2001 HONDA CIVIC Owners Manual

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In Canada, Honda vehicles comply
with the Canadian Motor Vehicle
Saf ety Standards (CMVSS) f or
Emissions valid at the time they are
manuf actured.
The United States Clean Air Act
sets standards f or automobile
emissions. It also requires that
automobile manufacturers explain to
owners how their emissions controls
workandwhattodotomaintain
them. This section summarizes how
the emissions controls work.
Scheduled maintenance is on page
.
The burning of gasoline in your car’s
engine produces several byproducts.
Some of these are carbon monoxide
(CO), oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and
hydrocarbons (HC). Gasoline
evaporating from the tank also
produces hydrocarbons. Controlling
the production of NOx, CO, and HC
is important to the environment.
Under certain conditions of sunlight
and climate, NOx and HC react to
f orm photochemical ‘‘smog.’’ Carbon
monoxide does not contribute to
smog creation, but it is a poisonous
gas.
Your car has a Positive Crankcase
Ventilation System. This keeps
gasses that build up in the engine’s
crankcase from going into the
atmosphere. The Positive Crankcase
Ventilation valve routes them fromthe crankcase back to the intake
manif old. They are then drawn into
the engine and burned.
As gasoline evaporates in the f uel
tank, an evaporative emissions
control canister f illed with charcoal
adsorbs the vapor. It is stored in this
canister while the engine is of f . Af ter
the engine is started and warmed up,
the vapor is drawn into the engine
and burned during driving.
The Onboard Ref ueling Vapor
Recovery (ORVR) system captures
the f uel vapors during ref ueling. The
vapors are adsorbed in a canister
f illed with activated carbon. While
driving, the f uel vapors are drawn
into the engine and burned of f .
194
The Clean Air Act
Crankcase Emissions Control
System Evaporative Emissions Control
System
Onboard Ref ueling Vapor
Recovery
T echnical Inf ormation
Emissions Cont rols
298

The three way catalytic converter is
in the exhaust system. Through
chemical reactions, it converts HC,
CO, and NOx in the engine’s exhaust
to carbon dioxide (CO ), dinitrogen
(N ), and water vapor.
This system constantly adjusts the
ignition timing, reducing the amount
of HC, CO and NOx produced.
The exhaust emissions controls
include three systems: PGM-FI,
Ignition Timing Control and Three
Way Catalytic Converter. These
three systems work together to
control the engine’s combustion and
minimize the amount of HC, CO, and
NOx that comes out the tailpipe. The
exhaust emissions control systems
are separate from the crankcase and
evaporative emissions control
systems.
The PGM-FI System uses sequential
multiport f uel injection.
It has three subsystems: Air Intake,
Engine Control, and Fuel Control.
The Engine Control Module (ECM)
or the Powertrain Control Module
(PCM) uses various sensors to
determine how much air is going
into the engine. It then controls how
much f uel to inject under all operat-
ing conditions.
The emissions control systems are
covered by warranties separate f rom
the rest of your car. Read your
warranty manual f or more inf orma-
tion.
The emissions control systems are
designed and certif ied to work to-
gether in reducing emissions to
levels that comply with the Clean Air
Act. To make sure the emissions
remain low, you should use only new
Genuine Honda replacement parts or
their equivalent f or repairs. Using
lower quality parts may increase the
emissions f rom your car.
2
2 Replacement Parts
Exhaust Emissions Controls
PGM-FI Syst em
Three Way Catalytic Converter
Ignit ion T iming Cont rol Syst em
Emissions Cont rols
T echnical Inf ormation
299

The three way catalytic converter
contains precious metals that serve
as catalysts, promoting chemical
reactions to convert the exhaust
gasses without af f ecting the metals.
The catalytic converter is ref erred to
as a three-way catalyst, since it acts
on HC, CO, and NOx. A replacement
unit must be an original Honda part
or its equivalent.Always use unleaded gasoline.
Even a small amount of leaded
gasoline can contaminate the
catalyst metals, making the three
way catalytic converter inef f ective.
The three way catalytic converter
must operate at a high temperature
for the chemical reactions to take
place. It can set on f ire any com-
bustible materials that come near it.
Park your car away f rom high grass,
dry leaves, or other f lammables.
A defective three way catalytic
converter contributes to air pollution,
and can impair your engine’s per-
f ormance. Follow these guidelines to
protect your car’s three way catalytic
converter. Keep the engine tuned-up.
Have your car diagnosed and
repaired if it is misf iring, back-
f iring, stalling, or otherwise not
running properly.
(EX) (DX, LX)
T echnical Inf ormation
Three Way Catalytic Converter
300
TTHHRREEEEWWAAYYCCAATTAALLYYTTIICCCCOONNVVEERRTTEERRTTHHRREEEEWWAAYYCCAATTAALLYYTTIICCCCOONNVVEERRTTEERR

