HONDA ODYSSEY 2000 RA6-RA9 / 2.G Owner's Manual

Protecting Adult s
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 the chance 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.
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Protecting Adult s
6.Adjus t th e Steerin g Whee l
Adjust the steering wheel, if needed, so that the wheel points toward your
chest, not toward your face.
Pointing the steering wheel toward
your chest provides optimal protection from the airbag.
See page 72 for how to adjust the
steering wheel.
7.Maintai n a Prope r Sittin g
Positio n
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 beseriously 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.
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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.

Protecting Adult s
Advice fo r Pregnan t Wome n
Because protecting the mother is the
best way to protect her unborn child, a pregnant woman should always
wear a seat belt whenever she drives or rides in a vehicle.
Remember to keep the lap portion of
the belt as low as possible across
your hips. Pregnant women should also sit
upright and as far back as possible
from the steering wheel or dashboard. This will reduce the risk
of injuries to both the mother and
her unborn child that can be caused
by a crash or an inflating airbag.
Each time you have a check-up, ask
your doctor if it's okay for you to drive.Additiona l Safet y Precaution s
Never let passengers ride in the
cargo area or on top of a folded-
down back seat. All passengers
must sit in locked, upright seats
and be properly restrained by seat
belts.
Passengers should not stand up or
change seats while the vehicle is
moving. A passenger who is not
wearing a seat belt during a crash or emergency stop can be thrown
against the inside of the vehicle,
against other occupants, or out of
the vehicle.
Two people should never use the
same seat belt. If they do, they
could be very seriously injured in a
crash.
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Protecting Adult s
Do not put any accessories on seat
belts. Devices intended to improve
occupant comfort or reposition the shoulder part of a seat belt can
severely compromise the
protective capability of the seat
belt and increase the chance of serious injury in a crash.
Do not place hard or sharp objects
between yourself and an airbag.
Carrying hard or sharp objects on
your lap, or driving with a pipe or other sharp object in your mouth,
can result in injuries if your
airbags inflate.
Keep your hands and arms away
from the airbag covers. If your
hands or arms are close to the airbag covers in the center of thesteering wheel and on top of the
dashboard, they could be injured if
the airbags inflate.
Do not attach or place objects on
the airbag covers. Any object
attached to or placed on the covers
marked "SRS AIRBAG," in the center of the steering wheel and
on top of the dashboard, could
interfere with the proper operation of the airbags. Or, if the airbags
inflate, the objects could be
propelled inside the car and hurt
someone.
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Protecting Childre n
Children depend on adults to protect
them. However, despite their best intentions, many parents and other
adults may not know how to properly
protect young passengers.
So if you have children, or if you ever
need to drive with a grandchild or other children in your vehicle, be
sure to read this section. Al
l Childre n Mus t B e Restraine d
Each year, many children are injured
or killed in vehicle crashes because
they are either unrestrained or not
properly restrained. In fact, vehicle accidents are the number one cause
of death of children ages 12 and
under.
To reduce the number of child deaths and injuries, every state andCanadian province requires that
infants and children be restrained
whenever they ride in a vehicle.
Any child who is too small to wear a
seat belt should be properly
restrained in a child seat. (See page
26.)
A larger child should always be restrained with a seat belt. (See page 39.)
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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 properlyrestrained in a child seat. A
larger child should be properlyrestrained with a seat belt.

