2001 Acura RL ABS

Your Car's Safety Features

(1) Safety Cage
(2) Crush Zones
(3) Seats & Seat-Backs
(4) Head Restraints
(5) Collapsible Steering Column
(6) Seat Belts
(7) Front Airbags
(8) Side Airbags
(9) Seat Belt Tensioners
(10) Door Locks Your car is equipped with many
features that work together toprotect you and your passengersduring a crash.
Some safety features do not require
any action on your part. These
include a strong steel framework
that forms a safety cage around the passenger compartment; front and
rear crush zones that are designed to
crumple and absorb energy during a
crash; a collapsible steering column;
and seat belt tensioners that
automatically tighten the front seat
belts in the event of a crash.

CONTINUED

Driver and Passenger Safety

Your Car's Safety Features

Airbags offer no protection in rear
impacts, rollovers, or minor
frontal or side collisions. Airbags can pose serious hazards.

To do their job, airbags must inflate with tremendous force andspeed. So while airbags help save
lives, they can cause minor injuries, or more serious or even fatal
injuries if occupants are not
properly restrained or sitting
properly.

What you should do: Always wear

your seat belt properly, and sit
upright and as far back as possible
from the steering wheel or
dashboard.
Seats & Seat-Backs
Your car's seats are designed to keep
you in a comfortable, upright position so you can take full
advantage of the protection offered
by seat belts and the energy absorbing materials in the seats.
How you adjust your seats and seat-
backs can also affect your safety. For example, sitting too close to thesteering wheel or dashboard
increases the risk of you or your
passenger being injured by striking
the inside of the car, or by an inflating airbag.
Reclining a seat-back too far reduces
the seat belt's effectiveness and increases the chance that the seat'soccupant will slide under the seat
belt in a crash and be seriously
injured.
What you should do: Move the front

seats as far back as possible, and
keep adjustable seat-backs in an
upright position whenever the car is

moving.

Head Restraints Head restraints can help protect you
from whiplash and other injuries. For
maximum protection, the back of
your head should rest against the center of the head restraint.
Door Locks
Keeping your doors locked reduces
the chance of being thrown out of
the car during a crash. It also helps prevent occupants from accidentallyopening a door and falling out, and
outsiders from unexpectedly opening
your doors.

Driver and Passenger Safety

Indicator Lights

Vehicle Stability Assist
(VSA) System Indicator
This indicator normally comes on for a few seconds when you turn the
ignition switch ON (II).
If this light comes on and stays on at
any other time, or it does not come
on when you turn the ignition switch
ON (II), there is a problem with the
VSA system. Take the car to your dealer to have it checked. Without
VSA, your car still has normal driving ability, but will not have VSA
traction and stability enhancement. See page 191 for more informationon the VSA system. VSA Activation Indicator
This indicator has three functions:
1. It comes on as a reminder that you have turned off the VehicleStability Assist (VSA) system.
2. It flashes when VSA is active (see
page 191).
3. It comes on along with the VSA
system indicator if there is a
problem with the VSA system.
This indicator normally comes on for a few seconds when you turn the
ignition switch ON (II). See page 191 for more information on the

VSA system.
U.S.


Canada

Anti-lock BrakeSystem (ABS)
Indicator

This light normally comes on for a few seconds when you turn theignition switch ON (II), and when
the ignition switch is turned to START (III). If this light comes on at
any other time, there is a problem in
the ABS. If this happens, take the car to your dealer to have it checked.
With the light on, your car still has normal braking ability but no anti-
lock. For complete information, see
page 189.

Instruments and Controls

VSA

A
B S

Keys and Locks

Lockout Prevention

If you forget and leave the key in the
ignition switch, Lockout Prevention
will not allow you to lock the driver's door. With the driver's door open
and the key in the ignition, both
master door lock switches are disabled. However, if the driver's
door is not open, the master door
lock switches are not disabled. Pushing the switch down on the
open passenger's door will lock all
doors. If you try to lock an open
driver's door by pushing in the lock
tab, the tabs on all doors pop out. Pushing in the lock tab on the
passenger's door only locks that door. Remote Transmitter
You can lock and unlock your car with the remote transmitter. When
you push the LOCK button, all doorslock. You will hear a beep, and the
parking lights, taillights and license
plate lights will flash once. When you push the UNLOCK button
once, only the driver's door unlocks.
The remaining doors unlock when you push the button a second time.
You will hear two beeps, and the outside lights will flash twice, each
time you push the button.
The ceiling lights (if the ceiling light switch is in the center position) and
the door courtesy lights will come on
when you press the UNLOCK button. If you do not open any door, the
lights stay on for about 10 seconds,
then fade out. If you relock the doors with the remote transmitter before 10 seconds have elapsed, the lights
will go off immediately.

