2003 Accord Sedan Online Reference Owner's Manual Use these links (and links throughout this manual) to navigate through\
this reference.
For a printed owner's manual, click on authorized manuals or go to www.h\
elminc.com.
Contents
Owner's Identification Form
Introduction ........................................................................\
................................................................. i
A Few Words About Safety........................................................................\
........................................ .ii
Your Car at a Glance ........................................................................\
...................................................2
Driver and Passenger Safety ........................................................................\
......................................5
Proper use and care of your car's seat belts, and Supplemental Restraint\
System.
Instruments and Controls........................................................................\
........................................ .55
Instrument panel indicator and gauge, and how to use dashboard and steering column controls.
Comfort and Convenience Features ........................................................................\
..................... .111
How to operate the climate control system, the audio system, and other c\
onvenience features.
Before Driving........................................................................\
..........................................................203
What gasoline to use, how to break -in your new car, and how to load luggage and other cargo.
Driving ........................................................................\
..................................................................... .217
The proper way to start the engine, shift the transmission, and park, pl\
us towing a trailer.
Maintenance........................................................................\
.............................................................245
The Maintenance Schedule shows you when you need to take your car to the\
dealer.
Appearance Care........................................................................\
..................................................... .325
Tips on cleaning and protecting your car. Things to look for if your car \
ever needs body repairs.
Taking Care of the Unexpected........................................................................\
..............................333
This section covers several problems motorists sometimes experience, and\
how to handle them.
Technical Information........................................................................\
............................................ .361
ID numbers, dimensions, capacities, and technical information.
Warranty and Customer Relations (U.S. and Canada)................................................................377
A summary of the warranties covering your new Honda, and how to contact \
us.
Authorized Manuals (U.S. only)........................................................................\
............................. .381
How to order manuals and other tec hnical literature.
Index ........................................................................\
........................................................................\
..... I
Service Information Summary
A summary of information you need when you pull up to the fuel pump.
Adjust the steering wheel, if needed,
so that the wheel points toward your
chest, not toward your f ace.
Pointing the steering wheel toward
your chest provides optimal
protection f rom the airbag.
See page f or how to adjust the
steering wheel.After all occupants have adjusted
their seats and put on seat belts, it is
very important that they continue to
sit upright, well back in their seats,
with their feet on the floor, until the
car is parked and the engine is of f .
Sitting improperly can increase the
chance of injury during a crash. For
example, if an occupant slouches,
lies down, turns sideways, sits
forward, leans forward or sideways,
or puts one or both f eet up, the
chance of injury during a crash is
greatly increased.
In addition, an occupant who is out of
position in the f ront seat can be
seriously or f atally injured by
striking interior parts of the car, or
by being struck by an inf lating f ront
airbag. Being struck by an inflating
side airbag can result in possibly
serious injuries.
73
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Protecting Adults
Adjust the Steering Wheel Maintain a Proper Sitting
Position
6.
7.
18
Sitting improperly or out of
position can result in serious
injury or death in a crash.
Always sit upright, well back in
the seat, with your feet on the
floor.
(See page
.)
Children depend on adults to protect
them. However, despite their best
intentions, many parents and other
adults may not know how to
protect young passengers.
So if you have children, or if you ever
need to drive with a grandchild or
otherchildreninyourcar,besureto
read this section. Each year, many children are injured
or killed in car crashes because they
are either unrestrained or not
properly restrained. In f act, car
accidents are the number one cause
of death of children ages 12 and
under.
To reduce the number of child
deaths and injuries, every state and
Canadian province requires that
inf ants and children be restrained
whenever they ride in a car.
(See page .)
26
36
properly
CONT INUED
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Protecting Children
All Children Must Be Restrained
Anychildwhoistoosmalltowearaseat belt should be properlyrest rained in a child seat .
A larger child should always berest rained wit h a seat belt , and use aboost er, if needed.
21
Children who are unrestrained
or improperly restrained can be
seriously injured or killed in a
crash.
Any child too small for a seat
belt should be properly
restrained in a child seat. A
larger child should be properly
restrained with a seat belt.
CONT INUED
To achieve the desired reclining
angle, it may help to put a rolled up
towel under the toe of the child seat,
as shown. Forproperprotection,aninfantmust
ride in a reclined, or semi-reclined
position. To determine the proper
reclining angle, check with the baby’s
doctor or f ollow the seat maker’s
recommendations.We also recommend that a small
child stay in the child seat as long as
possible, until the child reaches the
weight or height limit f or the seat.
In this car, the best place to install a
f orward-f acing child seat is in one of
the seating positions in the back seat.