Protecting Childre n
Children Shoul d Si t i n th e Bac k
Seat
According to accident statistics,
children of all ages and sizes ar e
safer when they are restrained in the
back seat, not the front seat. The National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration and Transport Canada recommend that all children
ages 12 and under be properly
restrained in a back seat.
In a back seat, children are less
likely to be injured by striking hard interior parts during a collision or
hard braking. Also, children cannot
be injured by an inflating airbag
when they ride in the back.
Th e Passenger' s Airba g Pose s
Seriou s Risk s t o Childre n
Airbags have been designed to help protect adults in a moderate tosevere frontal collision. To do this,
the passenger's airbag is quite large, and it inflates with tremendous
speed.
Infants
Never put a rear-facing child seat in the front seat of a vehicle equipped
with a passenger's airbag. If the
airbag inflates, it can hit the back of
the child seat with enough force to
kill or very seriously injure an infant.
Small Children
Placing a forward-facing child seat in the front seat of a vehicle equipped
with a passenger's airbag can be
hazardous. If the vehicle seat is too
far forward, or the child's head is thrown forward during a collision, an
inflating airbag can strike the child
with enough force to kill or very seriously injure a small child.
Larger Children
Children who have outgrown child
seats are also at risk of being injured or killed by an inflating passenger's
airbag. Whenever possible, larger
children should sit in a back seat,
properly restrained with a seat belt. (See page 39 for important
information about protecting larger children.)
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Protecting Childre n
U.S. Models
To remind you of the passenger's
airbag hazards, and that children
must be properly restrained in a
back seat, your vehicle has warning
labels on the dashboard and on the driver's and front passenger's visors.
Please read and follow the
instructions on these labels.
Canadian Models
To remind you of the airbag hazards,your vehicle has warning labels onthe driver's and front passenger's
visors. Please read and follow the instructions on these labels.
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CAUTIO NTO AVOID SERIOUS INJURY:FOR MAXIMUM SAFETY PROTECTION IN
ALL TYPES OF CRASHES, YOU MUST
ALWAYS WEAR YOUR SAFETY BELT. DO NOT INSTALL REARWARD-FACING
CHILD SEATS IN ANY FRONT PASSENGER SEAT POSITION.
DO NOT SIT OR LEAN UNNECESSARILY
CLOSE TO THE AIR BAG. DO NOT PLACE ANY OBJECTS OVER THE
AIR BAG OR BETWEEN THE AIR BAG
AND YOURSELF. SEE THE OWNER'S MANUAL FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION AND EXPLANATIONS.
PRECAUTION :POUR EVITER DES BLESSURES GRAVES:POUR PROFITER D'UNE PROTECTION
MAXIMALE LORS D'UNE COLLISION BOUCLEZ
TOUJOURS VOTRE CEINTURE DE SECURITE. N'lNSTALLEZ JAMAIS UN SIEGE POUR
ENFANTS FAISANT FACE A L'ARRIERE SUR
LE SIEGE DU PASSAGER AVANT.
NE VOUS APPUYEZ PAS ET NE VOUS ASSEYEZ PAS PRES DU COUSSIN GONFLABLE.
NE DEPOSEZ AUCUN OBJET SUR LE COUSSIN
GONFLABLE OU ENTRE LE COUSSIN
GONFLABLE ET VOUS.
LISEZ LE GUIDE UTILISATEUR POUR DE
PLUS AMPLES RENSEIGNEMENTS.

Protecting Childre n
If Yo u Mus t Driv e wit h Severa l
Childre n
Your vehicle has two rows of back
seats where children can be properly
restrained.
If you ever have to carry a group ofchildren (when carpooling for
example), and a child must ride in
front:
Place the largest child in the frontseat, provided the child is large
enough to wear a seat belt
properly (see page 39).
Move the vehicle seat as far to the
rear as possible (see page 12). Have the child sit upright and well
back in the seat (see page 19).
Make sure the seat belt is properly
positioned and secured (see page
15). I
f a Chil d Require s Clos e
Attentio n
Many parents say they prefer to put
an infant or small child in the front
passenger seat so they can watch the child, or because the child requires
attention.
Placing a child in the front seatexposes the child to hazards from
the airbag, and paying close attention to a child distracts thedriver from the important tasks of
driving, placing both of you at risk.
If a child requires physical attention or frequent visual contact, we
strongly recommend that another
adult ride with the child in a back
seat. The back seat is far safer for a
child than the front. Additiona
l Safet y Precaution s
Use childproof door locks to
prevent children from opening the
doors. Using this feature will
prevent children from opening the doors and accidentally falling out (see page 85).
Do not leave children alone in your
vehicle. Leaving children without
adult supervision is illegal in most
states and Canadian provinces,
and can be very hazardous. For
example, infants and small
children left in a vehicle on a hot
day can die from heatstroke. And
children left alone with the key in
the ignition can accidentally set
the vehicle in motion, possibly
injuring themselves or others.
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Protecting Childre n
General Guideline s fo r Usin g
Chil d Seat s
The following pages give general guidelines for selecting and installing
child seats for infants and smallchildren.
Selecting a Child Seat
To provide proper protection, a child seat should meet three
requirements:
1. The child seat should meet safety
standards. The child seat should
meet Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 213 (FMVSS 213) or Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 213 (CMVSS 213). Look
for the manufacturer's statement of compliance on the box and seat.
2. The child seat should be of the
proper type and size to fit the child.
Infants: Children up to about one
year old should be restrained in a rear-facing, reclining child seat. Onlya rear-facing seat provides the
proper support to protect an infant's
head, neck, and back. See page 30 for additional information on
protecting infants. Small Children: A child who is too
large for a rear-facing child seat, and
who can sit up without support, should be restrained in a forward-
facing child seat. See page 35 for additional information on protecting
small children.
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Protecting Childre n
3. The child seat should fit the
vehicle seating position (or
positions) where it will be used.
Due to variations in the design of
child seats, vehicle seats, and seat
belts, all child seats will not fit all
vehicle seating positions.
However, Honda is confident that
one or more child seat models can fit
and be properly installed in all
recommended seating positions in
your vehicle.
Before purchasing a child seat, we
recommend that parents test the
child seat in the specific vehicleseating position (or positions) where
they intend to use the seat. If a previously purchased child seat does
not fit, you may need to buy adifferent one that will fit.
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