1999 HONDA CIVIC COUPE steering

1999 Civic Coupe 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.helminc.com.

Contents
Introduction........................................................................\
............................................................................. i
A Few Words About Safety ........................................................................\
.................................................. ii
Your Vehicle at a Glance ........................................................................\
....................................................... 2
Driver and Passenger Safety ........................................................................\
............................................... 5
Pr op

er use and care of your vehicle's seat belts, and Supplemental Restraint System.
Instruments and Controls........................................................................\
...................................................51
Instrument panel in

dicator and gauge, and how to use dashboard and steering column controls.
Comfort and Convenience Features........................................................................\
.................................87
How to op

erate the climate control system, the audio system, and other convenience features.
Before Driving ........................................................................\
.....................................................................123
What gasoli n
e to u

se, how to break-in your new vehicle, and how to load luggage and other cargo.
Driving........................................................................\
...................................................................................135
The proper way t o

start the engine, shift the tr ansmission, and park, plus towing a trailer.
Maintenance........................................................................\
.........................................................................157
T h
e Ma

intenance Schedule shows you when you need to take your vehicle to the dealer.
Appearance Care........................................................................\
.................................................................213
T i
ps on cl

eaning and protecting your vehicle. Things to look for if your car ever needs body repairs.
Taking Care of the Unexpected........................................................................\
.......................................219
This section covers sever
a

l problems motorists someti mes experience, and how to handle them.
Technical Information........................................................................\
.......................................................243
ID numbers, dimens ions, capacities, and techn

ical information.
Warranty and Customer Relations (U.S. and Canada)......................................................................257
A summary of th
e warr

anties covering your new Honda, and how to contact us.
Authorized Manuals (U.S. only)........................................................................\
.......................................263
How t o
order

manuals and other technical literature.
Index ........................................................................\
......................................................................................... I
Servic e Inf

ormation Summary
A summary of informa

tion you need when you pull up to the fuel pump.


Owner's Identification

Driver and Passenger Safety

This section gives you important
information about how to protect

yourself and your passengers. It
shows you how to use seat belts

properly. It explains your Supple-

mental Restraint System. And it tells

you how to properly restrain infants

mid children in your car.

Important Safety Precautions.......... 6

Your Car's Safety Features.............. 7
Seat Belts........................................ 8
Airbags............................................ 9

Seats & Seat-Backs...................... 10Head Restraints........................... 10
Door Locks................................... 11
Pre-Drive Safety Checklist......... 11

Protecting Adults............................. 12
1. Close and Lock the Doors...... 12
2. Adjust the Front Seats............ 12 3. Adjust the Seat-Backs............. 13
4. Adjust the Head Restraints.... 145. Fasten and Position the Seat
Belts...................................... 15

6. Adjust the Steering Wheel..... 18
7. Maintain a Proper Sitting
Position................................. 18

Advice for Pregnant Women...... 19

Additional Safety Precautions.... 19

Protecting Children......................... 21
All Children Must Be

Restrained................................ 21
Children Should Sit in the Back
Seat............................................ 22

The Passenger's Airbag Poses Serious Risks to Children....... 22
If You Must Drive with Several Children.................................... 24 If a Child Requires Close
Attention................................... 24
Additional Safety Precaution...... 24 General Guidelines for Using
Child Seats................................ 25

Protecting Infants........................ 29 Protecting Small Children.......... 33
Protecting Larger Children........ 37
Using Child Seats with Tethers...................................... 40
Additional Information About Your
Seat Belts.................................. 42

Seat Belt System Components... 42
Lap/Shoulder Belt....................... 42
Lap Belt......................................... 43
Seat Belt Maintenance................ 44
Additional Information About Your
SRS............................................ 45

SRS Components......................... 45

How Your Airbags Work............ 45
How the SRS Indicator Light
Works........................................ 47

SRS Service................................... 47

Additional Safety Precautions.... 48

Carbon Monoxide Hazard.............. 49

Safety Labels.................................... 50

Driver and Passenger SafetyMain Menu s t

Your Car's Safety Features

Your car is equipped with many features that work together to
protect you and your passengersduring a crash.
Some safety features do not require
any action on your part. These
include a strong steel framework
that forms a safety cage around the
passenger compartment; front and rear crush zones that are designed to
crumple and absorb energy during a
crash; and a collapsible steering

column.

