child seat 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

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.

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

7
. Maintai n a Prope r Sittin g

Positio n

After all occupants have adjusted their seats and put on seat belts, itis 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.
Advic
e 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.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y
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.

We recommend that a pregnant
woman use a lap/shoulder belt
whenever possible. Remember to
keep the lap portion of the belt as low as possible across your hips.
Pregnant women should also sit as far back as possible from thesteering 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 checkup,
ask your doctor if it's okay for
you to drive.

Additiona l Safet y
Precaution s
Two people should never use

the same seat belt. If they do, they could be very seriously
injured in a crash.
Do not put any accessories on

seat belts. Devices intended toimprove 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 orsharp 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 SRS covers in the center of the steering wheel or on top of the dashboard, they could be
injured if the airbags inflate.
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.
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 theairbags. Or, if the airbags
inflate, the objects could be
propelled inside the car and hurt someone.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

Protectin
g 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
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 21.)

A larger child should always be
restrained with a seat belt. (See

page 33.)

Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y
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 properly
restrained with a seat belt.

Childre
n Shoul d Si t i n th e
Bac k Sea t
According to accident statistics,
children of all ages and sizes are safer when they are restrained in
the back seat, not the front seat.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
recommends that all children ages 12 and under be properly
restrained in the back seat.
In the back seat, children are lesslikely 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 to severe 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 inflatingairbag can strike the child with
enough force to kill or very seriously injure a small child.
Larger Children Children who have outgrownchild seats are also at risk of
being injured or killed by an
inflating passenger's airbag.
Whenever possible, larger
children should sit in the back seat, properly restrained with a
seat belt. (See page 33 for
important information about
protecting larger children.)
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y