1995 HONDA ODYSSEY towing

Odyssey 1995 Online Reference Owner's Manual
Use these links (and links throughout this manual) to navigate through\
this reference.
For a printed owner's manual, click on authorized manuals or go to www.h\
elminc.com.

Contents


Introduction ........................................................................\
............................................................... i
A Few Words About Safety........................................................................\
....................................... ii
Driver and Passenger Safety ........................................................................\
.................................... 3
Proper use and care of your vehicle's seat belts, and Supplemental Restr\
aint System.
Instruments and Control s........................................................................\
........................................ . 33
Instrume nt panel indicator and gauge, and how to use dashboard and steering colu\
mn controls.
Comfort and Convenience Features ........................................................................\
..................... . 75
How to operate the climate control system, the audio system, and other c\
onvenience features.
Before Driving........................................................................\
..........................................................107
What gasoline to use, how to break -in your new vehicle, and how to load luggage and other cargo.
Driving ........................................................................\
......................................................................117
The proper way to start the engine, shift the transmission, and park, pl\
us towing a trailer.
Maintenance........................................................................\
.............................................................135
The Maintenance Schedule shows you when you need to take you r vehicle to the dealer.
Appearance Car e........................................................................\
..................................................... .183
Tips on cleaning and protecting your vehicle. Things to look for if your\
vehicle ever needs body repairs.
Taking Care of the Unexpecte d........................................................................\
..............................191
This section covers several problems motorists sometimes experience, an d how to handle them.
Technical Informatio n........................................................................\
.............................................215
ID numbers, dimensions, capacities, and technical information.
Warranty and Customer Relations (U.S. and Canada)................................................................227
A summary of the warranties covering your new Acura, and how to contact \
us.
Authorized Manu als (U.S. only)
........................................................................\
............................. .

233
How to order manuals and other technical literature.
Index ........................................................................\
........................ ...................................................... I


Service Information Summary
A summary of information you need when you pull up to the fuel pump.

Owner's Identification Form
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Additional Safety Information
The seat belts and airbags are obvi- ously important parts of your occu-
pant protection system.
In addition, you should know that sitting upright, adjusting the head
restraint properly, locking the doors, and stowing things properly can also
increase your safety and possibly even save your life. Seat-back Position
The seat-backs should be in an upright position for you and your
passengers to get the most protec-
tion from the seat belts.
If you recline a seat-back, you reduce
the protective capability of your seat
belt. The farther a seat-back is reclined, the greater the risk that
you will slide under the belt in a severe crash and be very seriously
injured.
For information on how to adjust the
seat-back, see page 57. Head Restraint Position
Head restraints can help protect you
from whiplash and other injuries. For the best protection, adjust the top of
the restraint so it is even with the
tops of your ears, or as high as possi-
ble. For instructions on adjusting the
head restraints, see page 58.

Driver and Passenger SafetyProCarManuals.comMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Loading Cargo

The maximum load you can carry in your Honda is 535 kg (1,150 Ibs). Itincludes the total weight of all
passengers and their belongings, any accessories, and the tongue weight
of a trailer. This 535 kg (1,150 Ibs)
figure is shown as the Vehicle Capacity Weight on the tire infor-
mation label attached to the driver's

doorjamb.
To figure out how much cargo you
can carry:
Figure the total "occupant weight"
you will be transporting. To do this,
multiply the number of people (driver and all passengers) by 70

kg
(150
Ibs).

Subtract this number from the
Vehicle Capacity Weight (535 kg/
1,150 Ibs).
If you are towing a trailer, subtract
the tongue weight. See Towing a
Trailer on page 128.
This final number is the total weight of cargo you can load in or on the car.
With seven occupants (driver and six
passengers), the maximum recom -
mended weight
for cargo is 45 kg

(100 Ibs).

Where you store this cargo, and how well you secure it, are just asimportant as how much it weighs.
Make sure you load cargo so it will not shift while driving. Items stored
in the cargo area behind the thirdseat should be placed as far forward
as possible. You could store addi-
tional items on the floor behind the
front seats. Make sure they cannot roll under the front seat and
interfere with the pedals.
For greater cargo capacity, the thirdseat can be folded into the floor and
the second row seats can either be
removed or folded up (depending on
model). Passengers should never sit in the open cargo area while the car
is moving. They should sit in one of
the seats and wear their seat belts.
If you must carry large objects that
prevent you from closing the tailgate,
be aware that exhaust gas can enter
the interior. See Carbon Monoxide
Hazard on page 29.

Before DrivingProCarManuals.comMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Driving

This section gives you tips on starting the engine under various
conditions, and how to operate the
automatic transmission. It also includes important information on
your car's braking system and facts
you need if you are planning to tow a trailer.
Preparing to Drive......................... 118
Starting the Engine........................ 119
Starting in Cold Weather at High Altitude ..................... 119
Automatic Transmission............... 120 Shift Lever Positions................. 120
Maximum Speeds...................... 123
Shift Lock Release..................... 123
The Braking System...................... 124 Brake Wear Indicators.............. 124
Brake System Design................ 124
Anti-lock Brakes........................ 125
Driving in Bad Weather................ 126
Towing a Trailer............................ 128