CONT INUED
If you take your vehicle f or a state
emissions test shortly af ter the
battery has been disconnected or
gone dead, it may not pass the test.
This is because of certain ‘‘readiness
codes’’ that must be set in the on-
board diagnostics f or the emissions
systems. These codes are erased
when the battery is disconnected,
and set again only after several days
of driving under a variety of
conditions.If the testing f acility determines that
the readiness codes are not set, you
will be requested to return at a later
date to complete the test. If you must
get the vehicle re-tested within the
next two or three days, you can
condition the vehicle for re-testing
by doing the f ollowing.
Make sure the gas tank is nearly,
but not completely, f ull (around
3/4).
Make sure the vehicle has been
parked with the engine of f f or 8
hours or more.
Make sure the ambient
temperature is between 20° and
95°F. Without touching the accelerator
pedal, start the engine and let it
idle f or 20 seconds.
Keep the vehicle in Park
(automatic transmission) or
Neutral (manual transmission).
Increase the engine speed to 2,000
rpm and hold it there until the
temperature gauge rises to at least
1/4of thescale(approximately3
minutes).
T echnical Inf ormation
T esting of Readiness Codes
St at e Emissions T est ing
301

Then drive in city/suburban
traffic for at least 10 minutes.
When traf f ic conditions allow, let
the vehicle coast f or several
seconds without using the
accelerator pedal or the brake
pedal.
If the testing f acility determines the
readiness codes are still not set, see
your Honda dealer.
Select a nearby lightly traveled
major highway where you can
maintain a speed of 50 to 60 mph
(80to97km/h)foratleast20
minutes. Drive on the highway in
D (A/T) or 5th (M/T). Do not use
thecruisecontrol.Whentraffic
allows, drive f or 90 seconds
without moving the accelerator
pedal. (Vehicle speed may vary
slightly; this is okay.) If you cannot
do this f or a continuous 90
seconds because of traf f ic
conditions, drive f or at least 30
seconds, then repeat it two more
times (for a total of 90 seconds).
T echnical Inf ormation
St at e Emissions T est ing
302

Customer Relations................................
Inf ormation . 304
...................
U.S. Zone Of f ice Map . 305
.............
Canada Zone Of f ice Map . 306
....................
Warranty Coverages . 307
Reporting Saf ety Def ects
..........................
(U.S. Vehicles) . 308
.....................
Authorized Manuals . 309
Warranty and Customer Relations
Warrant y and Cust omer Relat ions 303

When you call or write, please give
us this inf ormation:
Honda dealership personnel are
trained prof essionals. They should
be able to answer all your questions.
If you encounter a problem that your
dealership does not solve to your
satisf action, please discuss it with
the dealership’s management. The
Service Manager or General
Manager can help. Almost all
problems are solved in this way. If you are dissatisf ied with the
decision made by the dealership’s
management, contact your Honda
Customer Relations Zone Of f ice.
Refer to the U.S. and Canadian Zone
Of f ice maps on the f ollowing pages.
Vehicle Identif ication Number
(see page )
Name and address of the dealer
who services your car
Date of purchase
Mileage on your car
Your name, address, and tele-
phone number
A detailed description of the
problem
Name of the dealer who sold the
car to you290
Warrant y and Cust omer Relat ions
Cust omer Relat ions Inf ormat ion
304


 


 



  Warrant y and Cust omer Relat ions
U.S. Zone Office Map
305
ZONE 1
ZONE 9
ZONE 6
ZONE 3
ZONE 10
ZONE 7ZONE 5
ZONE 2 ZONE 15
ZONE 4
ZONE 2
ZONE 8 Mid-Atlantic Zone
902 Wind River Ln., Suite 200
Gaithersburg, Maryland 20878
(301) 990-2020
Southeastern Zone
P.O. Box 1606
1500 Morrison Parkway
Alpharetta, Georgia 30009-1606
(770) 442-2045 North Central Zone
601 Campus Drive, Suite A-9
Arlington Heights, Illinois 60004
(847) 870-5600
New England Zone
555 Old County Road
Windsor Locks, C onnecticut 06096
(860) 623-3310
See Zone 5 for: NYC Metro area and
Fairfield County, CT area
West Central Zone
1600 South Abilene Street, Suite D
Aurora, Colorado 80012
(303) 696-3935
Puerto Rico and U.S. V.I.
Bella International
P.O. Box 190816
San Juan, PR 00919-0816
(787) 250-4318
Western Zone
P.O. Box 2260
700 Van Ness Avenue
Torrance, California
90501-1490
(310) 781-4565
Northwestern Zone
P.O. Box 20186
12439 N.E. Airport Way
Portland, Oregon 97230
(503) 256-0943
(also includes Alaska and
Hawaii)
South Central Zone
4529 Royal Lane
Irving, Texas 75063
(972) 929-5481
Northeastern Zone
115 Gaither Drive
Mt. Laurel, New Jersey 08054
(856) 235-5533
Includes: NYC Metro area and
Fairfield County, CT area Central Zone
101 South Stanfield Road
Troy, Ohio 45373
(937) 332-6250
The addresses and telephone numbers are subject to change. If you cannot
reach your Zone office, ask your Honda dealer for the current information.