Instruments and Controls
LED

UNLOCK
BUTTON
LOCK

BUTTON

TRUNK
RELEASE

BUTTON

PANIC
BUTTON

Parking Brake, Digital Clock

Parking Brake
To apply the parking brake, depress the pedal fully. To release it, pull the
release lever. The parking brake
light on the instrument panel should
go out when the parking brake is
fully released with the engine
running (see page 54). If you try to drive the car without releasing the
parking brake, the ABS indicator
may come on, and the ABS may not
work properly. The VSA system
indicator will also come on along
with the ABS indicator (see page

189).

Driving the car with the parking brake
applied can damage the rear brakes

and axles.
Digital Clock

3.5 RL without Navigation System

The digital clock displays the time with the ignition switch ON (II). To see the time with the ignition off,
press and hold the wide button to the right of the clock.
CONTINUED

Instruments and Controls

NOTICE

RELEASE LEVER

PARKING

BRAKE PEDAL

Driving
This section gives you tips on starting the engine under various
conditions, and how to operate the
automatic transmission. It also
includes important information on parking your car, the braking system,
the Vehicle Stability Assist System,
and facts you need if you are
planning to tow a trailer. Preparing to Drive......................... 180
Starting the Engine........................ 181
Starting in Cold Weatherat High Altitude ..................... 181
Automatic Transmission............... 182 Shift Lever Position Indicator.. 182
Shift Lever Positions................. 182
Engine Speed Limiter ............... 184
Shift Lock Release..................... 185
Parking............................................ 186
The Braking System...................... 187
Brake Wear Indicators.............. 187
Brake System Design................ 188
Anti-lock Brakes........................ 188 Important SafetyReminders.......................... 189
ABS Indicator......................... 189
Vehicle Stability Assist System.... 191 Driving in Bad Weather................ 194
Towing a Trailer............................ 196

Driving

The Braking System

Your Acura is equipped with disc brakes at all four wheels. A powerassist helps reduce the effort needed
on the brake pedal. The ABS helps
you retain steering control when
braking very hard.
Put your foot on the brake pedal only
when you intend to brake. Resting
your foot on the pedal keeps the
brakes applied lightly, causing them
to build up heat. Heat build-up can
reduce how well your brakes work. It also keeps your brake lights on all
the time, confusing drivers behind

you.
Constant application of the brakes
when going down a long hill builds up heat and reduces their effective-
ness. Use the engine to assist the
brakes by downshifting to a lower gear and taking your foot off the
accelerator pedal.
Check your brakes after driving
through deep water. Apply the
brakes moderately to see if they feel
normal. If not, apply them gently and
frequently until they do. Since a longer distance is needed to stop
with wet brakes, be extra cautious and alert in your driving. Brake Wear Indicators
All four brakes have audible brake
wear indicators.
When the brake pads need replacing,
you will hear a distinctive metallic "screeching" sound when you apply
the brakes. If you do not have the
brake pads replaced, they will begin screeching all the time.
Your brakes may sometimes squeal or squeak when you apply them
lightly. Do not confuse this with the
brake wear indicators. They make a
very audible "screeching."

Driving

The Braking System

Brake System Design
The hydraulic system that operates the brakes has two separate circuits.Each circuit works diagonally across
the car (the left-front brake is connected with the right-rear brake,
etc.). If one circuit should develop a
problem, you will still have braking
at two wheels.

Front
Anti-lock Brakes

Your car has an Anti-lock BrakeSystem (ABS) as standard
equipment. ABS helps to prevent the
wheels from locking up and skidding during hard braking, allowing you to
retain steering control.
When the front tires skid, you lose steering control; the car continues
straight ahead even though you turn
the steering wheel. The ABS helps to
prevent lock-up and helps you retain steering control by pumping the
brakes rapidly; much faster than a person can do it.
The ABS also balances the front-to rear braking distribution according
to vehicle loading. You should never pump the
brake pedal, this defeats the
purpose of the ABS. Let the ABS
work for you by always keeping firm, steady pressure on the brake pedal
as you steer away from the hazard.
This is sometimes referred to as
"stomp and steer."

You will feel a pulsation in the brake pedal when the ABS activates, and
you may hear some noise. This is normal, it is the ABS rapidly
pumping the brakes.
Activation varies with the amount of traction your tires have. On dry
pavement, you will need to press on
the brake pedal very hard before you activate the ABS. However, you may
feel the ABS activate immediately if
you are trying to stop on snow or ice.

Driving