airbag HONDA S2000 2000 1.G User Guide

Protecting Children
Your Car is Not Recommended
for Child Passengers
We strongly recommend that you do
not carry any child in this car.
One reason is that your car does not
have a back seat, and accident
statistics show that a child of any
size or age is safer when they are
properly restrained
in the back seat
of a vehicle.
In addition, your car
has a passenger's
air bag which poses serious risks to
children-particularly infants and
small children.
20 Driver and Passenger Safety
The Passenger's Airbag Poses
Serious Risks to Children
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.
As a result, we urge you to follow
these guidelines.
Infants
Never put a rear-facing child seat in
the front seat of a car equipped with
a
passenger's airbag. If the air bag
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
f01ward-facing child seat in
the front seat of a car 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.
If a
small child must ride
in this car,
follow the instructions on page
23 .
Larger Children
Children who
have outgrown child
seats are also at risk of being injured
or killed by an inflating passenger's
airbag. If a larger child must ride in
this car, see page 29 for important
guidelines on how to decide whether
a child is large enough and mature
enough to ride as a passenger, and
how to properly protect the child.

U.S. Models
To remind you of the passenger's
airbag hazards, your car
has warning
labels on the dashboard and on the
driver's and passenger's visors.
Please read and follow the
instructions on these labels.
A WARNING
®
DEATH or SERIOUS INJURY can occur • Children 12 and under can be krlled by the rur bag • NEVER pula rear-facrng chrld seat rn lhe front • Sri as far back as possrble !rom !he arr bag • ALWAYS use SEAT BELTS and CHILD RESTRAINTS
A WARNING
Children Can Be KILLED or INJURED
by Passenger Air Bag
MaKe sure all cnildren use sea! bells or cnild seals.
Canadian Models
To remind you of the airbag hazards,
your car has warning labels on the
driver's and passenger's visors.
Please read and follow
the
instructions on these labels.
CAUTION TO 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.
Protecting Children
PRECAUTIONS:
POUR EVITER DES BLESSURES GRAVES:
• POUR PROFITER D'UNE PROTECTIOON
~~3j~t~Es ~cffR~· ~NEE?N~LQ-~~~~ ~~~~~T~E. • NINSTALLEZ JAMAIS UN SIEGE POUR ENFANTS FAISANT FACE A L'ARRIERE SUR LE SIEGE DU PASSAGER AVANT.
• NE VOUS APPUYEZ PAS ET NE VOUS ASSOYEZ
PAS PRES DU COUSSIN GONFLABLE. • NE DEPOSEZ AUCUN OBJET SUR LE COUSSIN GONFLABLE OU ENTRE LE COUSSIN GONFLABLE ET VOUS. e LISEZ LE GUIDE UTILISATEUR POUR DE PLUS AMPLES RENSEIGNEMENTS.
Driver and Passenger Safety 21

Protecting Children
Additional Safety Precaution
• Do not leave a child alone in your
car. Leaving a child without adult
supervision is illegal
in most states
and Canadian provinces and can
be very hazardous. For example, a
small child left
in a car on a hot
day can die from heatstroke. A
child left alone with the key in the
ignition can accidentally set the
car
in motion, possibly injuring
themselves
or others.
22 Driver and Passenger Safety
General Guidelines for Using
Child
Seats
As discussed on page 20, because
your car does not have a back seat,
and because
of the passenger's
airbag hazard, we strongly
recommend that you
do not carry a
small child as a passenger
in this car.
However,
if you must carry a small
child
in this car, the child must be
properly restrained in a child seat.
The following pages give general
guidelines for selecting and installing
a child seat.
See page 26 for
additional information.
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.

Protecting Children
Placing a Child Seat
This page briefly summarizes
Honda's recommendations on where
to place a child seat in your car.
Airbags Pose Serious
Risks to Children
The passenger's airbag inflates
with enough force to kill or
seriously injure an infant in a
rear-facing child seat.
A small child
in a forward-facing
child seat is also at risk.
If the
vehicle seat is too far forward,
or the child's head is thrown
forward during a collision, an
inflating airbag can kill or
seriously injure the child.
If a small child must ride in this
car, follow the instructions
provided in this section.
24 Driver and Passenger Safety
Passenger's Seat
Infants: Never in the passenger's
seat, due to
the passenger's airbag
hazard.
Small children: Not recommended,
due to
the passenger's airbag
hazard.
If a small child must ride
in this car, move the vehicle seat
to the rear-most position and
secure a front-facing child seat
with
the seat belt. (see page 27).
This car is not equipped with a
tether attachment point.

Protecting Children
Protecting Small Children
The passenger's airbag poses
serious risks to small children.
If the
vehicle seat is too far forward, or the
child's head is thrown forward
during a collision, or
the child is
unrestrained or improperly
restrained, an inflating airbag can kill
or seriously injure the child.
For these reasons, we recommend
that you
do not carry a small child as
a passenger.
26 Driver and Passenger Safety
If you decide to carry a small child in
this car, follow the instructions and
guidelines below.
Child Seat Type
A child who can sit up without
support, and who fits within the child
seat maker's weight and height
limits, should be restrained
in a
forward-facing, upright child seat.
Of the different seats available, we
recommend those
that have a five­
point harness system as shown.
We also recommend that a small
child stay
in the child seat as long as
possible, until the child reaches the
weight or height limit for the seat.
Improperly placing a forward­
facing
child seat in the front
seat can
result in serious injury
or death if the airbags
inflate.
If you must place a forward­
facing
child seat in front, move
the
vehicle seat as far back as
possible and properly restrain
the
child.

