2000 HONDA PASSPORT ESP

A
Fe w Word s Abou t Safet y

Your safety, and the safety of
others, is very important. And operating this vehicle safely is an
important responsibility.
To help you make informed decisions about safety, we have
provided operating procedures and
other information on labels and inthis manual. This information alerts
you to potential hazards that could
hurt you or others.
Of course, it is not practical or
possible to warn you about all the
hazards associated with operating or maintaining your vehicle. You
must use your own good judgment. You will find important safety information in a variety of forms,
including:
Safet y Label s — on the vehicle. Safet
y Messages — preceded by a safety alert symbol and one of
three signal words: DANGER , WARNING , or CAUTION .

These signal words mean:
You WILL be KILLED or SERIOUSLY HURT if you

do not follow instructions.

You CAN be KILLED or SERIOUSLY HURT if you
do not follow instructions.

You CAN be HURT if you do not follow instructions

Safet y Heading s — such as Important Safety Reminders or Important
Safety Precautions .
Safet y Sectio n —
such as Driver and Passenger Safety.
Instruction s — how to use this vehicle correctly and safely.
This entire book is filled with important safety information - please read it carefully.

Preface

Importan
t Safet y Precaution s
You'll find many safety
recommendations throughout this section, and throughout this
manual. The recommendations on
this page are the ones we consider
to be the most important.
Alway s Wea r You r Sea t Bel t
A seat belt is your best protection in all types of collisions. Airbags
supplement seat belts, but airbags
are designed to inflate only in a
moderate to severe frontal
collision. So even though your
vehicle is equipped with airbags, make sure you and your
passengers always wear your seat belts, and wear them properly. (See page 13.)
Restrai n All Childre n
Children are safest when they are
properly restrained in the back seat, not the front seat. A child
who is too small for a seat belt must be properly restrained in a
child safety seat. (See page 18.)
B e Awar e o f Airba g Hazard s
While airbags save lives, they can
cause serious or fatal injuries to
occupants who sit too close to
them, or are not properly
restrained. Infants, young children, and short adults are atthe greatest risk. Be sure to follow
all instructions and warnings in
this manual. (See page 7.)
Don' t Drin k an d Driv e
Alcohol and driving don't mix.
Even one drink can reduce your ability to respond to changing
conditions, and your reaction time
gets worse with every additional
drink. So don't drink and drive,
and don't let your friends drinkand drive either. Contro
l You r Spee d
Excessive speed is a major factor in crash injuries and deaths.
Generally, the higher the speed
the greater the risk, but serious
accidents can also occur at lowerspeeds. Never drive faster than is
safe for current conditions,
regardless of the maximum speed

posted.

Kee p You r Vehicl e i n Saf e
Conditio n
Having a tire blowout or a
mechanical failure can be
extremely hazardous. To reduce the possibility of such problems,
check your tire pressure and
condition frequently, and perform
all regularly scheduled
maintenance. (See page 187.)
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

Protectin
g Adult s
Introductio n

The following pages provide instructions on how to properly
protect the driver and other adult

occupants.

These instructions also apply to children who have outgrown child
seats and are large enough to wear
lap/shoulder belts. (See page 33
for important additional
guidelines on how to properly
protect larger children.)
1 . Clos e an d Loc k th e Door s
After everyone has entered the
vehicle, be sure the doors and tailgate are closed and locked.
For safety, locking the doors
reduces the chance that a
passenger, especially a child, will open a door while the vehicle is
moving and accidentally fall out. It also reduces the chance of
someone being thrown out of the
vehicle during a crash.
For security, locked doors can
prevent an outsider from unexpectedly opening a door
when you come to a stop.
See page 100 for how to lock the

doors.
2
. Adjus t th e Fron t Seat s
Any driver who sits too close to the steering wheel is at risk of
being seriously injured or killed by striking the steering wheel, or
from being struck by the inflatingairbag during a crash.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

Protectin
g Childre n

Children depend on adults to
protect them. However, despite their best intentions, many parents
and other adults may not know
how to properly protect young
passengers.

So if you have children, or if you
ever need to drive with a
grandchild or other children in
your vehicle, be sure to read this
section.
Al
l Childre n Mus t B e

Restraine d

Each year, many children are injured or killed in vehicle crashes
because they are either
unrestrained or not properly
restrained. In fact, vehicle accidents are the number one
cause of death of children ages 12 and under. To reduce the number of child
deaths and injuries, every state
requires that infants and children
be restrained whenever they ride in a vehicle.

