page 1 Acura TSX 2006 User Guide

If a seat belt is worn during a crash,
it must be replaced by the dealer. A
belt that has been worn during a
crash may not provide the same level
of protection in a subsequent crash.
The dealer should also inspect the
anchors f or damage and replace
them if needed. If the automatic seat
belt tensioners activate during a
crash, they must be replaced.
For saf ety, you should check the
condition of your seat belts regularly.
Pull each belt out f ully, and look f or
f rays, cuts, burns, and wear. Check
that the latches work smoothly and
the belts retract easily. If a belt does
not retract easily, cleaning the belt
may correct the problem (see page
). Any belt that is not in good
condition or working properly will
not provide good protection and
should be replaced as soon as
possible.
Acura provides a lif etime warranty
on seat belts f or U.S. models. See
your
booklet f or details. 299
Acura Warranty Inf ormation
Additional Inf ormation About Your Seat Belts
Seat Belt Maintenance
24
Not checking or maintaining
seat belts can result in serious
injury or death if the seat belts
do not work properly when
needed.
Check your seat belts regularly
and have any problem
corrected as soon as possible.
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Your airbag system includes:Two side airbags, one f or the
driver and one f or a f ront
passenger. The airbags are stored
in the outer edges of the seat-
backs. Both are marked ‘‘SIDE
AIRBAG’’ (see page ). Two SRS (supplemental restraint
system) f ront airbags. The driver’s
airbag is stored in the center of
the steering wheel; the f ront
passenger’sairbagisstoredinthe
dashboard. Both are marked ‘‘SRS
AIRBAG’’ (see page ). Two side curtain airbags, one f or
each side of the vehicle. The
airbags are stored in the ceiling,
above the side windows. The f ront
and rear pillars are marked ‘‘SIDE
CURTAIN AIRBAG’’ (see page
).
Sensors that can detect a
moderate to severe front impact or
side impact. A driver’s seat position sensor
that monitors the distance of
theseatfromthefrontairbag.If
the seat is too f ar f orward, the
airbag will inf late with less f orce
(see page ).
Automatic front seat belt
tensioners (see page ). Sensors that can detect whether
a child is in the passenger’s side
airbag path and signal the
control unit to turn the airbag
of f (see page ).
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Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
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An indicator on the instrument
panel that alerts you that the
passenger’s side airbag has been
turned of f (see page ).
An indicator on the dashboard that
alerts you that the passenger’s
f ront airbag has been turned of f
(see page ).
Emergency backup power in case
your vehicle’s electrical system is
disconnected in a crash.
Weight sensors that monitor the
weight on the f ront passenger’s
seat. These automatically turn off
the passenger’s front airbag if
they detect an infant or a small
childmaybeintheseat(seepage
).
A sophisticated electronic system
that continually monitors and
records inf ormation about the
sensors, the control unit, the
airbag activators, the seat belt
tensioners, and driver and f ront
passenger seat belt use when the
ignition switch is in the ON (II)
position.
An indicator on the instrument
panel that alerts you to a possible
problem with your airbags,
sensors, or seat belt tensioners
(see page ). 34
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Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
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Af ter inf lating, the f ront airbags
immediately def late, so they won’t
interf ere with the driver’s visibility,
or the ability to steer or operate
other controls.
Although both airbags normally
inf late within a split second of each
other, it is possible f or only one
airbag to deploy.
This can happen if the severity of a
collision is at the margin, or
threshold, that determines whether
or not the airbags will deploy. In
such cases, the seat belt will provide
suf f icient protection, and the
supplemental protection of f ered by
the airbag would be minimal.
If you ever have a moderate to
severe f rontal collision, sensors will
detect the vehicle’s rapid
deceleration.
If the rate of deceleration is high
enough, the control unit will instantly
inf late the driver’s and f ront
passenger’s airbags, at the time and
with the f orce needed. Only the driver’s airbag will deploy if
there is no passenger in the f ront
seat, or if the advanced airbag
system has turned the passenger’s
airbag off (see page ). During a f rontal crash, your seat belt
restrains your lower body and torso,
and the f ront airbag helps protect
your head and chest.
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Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
How Your Front Airbags Work
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Moving the f ront seat f orcibly
back against cargo on the seat or
f loor behind it.
When the airbag is turned of f , an
indicator in the center of the
dashboard will come on indicating
passenger airbag ‘‘OFF’’ (see page
).
If the weight sensors detect there is
no passenger in the f ront seat, the
airbag will be off. However, the
passenger airbag of f indicator will
not come on.
To ensure that the passenger’s
advanced front airbag system will
work properly,
This includes: A rear passenger pushing or
pulling on the back of the f ront
passenger’s seat. Moving the f ront seat f orcibly
back on the f olded rear seat.
Folding the rear seat-back onto a
reclined f ront passenger’s seat-
back.
