light Acura MDX 2003 Owner's Manua

Your Vehicle at a Glance
2
INDICATOR LIGHTS
POWER DOOR LOCK
SWITCHES
MIRROR
CONTROLS
POWER WINDOW
SWITCHES
HOOD RELEASE
HANDLE FUEL FILL DOOR
RELEASE PARKING BRAKE
PEDAL REAR A/C CONTROL ACCESSORY POWER SOCKET GLOVE BOX AUDIO SYSTEM
CLIMATE CONTROL SYSTEM
SHIFT LEVER
(P.67)
GAUGES (P.74)
(P.93)
(P.116)
(P.111)
(P.238) (P.237) (P.117) (P.143)
(P.125)(P.100) (P.145,
163,183)
(P.136)
(P.254)

Î
Î
To use the horn, press the pad around the ‘‘A’’ logo.
:
Your Vehicle at a Glance
3
HEADLIGHTS/
TURN SIGNALS
MOONROOF
SWITCH
CRUISE CONTROL FOG LIGHTS REMOTE AUDIO
CONTROLS STEERING WHEEL
ADJUSTMENT CRUISE CONTROL
HORN
WINDSHIELD WIPERS/WASHERSLIGHT CONTROL
SWITCH
HAZARD WARNING
LIGHTS
REAR WINDOW DEFOGGER
VTM-4 LOCK
INSTRUMENT PANEL BRIGHTNESS
PASSENGER AIRBAG
CUTOFF INDICATOR
VEHICLE STABILITY
ASSIST SYSTEM
OFF SWITCH (P.82)
(P.79/ 83)
(P.114)
(P.216) (P.267)
(P.88) (P.181) (P.89) (P.216)
(P.83/87) (P.128)
(P.87)
(P.58)
(P.88)
(P.259)

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 your Supple-
mental Restraint System. 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
.....................
Seats & Seat-Backs .10
..........................
Head Restraints .10
..................................
Door Locks .10
........
Pre-Drive Saf ety Checklist . 11
............................
Protecting Adults .12
.....
1. Close and Lock the Doors . 12
...........
2. Adjust the Front Seats . 12
............
3. Adjust the Seat-Backs . 13 ...
4. Adjust the Head Restraints . 14
5. Fasten and Position the Seat .....................................
Belts .15
....
6. Adjust the Steering Wheel . 18
7. Maintain a Proper Sitting ................................
Position .18
.....
Advice f or Pregnant Women . 19
...
Additional Safety Precautions . 19
........................
Protecting Children .21
All Children Must Be ...............................
Restrained .21
Children Should Sit in the Back ...........................................
Seat .22
The Passenger’s Front Airbag Can Pose Serious Risks to ...............................
Children .23
If You Must Drive with Several ...................................
Children .25
If a Child Requires Close ..................................
Attention .25
...
Additional Safety Precautions . 26
General Guidelines f or Using ...............................
Child Seats .27
.......................
Protecting Inf ants .31
.........
Protecting Small Children . 35
.......
Protecting Larger Children . 38Using Child Seats with
.....................................
Tethers .42
.............................
Using LATCH .44
Additional Inf ormation About Your .................................
Seat Belts .46
..
Seat Belt System Components . 46
......................
Lap/Shoulder Belt .46
Automatic Seat Belt ...............................
Tensioners .48
...............
Seat Belt Maintenance . 49
Additional Inf ormation About Your .....................................
Airbags .50
........................
SRS Components .50
How Your Front Airbags .........................................
Work .51
...
How Your Side Airbags Work . 55
How the SRS Indicator Light .......................................
Works .56
How The Side Airbag Cutof f ...........
Indicator Light Works . 57
How the Passenger Airbag ..........
Cutoff indicator Works . 58
.............................
Airbag Service .60
...
Additional Safety Precautions . 61
.............
Carbon Monoxide Hazard . 62
...................................
Saf ety Labels .63
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Driver and Passenger Saf ety5

Your seat belt system also
includes a light 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. Foryoursafety,andthesafetyof
your passengers, your vehicle is
equipped with seat belts in all seating
positions. In addition, most states and all
Canadian provinces require you to
wear seat belts.
Help protect you in almost every
type of crash, including f rontal,
side, and rear impacts and
rollovers. Keep you connected to the vehicle
so you can take advantage of the
vehicle’s built-in saf ety f eatures.
When properly worn, seat belts: 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.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Seat Belts
Why Wear Seat Belt s
What you should do:
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
8
Not wearing a seat belt properly
increases the chance of serious
injury or death in a crash, even
if you have airbags.
Be sure you and your
passengers always wear seat
belts and wear them properly.

