2003 HONDA INSIGHT belt

2003 Insight 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 ........................................................................................................................... iv
Driver and Passenger Safety ........................................................................\
...................................... 5
Proper use and care of your car's seat belts, and Supplemental Restraint\
System.
Instruments and Controls ................................................................................................................. 59
Instrument panel indicator and gauge, and how to us e dashboard and steering column controls.
Features ............................. .................................................................. 161
How to operate the climate control system, the audio system, and other c\
onvenience features.
Before Driving .................................................................................................................................. 243
What gasoline to use, how to break -in your new car, and how to load luggage and other cargo.
Driving ........................................................................\
...................................................................... 261
The proper way to start the engine, shift the transmission, and park, pl\
us towing a trailer.
Maintenance ..................................................................................................................................... 297
The Maintenance Schedule shows you when you need to take your car to the\
dealer.

Taking Care of the Unexpected
...................................................................................................... 347
This section covers several problems motorists sometimes experience, and\
how to handle them.
Technical Information ..................................................................................................................... 377
ID numbers, dimensions, capacities, and technical information.
Warranty and Customer Relations (U.S. and Canada) ................................................................393
A summary of the warranties covering your new Honda, and how to contact \
us.
Authorized Manuals (U.S. only) ...................................................................................................... 397
How to order manuals and other technical literature.
Index ........................................................................\
........................................................................\
.... .I
Service Information Summary
A summary of information you need when you pull up to the fuel pump.

Event Data Recorders
This vehicle is equipped with an event data recorder (EDR).
The main purpose of an EDR is to record, in certain crash or near crash-like situations, such as an air bag deployment
or hitting a road obstacle, data that will assist in understanding how a vehicle’s systems perf ormed. The EDR is
designed to record data related to vehicle dynamics and saf ety systems f or a short period of time, typically 30 seconds
or less. The EDR in this vehicle is designed to record such data as:How various systems in your vehicle were operating;
Whetherornotthedriverandpassengersafetybelts
were buckled/f astened;
How far (if at all) the driver was depressing the
accelerator and/or brake pedal; and,
How fast the vehicle was traveling.
These data can help provide a better understanding of the circumstances in which crashes and injuries occur.
NOTE: EDR data are recorded by your vehicle only if a non-trivial crash situation occurs; no data are recorded by the
EDR under normal driving conditions and no personal data (e.g., name, gender, age, and crash location) are recorded.
However, other parties, such as law enf orcement, could combine the EDR data with the type of personally identif ying
data routinely acquired during a crash investigation.
To read data recorded by an EDR, special equipment is required, and access to the vehicle or the EDR is needed. In
addition to the vehicle manufacturer, other parties, such as law enforcement, that have the special equipment, can
read the information if they have access to the vehicle or the EDR.
Thedatabelongstothevehicleownerandmaynotbeaccessedbyanyoneelseexceptaslegallyrequiredorwiththe
permission of the vehicle owner.
Introduction
ii

Introduction
iii
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Calif ornia Proposition 65 Warning
This product contains or emits chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth
def ects or other reproductive harm.
Service Diagnostic Recorders
This vehicle is equipped with service-related devices that record inf ormation about powertrain perf ormance. The data
can be used to verif y emissions law requirements and/or help technicians diagnose and solve service problems. It may
also be combined with data f rom other sources f or research purposes, but it remains conf idential.
Calif ornia Perchlorate Contamination Prevention Act
The airbags, seat belt tensioners, and CR type batteries in this vehicle may contain perchlorate materials special
handling may apply. See
www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlorate/
WARNING:

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This section gives you important
inf ormation about how to protect
yourself and your passengers. It
shows you how to use seat belts. It
explains how your airbags work. And
it tells you how to properly restrain
inf ants and children in your vehicle.
.........
Important Safety Precautions . 6
.......
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features . 8
.......................................
Seat Belts .9
.........................................
Airbags .10
.........
Protecting Adults and Teens . 12
.....
1. Close and Lock the Doors . 12
...........
2. Adjust the Front Seats . 14
............
3. Adjust the Seat-Backs . 15
...
4. Adjust the Head Restraints . 16
5. Fasten and Position the .............................
Seat Belts .17
6. Maintain a Proper Sitting ................................
Position .18
.....
Advice f or Pregnant Women . 19
...
Additional Safety Precautions . 20Additional Inf ormation About
.......................
Your Seat Belts .21
..
Seat Belt System Components . 21
......................
Lap/Shoulder Belt .22
Automatic Seat Belt ...............................
Tensioners .23
...............
Seat Belt Maintenance . 24
Additional Inf ormation About ...........................
Your Airbags .25
......
Airbag System Components . 25
How Your Front Airbags .........................................
Work .28
...
How Your Side Airbags Work . 32
How Your Side Curtain Airbags .........................................
Work .33
..
How the SRS Indicator Works . 34
How the Side Airbag Of f ......................
Indicator Works .34
How the Passenger Airbag Of f ......................
Indicator Works .35
.............................
Airbag Service .36
...
Additional Safety Precautions . 37
Protecting Children General ................................
Guidelines .38
All Children Must Be ...............................
Restrained .38 All Children Should Sit in a
.................................
Back Seat .39
The Passenger’s Front Airbag .........
Can Pose Serious Risks . 39
If You Must Drive with Several ...................................
Children .41
If a Child Requires Close ..................................
Attention .41
...
Additional Safety Precautions . 42
Protecting Inf ants and Small ...................................
Children .43
.......................
Protecting Inf ants .43
.........
Protecting Small Children . 44
.....................
Selecting a Child Seat .45
....................
Installing a Child Seat .46
...............................
With LATCH .47
.........
With a Lap/Shoulder Belt . 49
..............................
With a Tether .51
...........
Protecting Larger Children . 52
...............
Checking Seat Belt Fit . 52
..................
Using a Booster Seat . 53
When Can a Larger Child Sit in .........................................
Front .54
...
Additional Safety Precautions . 55
.............
Carbon Monoxide Hazard . 56
...................................
Saf ety Labels .57
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
5

