HONDA ODYSSEY 1999 User Guide

Your Vehicle's Safety Features

Seats & Seat-Backs
Your vehicle's seats are designed to keep you in a comfortable, upright
position so you can take full
advantage of the protection offered
by seat belts and the energyabsorbing materials in the seats.
How you adjust your seats and seat-
backs can also affect your safety. For example, sitting too close to the
steering wheel or dashboard
increases the risk of you or your
passenger being injured by striking
the inside of the vehicle, or by an
inflating airbag.
Reclining a seat-back too far reduces
the seat belt's effectiveness and increases the chance that the seat's
occupant will slide under the seat
belt in a crash and be seriously
injured.
What you should do: Move the front

seats as far back as possible, and

keep adjustable seat-backs in an
upright position whenever the

vehicle is moving.

Head Restraints

Head restraints can help protect you

from whiplash and other injuries. For
maximum protection, the back of

your head should rest against the center of the head restraint. Door Locks

Keeping your doors locked reduces

the chance of being thrown out of
the vehicle during a crash. It also

helps prevent occupants from
accidentally opening a door and

falling out, and outsiders from
unexpectedly opening your doors.

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Your Vehicle's Safety Features

Pre-Drive Safety Checklist

To make sure you and your passengers get the maximum
protection from your vehicle's safety
features, check the following each
time before you drive away: All adults, and children who have
outgrown child safety seats, are
wearing their seat belts and wearing them properly (see page 15).
Any infant or small child is
properly restrained in a child seat

in a back seat (see page 22). Front seat occupants are sitting
upright and as far back as possible
from the steering wheel and dashboard (see page 12 ). Seat-backs are upright (see page
13). Head restraints are properly
adjusted (see page 14).
All doors and the tailgate are
closed and locked (see page 12 ). All cargo is properly stored or
secured (see page 191).
The rest of this section gives more detailed information about how you
can maximize your safety.
Remember, however, that no safety
system can prevent all injuries or
deaths that can occur in severe
crashes, even when seat belts are
properly worn and the airbags deploy.

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Protecting Adults

Introduction
The following 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 39 for
important additional guidelines on
how to properly protect larger children.) 1 .Close and Lock the Doors
After everyone has entered the vehicle, be sure the doors andtailgate are closed and locked.
Your vehicle has a door and tailgate monitor light on the instrument
panel to indicate when a specificdoor or the tailgate is not tightly

closed.

For safety, locking the doors reduces
the chance that a passenger, especially a child, will open a door
while the vehicle is moving and accidentally fall out. It also reduces
the chance of someone being thrown
out of the vehicle during a crash.
For security, locked doors can
prevent an outsider from
unexpectedly opening a door when
you come to a stop.
See page 79 for how to lock the

doors.
2.Adjust the Front Seats
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 from being struck by an inflating airbag during a

crash.

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Protecting Adults

To reduce the chance of injury, wear your seat belt properly, sit upright
with your back against the seat, andmove the seat as far back as possible
from the steering wheel while still maintaining full control of the
vehicle. Also make sure your front seat passenger moves the seat as far
to the rear as possible. Most shorter drivers can get far
enough away from the steering
wheel and still reach the pedals. However, if you are concerned about
sitting too close, we recommend that
you investigate whether some type of adaptive equipment may help.
Once your seat is adjusted correctly,
rock it back and forth to make sure
the seat is locked in position.
See page 100 for how to adjust the
front seats. 3.Adjust the Seat-Backs
Adjust the driver's seat-back to a comfortable, upright position,
leaving ample space between your chest and the airbag cover in the
center of the steering wheel. If yousit too close to the steering wheel,
you could be injured if the airbag inflates.

CONTINUED

Driver and Passenger Safety

Sitting too close to an airbag
can result in serious injury or
death if the airbags inflate.
Always sit as far back from the
airbags as possible.ProCarManuals.comMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Protecting Adults

A front passenger should also adjust the seat-back to an upright position,
but as far from the dashboard as
possible. A passenger who sits tooclose to the dashboard could be
injured if the airbag inflates.
Reclining a seat-back so that theshoulder 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 101 for how to adjust seat-

backs.
4.Adjust the Head Restraints
Before driving, make sure everyone
with an adjustable head restraint has properly positioned the head
restraint. The restraint should be
positioned so the back of theoccupant's head rests against the
center of the restraint. A taller
person should adjust the restraint as
high as possible.
Driver and Passenger Safety
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.ProCarManuals.comMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Protecting Adults

