2003 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID dashboard

2003 Civic Hybrid 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.helminc.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........................................................................\
.................................................. .57
Instrument panel indicator and gauge, and how to use dashboard and steering column controls.
Comfort and Convenience Features........................................................................\
...............................107
How to operate the climate control system, the audio system, and other convenience features.
Before Driving ........................................................................\
.....................................................................143
What gasoline to use, how to break-in your new car, and how to load luggage and other cargo.
Driving........................................................................\
...................................................... .............................159
The proper way to start the engine, shift the tr ansmission, and park, plus towing a trailer.
Maintenance........................................................................\
...................................................... ...................181
The Maintenance Schedule shows you when you need to take your car to the dealer.
Appearance Care........................................................................\
.................................................................245
Tips on cleaning and protecting your car. Things to look for if your car ever needs body repairs.
Taking Care of the Unexpected........................................................................\
.......................................255
This section covers several problems motorists someti mes experience, and how to handle them.
Technical Information........................................................................\
...................................................... .285
ID numbers, dimensions, capaciti es, and technical information.
Warranty and Customer Relations (U.S. and Canada)......................................................................299
A summary of the warranties covering your new Honda, and how to contact us.
Authorized Manuals (U.S. only)........................................................................\
.......................................303
How to order manuals and other technical literature.
Index ........................................................................\
......................................................................................... I
Service Information Summary
A summary of information you need wh en you pull up to the fuel pump.

Your car also has side airbags to help
protect the upper torso of the driver
or a f ront seat passenger during a
moderate to severe side impact.The most important things you need
to know about your airbags are:
Always wear
your seat belt properly, and sit
upright and as f ar back as possible
f rom the steering wheel or
dashboard. To do their job, airbags must
inf late with tremendous f orce and
speed. So while airbags help save
lives, they can cause minor injuries,
or more serious or even fatal
injuries if occupants are not
properly restrained or sitting
properly. They are designed to supplement
the seat belts.
Your car has a Supplemental
Restraint System (SRS) with dual-
stage, dual-threshold f ront airbags to
help protect the heads and chests of
the driver and a f ront seat passenger
during a moderate to severe frontal
collision.
Only on U.S. models equipped with side airbags.
Airbags
Your Car’s Saf ety Features
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
What you should do:
Airbags can pose serious hazards.
A irbags of f er no prot ect ion in rear
impact s, rollovers, or minorf ront al or side collisions.
Airbags do not replace seat belts.
10

How you adjust your seats and seat-
backs can also affect your safety. For
example, sitting too close to the
steering wheel or dashboard
increases the risk of you or your
passenger being injured by striking
theinsideof thecar,orbyan
inf lating airbag.
Reclining a seat-back too f ar reduces
the seat belt’s ef f ectiveness and
increases the chance that the seat’s
occupant will slide under the seat
belt in a crash and be seriously
injured.Head restraints can help protect you
f rom whiplash and other injuries. For
maximum protection, the back of
your head should rest against the
center of the head restraint.
Your car’s seats are designed to keep
you in a comf ortable, upright
position so you can take f ull
advantage of the protection offered
by seat belts and the energy
absorbing materials in the seats.
Move the f ront
seats as far back as possible, and
keep adjustable seat-backs in an
upright position whenever the car is
moving. Keeping your doors locked reduces
thechanceof beingthrownoutof
the car during a crash. It also helps
prevent occupants f rom accidentally
opening a door and f alling out, and
outsiders f rom unexpectedly opening
your doors.
Seats & Seat-Backs
Head RestraintsDoor L ocks
What you should do:
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Your Car’s Saf ety Features
11

All adults, and children who have
outgrown child saf ety seats, are
wearing their seat belts and
wearingthemproperly(seepage).
Any inf ant or small child is
properly restrained in a child seat
inthebackseat(seepage ).
To make sure you and your
passengers get the maximum
protection f rom your car’s saf ety
f eatures, check the f ollowing each
time before you drive away:
The rest of this section gives more
detailed inf ormation about how you
can maximize your saf ety.
Remember, however, that no saf ety
system can prevent all injuries or
deaths that can occur in severe
crashes, even when seat belts are
properly worn and the airbags deploy.
All cargo is properly stored or
secured (see page ). All doors are closed and locked
(see page ). Head restraints are properly
adjusted (see page ). Seat-backs are upright (see page ).
Frontseatoccupantsaresitting
upright and as f ar back as possible
f rom the steering wheel and
dashboard (see page ).
16 13
13
22 15
16
154
Pre-Drive Saf ety Checklist
Your Car’s Saf ety Features
Driver and Passenger Saf ety12

