Page 7 of 269
Important Safety Precautions
You'll find many safety recommendations throughout thissection, and throughout this manual.
The recommendations on this page are the ones we consider to be the
most important.
Always Wear Your Seat Belt
A seat bel
t 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 car is equipped
with airbags, make sure you and
your passengers always wear your seat belts, and wear them properly. (See page 15.)
Restrain All Children 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 21.) Be Aware of Airbag Hazards
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 at the greatest risk. Be sure to follow all instructions and
warnings in this manual. (See page 7.)
Don't Drink and Drive
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
drink and drive, either. Control Your Speed
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 lower speeds. Never drive
faster than is safe for current conditions, regardless of the
maximum speed posted.
Keep Your Car in Safe Condition
Having a tire blowout or a
mechanical failure can be extremely
hazardous. To reduce the possibilityof such problems, check your tire
pressures and condition frequently, and perform all regularly scheduled
maintenance. (See page 162.)
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Protecting Children
Children Should Sit in the Back
Seat
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 and Transport Canada recommend that all children
ages 12 and under be properly
restrained in the back seat.
In the back seat, children are less
likely 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. 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.
InfantsNever 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
inflating airbag can strike the child
with enough force to kill or very seriously injure a small child.
Larger Children
Children who have outgrown child
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 37 for important
information about protecting larger
children.)
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Protecting Children
3. The child seat should fit the vehicle seating position (or
positions) where it will be used.
Due to variations in the design of
child seats, vehicle seats, and seat
belts, all child seats will not fit all
vehicle seating positions.
However, Honda is confident that
one or more child seat models can fitand be properly installed in all
recommended seating positions in
your car. Before purchasing a child seat, we
recommend that parents test thechild seat in the specific vehicleseating position (or positions) where
they intend to use the seat. If a previously purchased child seat does
not fit, you may need to buy a different one that will fit.
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Protecting Children
Protecting Infants
Child Seat Type
Only a rear-facing child seat provides
proper support for a baby's head, neck, and back. Infants up to about
one year of age must be restrained in
a rear-facing child seat.
Two types of seats may be used: a seat designed exclusively for infants,
or a convertible seat used in the rear-
facing, reclining mode. We recommend that an infant be
restrained in a rear-facing child seat
until the infant reaches the seat
maker's weight or height limit and isable to sit up without support.
Rear-Facing Child Seat Placement
In this car, a rear-facing child seat
can be placed in any seating position
in the back seat, but not in the front
seat.
Never put a rear-facing child seat in
the front seat. If the passenger's
airbag inflates, it can hit the back of
the child seat with enough force to
kill or seriously injure an infant. If an infant must be closely watched, we
recommend that another adult sit in
the back seat with the baby.
Do not put a rear-facing child seat in
a forward-facing position. If placed
facing forward, an infant could be
very seriously injured during a
frontal collision.
CONTINUED
Driver and Passenger Safety
Placing a rear-facing child seat
in the front seat can result in
serious injury or death if the airbags inflate.
Always place a rear-facing child seat in the back seat, not the
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Page 51 of 269
Safety Labels
These labels are in the locations shown. They warn you of potential
hazards that could cause serious injury. Read these labels carefully.
If a label comes off or becomes hard
to read, contact your Honda dealer
for a replacement.
HOOD
DASH BOARD
U.S. models only
SUN VISOR
U.S. models
Canadian models
RADIATOR CAP
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Indicator Lights
* Differences in the indicators for Canadian models are noted in the text. Seat Belt Reminder Light
This indicator lights when you turn the ignition switch ON (II). It is a
reminder to you and your passengers
to protect yourselves by fastening the seat belts. A beeper also sounds
if you have not fastened your seat
belt.
If you do not fasten your seat belt,
the beeper will stop after a few seconds but the light stays on until
you do. Both the light and the beeper stay off if you fasten your seat belt
before turning on the ignition.
Supplemental Restraint
System Indicator
This indicator lights when you turn the ignition switch ON (II). If itcomes on at any other time, it
indicates a problem in thesupplemental restraint system. For
complete information, see page 47.
Instruments and Controls
U.S.: DX, Canada: LX
HIGH BEAM INDICATOR
CHARGING SYSTEM
INDICATOR
LOW OIL
PRESSURE
INDICATOR
PARKING BRAKE AND BRAKE
SYSTEM INDICATOR'
TRUNK-OPENINDICATOR
LOW FUEL INDICATOR
SEAT BELT
REMINDER LIGHT
ANTI-LOCK BRAKE SYSTEM INDICATOR
(Canadian LX model)
MALFUNCTION
INDICATOR LAMP
SUPPLEMENTAL RESTRAINT
SYSTEM INDICATOR
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Indicator Lights
Charging System
Indicator
If this light comes on when the
engine is running, the battery is not
being charged. For complete
information, see page 232.
Low Oil Pressure
Indicator
The engine can be severely damaged
if this light flashes or stays on when
the engine is running. For complete
information, see page 232.
High Beam Indicator
This light comes on with the high beam headlights. See page 61 for
information on the headlight
controls.
On Canadian models, this indicator
comes on with reduced brightness
when the Daytime Running Lights (DRL) are on (see page 61). Parking Brake
and Brake
System
Indicator
This light has two functions:
1. It lights as a reminder that you have not released the parking
brake. Driving with the parking
brake applied can damage the
brakes and tires.
2. If it remains lit after you release the parking brake while the engineis running, or comes on while
driving, it can indicate a problem
in the brake system. For complete information, see page 234 .
Malfunction Indicator
Lamp
See page 233.
Anti-lock Brake
System (ABS)Indicator
Only on cars equipped with ABS (see
page 153)
This light normally comes on for a few seconds when you turn theignition switch ON (II), and when
the ignition switch is turned to START (III). If this light comes on at
any other time, there is a problem in
the ABS. If this happens, take the car to your dealer to have it checked.
With the light on, your car still has normal braking ability but no anti-
lock.
Instruments and Controls
U.S.
Canada
BRAKE
ABS
U.S.
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Controls Near the Steering Wheel
Windshield Wipers
The right lever controls the wind-
shield wipers and washers. The
rotary switch at the end of the lever
has three positions:
INT: intermittent
: low speed : high speed
In intermittent, the wipers operate
every few seconds. In low speed and
high speed, the wipers run continu- ously. To operate the wipers in mist mode,
push the control lever down. The
wipers run at high speed until you release the lever. This gives you a quick way to clear the windshield. Windshield Washers
To clean the windshield, pull back onthe wiper control lever. The washers
spray until you release the lever.
On Canadian models
The wipers run at low speed while you're pulling the lever, then complete one more sweep of the
windshield after you release it.
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