Properly adjusted head restraints
will help protect occupants from whiplash and other crash injuries.
See page 104 for how to adjust the
head restraints. 5.Fasten and Position the Seat
Belts

Using a Lap/Shoulder Belt

(Except the center position of the

third row) Insert the latch plate into the buckle,
then tug on the belt to make sure the
belt is securely latched. Also check
that the belt is not twisted, because a twisted belt can cause seriousinjuries in a crash.
Position the lap part of the belt as
low as possible across your hips,
then pull up on the shoulder part of
the belt so the lap part fits snugly.
This lets your strong pelvic bones take the force of a crash and reduces
the chance of internal injuries.

CONTINUED

Driver and Passenger Safety
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.ProCarManuals.comMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Protecting Adults

If necessary, pull up on the belt again
to remove

any slack from the
shoulder part, then check that the
belt rests across the center of your chest and over your shoulder. Thisspreads the forces of a crash over
the strongest bones in your upper
body. If the seat belt touches or crosses
your neck, or if it crosses your arm instead of your shoulder, you need toadjust the seat belt anchor height.

RELEASEBUTTON

The front seats and middle row seats have adjustable seat belt anchors. Toadjust the height of a seat belt
anchor, press the release button and slide the anchor up or down as
needed (it has four positions). Never place the shoulder portion of a
lap/shoulder belt under your arm or
behind your back. This could cause
very serious injuries in a crash.

Driver and Passenger Safety

Improperly positioning the seat
belts can cause serious injury
or death in a crash.
Make sure all seat belts are
properly positioned before
driving.ProCarManuals.comMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Protecting Adults

Using the Lap/Shoulder Belt in the
Center Position of the Third Seat

METAL PLATE
Unlatch the metal plate of the
shoulder belt from the anchor on the
ceiling and extend the belt by pulling
the metal plate. METAL
HOOK

LATCH PLATE

Attach the metal hook on the edge of the shoulder belt to the metal loop
on the latch plate of the lap belt
marked CENTER. Make sure theshoulder belt is securely attached
and it is not twisted. A twisted belt
can cause serious injuries in a crash. Insert the latch plate of the lap belt
into the buckle marked CENTER. If
the belt is too short, hold the latch
plate at a right angle and pull on the
plate to extend the belt. Then insert
the latch plate into the buckle, and
tug on the lap and shoulder belts to
make sure the belt is securely latched.
Driver and Passenger Safety
CONTINUEDProCarManuals.comMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Protecting Adults

Position the lap belt as low as
possible across your hips, then pull
on the loose end of the lap belt for a snug but comfortable fit. This lets
your strong pelvic bones take the force of a crash and reduces thechance of internal injuries. If necessary, pull up on the shoulder
belt again to remove any slack from
the shoulder belt, then check that
the belt rests across the center of
your chest and over your shoulder.
This spreads the forces of a crash over the strongest bones in your
upper body.

Never place the shoulder portion of a

lap/shoulder belt under your arm or
behind your back. This could cause

very serious injuries in a crash.
If a Seat Belt Doesn 't Work Properly
If a seat belt does not seem to work
as it should, it may not protect the

occupant in a crash. No one should
sit in a seat with an inoperative seat

belt. Anyone using a seat belt that is
not working properly can be seriously injured or killed. Have your
Honda dealer check the belt as soon
as possible.
See page 45 for additional
information about your seat belt system and how to take care of your

belts.

Driver and Passenger SafetyProCarManuals.comMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Protecting Adults

6.Adjust the Steering Wheel
Adjust the steering wheel, if needed, so that the wheel points toward your
chest, not toward your face.
Pointing the steering wheel toward
your face decreases the protective capability of the driver's airbag.
See page 72 for how to adjust the
steering wheel.
7.Maintain a Proper Sitting

Position

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 feet up, the
chance of injury during a crash is
greatly increased.
In addition, an occupant who is out of
position in the front seat can be
seriously or fatally injured by
striking interior parts of the vehicle,
or by being struck by an inflating

airbag.
Remember, to get the best
protection from your vehicle's airbags and other safety features,
you must sit properly and wear your seat belt properly.

Driver and Passenger Safety

Sitting improperly or out of
position can result in serious
injury or death in a crash.
Always sit upright, well back in
the seat, with your feet on the

floor.ProCarManuals.comMain Menu Table of Contents s t