Page 278 of 395

Thecoolingsystemshouldbe
completely drained and ref illed with
new coolant according to the time
and distance recommendations in
the maintenance schedule. Only use
Honda All Season Antif reeze/
Coolant Type 2. Use of any non-
Honda coolant or plain water can
result in corrosion and deposits in
the cooling system.
Draining the coolant requires access
to the underside of the car. Unless
you have the tools and knowledge,
you should have this maintenance
done by a skilled mechanic.Openthehood.Makesurethe
engine and radiator are cool to the
touch.
Turn the ignition ON (II). Turn
the temperature control dial all the
way clockwise. Turn off the
ignition and remove the key.Turn the ignition ON (II). Make
sure the DUAL indicator is off.
Turn the temperature control dial
to 90°F (32°C). Turn of f the
ignition and remove the key.
Remove the radiator cap.
1.
2.
CONT INUED
On cars with Manual A/C On car with AUTO A/C
Replacing Engine Coolant
Cooling Syst em
Maint enance275
4-cylinder models
6-cylinder models
Page 293 of 395
Clean up any dirt and oil that have
collected around the ignition coils.
Use a wrench to remove the bolt
holding the ignition coil. Pull the
ignition coil up slightly.
Disconnect the wire connector
f rom the ignition coil by pushing
on the lock tab and pulling on the
connector. Pull on the plastic
connector, not the wires.Remove the ignition coil.
Remove the spark plug with
a f ive-eighths inch (16 mm) spark
plug socket.
Torque the spark plug. (If you do
not have a torque wrench, tighten
the spark plug two-thirds of a turn
after it contacts the cylinder head.)
Tightening torque:
Put the new spark plug into the
socket, then screw it into the hole.
Screw it in by hand so you do not
crossthread it.
5.
2.
4. 3. 6.
7.8.
Spark Plugs (4-cylinder Models)
Maint enance290
BOLT
CONNECTOR
IGNITION COIL LOCK TAB
13 lbf·ft (18 N·m , 1.8 kgf·m)
Page 294 of 395
Install the ignition coil into the
hole.
Connect the wire connector to the
ignition coil. Make sure it locks in
place.
Push the ignition coil down all the
way. Install the bolt.
Repeat this procedure f or the
other three spark plugs.
Reinstall the coil cover, and
tighten the f our nuts.The spark plugs in your car are a
special iridium-tipped design f or
longer lif e. The spark plugs should
be replaced according to the distance
recommendation in the maintenance
schedule.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13. NGK:
DENSO:
NGK:
DENSO:
On some models
CONT INUED
Specif ications:
Spark Plugs (6-cylinder Models)
Spark Plugs (4-cylinder Models), Spark Plugs (6-cylinder Models)
Maint enance291
IZFR6K-11
SKJ20DR-M11
IZFR6K-13
SKJ20DR-M13
Tighten the spark plugs caref ully. A
spark plug that is too loose can
overheat and damage the engine.
Overtightening can cause damage to
the threads in the cylinder head.
Page 295 of 395
Disconnect the wire connector
f rom the ignition coil by pushing
on the lock tab and pulling on the
connector. Pull on the plastic
connector, not the wires.Remove the spark plug with
a f ive-eighths inch (16 mm) spark
plug socket. Use a wrench to remove the
hexagonsocketheadcapbolt
holding the ignition coil. Remove
the ignition coil by pulling it
straight out.
Loosen the two holding clips by
turning the heads one-quarter turn
counterclockwise with a f lat-tipped
screwdriver. Remove the cover on
the f ront cylinder bank by pulling
it straight up. Cleanoffanydirtandoilthathas
collected around the ignition coil.
1.
2.
3.4.
5.
Replacement
Spark Plugs (6-cylinder Models)
Maint enance292
HOLDING CLIP CONNECTOR
HEXAGON SOCKET HEAD CAP BOLT
IGNITION COIL
Page 296 of 395

Torque the spark plug. (If you do
not have a torque wrench, tighten
the spark plug two-thirds of a turn
af ter it contacts the cylinder head.)
Tightening torque: Put the new spark plug into the
socket, then screw it into the hole.
Screw it in by hand so you do not
crossthread it.Install the ignition coil. Reinstall
the hexagon socket head cap bolt.Push the wire connector onto the
ignition coil. Make sure it locks in
place.
Reinstall the cover on the front
cylinder bank while putting its
mounting clip in the hole on the
passenger’s side. Secure the cover
by turning the heads of the two
holding clips one-quarter turn
clockwise with a f lat-tipped
screwdriver. Repeat this procedure f or the
other f ive spark plugs.
NGK:
DENSO:
6.
7.
8.9.
10.
11.
Specif ications:
Spark Plugs (6-cylinder Models)
Maint enance293
13 lbf·ft (18 N·m , 1.8 kgf·m) IZFR6K-11
SKJ20DR-M11
Tighten the spark plugs caref ully. A
spark plug that is too loose can
overheat and damage the engine.
Overtightening can cause damage to
the threads in the cylinder head.
Page 338 of 395

