Page 128 of 279
Servic
e Statio n Procedure s
5. Screw the fuel fill cap back on,
tighten it until it clicks at least
three times. If you do not properly
tighten the cap, the Malfunction Indicator Lamp may come on (see
page 237).
6. Push the fuel fill door closed until
it latches.
Openin g th e Hoo d
1. Shift to Park or Neutral and set
the parking brake. Pull the hood release handle located under the
lower left corner of the dashboard.
The hood will pop up slightly.
2. Standing in front of the car, put
your fingers under the front edge of the hood to the left of center.
Slide your hand to the right until
you feel the hood latch handle. Push this handle to the right until
it releases the hood. Lift the hood.
CONTINUED
Befor e Drivin g
LATC
H
HOO D RELEAS E HANDL E
Page 181 of 279
Coolin
g Syste m
Do not add any rust inhibitors or other additives to your car's cooling
system. They may not be compatible
with the coolant or engine compo-
nents.
Replacin g Engin e Coolan t
The cooling system should be completely drained and refilled with
new coolant according to the time
and distance recommendations in
the maintenance schedule. Only use Genuine Honda Antifreeze/Coolant.
Draining the coolant requires access
to the underside of the car. Unless
you have the tools and knowledge,
you should have this maintenance done by a skilled mechanic. 1. Turn the ignition ON (II). Slidethe heater temperature control
lever to maximum heat. Turn the ignition off.
2. Open the hood. Make sure the
engine and radiator are cool to the touch.
3. Remove the radiator cap. 4. Loosen the drain plug on the
bottom of the radiator. The
coolant will drain through the splash guard. Remove the drainbolt and washer from the engine block.
Maintenanc e DRAI
N PLU G
DRAI
N
BOL T
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 243 of 279
Fuse
s
All the electrical circuits in your car have fuses to protect them from ashort circuit or overload. These
fuses are located in two or three fuse
boxes.
The interior fuse box is underneath the dashboard on the driver's side.
Remove the fuse box lid by swinging
the lid down and pulling it straight
out of its hinges. The under-hood fuse box is located
in the engine compartment next to
the battery. To open it, push the tab
as shown.
Cars equipped with ABS have a third
fuse box for the ABS. It is in the
front of the engine compartment on
the passenger's side.
Takin g Car e o f th e Unexpecte d
INTERIO
R
UNDER-HOO
D
TAB
ABS FUS E BO X
Page 244 of 279

Fuse
s
Checkin g an d Replacin g Fuse s
If something electrical in your car stops working, the first thing you
should check for is a blown fuse.
Determine from the chart on pages 243 and 244, or the diagram on the
fuse box lid, which fuse or fuses control that component. Check those
fuses first, but check all the fuses
before deciding that a blown fuse is not the cause. Replace any blown
fuses and check the component's
operation.
1. Turn the ignition switch to LOCK(0). Make sure the headlights and
all other accessories are off.
2. Remove the cover from the fuse
box.
FUS E
3. Check each of the large fuses in
the under-hood fuse box by
looking through the top at the wire inside. Removing these fuses
requires a Phillips-head screw-
driver.
4. Check the smaller fuses in the
under-hood fuse box and all the
fuses in the interior fuse box by
pulling out each fuse with the fuse
puller provided in the interior fuse
box.
CONTINUED
Takin g Car e o f th e Unexpecte d
BLOW
N
FUS
E PULLE R