2003 Acura TL 3.2 Owner's Manual

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Bass, Treble, Balance, and Fader are
each adjustable. You select which of
these you want to adjust by pressing
the TUNE knob. The mode changes
fromBAStoTREtoFADtoBAL,
and then back to the selected audio
mode, each time you press the
TUNE knob.
Use these modes to
adjust the tone to your liking. Select
TRE or BAS by pressing the TUNE
knob. Adjust the desired mode by
turning the TUNE knob. The level
indicators on the display show you
the range.
These two
modes adjust the strength of the
sound coming f rom each speaker.
BAL adjusts the side-to-side strength,
while FAD adjusts the f ront-to-back
strength. Select BAL or FAD by pressing the
TUNE knob. Adjust the Balance or
Fader to your liking by turning the
TUNE knob. The level indicators on
the display show you the range.
The system will automatically return
the display to the selected audio
mode about f ive seconds af ter you
stop adjusting a mode with the
TUNE knob.
Adjusting the Sound
Treble/Bass
Balance/Fader
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Your Acura’s radio can receive the
complete AM and FM bands.
Those bands cover these f requen-
cies:
AM band:
530 to 1,710 kilohertz
FM band:
87.7 to 107.9 megahertz
Radio stations on the AM band are
assigned f requencies at least ten
kilohertz apart (530, 540, 550).
Stations on the FM band are
assigned f requencies at least 0.2
megahertz apart (87.9, 88.1, 88.3).Stations must use these exact
f requencies. It is f airly common f or
stations to round-of f the f requency in
their advertising, so your radio could
display a f requency of 100.9 even
though the announcer may identif y
the station as ‘‘FM101.’’
How well your Acura’s radio receives
stations is dependent on many
f actors, such as the distance f rom
the station’s transmitter, nearby
large objects, and atmospheric
conditions.
A radio station’s signal gets weaker
as you get f arther away f rom its
transmitter. If you are listening to an
AM station, you will notice the sound
volume becoming weaker, and the
stationdriftinginandout.If youare
listening to an FM station, you will
see the stereo indicator f lickering of f
and on as the signal weakens.
Eventually, the stereo indicator willgo of f and the sound will f ade
completely as you get out of range of
the station’s signal.
Driving very near the transmitter of
a station that is broadcasting on a
f requency close to the f requency of
the station you are listening to can
also af f ect your radio’s reception.
You may temporarily hear both
stations,orhearonlythestationyou
are close to.
You can use the instrument panel
brightness control dial to adjust the il-
lumination of the audio system (see
page ). The audio system
illuminates when the parking lights
are on, even if the radio is turned of f .
71
A udio System L ighting
Radio Frequencies
Radio Reception
Audio System
Comf ort and Convenience Feat ures135

Radio signals, especially on the FM
band, are def lected by large objects
such as buildings and hills. Your
radio then receives both the direct
signal f rom the station’s transmitter,
and the def lected signal. This causes
the sound to distort or flutter. This is
a main cause of poor radio reception
in city driving.Radio reception can be af f ected by
atmospheric conditions such as
thunderstorms, high humidity, and
even sunspots. You may be able to
receive a distant radio station one
day and not receive it the next day
because of a change in conditions.
Electrical interf erence f rom passing
vehicles and stationary sources can
cause temporary reception problems.
As required by the FCC:
Changes or modif ications not expresslyapproved by the party responsible f orcompliance could void the user’sauthority to operate the equipment.
Audio System
Comf ort and Convenience Feat ures136