If you have a f lat tire while driving,
stop in a saf e place to change it.
Stopping in traf f ic or on the shoulder
of a busy road is dangerous. Drive
slowly along the shoulder until you
gettoanexitoranareatostopthat
is far away from the traffic lanes.Open the trunk. Raise the trunk
f loor by lif ting up on the back edge.
Park the car on f irm, level and
non-slippery ground away f rom
traffic. Put the transmission in
Park (automatic) or Reverse
(manual). Apply the parking brake.
Turn on the hazard warning lights
and turn the ignition switch to
LOCK (0). Have all the
passengers get out of the car while
you change the tire. Take the tool kit out of the trunk.
Unscrew the wing bolt and take
the spare tire out of its well.
5. 4.
3.
2. 1.
CONT INUED
Changing a Flat T ire
T aking Care of t he Unexpect ed335
TRUNK FLOOR
SPARE TIRE JACK
TOOL KIT
The car can easily roll off the
jack, seriously injuring anyone
underneath.
Follow the directions for
changing a tire exactly, and
never get under the car when it
is supported only by the jack.
Page 343 of 395

Store the jack in its holder. Turn
the jack’s end bracket to lock it in
place. Replace the cover. Store the
tools.
Store the wheel cover or center
cap in the trunk. Make sure it does
not get scratched or damaged.Diagnosing why your engine won’t
start f alls into two areas, depending
on what you hear when you turn the
key to START (III):
You hear nothing, or almost
nothing. The engine’s starter
motor does not operate at all, or
operates very slowly.
You can hear the starter motor
operating normally, or the starter
motor sounds like it is spinning
f aster than normal, but the engine
does not start up and run. When you turn the ignition switch to
START (III), you do not hear the
normal noise of the engine trying to
start. You may hear a clicking sound
or series of clicks, or nothing at all.
Check these things:
Check the transmission interlock.
If you have a manual transmission,
the clutch pedal must be pushed
all the way to the f loor or the
starter will not operate. With an
automatic transmission, it must be
in Park or Neutral.
Turn the ignition switch to ON (II).
Turn on the headlights and check
their brightness. If the headlights
are very dim or don’t light at all,
the battery is discharged. See on page .
20.
21.
342
T aking Care of t he Unexpect ed
Changing a Flat Tire, If Your Engine Won’t Start
If Your Engine Won’t Start Nothing Happens or the StarterMotor Operates Very Slowly
Jump Starting
340
Loose items can fly around the
interior in a crash and could
seriously injure the occupants.
Store the wheel, jack, and tools
securely before driving.
Page 344 of 395

Turn the ignition switch to START
(III). If the headlights do not dim,
check the condition of the f uses. If
thefusesareOK,thereisproba-
bly something wrong with the
electrical circuit for the ignition
switch or starter motor. You will
need a qualif ied technician to
determine the problem. (Seeon page .)
If the headlights dim noticeably or
go out when you try to start the
engine, either the battery is dis-
charged or the connections are
corroded. Check the condition of
the battery and terminal connec-
tions (see page ). You can
then try jump starting the car from
a booster battery (see page ). In this case, the starter motor’s
speed sounds normal, or even f aster
than normal, when you turn the
ignition switch to START (III), but
the engine does not run.
Are you using the proper starting
procedure? Ref er to on page .
Your car has the Immobilizer
System. You should use a
properly-coded master or valet key
to start the engine (see page ).
A key that is not properly coded
will cause the immobilizer system
indicator in the dash panel to blink
rapidly. Do you have f uel? Turn the
ignition switch to ON (II) for a
minute and watch the f uel gauge.
The low f uel level warning light
may not be working, so you were
not reminded to f ill the tank.
There may be an electrical
problem, such as no power to the
f uel pump. Check all the f uses
(see page ).
If youfindnothingwrong,youwill
need a qualif ied technician to f ind
the problem. See on page .
219
76
358
294 342 353
358
If Your Engine Won’t Start
T aking Care of t he Unexpect ed
Emergency T owing T he Starter Operates Normally
Starting the
Engine
Emergency
Towing
341