4Driver and Passenger Safety
Yo u
’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.
Always Wear Your Seat Belt
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.)
Restrain All Children
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.)
Be Aware of Airbag Hazards
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 at
the greatest risk. Be sure to follow
all instructions and warnings in
this manual. (See page 7.)
Don’t Drink and Drive
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 drink
and drive either. Control Your Speed
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 lower
speeds. Never drive faster than is
safe for current conditions,
regardless of the maximum speed
posted.
Keep Your Vehicle in Safe
Condition
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 204.)
Important Safety Precautions
43Driver and Passenger Safety
Honda provides a lifetime
warranty on seat belts. Honda will
repair or replace any seat belt
component that fails to function
properly during normal use.
Please see your Honda Warranty
Information
booklet for details.
Not checking or maintaining
seat belts can result in serious
injury or death if the seat belts
do not work properly when
needed.
Check your seat belts regularly
and have any problem
corrected as soon as possible.
If a seat belt is worn during a
crash, you should have your
dealer inspect the belt, and replace
it if necessary. A belt that has
been worn during a crash may not
provide the same level of
protection in a subsequent crash.
The dealer should also inspect the
anchors for damage and replace
them if needed.
For information on how to clean
your seat belts, see page 229. The SRS is designed to provide
protection under a wide range of
driving conditions, including
off-road driving. When driving
off-road, it is important that
everyone wear their seat belts
properly, and that you drive at
speeds that are safe for the terrain
and conditions. Refer to the
Off-Road Driving Information
booklet for tips on proper
operation.
SRS Components
Your Supplemental Restraint
System (SRS) includes:
•Two frontal airbags. The
driver ’
s airbag is stored in the
center of the steering wheel;
the front passenger ’s airbag is
stored in the dashboard. Both
are marked “SRS AIRBAG.”
Additional Information
About Your SRS
47Driver and Passenger Safety
Your vehicle’
s exhaust contains
carbon monoxide gas. You should
have no problem with carbon
monoxide entering the vehicle in
normal driving if you maintain
your vehicle properly. Have the
exhaust system inspected for leaks
whenever:
•The vehicle is raised for an oil
change.
•You notice a change in the
sound of the exhaust.
•The vehicle was in an accident
that may have damaged the
underside.
Carbon monoxide gas is toxic.
Breathing it can cause
unconsciousness and even kill
you.
Avoid any enclosed areas or
activities that expose you to
carbon monoxide.
High levels of carbon monoxide
can collect rapidly in enclosed
areas, such as a garage. Do not
run the engine with the garage
door closed. Even with the door
open, run the engine only long
enough to move the vehicle out of
the garage.
With the tailgate glass open, air
flow can pull exhaust gas into the
interior. This can create a
hazardous condition. If you must drive with the tailgate glass open,
open all the windows and set the
heating and cooling system as
shown below.
If you must sit in your parked
vehicle, even in an unconfined
area, with the engine running,
adjust the heating and cooling
system as follows:
1. Slide the lever to .
2. Turn the dial to
mode.
3. Turn the fan on high speed.
4. Set the temperature control to a comfortable setting.
Carbon Monoxide Hazard
62Instruments and Controls
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.
High Beam
The headlight high beam indicator
lights up when the headlights are
on high beam.
Charging System
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,
11 9Comfort and Convenience Features
The heating and air conditioning
system in your vehicle provides a
comfortable driving environment
in all weather conditions.
The audio system has many
features. This section describes
those features and how to use
them.
Heating and Cooling 120
. . . . . .
Ventilation 122 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Audio System125 . . . . . . . . . . . .
AM/FM/Cassette Stereo
Audio System (LX, EX)125 Operating the Radio 125 . .
Adjusting the Sound 127 . .
Operating the
Cassette Player 128 . . . . .
Caring for the
Cassette Player 130 . . . . .
Operating the Optional
CD Changer131 . . . . . . . .
AM/FM/Cassette/
CD Changer Stereo
Audio System (EX-L)133 . .
Operating the Radio 133 . .
Adjusting the Sound 135 . .
Radio Frequencies 136 . . .
Operating the
Cassette Player 138 . . . . .
Caring for the
Cassette Player 141 . . . . . Operating the
CD Changer142
. . . . . . . .
Protecting
Compact Discs146 . . . . . .
Cruise Control 147 . . . . . . . . . . .
