Acura TLX 2020 Workshop Manual
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uuAirbags uSide Airbags
Safe Driving
Side Airbags
The side airbags help protect the torso and  pelvis of the driver or a front passenger 
during a moderate-to-severe side impact.
The side airbags are housed in the outside 
edge of the driver’s and passenger’s seat-
backs.
Both are marked SIDE AIRBAG.
When the sensors detect a moderate-to-
severe side impact, the control unit signals the 
side airbag on the impact side to immediately 
inflate.
■Housing Locations
1 Side Airbags
Make sure you and your front seat passenger always 
sit upright. Leaning into the  path of a side airbag can 
prevent the airbag from  deploying properly and 
increases your risk of serious injury.
Do not attach accessories on  or near the side airbags. 
They can interfere with the proper operation of the 
airbags, or hurt someone if an airbag inflates.
Do not cover or replace the front seat-back covers 
without consulting a dealer.
Improperly replac ing or covering front seat-back 
covers can prevent your si de airbags from properly 
deploying during  a side impact.
Housing 
Location
■Operation
When 
inflated
Side 
Airbag
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uuAirbags uSide Airbags
Safe Driving
■When a side airbag deploys with little or no visible damage
Because the airbag system senses sudden acceleration, a strong impact to the side 
of the vehicle’s framework can cause a side  airbag to deploy. In such cases, there 
may be little or no damage, but the side  impact sensors detected a severe enough 
impact to deploy the airbag.
■When a side airbag may not deploy,  even though visible damage appears 
severe
It is possible for a side airbag not to deploy during an impact that results in 
apparently severe damage. This can occur  when the point of impact was toward the 
far front or rear of the vehicle, or when  the vehicle’s crushable body parts absorbed 
most of the crash energy. In either case , the side airbag would not have been 
needed nor provided protection even if it had deployed.
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uuAirbags uSide Curtain Airbags
Safe Driving
Side Curtain Airbags
The side curtain airbags help  protect the heads of the driver and passengers in the 
outer seating positions during a moderate-to -severe side impact. The side curtain 
airbags equipped in this vehicle are also designed to help reduce the likelihood of 
partial and complete ejection of vehicle occupants through side windows in crashes, 
particularly rollover crashes.
The side curtain airbags are located in the 
ceiling above the side windows on both sides 
of the vehicle.
The side curtain airbag is designed to deploy 
in a rollover or a moderate-to-severe side 
impact.
■Housing Locations
1Side Curtain Airbags
If the SRS control unit sens es that your vehicle is 
about to rollover, it imme diately deploys both side 
curtain airbags and activates both front seat belt 
tensioners.
If the impact is on the passenger’s side, the 
passenger’s side curtain airbag deploys even if there 
are no occupants on that side of the vehicle.
To get the best protecti on from the side curtain 
airbags, occupants should wear their seat belts 
properly and sit upr ight and well back in their seats.
Do not attach any objects to the side windows or roof 
pillars as they can interfere with the proper operation 
of the side curtain airbags.
Side Curtain Airbag Storage
■Operation
Deployed Side Curtain Airbag
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Continued53
uuAirbags uAirbag System Indicators
Safe Driving
■When side curtain airbags deploy in a frontal collision
One or both side curtain ai rbags may also inflate in a moderate-to-severe angled 
frontal collision.
Airbag System Indicators
If a problem occurs in the airbag system , the SRS indicator will come on and a 
message appears on the mu lti-information display.
■When the power mode is set to ON
The indicator comes on for a few seconds, 
then goes off. This tells you the system is 
working properly.
If the indicator comes on at any other time , or does not come on at all, have the 
system checked by a dealer as soon as po ssible. If you don’t, your airbags and seat 
belt tensioners may not work  properly when they are needed.
■Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) Indicator1Supplemental Restraint Sy stem (SRS) Indicator
3WARNING
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 th e SRS indicator alerts 
you to a possible problem.
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uuAirbags uAirbag System Indicators
54
Safe Driving■When the passenger front airbag off 
indicator comes on
The indicator comes on  to alert you that the 
passenger’s front airbag  has been turned off.
This occurs when the weight sensors detect 
about 65 lbs (29 kg) or less, the weight of an 
infant or small child, on the seat.
Children age 12 or under should always ri de properly restrained in a back seat.
2Child Safety  P. 56
Objects placed on the seat can also  cause the indicator to come on.
If the front passenger’s seat is empty, the passenger’s front airbag will not deploy 
and the indicator will not come on.
■Passenger Front Airbag Off Indicator1 Passenger Front Airbag Off Indicator
If the indicator comes on wi th no front passenger and 
no objects on the passenger’s  seat, or with an adult 
riding there, something may be interfering with the 
weight sensor, such as:
•An object hanging on the seat  or in the seat-back 
pocket.
•A child seat or other obj ect pressing against the 
rear of the seat-back.
•A rear passenger pushing or  pulling on the back of 
the front passe nger’s seat.
•The front seat or seat-back is forced back against 
an object on the seat or floor behind it.
•An object placed under th e front passenger’s seat.
If none of these conditions exist, have your vehicle 
checked by a dealer as soon as possible.
The passenger front airbag off indicator may come 
on and go off repeatedly if  the total weight on the 
seat is near the airbag cutoff threshold.
U.S. Canada
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uuAirbags uAirbag Care
Safe Driving
Airbag Care
You do not need to, and should not, perform any maintenance on or replace any 
airbag system components yourself. However, you should have your vehicle 
inspected by a dealer in the following situations:
■When the airbags have deployed
If an airbag has inflated, the control unit  and other related parts must be replaced. 
Similarly, once an automatic seat belt te nsioner has been activated, it must be 
replaced.
