Page 83 of 279
Sea
t Adjustment s
Driver' s Sea t Heigh t Adjustmen t
Except SE and Type-R models See pages 13 — 14 for important safety
information and warnings about how to
properly position seats and seat-backs.
Make all adjustments before youstart driving.
The height of your driver's seat is adjustable. Turn the front dial on theoutside of the seat cushion to raise
the front of the seat bottom and turn
the rear dial to raise the rear. Driver'
s Lumba r Suppor t
Vary the lumbar support by moving the lever on the right side of the
seat-back.
Instrument s an d Control s
Page 85 of 279
Sea
t Adjustment s
Hea d Restraint s
See page 15 for important safety
information and a warning about how to
properly position the head restraints.
RELEASE
BUTTO N
The front head restraints help protect you and your passenger from
whiplash and other injuries. They are most effective when you adjust them
so the back of the occupant's head
rests against the center of the
restraint. A taller person should adjust the restraint as high as
possible.
The front head restraints adjust for
height. You need both hands toadjust the restraint. Do not attempt
to adjust it while driving. To raise it,
pull upward. To lower the restraint,
push the release button sideways and push the restraint down.
To remove a head restraint for cleaning or repair, pull it up as far as
it will go. Push the release button
and pull the restraint out of the seat-
back.
Instrument s an d Control s
Page 153 of 279
Drivin
g in Ba d Weathe r
Tractio n — Check your tires
frequently for wear and proper
pressure. Both are important in
preventing "hydroplaning" (loss of
traction on a wet surface). In the
winter, mount snow tires on all four
wheels for the best handling.
Watch road conditions carefully, they can change from moment to
moment. Wet leaves can be as slip-
pery as ice. "Clear" roads can have
patches of ice. Driving conditionscan be very hazardous when theoutside temperature is near freezing.
The road surface can become covered with areas of water puddles
mixed with areas of ice, so your
traction can change without warning.
Be careful when downshifting. If
traction is low, you can lock up the drive wheels for a moment and cause
a skid.
Be very cautious when passing, or
being passed by other vehicles. The spray from large vehicles reduces
your visibility, and the wind buffeting can cause you to lose control.
Drivin g
Page 228 of 279

Changin
g a Fla t Tir e
If you have a flat tire while driving, stop in a safe place to change it.
Stopping in traffic or on the shoulderof a busy road is dangerous. Drive
slowly along the shoulder until you
get to an exit or an area to stop that is far away from the traffic lanes.
1. Park the car on firm, level and
non-slippery ground away from
traffic. Put the transmission in Park (automatic) or Reverse (manual). Apply the parking brake.
2. Turn on the hazard warning lights
and turn the ignition switch to
LOCK (0). Have all the
passengers get out of the car while
you change the tire.
3. Open the hatch. Pull up the floor
mat and remove the spare tire
cover.
4. Take the tool kit out of the spare
tire well.
5. Unscrew the wing bolt and take
the spare tire out of its well.
CONTINUED
Takin g Car e o f th e Unexpecte d
The car can easily roll off the
jack, seriously injuring anyone
underneath.
Follow the directions for
changing a tire exactly, and never get under the car when it
is supported only by the jack. JAC
K
SPAR E TIR E
TOOL KI T
Page 234 of 279

I
f You r Engin e Won' t Start , Jum p Startin g
Th e Starte r Operate s Normall y
In this case, the starter motor's speed sounds normal, or even faster
than normal, when you turn the ignition switch to START (III), but
the engine does not run. Are you using the proper starting
procedure? Refer to Startin g th e
Engin e on page 137. Do you have fuel? Turn the
ignition switch to ON (II) for a
minute and watch the fuel gauge.
The low fuel level warning light may not be working, so you were
not reminded to fill the tank. There may be an electrical
problem, such as no power to the
fuel pump. Check all the fuses (see page 240).
If you find nothing wrong, you will
need a qualified technician to find
the problem. See Emergenc y
Towin g on page 245 . Jum
p Startin g
If your car's battery has run down,
you may be able to start the engine
by using a booster battery. Although this seems like a simple procedure,
you should take several precautions.
You cannot start an Acura with an automatic transmission by pushing
or pulling it. To jump start your car, follow these
directions closely:
1. Open the hood and check the
physical condition of the battery(see page 189). In very cold
weather, check the condition of
the electrolyte. If it seems slushy or like ice, do not try jump starting
until it thaws.
If a battery sits in extreme cold, the
electrolyte inside can freeze.
Attempting to jump start with a frozen battery can cause it to rupture.
2. Turn off all the electrical acces-
sories: heater, A/C, stereo system,
lights, etc.
Put the transmission in Neutral or
Park and set the parking brake.
CONTINUED
Takin g Car e o f th e Unexpecte d
NOTIC
E
A battery can explode if you do
not follow the correct procedure,
seriously injuring anyone
nearby.
Keep all sparks, open flames,
and smoking materials away
from the battery.
Page 236 of 279

