2001 Acura RL tires

Maintenance

This section explains why it is important to keep your car well
maintained and to follow basic
maintenance safety precautions.
This section also includes Maintenance Schedules for normal
driving and severe driving conditions,
a Maintenance Record, and instruc-
tions for simple maintenance tasks
you may want to take care of
yourself.
If you have the skills and tools to per-
form more complex maintenance
tasks on your Acura, you may want
to purchase the Service Manual. See
page 319 for information on how to obtain a copy, or see your Acura

dealer.
Maintenance Safety....................... 204
Important Safety Precautions.. 205
Maintenance Schedule.................. 206
Required Maintenance Record.... 213 Owner Maintenance Checks........ 215
Fluid Locations............................... 216

Engine Oil...................................... 217
Adding Oil................................... 217
Recommended Oil.................... 217
Synthetic Oil.............................. 218

Additives.................................... 218

Changing the Oil and Filter...... 219
Cooling System.............................. 221 Adding Engine Coolant............. 221Replacing Engine Coolant........ 223
Windshield Washers..................... 227
Automatic Transmission Fluid..... 228 Differential Oil.............................. 229

Brake Fluid.................................... 230
Brake System............................. 230
Power Steering............................... 230

Hood Latch.................................... 231

Air Cleaner Element...................... 231 Spark Plugs..................................... 233

Replacement.............................. 233
Specifications............................ 236
Battery............................................ 236
Wiper Blades.................................. 239
Air Conditioning System............... 241
Air Conditioning Filter.................. 242
Drive Belts...................................... 242
Timing Belt..................................... 243
Tires................................................ 243
Inflation..................................... 243

Inspection................................... 245
Maintenance............................... 246
Tire Rotation.............................. 246
Replacing Tires and Wheels .... 247
Wheels and Tires....................... 248
Winter Driving........................... 248
Snow Tires............................ 249

Tire Chains.............................
249
Lights.............................................. 250 Replacing Bulbs......................... 252
Storing Your Car............................

261

Maintenance

Owner Maintenance Checks
You should check the following items at the specified intervals. If
you are unsure of how to perform any check, turn to the page given. Engine oil level — Check every
time you fill the fuel tank. See page 171.
Engine coolant level — Check the
radiator reserve tank every time
you fill the fuel tank. See page 172 .

Windshield washer fluid — Check the level in the reservoir monthly.
If weather conditions cause you to
use the washers frequently, check
the reservoir each time you stop
for fuel. See page 227 . Automatic transmission — Check
the fluid level monthly. See page
228.
Brakes — Check the fluid level
monthly. See page 230 . Tires — Check the tire pressure
monthly. Examine the tread for
wear and foreign objects. See page
245.

Lights — Check the operation of
the headlights, parking lights,
taillights, high-mount brake light,
turn signals, brake lights, and
license plate lights monthly. See

page 250.

Maintenance

Timing Belt, Tires

Timing Belt
The timing belt and balancer belt should normally be replaced at the
intervals shown in the maintenance
schedule.

Replace these belts at 60,000 miles (U.S.) or 100,000 km (Canada) if you
regularly drive your car in one or
more of these conditions:
In very high temperatures
(over 110°F, 43°C).
In very low temperatures

(under — 20°F, — 29°C).

Tires
To safely operate your car, your tiresmust be the proper type and size, in
good condition with adequate tread, and correctly inflated. The following
pages give more detailed information on how and when to check air
pressure, how to inspect your tires
for damage and wear, and what to do
when your tires need to be replaced.
Inflation

Keeping the tires properly inflated
provides the best combination of
handling, tread life and riding comfort. Underinflated tires wear
unevenly, adversely affect handling
and fuel economy, and are more
likely to fail from being overheated. Overinflated tires can make your car
ride more harshly, are more prone to damage from road hazards, and wear

unevenly.

We recommend that you visually check your tires every day. If you
think a tire might be low, check it immediately with a tire gauge.

CONTINUED

Maintenance

Using tires that are excessively
worn or improperly inflated can
cause a crash in which you canbe seriously hurt or killed.
Follow all instructions in this

owner's manual regarding tire
inflation and maintenance.

Tires

Use a gauge to measure the air
pressure at least once a month. Even
tires that are in good condition may
lose one to two psi (10 to 20 kPa, 0.1 to 0.2 kgf/cm2) per month.
Remember to check the spare tire at
the same time you check all the other tires.
Check the pressure in the tires when
they are cold. This means the car has been parked for at least three
hours. If you have to drive the car
before checking the tire pressure,
the tires can still be considered "cold" if you drive less than 1 mile
(1.6 km).
If you check the pressure when the
tires are hot (the car has been driven several miles), you will see readings

4 to 6 psi
(30
to
40 kPa,
0.3 to 0.4

kgf/cm2) higher than the cold reading. This is normal. Do not let
air out to match the specified cold
pressure. The tire will be
underinflated.

