2000 Acura TL engine

Preparing to Drive
You should do the following checksand adjustments every day before
you drive your car.
1. Make sure all windows, mirrors, and outside lights are clean and
unobstructed. Remove frost, snow, or ice.
2. Check that the hood and trunk are fully closed.
3. Visually check the tires. If a tire looks low, use a gauge to check its
pressure.
4. Check that any items you may be carrying with you inside are stored
properly or fastened down securely. 5. Check the adjustment of the seat
(see page 12).
6. Check the adjustment of the inside and outside mirrors (seepage 97).
7. Check the adjustment of the steering wheel (see page 17).
8. Make sure the doors are securely closed and locked.
9. Fasten your seat belt. Check that your passengers have fastenedtheir seat belts (see page 15). 10. Turn the ignition switch ON (II).
Check the indicator lights in the
instrument panel.
11. Start the engine (see page 161). 12. Check the gauges and indicator lights in the instrument panel (see
page 53).
Driving

Starting the Engine
1. Apply the parking brake.
2. In cold weather, turn off all electrical accessories to reduce
the drain on the battery.
3. Make sure the shift lever is in Park. Press on the brake pedal.
4. Without touching the accelerator pedal, turn the ignition key to the
START (III) position. If the enginedoes not start right away, do not
hold the key in START (III) for
more than 15 seconds at a time.
Pause for at least 10 seconds
before trying again.
5. If the engine does not start within 15 seconds, or starts but stalls
right away, repeat step 4 with the accelerator pedal pressed half-way
down. If the engine starts, release
pressure on the accelerator pedal so the engine does not race. 6. If the engine still does not start,
press the accelerator pedal all the
way down and hold it there while starting in order to clear flooding.
As before, keep the ignition key in the START (III) position for nomore than 15 seconds. Return tostep 5 if the engine does not start.
If it starts, lift your foot off the accelerator pedal so the engine
does not race.
Starting in Cold Weather at High
Altitude (Above 8,000 feet/ 2,400 meters)
An engine is harder to start in cold weather. The thinner air found athigh altitude above 8,000 feet (2,400meters) adds to the problem.
Use the following procedure:
1. Turn off all electrical accessories to reduce the drain on the battery. 2. Push the accelerator pedal half-
way to the floor and hold it there
while starting the engine. Do nothold the ignition key in START (III) for more than 15 seconds.
When the engine starts, release the accelerator pedal gradually as
the engine speeds up and smoothsout.
3. If the engine fails to start in step 2, push the accelerator pedal to the
floor and hold it there while you try to start the engine for no more
than 15 seconds. If the enginedoes not start, return to step 2.
Driving

Automatic Transmission
Shift Lever Positions
SHIFT LEVER
SEQUENTIAL
SPORTSHIFT MODE
POSITION
The shift lever has nine positions. It must be in Park or Neutral to start
the engine. When you are stopped inD
5, D4, D3, 2, 1,N,R,or the
Sequential SportShift mode, press
firmly on the brake pedal and keep
your foot off the accelerator pedal. To select the Sequential SportShift
mode, slide the shift lever toward the
left from the "D
5" position.
In this mode the shift lever allows
you to shift up and down manually.
To shift from:
P toR
R to N
N to Ds
D
5 to D4
D4 to D3D3 to2
2 to l
1to2
2 to D
3D3 to D4D4 to D5
N to R R to P Do this:
Press the brake pedal, then
move the shift lever.
Move the lever.
Whenever you move the shift lever, slide it along the guide on the
console.
You cannot shift out of Park with the brake pedal depressed when theignition switch is in LOCK (0) or
ACCESSORY (I).
CONTINUED
Driving