I
f You r Engin e Overheat s
The pointer of your car's tempera- ture gauge should stay in the mid-
range under most conditions. It may
go higher if you are driving up a longsteep hill on a very hot day. If it
climbs to the red mark, you should determine the reason.
Driving with the temperature gauge
pointer at the red mark can cause serious damage to your engine. Your car can overheat for several
reasons, such as lack of coolant or a
mechanical problem. The only indication may be the temperature
gauge climbing to or above the red
mark. Or you may see steam or spray coming from under the hood.
In either case, you should take
immediate action.
1. Safely pull to the side of the road.
Put the transmission in Neutral or
Park and set the parking brake.
Turn off the heating and cooling system and all other accessories.
Turn on the hazard warning indicators.
2. If you see steam and/or spray
coming from under the hood, turn
off the engine.
3. If you do not see steam or spray,
leave the engine running and
watch the temperature gauge. If the high heat is due to overloading (climbing a long, steep hill on a
hot day with the A/C running, for example), the engine should start
to cool down almost immediately. If it does, wait until the tempera-
ture gauge comes down to the mid-
point then continue driving.
4. If the temperature gauge stays at
the red mark, turn off the engine.
5. Wait until you see no more signs
of steam or spray, then open the
hood.
CONTINUED
Takin g Car e o f th e Unexpecte d
NOTIC
E
Steam and spray from an
overheated engine can
seriously scald you.
Do not open the hood if steam
is coming out.
Page 238 of 279

Lo
w Oi l Pressur e Indicato r
This indicator should light when the ignition switch is ON (II), and go out
after the engine starts. It should
never come on when the engine is
running. If it starts flashing, it indicates that the oil pressuredropped very low for a moment, then
recovered. If the indicator stays on
with the engine running, it shows that the engine has lost oil pressureand serious engine damage is
possible. In either case, you should
take immediate action.
Running the engine with low oil
pressure can cause serious mechanical damage almost immediately. Turn offthe engine as soon as you can safely get
the car stopped.
1. Safely pull off the road and shut
off the engine. Turn on the hazard
warning indicators.
2. Let the car sit for a minute. Open
the hood and check the oil level (see page 127). Although oil level
and oil pressure are not directly
connected, an engine that is very
low on oil can lose pressure during cornering and other driving
maneuvers.
3. If necessary, add oil to bring the
level back to the full mark on the
dipstick (see page 171).
4. Start the engine and watch the oil
pressure indicator. If the lightdoes not go out within ten seconds,
turn off the engine. There is a
mechanical problem that needs to
be repaired before you can continue driving. (See Emergenc y
Towin g on page 245.)
Takin g Car e o f th e Unexpecte d
NOTIC
E
LO W OI L PRESSUR E INDICATO R
Page 255 of 279

DO
T Tir e Qualit y Gradin g (U.S . 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.
Unifor m Tir e Qualit y Gradin g
Quality grades can be found where
applicable on the tire sidewall
between the tread shoulder and the maximum section width. For
example:
Treadwea r 20 0
Tractio n A A
Temperatur e A
Treadwea
r
The treadwear grade is a compara- tive rating based on the wear rate of
the tire when tested under controlledconditions on a specified government
test course. For example, 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 performance of
tires depends upon the actual condi-
tions of their use, however, and may depart significantly from the norm
due to variations in driving habits,service practices, and differences in
road characteristics and climate. Tractio
n
The traction grades, from highest to lowest, are AA, A, B, and C. Those
grades represent the tire's ability tostop on wet pavement as measured
under controlled conditions on specified government test surfaces
of asphalt and concrete. A tire
marked C may have poor traction
performance.
Warning: The traction grade assigned to this tire is based on
straight-ahead braking traction tests,
and does not include acceleration,
cornering, hydroplaning, or peak
traction characteristics.
Technica l Informatio n