airbag HONDA PASSPORT 2000 2.G Owners Manual

Drive
r an d Passenge r Safet y
This section gives you important information about how to protect
you and your passengers. It shows
how to use seat belts properly. It
explains the Supplemental
Restraint System. And it tells you how to properly restrain infantsand children in your vehicle.
Important Safety Precautions .. 4
Your Vehicle's Safety Features 5
Seat Belts ............... 6
Airbags ................ 7 Seats and Seat-Backs ...... 8
Head Restraints .......... 8
Door Locks ............. 9
Pre-Drive Safety Checklist . 9
Protecting Adults .......... 10 1. Close and Lock the Doors 10
2. Adjust the Front Seats . . 10 3. Adjust the Seat-Backs . . 11
4. Adjust the Head Restraints 12 5. Fasten and Position
the Seat Belts ......... 13
6. Adjust the Steering Wheel 15
7. Maintain a Proper Sitting Position ....... 16
Advice for Pregnant Women 16 Additional Safety Precautions 17
Protecting Children ........ 18 All Children MustBe Restrained .......... 18
Children Should Sit in the Back Seat .......... 19
The Passenger's Airbag Poses
Serious Risks to Children 19
If You Must Drive With Several Children ....... 20
If a Child Requires
Close Attention ........ 20
Additional Safety Precautions 21 General Guidelines for Using Child Seats ...... 21
Protecting Infants........ 25 Protecting Small Children . 29
Protecting Larger Children 33
Using Child Seats With Tethers ........... 36
Additional Information About Your Seat Belts ........... 38
Seat Belt SystemComponents ........... 38
Lap/Shoulder Belt ....... 38
Lap Belt ............... 39 Seat Belt Maintenance .... 39
Additional Information About Your SRS ............... 40
SRS Components ........ 40
How Your Airbags Work .. 41
How Your SRS IndicatorLight Works ........... 42
SRS Service ............ 43
Additional Safety Precautions 43
Carbon Monoxide Hazard ... 44
Safety Labels ............. 45
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

Importan
t Safet y Precaution s
You'll find many safety
recommendations throughout this section, and throughout this
manual. The recommendations on
this page are the ones we consider
to be the most important.
Alway s Wea r You r Sea t Bel t
A seat belt is your best protection in all types of collisions. Airbags
supplement seat belts, but airbags
are designed to inflate only in a
moderate to severe frontal
collision. 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 13.)
Restrai n All Childre n
Children are safest when they are
properly restrained in the back seat, not the front seat. A child
who is too small for a seat belt must be properly restrained in a
child safety seat. (See page 18.)
B e Awar e o f Airba g Hazard s
While airbags save lives, they can
cause serious or fatal injuries to
occupants who sit too close to
them, or are not properly
restrained. Infants, young children, and short adults are atthe greatest risk. Be sure to follow
all instructions and warnings in
this manual. (See page 7.)
Don' t Drin k an d Driv e
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 friends drinkand drive either. Contro
l You r Spee d
Excessive speed is a major factor in crash injuries and deaths.
Generally, the higher the speed
the greater the risk, but serious
accidents can also occur at lowerspeeds. Never drive faster than is
safe for current conditions,
regardless of the maximum speed

posted.

Kee p You r Vehicl e i n Saf e
Conditio n
Having a tire blowout or a
mechanical failure can be
extremely hazardous. To reduce the possibility of such problems,
check your tire pressure and
condition frequently, and perform
all regularly scheduled
maintenance. (See page 187.)
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

You
r Vehicle' s Safet y Feature s
AIRBAG S
POWE R DOO R
LOCK S SEA
T BELT S
SAFET Y CAG E
COLLAPSIBL E
STEERIN G
COLUM N
CRUSH
ZONE S
Your vehicle is equipped with
many features that work together
to protect you and your
passengers during a crash.
Some safety features do not
require any action on your part.
These include a strong steel
framework that forms a safety
cage around the passenger
compartment; front and rear crush
zones that are designed to
crumple and absorb energy during
a crash; and a collapsible steering

column.

These safety features are designed to reduce the severity of injuries
in a crash. However, you and your
passengers can't take full advantage of these safety features
unless you remain sitting in a
proper position and always wear

your seat belts properly. In fact,

Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

some safety features can
contribute to injuries if they are
not used properly.
Sea t Belt s
For your safety, and the safety of
your passengers, your vehicle is equipped with seat belts in allseating positions.
Your seat belt systemalso includes 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 most
effective safety device for adults
and larger children. (Infants and smaller children must be
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 Canadian provinces require you to
wear seat belts.
When properly worn, seat belts:
Keep you connected to the
vehicle so you can take
advantage of the vehicle's
built-in safety features.
Help protect you in almost
every type of crash, includingside and rear impacts and
rollovers. In a rollover crash, an unbelted person is more
likely to die than a person wearing a seat belt. 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.

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.

Help keep you in a good
position should the airbags ever
deploy. A good position
reduces the risk of injury froman 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 seriousinjury.

What you should do: Always
wear your seat belt, and make
sure you wear it properly. Airbag
s
Your vehicle has a Supplemental
Restraint System (SRS) with
frontal airbags to help protect the driver and a 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 seat belts are the
occupants' primary protectionin all types of collisions. The
airbags supplement the seat
belts by providing extra
protection for the head and
chest of 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
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

AI
R

BA G

only during a moderate to
severe frontal collision.
Airbags can pose serious

hazards. To do 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.
Seat
s an d Seat-Back s

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 energy-absorbing 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.

Hea d Restraint s

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.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

Doo
r Lock s
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.
Pre-Driv e Safet y Checklis t
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 13). Any infant or small child is
properly restrained in a child seat in the back seat (see page
18).

Front seat occupants are sitting
upright and as far back as
possible from the steering wheel and dashboard (see page
10).

Seat-backs are upright (see
page 11).
Head restraints are properly
adjusted (see page 12).
All doors and the tailgate are closed and locked (see page
10).

All cargo is properly stored or secured (see page 171). 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.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

Protectin
g 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 33
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.
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 100 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 the inflatingairbag during a crash.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

To reduce the chance of injury,
wear your seat belt properly, sit
upright with your back against theseat, and move 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 concernedabout 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 89 for how to adjust the
front seats.
3
. Adjus t th e Seat-Back s

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
you sit too close to the steering
wheel, you could be injured if the airbag inflates.
A front passenger should also
adjust the seat-back to an upright
position, but as far from the
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

Sitting too close to the airbag
can result in serious injury or
death if the airbags inflate.
Always sit as far back from the
airbags as possible.

dashboard as possible. A
passenger who sits too close to the
dashboard could be injured if the
airbag inflates.
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 seriouslyinjured. The farther a seat-back is
reclined, the greater the risk of injury.
See page 89 for how to adjust

seat-backs.
4
. Adjus t th e Hea d Restraint s

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 the occupant's head rests
against the center of the restraint.
A taller person should adjust the
restraint as high as possible.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet yReclining 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.