Automatic Transmission
Park (P) - This position mechani-
cally locks the transmission. Use Park whenever you are turning off or
starting the engine. To shift out ofPark, you must press on the brake
pedal and have your foot off the
accelerator pedal. Move the shift lever to the right to shift out of thePark position.
If you have done all of the above and
still cannot move the lever out of
Park, see Shift Lock Release on page 169. To avoid transmission damage, cometo a complete stop before shiftinginto Park. The shift lever must be in
Park before you can remove the key
from the ignition switch. Reverse (R) - To shift to Reverse
from Park, see the explanation under Park. To shift to Reverse from
Neutral, come to a complete stop and
then shift.
Your car has a reverse lockout so
you cannot accidentally shift to Reverse from Neutral or any other
driving position when the vehicle
speed exceeds 7 — 9 mph (12 — 14
km/h).
If you cannot shift to Reverse when
the car is stopped, press the brake
pedal and slowly shift to Neutral
then to Reverse.
If there is a problem in the reverse
lockout system, or your vehicle's
battery is disconnected or goes dead,
you cannot shift to Reverse. (Refer
to Shift Lock Release on page 169).
Driving

Automatic Transmission
Neutral (N) - Use Neutral if you
need to restart a stalled engine, or ifit is necessary to stop briefly with
the engine idling. Shift to Park posi-
tion if you need to leave the car for
any reason. Press on the brake pedal
when you are moving the shift lever from Neutral to another gear.
Drive (D
5) — Use this position for
your normal driving. The transmission 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. Sequential SportShift Mode - With
the shift lever in "D
5" position, you
can select the Sequential SportShift mode to shift gears; much like a
manual transmission, but without a
clutch pedal.
When the Sequential SportShift Mode is selected, the transmission
will automatically upshift and downshift between first and second
gear.
To enter the Sequential SportShift mode, slide the shift lever further to
the left. To return to "D
5", slide the
shift lever to the right.
When you move the shift lever from "D
5" to the Sequential SportShift
mode, the display shows the selected
gear.
Downshift
In the Sequential SportShift mode,
each time you push forward on the
shift lever, the transmission shifts to
a higher gear. Pull back on the lever
to downshift. The number of the
gear selected is displayed next to the "D
5" indicator (see page 162).
CONTINUED
Driving

Automatic Transmission
When you accelerate away from astop, the transmission will start in
first gear and then automatically upshift to second gear. You have to
manually upshift between secondand fifth gears. Make sure you
upshift before the engine speed
reaches the tachometer's red zone. The transmission remains in the
selected gear (5,4,3). There is no
automatic downshift when you push
the accelerator pedal to the floor. The transmission may automatically
downshift from the higher gear to
the lower gear under the following conditions:
Driving on level roads and downhill
To shift from
4 3
5 4 Speed range
under 18 mph (29 km/h)
under 31 mph (50 km/h)
Driving uphill
To shift from 4 3
5 4 Speed range
under 34 mph (55 km/h)
under 47 mph (75 km/h)
Driving

Automatic Transmission
Downshifting gives you more power
when climbing or provides engine braking when going down a steep hill.
The transmission will also shift automatically as the vehicle comes to
a complete stop. It will downshift to
first gear when the vehicle speed is under 9 mph (15 km/h).
If you try to manually downshift at aspeed that would cause the engine to
exceed the redline in a lower gear,
the transmission will not downshift.
The gear indicator will flash the number of the lower gear several
times, then return to the higher gear. If the car speed slows to below the
redline of the selected lower gear
position while the indicator is
flashing, the transmission will downshift and the display will show
the selected lower gear.
If the transmission temperature is
below 14 °F (-10 °C), you may not
be able to use the Sequential SportShift mode.
The table shows the speed ranges for upshifting and downshifting.
CONTINUED
Driving
To shift from
2 3
3 4
4 5 Speed range
over 9 mph (15 km/h)
over 18 mph (29 km/h)
over 31 mph (50 km/h)
To shift from
3 2
4 3
5 4 Speed range
under 60 mph (96 km/h)
under 93 mph (150 km/h)
under 140 mph (225 km/h)

Automatic Transmission
Drive (D4, D3) — These positions
are similar to D
5, except when you
select the D
4 position, only the first
four gears are selected. When you select D
5, only the first three gears
are selected. D
4 can also keep the
transmission from cycling between
fourth and fifth gears in stop-and-go driving, and D
3 can keep the
transmission from cycling between
third and fourth gears.
Use D
3 when towing a trailer in hilly
terrain, or to provide engine braking
when going down a steep hill. D
3
gives you more power and increased engine braking. For faster acceleration when in D
3
D4 or D5, 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. Second (2) — 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.
Driving