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You’ll f ind many saf ety
recommendations throughout this
section, and throughout this manual.
Therecommendationsonthispage
are the ones we consider to be the
most important.
While airbags can save lives, they
can cause serious or fatal injuries to
occupants who sit too close to them,
or are not properly restrained.
Inf ants, young children, and short
adults are at the greatest risk. Be
sure to f ollow all instructions and
warnings in this manual.
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 f riends
drink and drive, either.
A seat belt is your best protection in
all types of collisions. Airbags are
designed to supplement seat belts,
not replace them. 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 ).
Children age
12and under should
ride properly restrained in a back
seat, not the front seat. Infants and
smallchildrenshouldberestrained
in a child seat. Larger children
should use a booster seat and a lap/
shoulder belt until they can use the
belt properly without a booster seat
(see pages ). 17
38 55
Important Saf ety Precautions
Be Aware of Airbag Hazards
Don’t Drink and Drive
Restrain All Children Always Wear Your Seat Belt
6

Your vehicle is equipped with many
features that work together to
protect you and your passengers
during a crash.
The f ollowing pages explain how you
cantakeanactiveroleinprotecting
yourself and your passengers. Some f eatures do not require any
action on your part. These include a
strong steel f ramework that f orms a
saf ety cage around the passenger
compartment, front and rear crush
zones, a collapsible steering column,
and tensioners that tighten the f ront
seat belts in a crash.
However, you and your passengers
can’t take full advantage of these
f eatures unless you remain sitting in
the correct position and. In fact, some safety
f eatures can contribute to injuries if
they are not used properly.
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
always wear
your seat belt s
8
(2) (6)
(4)
(2) (10) (8)
(5) (11)
(8)
(3)
(9)
(1)
(10)
(7) (7)
(9) (12)
(1) Safety Cage
(2) Crush Zones
(3) Seats and Seat-Backs
(4) Head Restraints
(5) Collapsible Steering Column
(6) Seat Belts
(7) Front Airbags
(8) Side Airbags
(9) Side Curtain Airbags
(10) Door Locks
(11) Seat Belt Tensioners
(12) Occupant Position Detection
System (OPDS) Sensor

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Your vehicle is equipped with seat
belts in all seating positions.
Seat belts are the single most
effectivesafetydeviceforadultsand
larger children. (Inf ants and smaller
children must be properly restrained
in child seats.)
Not wearing a seat belt properly
increases the chance of serious
injury or death in a crash, even
though your vehicle has airbags.
When properly worn, seat belts:
Keep you connected to the vehicle
so you can take advantage of the
vehicle’s built-in saf ety f eatures. Help keep you f rom being thrown
against the inside of the vehicle
and against other occupants.
Keep you f rom being thrown out
of the vehicle.
Help keep you in a good position
should the airbags ever deploy. A
good position reduces the risk of
injury f rom an inf lating airbag and
allows you to get the best
advantage f rom the airbag.
Of course, seat belts cannot
completely protect you in every
crash.Butinmostcases,seatbelts
can reduce your risk of serious
injury.
Always wear your seat belt, and
make sure you wear it properly.
Your seat belt system also includes
an indicator on the instrument panel
and a beeper to remind you and your
passengers to f asten your seat belts.
Help protect you in almost every
type of crash, including:frontal impacts
side impacts
rear impacts
rollovers
In addition, most states and all
Canadian provinces and territories
require you to wear seat belts. Seat Belts
Why Wear Seat Belt s
What You Should Do:
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
9
Not wearing a seat belt properly
increases the chance of serious
injury or death in a crash, even
though your vehicle has airbags.
Be sure you and your
passengers always wear seat
belts and wear them properly.

The most important things you need
to know about your airbags are:They are designed to supplement
the seat belts.
To do
their job, airbags must inf late with
tremendous f orce. 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. Always wear
your seat belt properly, and sit
upright and as f ar back f rom the
steering wheel as possible while
allowing f ull control of the vehicle. A
f ront passenger should move their
seat as far back from the dashboard
as possible. 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 a severe
crash, even when seat belts are
properly worn and the airbags deploy.
Airbags do not replace seat belts.
A irbags of f er no prot ect ion in rearcollisions, or minor f ront al or sidecollisions.
A irbags can pose hazards. What you should do:
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
11