light HONDA ODYSSEY 2000 RA6-RA9 / 2.G Owners Manual

Your Vehicl e a t a Glanc e
INDICATO R LIGHT S (P. 57)
GAUGE S (P. 62)
POWE R
DOO R LOC K
SWITCHE S
(P. 79)
POWE R WINDO W
SWITCHE S
(P. 113 )
HOO D RELEAS E
HANDL E
(P. 190 )
FUEL FIL L
DOO R RELEAS E
(P. 183 ) REA
R A/ C CONTRO L
(P. 152 )
GLOV E BO X
(P. 87)
AUDI O SYSTE M
(P. 155 , 167 )
SHIF
T LEVE R
(P. 205 ) HEATIN
G AN D COOLIN G SYSTE M (P . 130 )
CLIMAT E CONTRO L SYSTE M (P. 138)
PARKIN G BRAK E
PEDAL(P. 116 ) ACCESSOR
Y
POWE R SOCKE T
(P. 124 ) CENTE
R TABL E
(P. 117 )

Your Vehicl e a t a Glanc e
*: To use the horn, press the pad around the "H" logo.
TRACTIO N CONTRO L SYSTE M
(P. 213 )HEADLIGHTS /TURN SIGNAL S
(P. 66/68 )HAZAR D WARNIN G
LIGHT S
(P. 70) DIGITA
L CLOC K
(P. 117 )
POWE R SLIDIN G
DOO R SWITCHE S
(P. 90)
MIRRO R
CONTROL S
(P. 115 )
CRUIS E
CONTRO L
(P. 73)
REMOT E AUDI O
CONTROL S
(P. 185 )
STEERING WHEELADJUSTMENT(P. 72)
HORN *
CRUIS E
CONTRO L
(P. 73) WINDSHIEL
D
WIPERS/WASHER S
(P. 68/70 )
LIGH T CONTRO L
SWITC H
(P. 125 )
REA
R WINDO W
DEFOGGE R
(P. 71)

Driver an d Passenge r Safet y

This sectio
n gives you important

information about how to protect

yourself and your passengers. It
shows you how to use seat belts
properly. It explains your Supple-
mental Restraint System. And it tells

you how to properly restrain infants
and children in your vehicle.

Important Safety Precautions ..........

6

Your Vehicle'
s Safety Features........

7

Seat
Belts.......................................
.

8

Airbags............................................
9

Seat
s & Seat-Backs......................

10

Head
Restraints..........................
. 10

Door Locks................................... 10
Pre-Drive Safety Checklist......... 11

Protecting Adults............................. 12

1. Close and Lock the Doors...... 12
2. Adjust the Front Seats............ 12 3. Adjust the Seat-Backs............. 13
4. Adjust the Head Restraints.... 14 5. Fasten and Position the Seat
Belts...................................... 15

6. Adjust the Steering Wheel.....

19

7. Maintai
n a Proper Sitting

Position................................. 19
Advice for Pregnant Women...... 20
Additional Safety Precautions.... 20
Protecting Children......................... 22 All Children Must Be
Restrained................................ 22
Children Should Sit in the Back
Seat............................................ 23

The Passenger's Airbag Poses Serious Risks to Children....... 23
If You Must Drive with Several Children.................................... 25
If a Child Requires Close Attention................................... 25 Additional Safety Precautions.... 25
General Guidelines for Using Child Seats................................ 26
Protecting Infants........................ 30
Protecting Small Children.......... 35
Protecting Larger Children........ 39
Using Child Seats with Tethers......................................

43

Additional Informatio
n About Your
Seat Belts.................................. 45
Seat Belt System Components... 45
Lap/Shoulder Belt....................... 45
Seat Belt Maintenance................ 47
Additional Information About Your
SRS............................................
48

SRS Components........................
.
48

How
You
r Airbags Work............ 48

How the Automatic Seat Belt
Tensioners Work..................... 50

How the SRS Indicator Light
Works........................................ 50

SRS Service...................................
51

Additional Safet
y Precautions.... 52

Carbon Monoxide Hazard.............. 53

Safety Labels.................................... 54

Driver an d Passenge r Safet y

Your Vehicle' s Safet y Feature s
Seat Belt s
For your safety, and the safety of
your passengers, your vehicle is equipped with seat belts in all seating
positions.
Your seat belt system alsoincludes a light on the
instrument panel to remind you and
your passengers to fasten your seat belts.
Why Wear Seat Belts
Seat belts are the single mosteffective safety device for adults and
larger children. (Infants 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 require you to
wear seat belts.
When properly worn, seat belts: Keep you connected to the vehicleso you can take advantage of the
vehicle's built-in safety features.
Help protect you in almost every
type of crash, including side and
rear impacts and rollovers. (Your
airbag can only be helpful in a
moderate to severe frontal
collision.)
Help keep you from being thrown against the inside of the vehicle
and against other occupants.
Keep you from 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 from an inflating airbag, and
allows you to get the best
advantage from the airbag.
Of course, seat belts cannot
completely protect you in every
crash. But in most cases, seat belts
can reduce your risk of serious
injury.
What you should do: Always wear
your seat belt, and make sure you wear it properly.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y
Not wearing a seat belt properly
increases the chance of serious
injury or death in a crash, even
if you have airbags.
Be sure you and your
passengers always wear seat
belts and wear them properly.