■When the vehicle has been in a moderate-to-severe collision
Even if the airbags did not infl ate, have your dealer inspect the following: the driver’s 
seat position sensor, weight sensors in the passenger’s seat, front seat belt 
tensioners, and each seat belt that was worn during the crash.
■Do not remove or modi fy a front seat without consulting a dealer
This would likely disable or affect the proper  operation of the driver’s seat position 
sensor or the weight sensors in the passenge r’s seat. If it is necessary to remove or 
modify a front seat to accommodate a pe rson with disabilities, contact an Acura 
dealer, or for U.S. vehicles, Acura Clie nt Relations at 1-800-382-2238 and for 
Canadian vehicles, Acura Client  Services at 1-888-9-ACURA-9.
1Airbag Care
We recommend against the use of salvaged airbag 
system components, including the airbag, tensioners, 
sensors, and control unit.
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Safe Driving
Child Safety
Protecting Child Passengers
Each year, many children are injured or killed in vehicle crashes because they are 
either unrestrained or not properly res trained. In fact, vehicle crashes are the 
number one cause of death of children ages 12 and under.
To reduce the number of child deaths and in juries, every state, Canadian province 
and territory requires that infants and childre n be properly restrained when they ride 
in a vehicle.
Children should sit properly  restrained in a rear seat. This is because:
• An inflating front or side airbag can injure 
or kill a child sitti ng in the front seat.
• A child in the front seat is more likely to 
interfere with the driver ’s ability to safely 
control the vehicle.
• Statistics show that ch ildren of all sizes and 
ages are safer when they are properly 
restrained in a rear seat.1 Protecting Child Passengers
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 
and Transport Canada reco mmend that all children 
ages 12 and under be properl y restrained in a rear 
seat. Some states or provin ces/territories have laws 
restricting where ch ildren may ride.
3WARNING
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, using a booster seat if necessary.
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uuChild Safety uProtecting Child Passengers
Safe Driving
• Any child who is too small to wear a seat  belt correctly must be restrained in an 
approved child seat that is properly secu red to the vehicle using either the seat 
belt or the lower anchors of the LATCH system.
• Never hold a child on your lap because it is impossible to protect them in the 
event of a collision.
• Never put a seat belt over yourself and  a child. During a crash, the belt would 
likely press deep into the child and cause serious or fatal injuries.
• Never let two children use the same seat belt. Both children could be very 
seriously injured in a crash.
• Do not allow children to operate the  doors, windows or seat adjustments.
• Do not leave children in the vehicle unattended, especially in hot weather when 
the inside of the vehicle can get hot enough to kill them. They could also activate 
vehicle controls causing it to move unexpectedly.1Protecting Child Passengers
To deactivate a lockable retractor, release the buckle 
and allow the seat belt to wind up all the way.
To remind you of the pa ssenger’s front airbag 
hazards and child safety,  your vehicle has warning 
labels on the dashboard (U.S. models) and on the 
front visors. Please read and follow the instructions 
on these labels. 2 Safety Labels  P. 70
3WARNING
Allowing a child to play with a seat belt or 
wrap one around their neck can result in 
serious injury or death.
Instruct children not to play with any seat 
belt and make sure any unused seat belt a 
child can reach is buckled, fully retracted, 
and locked.
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uuChild Safety uSafety of Infants and Small Children
Safe Driving
Safety of Infants  and Small Children
An infant must be properly restrained in  a rear-facing, reclining child seat until the 
infant reaches the seat manufacturer’s weig ht or height limit for the seat, and the 
infant is at least one year old.
■Positioning a rear-facing child seat
Child seats must be placed and secured in a 
rear seating position.
When properly installed, a rear-facing child  seat may prevent the driver or a front 
passenger from moving their seat all the way back, or from locking their seat-back 
in the desired position. Make sure that th ere is no contact between the child seat 
and the seat in front of it.
It can also interfere with pr oper operation of the passenger’s advanced front airbag 
system.
2 Airbags  P. 41
If this occurs, we recommend that you install the child seat directly behind the front 
passenger’s seat, move the seat as far fo rward as needed, and leave it unoccupied. 
Or, you may wish to get a sm aller rear-facing child seat.
■Protecting Infants1Protecting Infants
Many experts recommend us e of a rear-facing seat 
for a child up to two years old if the child’s height and 
weight are appropriate  for a rear-facing seat.
Rear-facing child seats should never be installed in a 
forward-facing position.
Always refer to the child seat manufacturer’s 
instructions before installation.
Do not allow a front seat to rest against a child seat 
installed in a rear seating  position: The weight sensor 
in the front seat may not co rrectly detect the actual 
weight of the occupant.
3WARNING
Placing a rear-facing child seat in the front 
seat can result in serious injury  or death 
during a crash.
Always place a rear-fac ing child seat in the 
rear seat, not the front.
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Continued59
uuChild Safety uSafety of Infants and Small Children
Safe DrivingIf a child is at least one year old and has  exceeded the weight and height limitations 
of a rearward-facing child seat, the child should be properly restrained in a firmly 
secured forward-facing child seat until  they exceed the weight and height 
limitations for the forward-facing child seat.
■Forward-facing child seat placement
We strongly recommend placing a forward-
facing child seat in a rear seating position.
Placing a forward-facing child seat in th e front seat can be hazardous, even with 
advanced front airbags that  automatically turn the passeng er’s front airbag off. A 
rear seat is the safest place for a child.
■Protecting Smaller Children1 Protecting Smaller Children
Educate yourself about th e laws and regulations 
regarding child seat use wh ere you are driving, and 
follow the child seat manufacturer’s instructions.
3WARNING
Placing a forward-facing child seat in the 
front seat can result in serious injury or 
death if the front airbag inflates.
If you must place a forward-facing child 
seat in front, move the vehicle seat as far 
back as possible, and properly restrain the 
child.
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