See page f or how to adjust seat-
backs.
A f ront passenger should also adjust
the seat-back to an upright position,
but as f ar f rom the dashboard as
possible. A passenger who sits too
close to the dashboard could be
injured if the f ront airbag inf lates.
Reclining a seat-back so that the
shoulder part of the belt no longer
rests against the occupant’s chest
reduces the protective capability of
the belt. It also increases the chance
of sliding under the belt in a crash
and being seriously injured. The
farther a seat-back is reclined, the
greater the risk of injury.
Adjust the driver’s seat-back to a
comf ortable, upright position,
leaving ample space between your
chest and the airbag cover in the
center of the steering wheel. If you
sit too close to the steering wheel,
you could be injured if the f ront
airbag inflates. 94
Adjust the Seat-Backs
3.
Protecting Adults
Driver and Passenger Saf ety15
Reclining the seat-back too far
can result in serious injury or
death in a crash.
Adjust the seat-back to an
upright position and sit well
back in the seat.

Because protecting the mother is the
best way to protect her unborn child,
a pregnant woman should always
wear a seat belt whenever she drives
or rides in a vehicle.
Remember to keep the lap portion of
the belt as low as possible across
your hips.Pregnant women should also sit
upright and as f ar back as possible
f rom the steering wheel or
dashboard. This will reduce the risk
of injuries to both the mother and
her unborn child that can be caused
by a crash or an inf lating airbag.
Each time you have a check-up, ask
your doctor if it’s okay f or you to
drive.
If they do, they
could be very seriously injured in a
crash.
Devices intended to improve
occupant comf ort or reposition the
shoulder part of a seat belt can
severely compromise the
protective capability of the seat
belt and increase the chance of
serious injury in a crash.
Advice f or Pregnant Women
Additional Saf ety Precautions
T wo people should never use t he
same seat belt .
Do not put any accessories on seatbelts.
Protecting Adults
Driver and Passenger Saf ety20

Carrying hard or sharp
objects on your lap, or driving with
a pipe or other sharp object in
your mouth, can result in injuries
if your f ront airbag inf lates.
Any object
attached to or placed on the covers
marked ‘‘SRS AIRBAG’’ in the
center of the steering wheel and
on top of the dashboard could
interf ere with the proper operation
of the airbags. Or, if the airbags
inf late, the objects could be
propelled inside the car and hurt
someone. If your
hands or arms are close to the
airbag cover in the center of the
steering wheel or on top of the
dashboard, they could be injured if
the front airbag inflates. If a side airbag
inflates,acupholderorotherhard
object attached on or near the
door could be propelled inside the
car and hurt someone.
Do not place hard or sharp object s
bet ween yourself and a f rontairbag.
Do not at t ach or place object s onthe f ront airbag covers. K eep your hands and arms away
f rom t he airbag covers.
On U.S. models wit h side airbags,
do not at t ach hard object s on ornear a f ront door.
Protecting Adults
Driver and Passenger Saf ety21

Front airbags have been designed to
help protect adults in a moderate to
severe f rontal collision. To do this,
the passenger’s f ront airbag is quite
large, and it inf lates with tremendous
speed.If
the airbag inf lates, it can hit the back
of the child seat with enough force
to kill or very seriously injure an
inf ant.
According to accident statistics,
children of all ages and sizes are
saf er when they are restrained in the
back seat, not the f ront seat. The
National Highway Traf f ic Saf ety
Administration and Transport
Canada recommend that all children
ages 12 and under be properly
restrained in the back seat.
In the back seat, children are less
likely to be injured by striking hard
interior parts during a collision or
hard braking. Also, children cannot
be injured by an inf lating airbag
when they ride in the back.
If you are not wearing a
seat belt in a crash, you could be
thrown f orward into the
dashboard and crush the child.
If youarewearingaseatbelt,the
child can be torn f rom your arms
during a crash. For example, if
your car crashes into a parked
vehicleat30mph(48km/h),a
20-lb (9 kg) inf ant will become a
600-lb (275 kg) f orce, and you will
not be able to hold on.
During a
crash, the belt could press deep
into the child and cause very
serious injuries.
CONT INUED
The Passenger’s Front Airbag
Poses Serious Risks to Children
Children Should Sit in the Back
Seat
Inf ant s
Never put a rear-f acing child seat int he f ront seat of a vehicle equippedwit h a passenger’s f ront airbag.
A ddit ional Precaut ions t o Parent s
Neverholdaninfantorchildonyour lap.
Never put a seat belt over yourselfand an inf ant or child.
Protecting Children
Driver and Passenger Saf ety23