2000 Acura TL sport mode

Protecting Children
Children Should Sit in the Back
Seat
According to accident statistics, children of all ages and sizes aresafer when they are restrained in the
back seat, not the front seat. The National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration and Transport Canada recommend that all children
ages 12 and under be properly
restrained in the back seat.
In the back seat, children are less
likely to be injured by striking hard interior parts during a collision or
hard braking. Also, children cannot
be injured by an inflating airbag
when they ride in the back. The Passenger's Front Airbag
Poses Serious Risks to Children
Front airbags have been designed to
help protect adults in a moderate to severe frontal collision. To do this,
the passenger's front airbag is quite
large, and it inflates with tremendous speed.
Infants
Never put a rear-facing child seat in
the front seat of a vehicle equipped
with a passenger's front airbag. If
the airbag inflates, it can hit the back of the child seat with enough force
to kill or very seriously injure an infant.
Small Children
Placing a forward-facing child seat in the front seat of a vehicle equipped
with a passenger's front airbag can
be hazardous. If the vehicle seat is
too far forward, or the child's head is
thrown forward during a collision, an
inflating front airbag can strike the child with enough force to kill or
very seriously injure a small child.
Larger Children Children who have outgrown child
seats are also at risk of being injured
or killed by an inflating passenger's
front air bag. Whenever possible,
larger children should sit in the back seat, properly restrained with a seat
belt. (See page 35 for important information about protecting larger
children.)
CONTINUED
Driver and Passenger Safety

Automatic Transmission
Your Acura's transmission has fiveforward speeds, and is electronically
controlled for smoother shifting. It
also has a "lock-up" torque converter
for better fuel economy. You may feel what seems like another shift
when the converter locks. Shift Lever Position Indicator
This indicator in the tachometer shows which position the shift lever
is in. The illuminated number next to
the "D
5" indicator shows you the
gear you have selected in the Sequential SportShift mode. The "D
5" indicator comes on for a
few seconds when you turn the
ignition switch ON (II). If it flashes
while driving (in any shift position), it indicates a possible problem in thetransmission. Avoid rapid
acceleration and have the
transmission checked by an
authorized Acura dealer as soon as
possible.
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
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
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)