Keyless Entry 151 . . . . . . . . . . .
Anti-Theft System 152 . . . . . . . .
Digital Clock 153 . . . . . . . . . . . .
Comfort and Convenience Features
FACEFOOT
DEFROST
FOOT/DEFROST
AIR SELECTOR KNOB
BI-LEVEL
AIR-SOURCE
OUTSIDE AIR
FAN CONTROL LEVER
AIR CONDITIONING BUTTON
TEMPERATURE
SELECTOR LEVER
USE BI-LEVEL IN THIS
RANGE FOR COOL
UPPER LEVEL AIR AND
WARM FLOOR LEVEL AIR
CONTROL KNOB
RECIRCULATED AIR
120Comfort and Convenience Features This system combines heating and
cooling capabilities for comfort in
all weather conditions.
During air conditioning operation,
slight increases and decreases in
engine speed/power may be
noticed. This is normal, as the
system is designed to cycle the
compressor
ON and OFF to
maintain desired cooling. The
reduced compressor operation
should benefit fuel economy.
Air Conditioning Switch
Push this switch to operate the air
conditioning system. The light-
emitting diode in this switch lights
to show the system is operating.
To turn off the air conditioning,
push this switch in again.
Air conditioning will not operate
without the fan control lever in
one of the “
ON” positions.
Heating and Cooling
121Comfort and Convenience Features
Fan Control Lever
The fan control lever
(
OFF–1–2–3–4) provides speed
control of the blower fan in all Air
Selector Lever positions.
Temperature Control Knob
The temperature control knob
regulates the temperature of the air
entering the passenger
compartment in all air selector
lever positions.
Air-Source Selector Lever
The intake of outside air and the
circulation of inside air is
controlled by sliding this lever left
or right.
Circulating only inside air for
an extended period with the air
conditioning “
OFF” may cause
windshield clouding. For effective
ventilation, switch to outside air as
soon as possible.
Air Selector Knob
The air selector knob regulates air
flow from the upper, floor and
defroster outlets.
Face — Air is
conditioned as it passes
through the system and is
discharged from the upper outlets.
This position is used for most air
conditioning situations.
Bi-level — Air is
conditioned and
discharged from the upper outlets
and the floor outlets. The air from
the floor outlets is warmer than
the air from the upper outlets in
this position. However, when the
temperature control knob is
moved to either the full “
HOT” or
the full “
COLD” position, the air
from the floor outlets and the air
from the upper outlets will be the same temperature. This position
gives cool upper level air and
warm floor level air when the
temperature control is adjusted
between
COLD and HOT.
This is useful in cool weather with
bright sunlight conditions.
Foot — Air is
delivered from the floor
outlets with a small amount from
the windshield defroster outlets
and the side window defroster
outlets.
122Comfort and Convenience FeaturesFoot/Defrost — Air
comes from the floor
outlets, windshield defroster
outlets and side window defroster
outlets. When you select
Foot/Defrost, the A/C turns on (if
it is not already on), and outside
air is selected automatically.
Because of the automatic
operation, you will not see the
light in the A/C button. The
system goes back to your former
settings when you move the knob
to any other position.
When the windshield glass and
door glass are foggy or frosty, use
this Foot/Defrost mode to clear
off the glass while maintaining the
heating performance.
Defrost — Air is
conditioned and
delivered from the windshield
defroster outlets with a small amount delivered from the side
window defroster outlets. This
position is recommended for
conditions of severe fogging and
icing only. When you select
Defrost, the A/C turns on (if it is
not already on), and outside air is
selected automatically. Because of
the automatic operation, you will
not see the light in the A/C button.
The system goes back to your
former settings when you move
the knob to any other position.
Operating Tips – Use the heater
with the air-source selector lever
at the outside air position. This
will minimize windshield
clouding while quickly warming
the interior of the vehicle. For
best results, engage the A/C
compressor to minimize
windshield clouding. Your vehicle has a flow-through
ventilation system that provides
a supply of outside air into the
vehicle when it is moving and the
air-source selector lever is in the
outside air position. When the
vehicle is not in motion, you can
get a steady flow of outside air
with the heater or air conditioning
blower running.
With the side windows closed and
the air-source selector lever in the
outside air position, the flow-
through ventilation system
provides outside air flow into the
front air inlet grilles, through the
vehicle and out the rear air
exhaust outlet.
Ventilation