You should get your own tire pressure gauge and use it whenever
you check your tire pressures. This
will make it easier for you to tell if a pressure loss is due to a tire problem
and not due to a variation between

gauges.
Recommended Tire Pressures for
Normal Driving

The following chart shows the recommended cold tire pressures formost normal driving conditions andspeeds. Tire pressures for high
speed driving are the same as for
normal driving.
The compact spare tire pressure is:60 psi (420 kPa , 4.2 kgf/cm2)
These pressures are also given on the tire information label on thedriver's doorjamb.

Maintenance

Tires

Tubeless tires have some ability to self-seal if they are punctured.
However, because leakage is often
very slow, you should look closely for punctures if a tire starts losing

pressure.
Inspection
Every time you check inflation, you
should also examine the tires for
damage, foreign objects, and wear.
You should look for:
Bumps or bulges in the tread orside of the tire. Replace the tire if
you find either of these conditions. Cuts, splits, or cracks in the side
of the tire. Replace the tire if you
can see fabric or cord.
Excessive tread wear. Your car's tires have wear indicators
molded into the tread. When thetread wears down to that point, you
will see a 1/2 inch (12.7 mm) wide band running across the tread. This shows there is less than 1/16 inch (1.6 mm) of tread left on the tire. A
tire that is this worn gives very little
traction on wet roads. You should
replace the tire if you can see the
tread wear indicator in three or more
places around the tire.

Maintenance

INDICATOR LOCATION MARKS
TREAD WEAR INDICATORS

Tires

Maintenance

In addition to proper inflation,
correct wheel alignment helps todecrease tire wear. If you find a tire
is worn unevenly, have your dealer
check the wheel alignment.
The tires were properly balanced by the factory. They may need to be
rebalanced at some time before theyare worn out. Have your dealer
check the tires if you feel a consis-
tent vibration while driving. A tire should always be rebalanced if it is
removed from the wheel for repair. Make sure the installer balances the
wheels when you have new tires installed. This increases riding
comfort and tire life. Your car'soriginal tires were dynamic or "spin"
balanced at the factory. For best
results, have the installer perform a dynamic balance.

Improper wheel weights can damageyour vehicle 's aluminum wheels. Use
only Genuine Acura wheel weights for
balancing.
Tire Rotation
To help increase tire life and distribute wear more evenly, youshould have the tires rotated every
7,500 miles (12,000 km). Move the
tires to the positions shown in the chart each time they are rotated.

Maintenance
Front

NOTICE
(For Non-directional

Tires and Wheels)
(For Directional

Tires and Wheels)
Front

Tires

When shopping for replacement tires, you may find that some tiresare "directional." This means they
are designed to rotate only in one
direction. If you use directional tires,
they should be rotated only front-to-
back. Replacing Tires and Wheels
The tires that came with your car were selected to match the perform- ance capabilities of the car while
providing the best combination of
handling, ride comfort, and long life.
You should replace them with radial tires of the same size, load range,speed rating, and maximum cold tire
pressure rating (as shown on the
tire's sidewall). Mixing radial and
bias-ply tires on your car can reduce
its braking ability, traction, and steering accuracy. It is best to replace all four tires at
the same time. If that is not possible or necessary, then replace the two
front tires or the two rear tires as a pair. Replacing just one tire canseriously affect your car's handling.
CONTINUED

Maintenance

Installing improper tires on your
car can affect handling and
stability. This can cause a crash in which you can be seriously
hurt or killed.
Always use the size and type of
tires recommended in this owner's manual.

Tires

The ABS and VSA system work by comparing the speed of the wheels.
When replacing tires, use the same size originally supplied with the car.
Tire size and construction can affect wheel speed and may cause the system to work inconsistently.
If you ever need to replace a wheel,
make sure you use an identical style
aluminum alloy wheel that originally
came on your Acura. Replacement
wheels are available at your Acura
dealer.
Wheels and Tires

Wheels:
16x7JJ

Tires:

P215/60R16 94V
See page 304 for information about
DOT Tire Quality Grading.
Winter Driving

Tires that are marked "M + S" or
"All Season" on the sidewall have an
all-weather tread design. They
should be suitable for most winter
driving conditions. Tires without
these markings are designed for optimum traction in dry conditions.
They may not provide adequate performance in winter driving.For the best performance in snowy
or icy conditions, you should installsnow tires or tire chains. They may
be required by local laws under certain conditions.

Maintenance