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Inf ant s and small children must berest rained in an approved child seatt hat is properly secured t o t hevehicle
Larger children must be restrainedwit h a lap/shoulder belt and ride ona boost er unt il t he seat belt f it s t hemproperly Placing a f orward-f acing child seat in
t he f ront seat of a vehicle equippedwith passenger’s f ront airbag can behazardous.
Children who have outgrown childseat s are also at risk of being injuredor killed by an inf lat ing passenger’sfront airbag.
Never put a rear-f acing child seat in
t he f ront seat of a vehicle equippedwit h a passenger’s f ront airbag.
All Children Should Sit in the
Back Seat Small Children
L arger Children
The Passenger’s Front Airbag
Can Pose Serious Risks
Inf ants
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Protecting Children General Guidelines
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To remind you of the passenger’s
f ront airbag hazards, and that
children must be properly restrained
in the back seat, your vehicle has
warninglabelsonthedashboardand
on the driver’s and f ront passenger’s
visors. Please read and f ollow the
instructions on these labels.To remind you of the f ront airbag
hazards, your vehicle has warning
labels on the driver’s and f ront
passenger’s visors. Please read and
f ollow the instructions on these
labels.
Protecting Children General Guidelines
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
U.S. Models
Canadian Models
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