The f ollowing pages provide
instructions on how to properly
protect the driver and other adult
occupants.
These instructions also apply to
children who have outgrown child
seats and are large enough to wear
lap/shoulder belts. (See page f or
important additional guidelines on
how to properly protect larger
children.)Your vehicle has a door and tailgate
monitor light on the instrument
panel to indicate when a specif ic
door or the tailgate is not tightly
closed.
For security, locked doors can
prevent an outsider f rom
unexpectedly opening a door when
you come to a stop.
See page f or how to lock the
doors. For saf ety, locking the doors reduces
the chance that a passenger,
especially a child, will open a door
while the vehicle is moving and
accidentally f all out. It also reduces
the chance of someone being thrown
out of the vehicle during a crash.
Af ter everyone has entered the
vehicle, be sure the doors and
tailgate are closed and locked. Any driver who sits too close to the
steering wheel is at risk of being
seriously injured or killed by striking
the steering wheel or f rom being
struck by an inflating front airbag
during a crash.
38
93
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Protecting Adults
Introduction A djust the Front Seats
Close and L ock the Doors
1. 2.
12

Your seat belt system includes lap/
shoulder belts in all seven seating
positions. The f ront seat belts are
also equipped with automatic seat
belt tensioners.The seat belt system also
includes a light on the
instrument panel to remind you and
your passengers to f asten your belts.
If the driver’s seat belt is not
fastened before the ignition is turned
ON (II), the light will come on and a
beeper will also sound. The beeper
will stop af ter a f ew seconds, but the
light will stay on until the driver’s
seat belt is f astened. The lap/shoulder belts in the center
seat of the second row and both of
the third row seats are equipped with
a detachable anchor that has two
parts: a small latch plate and a
buckle.
The detachable anchor should
normally be latched whenever the
seats-backs are in an upright position.
For more inf ormation about the
detachable anchors, see page .The lap/shoulder belts goes over
your shoulder, across your chest,
and across your hips.
109
Seat Belt System Components L ap/Shoulder Belt
Additional Inf ormation About Your Seat Belts
Driver and Passenger Saf ety46

If your airbags inf late, the tensioners
immediately tighten the f ront seat
belts to help hold the occupants in
place. The belts will remain tight
until you unbuckle them in the
normal way.The SRS indicator light will
come on if there is a
problem with your automatic seat
belt tensioners (see page ).
Your Acura has automatic seat belt
tensioners f or added protection
during a moderate to severe frontal
collision. 56
A utomatic Seat Belt T ensioners
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Additional Inf ormation About Your Seat Belts
48

CONT INUED
An indicator light on the
instrument panel that alerts you to
a possible problem with the
system (see page ).
Emergency backup power in case
your vehicle’s electrical system is
disconnected in a crash.Your vehicle is equipped with dual-
stage, dual-threshold airbags to help
reduce the chance of airbag-caused
injuries.
A driver’s seat position sensor that
monitors the driver’s seat position
and adjusts the inf lation and
timing of the driver’s airbag (see
page ).
Front passenger’s weight sensors
monitor the weight on the seat.
These prevent the passenger’s
airbag from inflating if the weight
is less than about 65 lbs (30 kg)
(see page ).
53
54 56
How Your Front Airbags Work
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
Driver and Passenger Saf ety51

If the light comes on at any other
time, or does not come on at all, you
should have the system checked by
your dealer. For example:If the SRS indicator light does not
come on after you turn the ignition
switch to ON (II).
If the light stays on after the
engine starts.
If the light comes on or f lashes on
andoff whileyoudrive.
The SRS indicator light
alerts you to a potential
problem with your f ront airbags and
automatic seat belt tensioners.
This light will also alert you to a
potential problem with your side
airbags, passenger’s side airbag
automatic cutoff system (see page ), or the driver’s seat position
sensor and the f ront passenger’s
weight sensors (see pages and ).
When you turn the ignition ON (II),
this indicator will light brief ly then
go out. This tells you that the system
is working properly. If you see any of these indications,
your f ront or side airbags may not
deploy, your passenger’s side airbag
automatic cutoff system may not
work properly, your seat belt
tensioners may not work, or the
sensors under the f ront seats may
not work properly when you need
them. See your Acura dealer as soon
as possible.
57
57
58
How the SRS Indicator L ight
Works
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
Driver and Passenger Saf ety56
Ignoring the SRS indicator light
can result in serious injury or
death if the airbags, cutoff
system, or tensioners do not
work properly.
Have your vehicle checked by a
dealer as soon as possible if
the SRS light alerts you to a
potential problem.

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 switch to
ON (II), the indicator should light
brief ly and go out (see page ). If it
doesn’t light, stays on, or comes on
while driving without a passenger in
the front seat, have the system
checked.
If a small-statured adult leans
sideways, or larger adult slouches
and leans sideways into the
deployment path of the side airbag,
the system may also shut of f the side
airbag.
This light alerts you that
the passenger’s side airbag
has been automatically shut off.
It does not mean there is a problem
with your side airbags. It means that
thesideairbagcutoff systemhas
activated to prevent the side airbag
f rom deploying. If the side airbag cutof f indicator
light comes on, you should 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
light will go out.
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 the 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. 68
How the Side Airbag Cutof f
Indicator L ight Works
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
Driver and Passenger Saf ety57