DrivingProCarManuals.comMain Menu s t

Automatic Transmission

Neutral (N) — Use Neutral if youneed to restart a stalled engine, or if
it is necessary to stop briefly with
the engine idling. Shift to Park posi-
tion if you need to leave the car for
any reason. Press on the brake pedal
when you are moving the shift lever from Neutral to another gear.
Drive (D4) — Use this position for
your normal driving. The transmis-sion automatically selects a suitable
gear for your speed and acceleration.
You may notice the transmission shifting up at higher speeds when
the engine is cold. This helps the engine warm up faster.
Drive (D3) —This position is similar
to D4, except only the first three
gears are selected. Use D3 when
towing a trailer in hilly terrain, or to
provide engine braking when going down a steep hill. D3 can also keep
the transmission from cycling between third and fourth gears in stop-and-go driving.
For faster acceleration when" in D3 or
D4, you can get the transmission to
automatically downshift by pushing
the accelerator pedal to the floor.
The transmission will shift down one or two gears, depending on your

speed.

Second (2) — To shift to Second,
pull the shift lever towards you, then shift to the lower gear. This position
locks the transmission in second
gear. It does not downshift to first
gear when you come to a stop. Second gives you more power when
climbing, and increased engine
braking when going down steep hills. Use second gear when starting out
on a slippery surface or in deep snow.It will help reduce wheelspin.
Whenever you move the shift lever to a lower gear, the transmissiondownshifts only if the engine's redline will not be exceeded in the
lower gear.
First (1) — To shift from Second to
First, pull the shift lever towards you,
then shift to the lower gear. With the
lever in this position, the transmis- sion locks in First gear. By upshift-
ing and downshifting through 1,2,
D3 and D4, you can operate this
transmission much like a manual transmission without a clutch pedal.

DrivingProCarManuals.comMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Towing a Trailer

Your Honda is designed primarily tocarry passengers and their cargo.
You can use it to tow a trailer if you
carefully observe some general rules.

The total weight of the trailer andeverything loaded in it must not
exceed the weights shown in the

table below.

* 1 : Including driver. Based on 70 kg (150 Ibs)

passenger

* 2 : Seven-passenger model only
The "tongue load" should never
exceed 72 kg (160 Ibs). This is the
amount of weight the trailer puts
on the hitch when it is fully-loaded.
As a rule of thumb, the tongue load should be 10% of the totaltrailer package.
For example, if the trailer and its
load weigh 450 kg (1,000 Ibs), the
tongue load should be 45 kg (100
Ibs). Adjust the trailer's cargo to
change the tongue load. Start by
putting approximately 60% of the cargo toward the front and 40%
toward the rear. Never load the
trailer so the back is heavier than
the front. The combined weight of the car,
all passengers and their luggage,and tongue load must not exceed
the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating.
The GVWR is printed on the Certification label attached to thedriver's doorjamb (see page 216).
The combined weight of the car, all passengers and their luggage,
and tongue load also must not
exceed the Gross Axle Weight
Rating. The GAWR is also shown on the Certification label. It tells
you the maximum load for the front and rear axles. It is possiblethat your towing package does notexceed the GVWR but does
exceed the GAWR. Improper
trailer loading, and/or too much
luggage in the cargo area can overload the rear axle. Redis-
tribute the load and check the axle
weights again.

DrivingProCarManuals.comMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Towing a Trailer
The best way to confirm that your total towing package is within thesespecifications is to get it weighed.
Load the car and trailer as you
normally would while towing, and
take them to a public scale. Have
them check the total weight and the
weight at each axle, then compare
them to the specifications.
Trailer Hitches

Your Honda dealer, or the Honda Customer Relations Zone Office, can
give you advice on the proper hitch
for your car. Never use a hitch that mounts only to the rear bumper. The
bumper is not designed to handle
that type of load. The hitch shouldbolt to the underbody of the car anddistribute the load over a wide area.
Always have a trailer hitch installed by a qualified technician.

A trailer hitch that is not adequate for the size of the trailer, or a hitch that isimproperly installed, can cause damage
to the underside of your car.

Driving

NOTICE
Improperly loading your car and
trailer can seriously affect its
steering and braking performance, causing a crashin which you can be seriously
injured.
Check the loading of your car
and trailer carefully before starting to drive.ProCarManuals.comMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Towing a Trailer

MirrorsMany states and provinces have laws
requiring special outside mirrors
when you are towing a trailer. Check
the laws in your area. You may want
to install mirrors, even if they are not required. Hook up the trailer and see
how much it obscures your ability to see behind you with the standard
mirrors. If you cannot see directly
behind you, or have a large blind spot next to the trailer or the car,
you should install mirrors intended for towing.
Connecting the Trailer

Most trailers that have a gross
weight of 450 kg (1,000 Ibs) do not have their own braking system. If
you are thinking of getting a trailer that does have brakes, make sure

they are electrically-operated. There
are no provisions in your car to tap
into its hydraulic braking system.
Any attempt to attach the trailer's brakes to your car's hydraulicsystem, no matter how successful it
may seem, will lower braking effectiveness and create a potential

hazard.
Always use a safety chain when
towing a trailer. Connect the safetychain securely at both ends. Makesure the chain crosses under the
tongue so it will catch the trailer if it
becomes unhitched. Leave enough slack in the chain so it can't bind in asharp turn. Do not let it drag on the
ground.
DrivingProCarManuals.comMain Menu Table of Contents s t