Acura TL 2012 User Guide

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

CONT INUED
Your vehicle has a supplemental
restraint system (SRS) with f ront
airbags to help protect the heads and
chests of the driver and a front seat
passenger during a moderate to
severe f rontal collision (see pagef or more inf ormation on how
your f ront airbags work). Your vehicle also has side airbags to
help protect the upper torso of the
driver or a f ront seat passenger
during a moderate to severe side
impact (see page f or more
information on how your side
In addition, your vehicle has side
curtain airbags to help protect the
heads of the driver, f ront passenger,
and passengers in the outer rear
seating positions during a moderate
to severe side impact (see page
f or more inf ormation on how
your side curtain airbags work).
26 30
32
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
Airbags
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
9
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airbags work).
2012 TL

The most important things you need
to know about your airbags are:They are designed to supplement
the seat belts.
To do their job, airbags must
inf late with tremendous f orce. So
while airbags help save lives, they
can cause minor injuries or more
serious or even fatal injuries if
occupants are not properly
restrained or sitting properly. Always wear
your seat belt properly, and sit
upright and as f ar back f rom the
steering wheel as possible while
allowing f ull control of the vehicle. A
f ront passenger should move their
seat as far back from the dashboard
as possible. The rest of this section gives more
detailed inf ormation about how you
can maximize your saf ety.
Remember however, that no saf ety
system can prevent all injures or
deaths that can occur in a severe
crash, even when seat belts are
properly worn and the airbags deploy.
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
Airbags do not replace seat belts.
A irbags of f er no prot ect ion in rearcollisions, or minor f ront al or sidecollisions.
Airbags can pose serious hazards. What you should do:
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Driver and Passenger Saf ety
2012 TL

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ÎThe 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 drive
or ride in the f ront seat.
See pages f or important
guidelines on how to properly
protect infants, small children,Your vehicle has a door/
trunk open indicator (red)
on the instrument panel to indicate
when any door or the trunk lid is not
tightly closed.
Your vehicle also has a door and
trunk open indicator on the multi-
information display to indicate
when a specific door or the trunk
is not tightly closed. You will see
the appropriate indicator(s) for
each condition. See page f or how to lock the
doors, and page f or how the door/
trunk open indicator works. You will also hear a beep when you
turn the ignition switch to the ON
(II) position, and each time you open
any door or the trunk with the key in
the ON (II) position.
After everyone has entered the
vehicle, be sure the doors are closed
and locked.
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152
CONT INUED
Protecting A dults and Teens
Close and L ock the Doors
Introduction 1.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
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and larger children who ride in
your vehicle.
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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.
:
2012 TL

When one or more doors or the
trunk lid are not tightly closed, the
corresponding indicator f or each
condition will come on.
Theaboveexampleshowsthefront
right and rear lef t doors, and the
trunk open.
When the trunk is not tightly closed,
the ‘‘TRUNK OPEN’’ indicator will
come on.
If any door or the trunk is not closed
tightly, the multi-information display
reminds you to close the open
door(s) or the trunk bef ore you start
driving.
The above illustration shows that all
doors and the trunk are open.
Protecting A dults and Teens
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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 .
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Protecting A dults and Teens
Adjust the Front Seats
2.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
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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.
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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

CONT INUED
Reclining a seat-back so that the
shoulder part of the belt no longer
rests against the occupant’s chest
reduces the protective capability of
the belt. It also increases the chance
of sliding under the belt in a crash
and being seriously injured. The
farther a seat-back is reclined, the
greater the risk of injury.
See page f or how to adjust the
seat-backs.Adjust the driver’s head restraint
so the center of the back of your
head rests against the center of
the restraint.
Have passengers adjust their head
restraints properly as well. Taller
persons should adjust their restraint
as high as possible.
161
Protecting A dults and Teens
A djust the Head Restraints
4.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
15
Improperly positioning head
restraints reduces their
effectiveness and you can be
seriously injured in a crash.
Make sure head restraints are
in place and positioned properly
before driving.
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2012 TL

Properly adjusted head restraints
will help protect occupants f rom
whiplash and other crash injuries.
See page f or how to adjust the
head restraints and how the driver’s
and f ront passenger’s active head
restraints work.Position the lap part of the belt as
low as possible across your hips,
then pull up on the shoulder part of
thebeltsothelappartfitssnugly.
This lets your strong pelvic bones
take the force of a crash and reduces
the chance of internal injuries.
Insert the latch plate into the buckle,
then tug on the belt to make sure the
belt is securely latched. Check that
the belt is not twisted, because a
twisted belt can cause serious
injuries in a crash.
163 Fasten and Position the Seat
Belts
5.
Protecting A dults and Teens
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Driver and Passenger Saf ety
2012 TL