These safety features are designed to reduce the severity of injuries in a
crash. However, you and your
passengers can't take full advantageof these safety features unless you
remain sitting in a proper position
and always wear your seat belts

properly. In fact, some safety
features can contribute to injuries if they are not used properly.
Driver and Passenger Safety
(1) Safety Cage
(2) Crush Zones
(3) Seats & Seats-Backs
(4) Head Restraints
(5) Collapsible Steering Column
(6) Seat Belts
(7) Airbags
(8) Door LocksMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Your Car's Safety Features

Airbags

Yqur car has a SupplementalRestraint System (SRS) with frontal
airbags to help protect the driver and
a front seat passenger.
This system also includesan indicator light on the
instrument panel to alert you to a
possible problem with the system. The most important things you need
to know about your airbags are:
Airbags do not replace seat belts.

The seat belts are the occupants' primary protection in all types ofcollisions. The airbags supplement
the seat belts by providing extra
protection for the head and chestof each front seat occupant in a
moderate to severe frontal

collision.
Airbags offer no protection in side

impacts, rear impacts, rollovers,
or minor collisions. Airbags are

designed to deploy 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 notsitting 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.

Driver and Passenger Safety

SRSMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Your Car's Safety Features

Seats & Seat-Backs
Your car'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 thesteering wheel or dashboard
increases the risk of you or your
passenger being injured by striking
the inside of the car, 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 car is

moving.

Head Restraints
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.
Driver and Passenger SafetyMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Your Car's Safety Features
Door Locks
Keeping your doors locked reduces
the chance of being thrown out of
the car during a crash. It also helps
prevent occupants from accidentally opening a door and falling out, and
outsiders from unexpectedly opening
your doors. Pre-Drive Safety Checklist
To make sure you and your passengers get the maximum
protection from your car'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 15).
Any infant or small child is
properly restrained in a child seat

in the back seat (see page 21). Front seat occupants are sitting
upright and as far back as possible
from the steering wheel and dashboard (see page 12). Seat-backs are upright (see page
13). Head restraints are properly
adjusted (see page 14). Both doors are closed and locked
(see page 12). All cargo is properly stored or
secured (see page 132).
The rest of this section gives more detailed information about how you
can maximize your safety.
Remember, however, that no safetysystem can prevent all injuries or
deaths that can occur in severe
crashes, even when seat belts are
properly worn and the airbags deploy.

Driver and Passenger SafetyMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Protecting Adults

Introduction
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 37 for important additional guidelines on
how to properly protect largerchildren.)
1.Close and Lock the Doors
After everyone has entered the car, be sure the doors are closed and
locked.

Your car has a door monitor light on the instrument panel to indicate
when a specific door is not tightly
closed.

For safety, locking the doors reduces
the chance that a passenger, especially a child, will open a door
while the car is moving and accidentally fall out. It also reduces
the chance of someone being thrown out of the car during a crash.
For security, locked doors can
prevent an outsider fromunexpectedly opening a door when
you come to a stop. See page 70 for how to lock the

doors.

2.Adjust the Front Seats Any driver who sits too close to the
steering wheel is at risk of beingseriously injured or killed by striking
the steering wheel, or from being struck by an inflating airbag during a

crash.

To reduce the chance of injury, wear your seat belt properly, sit upright
with your back against the seat, and move the seat as far back as possible
from the steering wheel while still maintaining full control of the car.
Also make sure your front seat passenger moves the seat as far to
the rear as possible.

Driver and Passenger SafetyMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Protecting Adults

Most shorter drivers can get far
enough away from the steering
wheel and still reach the pedals. However, if you are concerned aboutsitting too close, we recommend that
you investigate whether some type of adaptive equipment may help.
Once your seat is adjusted correctly,
rock it back and forth to make sure
the seat is locked in position.
See page 76 for how to adjust the
front seats. 3.Adjust the Seat-Backs
Adjust the driver's seat-back to a comfortable, upright position,
leaving ample space between yourchest and the airbag cover in thecenter of the steering wheel. If you
sit too close to the steering wheel,
you could be injured if the airbag inflates.
A front passenger should also adjust the seat-back to an upright position,
but as far from the dashboard as possible. A passenger who sits too
close to the dashboard could be
injured if the airbag inflates.
Reclining a seat-back so that theshoulder part of the belt no longer
rests against the occupant's chest
reduces the protective capability of
the belt. It also increases the chance of sliding under the belt in a crash
and being seriously injured. The
farther a seat-back is reclined, the greater the risk of injury.
See page 77 for how to adjust seat-

backs.
Driver and Passenger Safety

Sitting too close to an airbag
can result in serious injury or death if the airbags inflate.
Always sit as far back from the
airbags as possible.
Reclining the seat-back too far
can result in serious injury or
death in a crash.
Adjust the seat-back to an
upright position and sit well

back in the seat.Main Menu Table of Contents s t