Any child who is too small to
wear a seat belt should be

properly restrained in a child
seat. (See page 21.)

A larger child should always be
restrained with a seat belt. (See

page 33.)

Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y
Children who are unrestrained
or improperly restrained can be
seriously injured or killed in a
crash.
Any child too small for a seat belt should be properlyrestrained in a child seat. A
larger child should be properly
restrained with a seat belt.

After inflating, the airbags
immediately deflate so they won't
interfere with the driver's
visibility, or the ability to steer or
operate other controls.
The total time for inflation and
deflation is approximately
one-tenth of a second, so fast that most occupants are not aware that
the airbags deployed until they
see them lying in their laps. After a crash, you may see what
looks like smoke. This is actually
powder from the airbag's surface.
Although the powder is not
harmful, people with respiratory problems may experience some
temporary discomfort. If this
occurs, get out of the vehicle as soon as it is safe to do so.
For additional information on how
your airbags work, see the booklet titled SRS: What You Need to
Know About Airbags that came with your owner's manual. Ho
w You r SR S Indicato r

Ligh t Work s

The purpose of the SRS light is to alert you to a
potential problem with your Supplemental Restraint System.
When you turn the ignition ON
(II), this indicator will blink seven
times, then go out. This tells you
that the system is working
properly.
However, if the light comes on at
any other time, you should have
the system checked by your
dealer. For example:
If the SRS indicator light does
not come on after you turn the
ignition ON (II).

Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y
AI
R

BA G

ENGIN
E COOLAN T
TEMPERATUR E GAUG E
FUE
L GAUG E
odometer by repeatedly pressing
and releasing the reset button.
To reset a trip odometer, display it, then press and hold the reset
button until the odometer clears to
zero.

Fue l Gaug e

The fuel gauge will register the approximate fuel level in the tank
when the key is in the "ON"
position. The following conditions may be considered normal: Gas station pumps may shut off
before the fuel gauge indicates
"F" (FULL). The amount of fuel required for
a fill-up may not exactly
correspond to the gauge. The needle may not move away
from "F" (FULL) until some
time after fill-up.
Instrument s an d Control s

The needle may move during
turning, stopping and

acceleration.

Fue l Doo r

This is a reminder that the fuel fill door is on the left side of the
vehicle. Always park with that side closest to the service station
pumps.
Engin
e Coolan t

Temperatur e Gaug e

When the key is in the "ON"
position, the engine coolant temperature gauge indicates the
temperature of the engine coolant.
The letters "C" and "H" on the gauge represent "Cold" and
"Hot," respectively. The gray area indicates the
normal engine coolant

temperature.

If the pointer reaches the "H"
mark, pull safely to the side of the
road. Turn to page 213 for instructions and precautions on
checking the engine's cooling
system.

Driving with the temperature gauge pointer at "H" can causeserious damage to the engine.

Instrument s an d Control s
NOTIC
E

NORMA
L
RANG E OVERHEATIN
G

the system repaired if the light
does not come on when the key is
turned to the "ON" position
without the engine running or
when the parking brake is set.
This light does not eliminate the need for brake inspection and
maintenance. The brake fluid
level must be checked regularly.See the maintenance section of
this manual for other brake
checks.
If the light remains on after
engine start up with the parking
brake released, or comes on during operation of the vehicle, it
may mean that there is something
wrong with the brake system.

What to do?1. Check to see if the parking
brake has been fully released.
2. If it has, pull off the road and
stop carefully. Remember that: Stopping distances may be
longer.
You may have to push
harder on the pedal. The pedal may go down
farther than normal.
3. Have the vehicle towed to the nearest Honda dealer for
repair.
Do not continue to drive with the
brake system light on. There may
be a serious problem with the braking system. Driving under
this condition is hazardous and
could lead to an accident.
The brake system light does not indicate that the parking brake is
fully set. When applying the
parking brake, always pull it up as
far as possible. Hig
h Bea m
The headlight high beam indicator
lights up when the headlights are
on high beam.

Chargin g Syste m

This light should come on when
the key is turned to the "ON"
position and the alternator is not
charging. The light may stay on at
engine idle; however, it should go off and stay off above the normal
engine idle speed. If the light
comes on while driving, the
charging system should be
checked at once so the battery will
not completely discharge. Stop the engine, and check for a broken
drive belt. If it is broken, or if the
drive belt is not responsible for the trouble, have your Honda
dealer inspect and correct the
fault. If the drive belt is broken,

Instrument s an d Control s