A child who can sit up without
support, and who f its within the child
seat maker’s weight and height
limits, should be restrained in a
f orward-f acing, upright child seat.
Of the different seats available, we
recommend those that have a f ive-
point harness system as shown. If the car seat is too far
f orward, or the child’s head is
thrown f orward during a collision, an
inflating front airbag can strike the
child with enough f orce to cause
very serious or f atal injuries. If a
small child must be closely watched,
we recommend that another adult sit
in the back seat with the child.
Protecting Children
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Rear-Facing Child Seat Inst allat ion
Tips
Child Seat Placement
Child Seat T ype Placing a f orward-f acing child seat in
t he f ront seat of a car equipped wit ha passenger’s f ront airbag can behazardous.Protecting Small Children
33
If you decide that a child can saf ely
ride up f ront, be sure to:Caref ully read the owner’s manual
and make sure you understand all
seat belt instructions and all saf ety
inf ormation.
Have the child sit up straight, back
against the seat, and feet on or
near the f loor. Move the car seat to the rear-most
position.
Remind the child not to lean
toward the door because of the
side airbag. Check that the child’s seat belt is
properly positioned and secured.
Supervise the child. Even mature
children sometimes need to be
reminded to f asten the seat belts
or sit properly. Your car has three tether anchorage
points under the rear window f or
securing a tether-style child seat to
the car.
Since a tether can provide additional
security, we recommend using a
tether whenever one is required or
available.
To use the anchorage point, pivot its
cover up.
Attach the tether strap hook to the
tether anchorage point, and tighten
the strap according to the child seat
maker’s instructions. Make sure the
strap is not twisted. Route it between
the legs of the head restraint.
Protecting Children
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Using Child Seats with T ethers
39
TETHER STRAP HOOK
TETHER ANCHORAGE POINTS
TETHER ANCHORAGE POINTS
Push the lever up to lock the
steering wheel in that position.The master key fits all the locks on
your car:
Ignition
Doors
Trunk
Glovebox
Trunk release handle
Trunk pass-through cover
Rear seat trunk access Your car comes with two master
keys and a valet key.
Move the steering wheel up or
down, and in or out 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. Make sure you have securely
locked the steering wheel in place
by trying to move it up, down, in,
and out.
3. 4.
5.
Controls Near the Steering Wheel, K eys and L ocks
Inst rument s and Cont rols
Keys
74
Touseavanitymirroronthebackof
the sun visor, pull up the cover.
The lights beside the mirror come
on when you pull up the cover.
In this position, the sun visor can be
adjusted by moving it on its slider.
All models except the DX have
lighted vanity mirrors.
To use the sun visor, pull it down.
You can also use the sun visor at the
side window. Remove the support
rod f rom the clip and swing the sun
visor toward the side window. In this
position, the sun visor can be
extended by sliding out the
extension (all models except DX and
those with side curtain airbags).
Do not use the sun visor extension
over the rear view mirror. Make sure you put the sun visor
back in place when you are getting
into or out of the car.
On EX-V6 models with side curtain
airbagsSun Visor Vanity Mirror
Sun Visor, Vanit y Mirror
Inst rument s and Cont rols106
EXTENSION
µµTo adjust the bass
and treble, touch the or arrows next to the BASS or
TRE icons. The adjustment bar
above each button shows you the
current setting.
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.
To see the audio screen when you
are f inished adjusting the sound,
touch the RETURN icon or wait five
seconds.
To adjust the balance, touch the left
or right arrows on the sound grid.
When you touch an arrow, the pink
bars on the grid move toward it,
changing the balance left or right. To
equalize the balance, touch the lef t or right arrow until each side has a
pink bar at the center of the sound
grid.
To adjust the fader, touch the front
or rear arrows on the sound grid.
When you touch an arrow, the blue
bars on the grid move toward it,
changing the f ader to the f ront orrear. To equalize the f ader, touch the
f ront or rear arrow until each side
has a blue bar at the center of the
sound grid.
Bass, Treble, Balance, and Fader are
each adjustable. To adjust them,
enter the sound grid by touching the
SOUNDicononthedisplayor
pressing the TUNE knob.
CONT INUED
Adjusting the Sound
Treble/Bass
Balance/Fader
Audio System
Comf ort and Convenience Feat ures173
TUNE/MODE KNOB
AUDIO DISPLAY
BUTTON
SOUND GRID
BASS ADJUST
ICONS
TREBLE ADJUST
ICONS FADER ADJUST
ICONS
BALANCE ADJUST
ICONS
RETURN ICON