1999 HONDA ODYSSEY trailer

1999 Odyssey 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
Your Vehicle at a Glanc e........................................................................\
............................................ .2
Driver and Passenger Safety ........................................................................\
......................................5
Proper use and care of your vehicle's seat belts, and Supplemental Restr\
aint System.
Instruments and Control s........................................................................\
.........................................55
Instrume nt panel indicator and gauge, and how to use dashboard and steering colu\
mn controls.
Comfort and Convenience Features ........................................................................\
......................129
How to operate the climate control system, the audio system, and other c\
onvenience features.
Before Driving........................................................................\
..........................................................181
What gasoline to use, how to break -in your new vehicle, and how to load luggage and other cargo.
Driving ........................................................................\
......................................................................195
The proper way to start the engine, shift the transmission, and park, pl\
us towing a trailer.
Maintenance........................................................................\
.............................................................219
The Maintenance Schedule shows you when you need to take you r vehicle to the dealer.
Appearance Car e........................................................................\
..................................................... .277
Tips on cleaning and protecting your vehicle. Things to look for if your\
vehicle ever needs body repairs.
Taking Care of the Unexpecte d........................................................................\
..............................285
This section covers several problems motorists sometimes experience, an d how to handle them.
Technical Informatio n........................................................................\
.............................................313
ID numbers, dimensions, capacities, and technical information.
Warranty and Customer Relations (U.S. and Canad a
)...............................................................
.327
A summary of the warranties covering your new Acura, and how to contact \
us.
Authorized Manu als (U.S. only)........................................................................\
..............................333
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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Break-in Period, Gasoline

Break-in Period
Help assure your vehicle's future
reliability and performance by paying extra attention to how you driveduring the first 600 miles (1,000 km).
During this period:
Avoid full-throttle starts and rapid
acceleration.

Avoid hard braking. New brakes need to be broken-in by moderate
use for the first 200 miles (300

km). You should follow these same re-
commendations with an overhauled
or exchanged engine, or when the
brakes are replaced.
We also recommend that you should not tow a trailer during the first 500
miles (800 km).
Gasoline

Your Honda is designed to operate on unleaded gasoline with a pump
octane number of 86 or higher. Use
of a lower octane gasoline can cause
a persistent, heavy metallic rapping
noise in the engine that can lead to
mechanical damage.
We recommend gasolines containing detergent additives that help prevent
fuel system and engine deposits.
Using gasoline containing lead will
damage your vehicle's emissions
controls. This contributes to air
pollution.

Before DrivingProCarManuals.comMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Carrying Cargo

Load Limit
The maximum load for your vehicle

is
1,277 lbs
(580 kg).
This figure includes the total weight
of all occupants, cargo, accessories,
and the tongue weight if you are

towing a trailer.

To figure out how much cargo you can carry:
Add up the weight of all occupants.
If you are towing a trailer, add the

tongue weight to the number
above.

Subtract the total from 1,277 Ibs
(580kg).

The final number is the total weight
of cargo you can carry.
When you load luggage, the total
weight of the vehicle, all passengers,cargo, and trailer tongue load must
not exceed the Gross Vehicle
Weight Rating (GVWR). The load for the front and rear axles also must not exceed the Gross Axle Weight
Rating (GAWR). The GVWR and
GAWR are printed on the tire
information label attached to the driver's doorjamb (see page 316 ). Carrying Items in the Passenger
Compartment
Store or secure all items that could
be thrown around and hurt someone during a crash.
Be sure items placed on the floor
behind the front seats cannot roll
under the seats and interfere with
the driver's ability to operate the
pedals, or with the proper operation of the seats.
Keep the glove box closed while
driving. If the lid is open, a
passenger could injure their knees during a crash or sudden stop.
Before Driving Overloading or improper
loading can affect handling and
stability and cause a crash in
which you can be hurt or killed.
Follow all load limits and other
loading guidelines in this
manual.ProCarManuals.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
parking your vehicle, the braking system, the Traction Control System,
and facts you need if you are
planning to tow a trailer. Preparing to Drive......................... 196
Starting the Engine........................ 197
Starting in Cold Weather at High Altitude ..................... 197
Automatic Transmission............... 198 Shift Lever Position Indicator.. 198
Shift Lever Positions................. 199
Maximum Allowable Speeds.... 201
Shift Lock Release..................... 202

