Page 74 of 319
See page f or important saf etyinf ormation about how to properlyposition the steering wheel. 18
Make any steering wheel adjustment
bef ore you start driving.
To adjust the steering wheel upward
or downward:Push the lever under the steering
column all the way down.
Move the steering wheel to the
desired position, making sure the
wheel points toward your chest,
not toward your f ace. Make sure
you can see the instrument panel
gauges and the indicator lights. Push the lever up to lock the
steering wheel in that position.
Make sure you have securely
locked the steering wheel in place
by trying to move it up and down.
1.
2. 3.
4.
Steering Wheel A djustment
Controls Near the Steering Wheel
Inst rument s and Cont rols71
Adjusting the steering wheel
position while driving may
cause you to lose control of the
car and be seriously injured in a
crash.
Adjust the steering wheel only
when the car is stopped.
Page 170 of 319

CONT INUED
The shif t lever has nine positions. It
must be in Park or Neutral to start
the engine. When you are stopped in
D,D,D,2,1,N,R,orthe
Sequential SportShif t mode, press
f irmly on the brake pedal and keep
your f oot of f the accelerator pedal.To select the Sequential SportShif t
mode, slide the shif t lever toward the
lef t f rom the ‘‘D ’’ position.
In this mode the shif t lever allows
youtoshiftupanddownmanually.
YoucannotshiftoutofParkwiththe
brake pedal depressed when the
ignition switch is in LOCK (0) or
ACCESSORY (I). Whenever you move the shif t lever,
slide it along the guide on the
console.
543 5
To shift from:
PtoR
RtoN
NtoD
DtoD
DtoD Dto22to1
1to2
2toD
DtoD
DtoD DtoN NtoRRtoP Do this:
Press the brake pedal, then
move the shift lever.
Move the lever.
5
54
43 3
3
34
45 5
Automatic Transmission
Driving
Shif t L ever Positions
167
S SH H I
IFFT T L
LEE V
V E
ER
R
S
SE EQ
QU UEEN
NT TI
IAA L
L
S
SP PO
OR RTTS
SH H I
IFFT T
M
M O
ODDE
E
P
P O
OS SIITT I
IOON N
Page 171 of 319

µµ
µµ
This position mechani-
cally locks the transmission. Use
Park whenever you are turning of f or
starting the engine. To shif t out of
Park, you must press on the brake
pedal and have your f oot of f the
accelerator pedal. Move the shif t
lever to the right to shif t out of the
Park position.
To avoid transmission damage, come
to a complete stop bef ore shif ting
into Park. The shif t lever must be in
Park bef ore you can remove the key
from the ignition switch. To shif t to Reverse
f rom Park, see the explanation under
Park. To shif t to Reverse f rom
Neutral, come to a complete stop and
then shift.
If you have done all of the above and
still cannot move the lever out of
Park, see Shif t Lock Release on page . If you cannot shif t to Reverse when
the car is stopped, press the brake
pedal and slowly shif t to Neutral, and
then to Reverse. Your car has a reverse lockout so
you cannot accidentally shif t to
Reverse from Neutral or any other
driving position when the vehicle
speed exceeds 7 9 mph (12 14
km/h).
If there is a problem in the reverse
lockout system, or your car’s battery
is disconnected or goes dead, you
cannot shif t to Reverse. (Ref er to
Shif t Lock Release on page ).
173
173
Automatic Transmission
Driving
Park (P)Reverse (R)
168
Page 172 of 319

µ
µ µ
´
´
µ
µ
CONT INUED
Use Neutral if you
need to restart a stalled engine, or if
it is necessary to stop brief ly with
the engine idling. Shif t to Park posi-
tion if you need to leave the car for
any reason. Press on the brake pedal
when you are moving the shif t lever
f rom Neutral to another gear.
Use this position f or
your normal driving. The
transmission automatically selects a
suitable gear for your speed and
acceleration. You may notice the
transmission shif ting up at higher
speeds when the engine is cold. This
helps the engine warm up f aster. With
the shif t lever in ‘‘D ’’ position, you
can select the Sequential SportShif t
mode to shif t gears; much like a
manual transmission, but without a
clutch pedal.
To enter the Sequential SportShif t
mode, move the shif t lever to the lef t.
To return to ‘‘D ’’, move the shif t
lever to the right.
When you move the shif t lever f rom
‘‘D ’’ to the Sequential SportShift
mode, the display shows the selected
gear.
In the Sequential SportShif t mode,
each time you push f orward on the
shif t lever, the transmission shif ts to
a higher gear. Pull back on the lever
to downshif t. The number of the
gear selected is displayed next to the
‘‘D ’’ indicator (see page ). Even with the Sequential SportShift
Mode selected, the transmission will
automatically upshif t and downshif t
between f irst and second gear.
166
5
5
5
5
Automatic Transmission
Driving
Neutral (N)
Drive (D )
5
Sequent ial Sport Shif t Mode
169
D D o
ow
wn ns
shh i
iff t
t
U
Up
ps
shh i
iff t
t
Page 173 of 319