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The ignition switch must be in
ACCESSORY (I) or ON (II).
Make sure the tape opening on the
cassette is facing to the right, then
insert the cassette most of the way
into the slot. The system will pull it
in the rest of the way, and begin to
play.
The tape direction indicator will light
to show you which side of the
cassette is playing. The indicates
thesideyouinsertedfacingupward
is now playing. If you want to play
the other side, press the PROG
button. If you turn the system of f while a
tape is playing, either with the PWR/
VOL knob or by turning of f the
ignition, the cassette will remain in
the drive. When you turn the system
back on, the tape will begin playing
where it lef t of f .
To switch to the radio or CD
changer while listening to a tape,
presstheAM,FMorCDbutton.To
change back to the cassette player,
press the TAPE button.
Dolby noise reduction turns on when
you insert a cassette. The indi-
cator will light in the display. If the
tape was not recorded with Dolby
noise reduction, turn it of f by
pressing the button.
When the system reaches the end of
the tape, it will automatically reverse
direction and play the other side. If
you want to remove the cassette
f rom the drive, press the EJECT
button. Noise reduction remains of f until you
turn it on by pressing the button
again.
You can remove the cassette with
the ignition switch in any position,
even if the audio system is turned of f .
Operating the Cassette Player
Audio System
Comf ort and Convenience Feat ures137

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With a cassette playing, you can use
the FF, REW, SKIP, or REPEAT
f unction to f ind a desired program.
Fast Forward and
Rewind move the tape rapidly. To
rewind the tape, push the REW
button. You will see REW in the
display. To f ast f orward the tape,
push the FF button. You will see FF
displayed. Press the FF, REW or
PLAY button to take the system out
of rewind or f ast f orward. When the
system reaches the end of the tape,
it reverses direction and begins to
play. T ape Search Functions
FF/REW
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The SKIP f unction allows
you to f ind the beginning of a song
or passage. To skip to the beginning
of a song or passage currently
playing, push the button. You will
see REW flashing in the display as
thetaperewinds.Toskiptothe
beginning of the next song, push the button. You will see FF f lashing in
the display as the tape fast forwards.
When the system f inds the begin-
ning of a song or passage, it goes
back to PLAY.
To stop the SKIP f unction bef ore it
f inds the beginning of a song or
passage, press either of the SKIP
buttons ( or ).
CONT INUED
SK IP
Audio System
Comf ort and Convenience Feat ures139
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µThe Repeat f unction
continuously replays the current
song or passage. Press the RPT
button to activate it; you will see RPT
displayed as a reminder. When the
system reaches the end of the song
or passage currently playing, it will
automatically go into rewind. When
it senses the beginning of the same
song or passage, the system returns
to PLAY mode. It will continue to
repeat this same program until you
deactivate REPEAT by pressing the
button again.
Pressing the REW or FF button, or
either of the SKIP buttons, also turns
of f REPEAT.
The SKIP and REPEAT f unctions
use silent periods on the tape to f ind
the end of a song or passage. These
f eatures may not work to your
satisfaction if there is almost no gap
between selections, a high noise
level between selections, or a silent
period in the middle of a selection.
REPEAT
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The cassette player picks up dirt and
oxides f rom the tape. This contami-
nation builds up over time and
causes the sound quality to degrade.
To prevent this, you should clean the
player af ter every 30 hours of use.
Your dealer has a cleaning kit
available.
If you do not clean the cassette
player regularly, it may eventually
become impossible to remove the
contamination with a normal
cleaning kit.Use 100-minute or shorter cassettes.
Cassettes longer than that use
thinner tape that may break or jam
the drive.
Look at the cassette before you
insert it. If the tape is loose, tighten
it by turning a hub with a pencil or
your f inger.
When they are not in use, store
cassettes in their cases to protect
them f rom dust and moisture. Never
place cassettes where they will be
exposed to direct sunlight, high heat,
or high humidity. If a cassette is
exposed to extreme heat or cold, let
it reach a moderate temperature
bef ore inserting it in the player.
Never try to insert f oreign objects
into the cassette player.
If the label is peeling of f , remove it
from the cassette or it could cause
the cassette to jam in the player.
Never try to insert a warped or
damaged cassette in the player. If you see the error indication
‘‘ ’’ on the display, press the
EJECT button to remove the
cassette from the unit. Make sure
thetapeisnotdamaged.If the
cassette will not eject or the error
indication stays on after the cassette
ejects, take the car to your Acura
dealer.
Caring f or the Cassette Player
Audio System
Comf ort and Convenience Feat ures141