You
r Vehicle' s Safet y Feature s

Airbag s
Your vehicle has a Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) with frontal
airbags to help protect the driver anda front seat passenger.
This system also includes an indicator light on the instrument
panel to alert you to a possible
problem with the system. The most important things you need
to know about your airbags are:Airbags do not replace seat belts.
The sea
t belts are the occupants'
primary protection in all Lypes of
collisions. The airbags supplement
the seat belts by providing extra protection for the head and chestof each front seat occupant in a
moderate to severe frontal
collision.

Airbags offer no protection in side
impacts, rear impacts, rollovers,
or minor collisions. Airbags are

designed to deploy only during a moderate to severe frontal

collision.

Airbags can pose serious hazards.
To d
o their job, airbags must
inflate with tremendous force and speed. So while airbags save lives,
they can cause serious injuries to
adults and larger children who are not wearing seat belts, are not
wearing them properly, are sitting
too close to the airbag, or are not
sitting in a proper position. Infants
and small children are at an even
greater risk of injury or death.

What you should do: Always wear

your seat belt properly, and sit upright and as far back as possible
from the steering wheel or
dashboard.

Driver an d Passenge r Safet y

Protecting Adult s
Introductio n
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
. Clos e an d Loc k th e Door s
After everyone has entered the
vehicle, be sure the doors and tailgate are closed and locked.
Your vehicle has a door and tailgate monitor light on the instrument
panel to indicate when a specific door 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.Adjus
t th e Fron t Seat s
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.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

Additional Informatio n Abou t You r Sea t Belt s
Seat Bel t Syste m Component s
Your seat belt system includes lap/
shoulder belts in all seven seating
positions.
The system also includes alight on the instrument
panel to remind you and your
passengers to fasten your belts. If
the driver's seat belt is not fastened
before the ignition is turned ON (II),
the light will come on and a beeper
will also sound. The beeper will stop after a few seconds, but the light will
stay on until the driver's seat belt is
fastened.
Lap/Shoulde r Bel t
Your vehicle has two types of lap/ shoulder belts. The center position
of the third seat has a combination of
a lap belt and a shoulder belt. For
maximum safety, they are designed
to be used together.
All other seating positions have a one-piece lap/shoulder belt. This
seat belt goes over your shoulder,
across your chest and across your
hips.
To fasten the belt, insert the latchplate into the buckle, then tug on the
belt to make sure the buckle is
latched.
To unlock the belt, push the redPRESS button on the buckle.Guide the belt across your body so
that it retracts completely. After
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 freely in
your seat while it keeps some tension on the belt. During a collisionor sudden stop, the retractor
automatically locks the belt to help
restrain your body.
CONTINUED
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

Additional Informatio n Abou t You r SR S
SRS Component s
Your Supplemental Restraint System
(SRS) includes:
Two front airbags. The driver'sairbag is stored in the center of
the steering wheel; the front
passenger's airbag is stored in the dashboard. Both are marked "SRS
AIRBAG."
Automatic seat belt tensioners that tighten the front seat beltsduring a moderate to severe
frontal collision.
Sensors that can detect a
moderate to severe frontal
collision.
A sophisticated electronic system that continually monitors and
records information about thesensors, the control unit, the
airbag activators, driver and
passenger seat belt use, and all
related wiring when the ignition is
ON (II).
An indicator light on the
instrument panel that alerts you to
a possible problem with the
system (see page 50 ).
Emergency backup power in case
your vehicle's electrical system is
disconnected in a crash.
Ho w You r Airbag s Wor k
If you ever have a moderate to
severe frontal collision, the sensors
will detect rapid deceleration and signal the control unit to instantly
inflate the airbags and activate the
automatic seat belt tensioners.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

Additional Informatio n Abou t You r SR S
How th e Automati c Sea t Bel t
Tensioner s Wor k
Your Honda has automatic seat belt tensioners for added protection during a moderate to severe frontal
collision.
If your airbags inflate, the tensioners
immediately tighten the front seat
belts to help hold the occupants in
place. The belts will remain tight
until you unbuckle them in the
normal way.
Ho w th e SR S Indicato r Ligh t
Work s
The purpose of the SRSlight is to alert you to a
potential problem with your Supplemental Restraint System.
This light will also alert you to a potential problem with yourautomatic seat belt tensioners.
When you turn the ignition ON (II), this indicator will light up briefly
then go out. This tells you that thesystem is working properly.
However, if the light comes on at any other time, you should have the
system checked by your dealer. For
example:
If the SRS indicator light does not
come on after you turn the ignitionON (II).
If the light stays on after the
engine starts.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y
S R S

Additional Informatio n Abou t You r SR S
If the light comes on or flashes on
and off while you drive.
If you see any of these indications,
your airbags and seat belt tensioners may not deploy when you need them.See your Honda dealer as soon as
possible. SR
S Servic e
Your Supplemental Restraint System is virtually maintenance-free, and
there are no parts you can safelyservice. However, you must have
your vehicle serviced if:
Your airbags ever inflate. The
airbags, seat belt tensioners, and
control unit must be replaced. Do
not try to remove or replace the
airbags yourself.
This must be done by a Honda dealer or a knowledgeable body
shop.
The SRS indicator light alerts you
to a problem. Take your vehicle to
an authorized Honda dealer as soon as possible. If you ignore this
indication, the airbags might not
inflate when you need them (see
page 50).
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y
Ignoring the SRS indicator light
can result in serious injury or
death if the airbags do not inflate when needed.
Have your vehicle checked by a
dealer as soon as possible if
the SRS light alerts you to a potential problem.