page 1 Acura TSX 2006 Owner's Manual

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You’ll f ind many saf ety
recommendations throughout this
section, and throughout this manual.
Therecommendationsonthispage
are the ones we consider to be the
most important.
Excessive speed is a major f actor in
crash injuries and deaths. Generally,
the higher the speed, the greater the
risk, but serious injuries can also
occur at lower speeds. Never drive
f aster than is saf e f or current
conditions, regardless of the
maximum speed posted.
Having a tire blowout or a
mechanical f ailure can be extremely
hazardous. To reduce the possibility
of such problems, check your tire
pressures and condition f requently,
and perform all regularly scheduled
maintenance (see page ).
A seat belt is your best protection in
all types of collisions. Airbags are
designed to supplement seat belts,
not replace them. So even though
your vehicle is equipped with airbags,
make sure you and your passengers
always wear your seat belts, and
wear them properly (see page ).
Children age 12 and under should
ride properly restrained in a back
seat, not the front seat. Infants and
smallchildrenshouldberestrained
in a child seat. Larger children
should use a booster seat and a lap/
shoulder belt until they can use the
belt properly without a booster seat
(see pages ). While airbags can save lives, they
can cause serious or fatal injuries to
occupants who sit too close to them,
or are not properly restrained.
Inf ants, young children, and short
adults are at the greatest risk. Be
sure to f ollow all instructions and
warnings in this manual.
Alcohol and driving don’t mix. Even
one drink can reduce your ability to
respond to changing conditions, and
your reaction time gets worse with
every additional drink. So don’t drink
and drive, and don’t let your f riends
drink and drive, either.
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264
37 55
Important Saf ety Precautions
Control Your Speed
K eep Your Vehicle in Saf e
Condition
Always Wear Your Seat Belt
Restrain All Children Be Aware of Airbag Hazards
Don’t Drink and Drive
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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. 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.
However, you and your passengers
can’t take full advantage of these
f eatures unless you remain sitting in
a proper position and. In fact, some safety
f eatures can contribute to injuries if
they are not used properly.
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
always wear
your seat belts
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
9
(1)
(2)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5) (7)
(8)
(7) (10)
(11)
(9)
(8)
(9)
(6)
(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) Seat Belt Tensioners
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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 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 inf ormation on how
your side airbags work).
Your vehicle also 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).
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Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
Airbags
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
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The 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.
See pages f or important
guidelines on how to properly
protect inf ants, small children, and
larger children who ride in your
vehicle.
When one or more doors are not
tightly closed, the ‘‘DOOR OPEN’’
message will come on.
After everyone has entered the
vehicle, be sure the doors are closed
and locked.
Your vehicle has a door and trunk
open monitor on the multi-
inf ormation display to indicate when
a specif ic door or the trunk is not
tightly closed. You will see the
appropriate light/lights and the
message f or each condition.
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CONT INUED
Protecting A dults and Teens
Introduction
Close and L ock the Doors
1.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
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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 f rom unexpectedly
opening a door when you come to a
stop.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.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.
See page f or how to lock the
doors. 128 Adjust the Front Seats
2.
Protecting A dults and Teens
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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 comf ortable, upright
position.
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 in and out and up and
down (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.
See page f or how to adjust the
f ront seats.
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CONT INUED
Adjust the Seat-Backs
3.
Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
15
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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Adjust the driver’s head restraint so
the back of your head rests against
the center of the restraint.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.
See page f or how to adjust the
seat-backs. 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. Have passengers adjust their head
restraints properly as well. Taller
persons should adjust their restraint
as high as possible. 139
138 A djust the Head Restraints
4.
Protecting A dults and Teens
16
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.
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.
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After all occupants have adjusted
their seats and put on 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 parked and the engine is
off.
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.
This could cause
very serious injuries in a crash.
See page f or additional
inf ormation about your seat belts
and how to take care of them. If a seat belt does not seem to work
properly, it may not protect the
occupant in a crash.
The front seats have adjustable seat
belt anchors. To adjust the height of
an anchor, press and hold the release
buttons, and slide the anchor up or
down as needed (it has f our
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.
21 Maintain a Proper Sitting
Position
6.
Never place t he shoulder port ion of a
lap/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
18
RELEASE BUTTONS
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Your seat belt system includes lap/
shoulder belts in all f ive seating
positions. The f ront seat belts are
also equipped with automatic seat
belt tensioners.The seat belts use the same
monitoring system as the f ront
airbags. The system may not work
properly under these conditions:
Placing heavy items on the front
passenger’s seat.
The f ront passenger is not sitting
properly.
The f ront passenger’s seat-back is
pressed f orward by a f olded-down
rear seat.
The seat belt system
includes an indicator on the
instrument panel and a beeper to
remind you and your passengers to
f asten your seat belts. If a f ront passenger does not f asten
their seat belt, the indicator will
come on about 6 seconds af ter the
ignition switch is turned to the ON
(II) position.
Have your vehicle checked by a
dealer if the indicator comes on or
the beeper sounds when there is no
f ront passenger or objects on the
front seat.
If either the driver or a f ront
passenger does not f asten their seat
belt while driving, the beeper will
sound and the indicator will f lash
again at regular intervals. You will
also see a ‘‘FASTEN SEAT BELT’’ or
‘‘PASSENGER FASTEN SEAT
BELT’’ message in the multi-
inf ormation display (see page ).
When no one is sitting in the f ront
passenger’s seat, or a small child is
riding there, the indicator will not
come on and the beeper will not
sound.
This system monitors the f ront seat
belts. If you turn the ignition switch
to the ON (II) position bef ore your
seat belt is f astened, the beeper will
sound and the indicator will f lash. If
your seat belt is not f astened bef ore
the beeper stops, the indicator will
stop f lashing but remain on.
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Seat Belt System Components
Additional Inf ormation About Your Seat Belts
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
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The lap/shoulder belt goes over
your shoulder, across your chest,
and across your hips.
To fasten the belt, insert the latch
plate into the buckle, then tug on the
belt to make sure the buckle is
latched (see page f or how to
properly position the belt).To unlock the belt, press the red
PRESSbuttononthebuckle.Guide
the belt across your body so that it
retracts completely. Af ter exiting the
vehicle, be sure the belt is out of the
way and will not get closed in the
door.
All seat belts have an emergency
locking retractor. In normal driving,
the retractor lets you move f reely in
your seat while it keeps some
tension on the belt. During a collision
or sudden stop, the retractor
automatically locks the belt to help
restrain your body.The seat belts in all positions except
the driver’s have an additional
locking mechanism that must be
activated to secure a child seat (see
page ).
If the shoulder part of the belt is
pulled all the way out, the locking
mechanism will activate. The belt
will retract, but it will not allow the
passenger to move f reely.
To deactivate the locking
mechanism, unlatch the buckle and
let the seat belt f ully retract. To
ref asten the seat belt, pull it out only
as f ar as needed.
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L ap/Shoulder Belt
Additional Inf ormation About Your Seat Belts
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