1992 HONDA PRELUDE steering

Towing a Trailer

Driving

When parking your car and trailer,
especially on a hill, be sure to
follow all the normal precautions.
Turn your front wheels into the curb, set the parking brake firmly,
and put the transmission in 1st or
Reverse (5-speed) or Park (auto-
matic). In addition, place wheel chocks at each of the trailer's tires.
Backing up with a trailer is diffi-
cult and takes practice. Drive
slowly, make small movements
with the steering wheel, and havesomeone stand outside to guide you.
Grip th e
steering wheel on the
bottom (rather than the usual posi- tion near the top). Move your hand
to the left to get the trailer to move
to the left, and right to move the

trailer right.ProCarManuals.comMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Maintenance

Regularly maintaining your Honda
is the best way to protect your investment. You will be rewarded
with safer, more economical,
trouble-free driving. This section
lists items that need to be checked
regularly and explains how to check them. It also details some
simple maintenance tasks you can

do yourself. The maintenance

schedules for normal and severe
driving conditions show you when
these things need to be done.
If you are interested in how to per-
form more complex maintenance
on your Honda, you can purchase
the Service Manual. See page 221 for information on how to
obtain a copy, or see your Honda

dealer.
Maintenance Schedule................ 128
Maintenance Record................ 131
Periodic Checks............................ 133
Fluid Locations............................. 134

Engine Oil...................................... 135
Checking Engine Oil................ 135

Adding........................................ 135
Recommended Oil.................... 136

Additives.................................... 136 Oil and Filter Changes ............ 137
Cooling System............................. 139 Checking the Coolant Level... 139
Adding Radiator Coolant........ 139
Replacing Coolant.................... 140
Windshield Washers.................... 143

Transmission Oil.......................... 144
Automatic Transmission........ 144
5-speed Transmission.............. 145

Brake and Clutch Fluid............... 146
Brake System............................ 146
Anti-lock Brake System ......... 147 Clutch System........................... 147
Power Steering............................. 148

Air Filter....................................... 149
Fuel Filter..................................... 150

Spark Plugs.................................. .
150
Replacement.............................. 150
Specification.............................. 152
Battery............................................ 152
Windshield Wipers....................... 155
Air Conditioner............................. 157 Engine Belts.................................. 158
Tires................................................ 158 Inflation...................................... 158
Inspection................................... 159
Maintenance.............................. 160
Tire Rotation............................ 160
Replacing Tires ........................ 161
Wheels and Tires...................... 161
DOT Tire Quality Grading..... 161 Treadwear............................. 161
Traction................................. 162
Temperature......................... 162
Winter Driving.......................... 163 Snow Tires............................ 163
Tire Chains............................ 163
Lights.............................................. 164
Replacing Bulbs........................ 164
Storing Your Car.......................... 173

MaintenanceProCarManuals.comMain Menu s t

Maintenance Schedule
R — Replace I — Inspect After inspection, clean, adjust, repair or replace if necessary.

Severe Driving Conditions Items with an or in the chart will need service
more often, if you drive in some servere conditions.
The conditions are:
A. Repeated short distance driving.B. Dusty conditions.
C. Severe cold weather.
D. Areas with road salt or other corrosive materials.
E. Rough or muddy roads.
F. Towing a trailer.
The services are:
— Clean the air cleaner element every 24,000 km (15,000 miles) or 12 months and replace every 48,000 km (30,000 miles) or 24 months under condition B or E.
— Replace engine oil and oil filter every 6,000 km (3,750 miles) o r 3 months under condition A,

B or F
.

— Replace transmission oil every 24,000 km (15,000 miles) or 12 months under condition F.
— Inspect front brake discs and calipers, and rear brake discs, calipers and pads every 12,000 km (7,500 miles) or 6 months under condition A, B, D, E or F.
— Inspect the power steering system every 12,000 km (7,500 miles) o
r 6 months under
condition B, C or E.

Maintenance
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Periodic Checks

You should check the following items at the specified intervals. If
you are unsure of how to perform
any check, turn to the page given. Engine oil level — Check every
time you fill the gas tank. See
page 102.

Engine coolant level — Check

the radiator reserve tank every
time you fill the gas tank. See

page 103.

Windshield washer fluid —
Check the level in the reservoir
monthly. If weather conditions
cause you to use the washers
frequently, check the reservoir each time you stop for gas. See

page 143 .