Hanging heavy items on the f ront
passenger seat, or placing heavy
items in the seat-back pocket.
Also,makesurethefloormatbehind
the f ront passenger’s seat is hooked
to the floor mat anchor (see page ). If it is not, the mat may
interf ere with the proper operation
of the sensors and operation of the
seat.
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299
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
do not do anyt hing
t hat would increase or decrease t he weight on the f ront passenger’s seat.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
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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.
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.
In a moderate to severe side impact,
sensors will detect rapid deceleration
and signal the control unit to
instantly inflate the side curtain
airbag on the driver’s or the
passenger’s side of the vehicle.
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. There will be some delay between
the moment the passenger moves
into or out of the airbag deployment
pathandwhentheindicatorcomes
on or goes of f . 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.
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Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
How Your Side Curtain A irbags
Work
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
33
SIDE CURTAIN AIRBAG
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The SRS indicator alerts
you to a potential problem
with your airbags or seat belt
tensioners. You will also see a ‘‘CHECK
AIRBAG SYSTEM’’ message in the
multi-inf ormation display (see page
).
If you see any of these indications,
the airbags and 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.
If the indicator comes on or
flashesonandoff whileyoudrive. If the indicator stays on after the
engine starts. If the SRS indicator does not come
on after you turn the ignition
switch to the ON (II) position.
If the indicator comes on at any
other time, or does not come on at all,
you should have the system checked
by your dealer. For example: When you turn the ignition switch to
the ON (II) position, this indicator
comes on f or several seconds then
goes of f . This tells you the system is
working properly.
When you turn the ignition switch to
the ON (II) position, the indicator
should come on f or several seconds
andthengooff (seepage ).If it
doesn’t come on, stays on, or comes
on while driving without a passenger
in the front seat, have the system
checked.
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Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
How the SRS Indicator Works How the Side A irbag Of f
Indicator Works
not
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Canada
U.S.
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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If you have children, or 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
infants, 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 the 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.
(see pages ). (see pages ).
Children depend on adults to protect
them. However, despite their best
intentions, many adults do not know
how to protect child
passengers.
42 5152 55
properly
All Children Must Be Restrained
Inf ant s and small children must be
rest rained in an approved child seatt hat is properly secured t o t hevehicle Larger children must be restrained
wit h a lap/shoulder belt and ride ona boost er seat unt il t he seat belt f it st hem properly
Protecting Children General Guidelines
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
37
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 seat if necessary.
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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 inflate with enough
f orce to cause very serious injuries.If the vehicle seat is
too far forward, 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, on a booster seat if needed, and
be properly restrained with a seat
belt (see page f or important
inf ormation about protecting larger
children).
According to accident statistics,
children of all ages and sizes are
saf er when they are restrained in a
back seat. The National Highway
Traf f ic Saf ety Administration and
Transport Canada recommend that
all children age 12 and under be
properly restrained in a back seat.
Children who ride in back are less
likely to be injured by striking
interior vehicle parts during a
collision or hard braking. Also,
children cannot be injured by an
inflating front airbag when they ride
in the back. Some states have laws restricting
where children may ride.
Even though your vehicle has an
advanced front airbag system, which
can automatically turn the
passenger’s front airbag off (see
page ), please f ollow the
guidelines below.
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. 35
52
Small ChildrenPlacing a f orward-f acing child seat inthe f ront seat of a vehicle equippedwit h a passenger’s f ront airbag canbe hazardous.
Larger ChildrenChildren who have outgrown childseat s are also at risk of being injuredor killed by an inf lat ing passenger’sfront airbag.
Inf ant s Never put a rear-f acing child seat inthe f ront seat of a vehicle equippedwit h a passenger’s f ront airbag.All Children Should Sit in a Back
Seat The Passenger’s Front Airbag
Can Pose Serious Risks
Protecting Children General Guidelines
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Placing a child in the f ront seat
exposes the child to hazards in a
f rontal collision, and paying close
attention to a child distracts the
driver from the important tasks of
driving, placing both of you at risk.
Your vehicle has a back seat where
children can be properly restrained.
If you ever have to carry a group of
children, and a child must ride in
front:
Place the largest child in the f ront
seat, provided the child is large
enough to wear the lap/shoulder
belt properly (see page ).
Move the vehicle seat as far to the
rear as possible (see page ).
Have the child sit upright and well
backintheseat(seepage ).
Make sure the seat belt is properly
positioned and secured (see page ). If a child requires close physical
attention or f requent visual
contact, we strongly recommend
that another adult ride with the
child in a back seat. The back seat
is f ar saf er f or a child than the
front.
Many parents say they pref er to put
an inf ant or a small child in the f ront
passenger seat so they can watch the
child, or because the child requires
attention.
14
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17 52If a Child Requires Close
Attention
If You Must Drive with Several
Children
Protecting Children General Guidelines
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