seats Acura TL 2009 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. It
explains how your airbags work. And
it tells you how to properly restrain
inf ants 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
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1.Close and Lock the Doors .11
...........
2.Adjust the Front Seats .13
............
3.Adjust the Seat-Backs .14
...
4.Adjust the Head Restraints .15
5.Fasten and Position the
.............................
Seat Belts .16
6.Maintain a Proper Sitting ................................
Position .18
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Advice f or Pregnant Women .18
...
Additional Safety Precautions .19 Additional Inf ormation About
.......................
Your Seat Belts .20
..
Seat Belt System Components .20
......................
Lap/Shoulder Belt .21
Automatic Seat Belt ...............................
Tensioners .22
...............
Seat Belt Maintenance .23
Additional Inf ormation About ...........................
Your Airbags .24
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Airbag System Components .24
How Your Front Airbags
.........................................
Work .26
...
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 .34
.............................
Airbag Service .35
...
Additional Safety Precautions .36
Protecting Children General ................................
Guidelines .37
All Children Must Be ...............................
Restrained .37All Children Should Sit in a
.................................
Back Seat .38
The Passenger’s Front Airbag .........
Can Pose Serious Risks .38
If You Must Drive with Several ...................................
Children .40
If a Child Requires Close ..................................
Attention .40
...
Additional Safety Precautions .41
Protecting Inf ants and Small ...................................
Children .42
.......................
Protecting Inf ants .42
.........
Protecting Small Children .43
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Selecting a Child Seat .45
....................
Installing a Child Seat .46
...............................
With LATCH .47
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With a Lap/Shoulder Belt .49
..............................
With a Tether .51
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Protecting Larger Children .53
...............
Checking Seat Belt Fit .53
..................
Using a Booster Seat .54
When Can a Larger Child Sit in
.........................................
Front .55
...
Additional Safety Precautions .56
.............
Carbon Monoxide Hazard .57
...................................
Saf ety Labels .58
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
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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.
CONT INUED
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
7
(4)
(7)
(2)
(5)
(2)
(9)
(7)
(10)
(1)
(8)
(9)
(3)
(11) (8)(6)
(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) Automatic Seat Belt Tensioners
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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. 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.
Your seat belt system also includes
an indicator on the instrument panel
and a beeper to remind you and your
passengers to f asten your seat belts.
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
Seat Belts
Why Wear Seat Belt s
always wear
your seat belts
8
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.
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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 ).
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 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 f ull control of the vehicle.
Have a f ront passenger adjust their
seat as far to the rear as possible.
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.
Your vehicle has the auto door
locking/unlocking f eature. For more
inf ormation, see page .
120 140
CONT INUED
Protecting A dults and Teens
Adjust the Front Seats
2.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
13
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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.
See page f or how to adjust the
f ront seats.
155
Protecting A dults and Teens
Adjust the Seat-Backs
3.
14
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.
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.
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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.
This spreads the f orces of a crash
over the strongest bones in your
upper body.This could cause
very serious injuries in a crash.
If a seat belt does not seem to work
properly, it may not protect the
occupant in a crash.
See page f or additional
inf ormation about your seat belts
and how to take care of them.
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. The front seats have adjustable seat
belt anchors. To adjust the height of
an anchor, press and hold the release
button 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.
20Never 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 .
Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
17
RELEASE BUTTON
Improperly positioning the seat
belts can cause serious injury
or death in a crash.
Make sure all seat belts are
properly positioned before
driving.
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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.
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 f eet up, the
chance of injury during a crash is
greatly increased. Advice f or Pregnant Women
Maintain a Proper Sitting
Position
6.
Protecting A dults and Teens
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.
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Your f ront airbags are also advanced
airbags. The main purpose of this
feature is to help prevent airbag-
caused injuries to short drivers and
children or small statured adults who
ride in f ront.
For both advanced airbags to work
properly:
Failure to f ollow these instructions
could damage the sensors or prevent
them f rom working properly.Occupants must sit upright and
wear their seat belts properly.
Do not spill any liquids on or
under the seats, cover the sensors,
or put any cargo or metal objects
under the f ront seats.
Back seat passengers should not
wedge objects or intentionally
f orce their f eet under the f ront
passenger seat.
Your f ront airbags are also dual-
threshold airbags. Airbags with this
f eature 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
,
the airbag will deploy at a slightly
lower threshold, because the
occupant would need extra
protection.
If the occupant’s belt is , the
airbag will inf late at a slightly higher
threshold, when the airbag would be
needed to supplement the protection
provided by the seat belt.
Your f ront airbags are dual-stage
airbags. This means they have two
inf lation stages that can be ignited
sequentially or simultaneously,
depending on crash severity.
In a
crash, both stages
will ignite simultaneously to provide
the quickest and greatest protection.
In a crash, one stage will
ignite first, then the second stage
will ignite a split second later. This
provides longer airbag inf lation time
with a little less force.
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
Advanced Airbags
Dual-T hreshold A irbags
not lat chedlatched
Dual-Stage A irbags
more severeless severe
28
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There will be some delay between
the moment the passenger moves
into or out of the airbag deployment
pathandwhentheindicatorcomes
on or goes of f .
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.
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.
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.
Thesideairbagmayalsoshutoff if a
short adult leans sideways, or a
larger adult slouches and leans
sideways into the airbag’s
deployment path.
Objects placed on the f ront
passenger seat can also cause the
side airbag to be shut of f .
Your vehicle has a side airbag cutof f
system designed primarily to protect
a child riding in the f ront passenger’s
seat.If the side airbag of f indicator comes
on (see page ), have the
passenger sit upright. Once the
passenger is out of the airbag’s
deployment path, the system will
turn the airbag back on, and the
indicator will go out.
Although Acura does not encourage
children to ride in f ront, if the
position sensors detect a child has
leaned into the side airbag’s
deployment path, the airbag will shut
off. 33
Side A irbag Cut of f Syst em
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
31
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Î
ÎThe SRS indicator alerts
you to a potential problem
with your airbags or seat belt
tensioners.
If the impact is on the passenger’s
side, the passenger’s side curtain
airbag will inflate even if there are no
occupants on that side of the vehicle.
In a moderate to severe side impact,
sensors will detect rapid acceleration
and signal the control unit to
instantly inflate the side curtain
airbag and activate the seat belt
tensioner on the driver’s or the
passenger’s side of the vehicle. One or both side curtain airbags may
inflate in a moderate to severe
f rontal collision which causes the
f ront airbags to deploy.
To get the best protection f rom the
side curtain airbags, occupants
should wear their seat belts and sit
upright and well back in their seats.
When you turn the ignition switch
to the ON (II) position, this indicator
comes on brief ly then goes of f . This
tells you the system is working
properly.
Models equipped with the
keyless access system have an
engine start/stop button instead
of an ignition switch. ON Mode
is the equivalent of ON (II). For
more inf ormation, see pagesand .
:
180
178
How Your Side Curtain A irbags
Work
How the SRS Indicator Works
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
32
SIDE CURTAIN AIRBAG
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