Automatic transmission — Check the fluid level monthly.
See page 144. Brakes, clutch and power
steering — Check the fluid level
monthly. See page 146.Tires — Check the tire pressure
monthly. Examine the tread for
wear and foreign objects. See
page 159.
Battery — Check its condition
and the terminals for corrosion
monthly. See page 152.
Air conditioner — Check its operation weekly. See page 157.
Lights — Check the operation of
the headlights, parking lights,
taillights, high-mount brake light,
turn signals, brake lights, and
license plate lights monthly. See
page 164.

MaintenanceProCarManuals.comMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Fluid Locations

Maintenance
BRAKE FLUID
(Gray cap)
(5-M/T only)
CLUTCH FLUID (Gray cap)
ENGINE OIL
FILLER CAP
POWER STEERING
FLUID (Red cap)
ANTI-LOCK BRAKE
RESERVOIR
(Gray cap)
COOLANT

RESERVOIR

AUTOMATIC
TRANSMISSION FLUID DIPSTICK
(Yellow loop)

ENGINE OIL DIPSTICK
(Orange loop)WASHER FLUID
(Blue cap)ProCarManuals.comMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Power Steering

You should check the fluid level in
the power steering reservoir
monthly. Check the level when the
engine is cold. Look at the side of
the reservoir. The fluid should be
between the UPPER LEVEL and LOWER LEVEL. If it is below the
LOWER LEVEL, add power
steering fluid to the UPPER

LEVEL.
Using automatic transmission fluid
or another brand of power steering
fluid will damage the system. Use
only genuine Honda power steering

fluid.

A low power steering fluid levelcan indicate a leak in the system.
Check the fluid level frequently
and have the system inspected as
soon as possible.

Maintenance
UPPER
LEVEL

LOWER
LEVEL
NOTICEProCarManuals.comMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Engine Belts, Tires

Engine Belts

Check the condition of the two
engine belts. Examine the edges of
each belt for cracks or fraying.
Check the tension of each belt by pushing on it with your thumb
midway between the pulleys.
The belts should have the following "play" or deflection.
Alternator belt:
10.0 — 12.0 mm (0.39 — 0.47 in)

Power steering belt:
13.5 — 16.5
mm
(0.53
—
0.65 in)
If you see signs of wear or loose-

ness, have your dealer adjust or

replace the belts. Your dealer will
check these belts as part of the

normal scheduled maintenance.
Tires

Check the inflation and condition
of your car's tires at least once a

month.

Inflation

Check the pressure in the tires
when they are cold. This means the car has been parked for at least
three hours. If you have to drive
the car before checking the tire
pressure, the tires can still be
considered "cold" if you drive less than one mile.
If you check the pressure when the
tires are hot (the car has been
driven several miles), you will see
readings 28 to 41 kPa (0.3 to 0.4
kg/cm2, 4 to 6 psi) higher than the
cold reading. This is normal. Do not
let air out to match the specified
cold pressure. The tire will be

underinflated.

Maintenance
POWER STEERING BELT

ALTERNATOR
BELTProCarManuals.comMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Tires

Replacing Tires

The tires that came with your Honda were selected to match the
performance capabilities of the car
and provide the best combination of
handling, ride comfort, and long life.
You should replace them with
radial tires of the same size, load
range, and speed rating. Mixing
radial and bias-ply or bias-belted tires on your car can reduce its
braking ability, traction, and
steering accuracy.
It is best to replace all four tires at
the same time. If that is not possi-
ble or necessary, then replace the two front tires or the two rear tires
as a pair. Replacing just one tire
can seriously affect your car's han-

dling.

If you ever need to replace a wheel,
make sure you use the same wheel
that originally came on your Honda.
Replacement wheels are available
at your Honda dealer. Wheels and Tires

Wheel:
(US: S, Canada: S)
14 x 5.5 JJ

(US: Si, Si 4WS, Canada: SR, SR 4WS)
15
x
6.5 JJ

Tire:
(US: S, Canada: S)

185/70R14 87H

(US: Si, Si 4WS, Canada: SR, SR 4WS)
205/55R15 87V

DOT Tire Quality Grading

(US Cars)

The tires on your car meet all U.S.
Federal Safety Requirements. All
tires are also graded for treadwear,

traction, and temperature perform-
ance according to Department of

Transportation (DOT) standards.

The following explains these

gradings.
Treadwear

The treadwear grade is a compara-

tive rating based on the wear rate
of the tire when tested under con-

trolled conditions on a specified

government test course. For exam-

ple, a tire graded 150 would wear

one and one half (1-1/2) times as

well on the government course as a
tire graded 100. The relative per-

formance of tires depends upon the

actual conditions of their use, how-

ever, and may depart significantly

from the norm due to variations in

driving habits, service practices

and differences in road character-

istics and climate.

CONTINUED

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