à
à
à
à
When you accelerate away f rom a
stop, the transmission will start in
first gear and then automatically
upshif t to second gear. You have to
manually upshif t between second
and f if th gears. Make sure you
upshif t bef ore the engine speed
reaches the tachometer’s red zone.
The transmission remains in the
selected gear (5, 4, 3). There is no
automatic downshif t when you push
the accelerator pedal to the floor.
The transmission may automatically
downshif t f rom the higher gear to
the lower gear under the f ollowing
conditions:
To shift from 43
54 Speed range
under 18 mph
(29 km/h)
under 34 mph
(55 km/h)
To shift from 43
54 Speed range
under 34 mph
(55 km/h)
under 47 mph
(75 km/h) The transmission will also shif t
automatically as the vehicle comes to
a complete stop. It will downshif t to
f irst gear when the vehicle speed is
under 9 mph (15 km/h). Downshif ting gives you more power
when climbing or provides engine
brakingwhengoingdownasteephill.
If you try to manually downshif t at a
speed that would cause the engine to
exceed the redline in a lower gear,
the transmission will not downshif t.
Thegearindicatorwillflashthe
numberof thelowergearseveral
times, then return to the higher gear.
Driving on level roads and downhill
Driving uphill
Automatic Transmission
Driving170
Page 175 of 319

µµ
These positions
are similar to D , except when you
select the D position, only the f irst
f our gears are selected. When you
select D , only the f irst three gears
are selected. D can also keep the
transmission f rom cycling between
f ourth and f if th gears in stop-and-go
driving, and D can keep the
transmission f rom cycling between
third and f ourth gears.
Use D when towing a trailer in hilly
terrain, or to provide engine braking
when going down a steep hill. D
gives you more power and increased
engine braking. ForfasteraccelerationwheninD ,
D or D , you can get the
transmission to automatically
downshif t by pushing the accelerator
pedal to the f loor. The transmission
will shif t down one or two gears,
depending on your speed.
This position locks
the transmission in second gear. It
does not downshif t to f irst 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
surf ace or in deep snow. It will help
reduce wheelspin.
5
4
3 4
3
3 3 3
45
Automatic Transmission
Driving
Drive(D,D) Second(2)43
172
Page 183 of 319

You should still install winter tires on
your car during the winter. Make
sure to use the same size originally
supplied with vehicle. Exercise the
samecautioninwinterdrivingasyou
would if your car was not equipped
with TCS.
Driving with the compact spare tire
installed (see page ) may
activate the TCS. You should turn of f
the system.
If the brakes overheat while the TCS
is activating, the TCS indicator will
stop flashing and stay on temporarily.
This indicates that the TCS system
has turned of f . Af ter the brakes have
cooled down (usually f or about 10
minutes), the TCS will turn back on
and the indicator will turn of f .This switch is under the side vent. It
letsyouturntheTractionControl
System on and of f . You cannot turn
of f the TCS while the TCS indicator
light is f lashing.Deactivate the system by pressing
the TCS On/Off switch. The TCS
indicator light comes on as a
reminder. Pressing the switch again
turns the system back on.
The Traction Control System turns
on every time you start the engine,
even if you turned it of f the last time
you drove the vehicle.
258
Traction Control System
Driving
TCS ON/OFF Switch
180
Page 217 of 319
Tighten the drain bolt at the rear
of the engine cylinder block
securely.
Tightening torque:Pour Honda All Season
Antif reeze/Coolant Type 2 into
the radiator up to the base of the
f iller neck. This coolant is a
mixture of 50 percent antif reeze
and 50 percent water. Pre-mixing
is not required.
The cooling system capacity is:
Start the engine and let it run f or
about 30 seconds. Then turn of f
the engine. Pour coolant into theradiator up to the base of the f iller
neck.
Fill the reserve tank to the MAX
mark. Install the reserve tank cap.
Install the radiator cap, and
tighten it to the first stop.
6.
8.9.
7.
10.
Cooling Syst em
Maint enance214
F Fiillll u
u p
p t
too h
he
erree
7 lbf·ft (10 N·m , 1.0 kgf·m)
1.48 US gal (5.6
, 1.23 Imp gal)