seats Acura TL 2012 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.
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Important Safety Precautions . 6
.......
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features . 7
.......................................
Seat Belts .8
...........................................
Airbags .9
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Protecting Adults and Teens . 11
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1. Close and Lock the Doors . 11
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2. Adjust the Front Seats . 13
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3. Adjust the Seat-Backs . 14
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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
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Additional Safety Precautions . 19Additional Inf ormation About
.......................
Your Seat Belts .20
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Seat Belt System Components . 20
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Lap/Shoulder Belt .21
Automatic Seat Belt ...............................
Tensioners .22
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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
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How Your Side Airbags Work . 30
How Your Side Curtain Airbags .........................................
Work .32
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How the SRS Indicator Works . 32
How the Side Airbag Of f ......................
Indicator Works .33
How the Passenger Airbag Of f ......................
Indicator Works .34
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Airbag Service .35
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Additional Safety Precautions . 36
Protecting Children General ................................
Guidelines .37
All Children Must Be ...............................
Restrained .37 All 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
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Additional Safety Precautions . 40
Protecting Inf ants and Small ...................................
Children .42
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Protecting Inf ants .42
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Protecting Small Children . 43
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Selecting a Child Seat .45
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Installing a Child Seat .46
...............................
With LATCH .47
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With a Lap/Shoulder Belt . 49
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With a Tether .51
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Protecting Larger Children . 53
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Checking Seat Belt Fit . 53
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Using a Booster Seat . 54
When Can a Larger Child Sit in .........................................
Front .55
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Additional Safety Precautions . 56
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Carbon Monoxide Hazard . 57
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Saf ety Labels .58
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
5
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2012 TL

Your vehicle is equipped with many
features that work together to
protect you and your passengers
during a crash.
The f ollowing pages explain how you
cantakeanactiveroleinprotecting
yourself and your passengers. However, you and your passengers
can’t take f ull advantage of these
f eatures unless you remain sitting in
the correct position and. In fact, some safety
f eatures can contribute to injuries if
they are not used properly. 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.
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
always wear
your seat belts
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
7
(11) (10)
(1) (12) (3)
(7)
(5)
(8) (9)(6)
(9)
(4)
(7)
(8)
(10)
(2) (2)
(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
(12) Occupant Position Detection System (OPDS) Sensors
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2012 TL

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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 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 and territories
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 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.
Help protect you in almost every
type of crash, including:
frontal impacts
side impacts
rear impacts
rollovers
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
Seat Belts
Why Wear Seat Belt s
What You Should Do:
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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Driver and Passenger Saf ety
2012 TL

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 from
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 .
125 146
CONT INUED
Protecting A dults and Teens
Adjust the Front Seats
2.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
13
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2012 TL

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 comfortable,
upright position.
See page f or how to adjust the
f ront seats.
161
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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Driver and Passenger Saf ety
2012 TL

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 four 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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2012 TL

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 safely 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. 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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Driver and Passenger Saf ety
2012 TL

Your vehicle is equipped with dual-
stage, multiple-threshold f ront
airbags (SRS). During a f rontal crash
severe enough to cause one or both
f ront airbags to deploy, the airbags
can inf late at dif f erent rates,
depending on the severity of the
crash, whether or not the seat belts
are latched, and/or other factors.
Front airbags are designed to
supplement the seat belts to help
reduce the likelihood of head and
chest injuries in f rontal crashes.Objects placed or pushed under
the f ront passenger’s seat may
cause the sensor to malf unction,
increasing the risk of injury in a
crash.
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:
Occupants must sit upright and
wear their seat belts properly. Failure to f ollow these instructions
could damage the sensors or prevent
them f rom working properly.
Do not spill any liquids on or
under the seats, cover the sensors,
or put any objects or metal items
under the f ront seats.
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
Dual-Stage, Multiple-T hreshold Front A irbags (SRS) Advanced Airbags
28
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Driver and Passenger Saf ety
2012 TL

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 another 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 cutoff
system designed primarily to protect
a child riding in the front
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 front,
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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2012 TL

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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.
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.
In a moderate to severe side impact,
sensors will detect rapid
acceleration and signal the control
unit to instantly inflate the side
curtain airbag. The SRS indicator alerts you to a
potential problem with your airbag
system components.
How Your
Side Curtain Airbags Work
How the SRS Indicator
Works
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
32
SIDE CURTAIN AIRBAG
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Driver and Passenger Saf ety
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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
information, see
page s 184 and 187.
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2012 TL