Parking............................................ 203

The Braking System...................... 204 Brake Wear Indicators.............. 204
Brake System Design................ 205
Anti-lock Brakes........................ 205
Important SafetyReminders.......................... 206
ABS Indicator......................... 206
Traction Control System............... 207 TCS ON/OFF Switch................ 209
TCS Indicator............................. 209
Driving in Bad Weather................ 210
Towing a Trailer............................ 212

DrivingProCarManuals.comMain Menu s t

Automatic Transmission

Reverse (R) — To shift to Reverse
from Park, see the explanation underPark. To shift to Reverse from
Neutral, come to a complete stop and
then shift. Pull the shift lever
towards you before shifting into Reverse from Neutral. Neutral (N) — Use Neutral if you
need 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 vehicle
for any reason. Press on the brake pe- dal 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 D 3
when
towing a trailer in hilly terrain, or to
provide engine braking when going down a steep hill. D 3
can also keep
the transmission from cycling
between third and fourth gears in stop-and-go driving.
For faster acceleration when in D 3
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.

DrivingProCarManuals.comMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Automatic Transmission

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.
When driving down hill with a trailer, use the Second position.
First (1) — To shift from Second toFirst, 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. Engine Speed Limiter
If you exceed the maximum speed
for the gear you are in, the engine
speed will enter into the
tachometer's red zone. If this occurs,
you may feel the engine cut in and out. This is caused by a limiter
in the engine's computer controls.
The engine will run normally
when you reduce the RPM below the

red zone.
Shift Lock Release
This allows you to move the shift lever out of Park if the normal
method of pushing on the brakepedal and pulling the shift lever doesnot work.
1. Set the Parking brake.
2. Remove the key from the ignition
switch.

3. Place a cloth on the edge of the shift lock release slot cover on thesteering column. Remove the
cover by carefully prying on the
edge with a small flat-tipped screwdriver (not included in the

tool kit).

Driving
CONTINUEDProCarManuals.comMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Towing a Trailer

Your Odyssey has been designed totow a trailer, as well as for carrying
passengers and their cargo.
To safely tow a trailer, you must observe the load limits, use the
proper equipment, and follow the
guidelines in this section.
Load Limits Total Trailer Weight: As shownin the load limits table, how much
weight you can tow is limited by the number of occupants in your
vehicle and whether or not you
have installed a transmission fluid cooler. (See page 214 for
information about transmission
fluid coolers.) Towing a load that is too heavy can seriously affect
your vehicle's handling and
performance. It can also damage
the engine and drivetrain.
*
Including driver. Based on 150 Ibs (70 kg) per occupant, and no cargo\
.
*
*
Weight limited to avoid exceeding rear GAWR (see page 213).

Tongue Load: The weight that
the tongue of a fully loaded trailer
puts on the hitch should be
approximately 10 percent of the
trailer weight. Too little tongue load can make the trailer unstable
and cause it to sway. Too much
tongue load reduces front-tire
traction and steering control. To achieve a proper tongue load,
start by loading 60 percent of the
load toward the front of the trailer
and 40 percent toward the rear, then
readjust the load as needed.

Driving
ProCarManuals.comMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Towing a Trailer

Gross Vehicle Weight Rating

(GVWR):

The total weight of the vehicle, all occupants, all cargo, and the
tongue load must not exceed: 5,565 Ibs (2,525 kg)

Gross Axle Weight Rating

(GAWR):

The total weight of the vehicle, all occupants, all cargo, and the
tongue load must not exceed:
2,775 Ibs (1,260 kg)
on the front axle
2,840 Ibs (1,290 kg)
on the rear axle
Gross Combined Weight Rating

(GCWR):

The total weight of the vehicle, all occupants and cargo, and the
trailer and everything in or on it,
must not exceed:
8,160 Ibs (3,700 kg)
with transmission fluid cooler
6,660 Ibs (3,025 kg) without transmission fluid cooler
Checking Loads

The best way to confirm that vehicle and trailer weights are within limitsis to have them checked at a public
scale.

Using a suitable scale or a special
tongue load gauge, check the tongue
load the first time you set up a
towing combination (a fully-loaded
vehicle and trailer), then recheck the tongue load whenever the conditions
change.

Driving

Exceeding load limits or
improperly loading your vehicle
and trailer can cause a crash in
which you can be seriously injured or killed.
Check the loading of your
vehicle and trailer carefully before starting to drive.ProCarManuals.comMain Menu Table of Contents s t