Child Seat Installation
The passenger's seat belt has a
locking mechanism that must be
activated to secure a child seat.
The following pages provide
instructions and tips on how to
secure a forward-facing child seat
with this type of seat belt.
1. Move the vehicle seat to the rear­
most position. Moving the seat as
far back as possible reduces the
chance of a child being injured or
killed
if the passenger's airbag
inflates. (See page
68 for
instructions on how to adjust the
seat.)
2. With the child seat in position,
route the belt through the child
seat according to the seat maker's
instructions, then insert the latch
plate into the buckle.
Protecting Children
3. To activate the lockable retractor,
slowly pull the shoulder part
of the
belt
all the way out until it stops,
then let the belt feed back into the
retractor (you might hear a
clicking noise as the belt retracts).
4. After the belt has retracted, tug on
it. If the belt is locked, you will not
be able to pull it out.
If you can pull
the belt out, it is not locked and
you
will need to repeat these steps.
CONTINUED
Driver and Passenger Safety 27

Protecting Larger Children
The passenger's airbag poses
serious risks to children, including
those who have outgrown child seats.
If the vehicle seat is too far forward,
or the child's head is thrown forward
during a collision, or the child is
unrestrained or out of position, an
inflating airbag can kill or seriously
injure the child.
For these reasons, we recommend
that you
do not carry a child
passenger.
With this
in mind, following are
some guidelines to help you decide
when a given child may ride in your
car.
The Child Should Wear a Seat Belt
When a child reaches the
recommended weight or height limit
for a forward-facing child seat, the
child should wear a lap/shoulder belt.
If a child is too short for the shoulder
part of the belt to properly fit, we
recommend that the child use a
booster seat until tall enough to use
the seat belt without a booster.
The following pages give
instructions on how to check proper
seat belt fit, what kind of booster
seat to use
if one is needed, and
important precautions for a child
who must ride in this car.
Allowing a larger child to sit
improperly in the front seat can
result in injury or death if the
airbags
inflate.
If
a larger child must sit in front,
make sure the
child moves the
seat as far back as
possible
and wears the seat belt properly.
Protecting Children
Checking Seat Belt Fit
To determine if a lap/shoulder belt
properly fits a child, have the child
put on the seat belt. Follow the
instructions on page 15.
Then check
how the belt fits.
If the shoulder part of the belt rests
over the child's collarbone and
against the center of the chest, as
shown, the child is large enough to
wear the seat belt.
CONTINUED
Driver and Passenger Safety 29

SRS Components
Your Supplemental Restraint System
(SRS) includes:
• Two front airbags. The driver's
airbag 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 belts
during a moderate to severe
frontal collision.
• Sensors that can detect a
moderate to severe frontal
collision.
• A sophisticated electronic system
that continually monitors the
sensors, control unit, the airbag
activators, and all related wiring
when the ignition is
ON (II).
Additional Information About Your SRS
• An indicator light on the How Your Airbags Work
instrument panel that alerts you to
a possible problem with the
system (see page
37).
• Emergency backup power in case
your car's electrical system
is
disconnected in a crash.
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.
CON11NUED
Driver and Passenger Safety 35

Additional Information About Your SRS
During a crash, your seat belt helps
restrain your lower body and torso,
while the tensioner tightens and
locks
the seat belt to help keep you
in place.
Your air bag provides a
cushion to help restrain and protect
your head and chest.
Since both airbags use the same
sensors, both airbags normally
inflate at the same time. However, it
is possible for only one air bag to
inflate.
This can occur when the severity of
a collision is at the margin, or
threshold, that determines whether
or not the airbags will deploy. In
such cases, the seat belt will provide
sufficient protection, and the
supplemental protection offered by
the air bag would be minimal.
36 Driver and Passenger Safety
Mter inflating, the airbags
immediately deflate, so they won't
interfere with the driver's visibility,
or the ability to
steer or operate
other controls.
The total time for inflation and
deflation is approximately one-tenth
of a second, so fast
that most
occupants are not aware that the
airbags deployed until they see
them
lying in their laps.
Mter a crash, you may see what
looks like smoke. This is actually
powder from the airbag's surface.
Although the powder is not harmful,
people with respiratory problems
may experience some temporary
discomfort.
If this occurs, get out of
the car as soon as it is safe to
do so.
U.S. Owners
For additional information on how
your airbags work, see the booklet
titled
SRS· What You Need to Know
About Airbags that came with your
owner's manual.
Canadian Owners
For additional information on how
your airbags work, ask your dealer
for a copy of the booklet titled
SRS:
What
You Need to Know About Airbags.

How the Automatic Seat Belt
Tensioners Work
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.
Additional Information About Your SRS
How the SRS Indicator Light
Works
~ ~he J?Urpose of the SRS
~ hght 1s to alert you to a
potential problem with your
Supplemental Restraint System.
When you turn the ignition
ON (II),
this indicator will light up briefly
then go out. This tells you that the
system 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 ignition
ON(II).
• If the light stays on after the
engine starts.
• 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 Acura dealer as soon as
possible.
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.
Driver and Passenger Safety 37