2003 HONDA INSIGHT service

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.

Introduction
iii
µ
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:

µ
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

Take your vehicle to an
authorized dealer as soon as
possible. If you ignore this
indication, your airbags may not
operate properly.
Even if your
airbags do not inflate, your dealer
should inspect the driver’s seat
position sensor, the f ront
passenger’s weight sensors, the
f ront seat belt tensioners, and all
seat belts and their anchors worn
during a crash to make sure they
are operating properly.
Your airbag systems are virtually
maintenance f ree, and there are no
parts you can saf ely service.
However, you must have your
vehicle serviced if:
Any airbag
that has deployed must be
replaced along with the control
unit and other related parts. Any
seat belt tensioner that activates
must also be replaced.
If no obstructions are f ound, have
your vehicle checked by a dealer as
soon as possible. If the indicator comes on with no
f ront seat passenger and no objects
on the seat, or with an adult riding
there, something may be interf ering
with the weight sensors. Look f or
and remove: Any items under the f ront
passenger’s seat.
Any object(s) hanging on the seat
or in the seat-back pocket.
Any object on the f loor that is
touching the rear of the seat-back.
Do not try to remove or replace
anyairbagbyyourself.Thismust
be done by an authorized dealer or
a knowledgeable body shop. We recommend against the use of
salvaged airbag system
components, including the airbag,
tensioners, sensors, and control
unit.
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
T he SRS indicat or alert s you t o aproblem.
If your vehicle has a moderat e t osevere impact .
An airbag ever inf lates.Airbag Service
36

If water or
another liquid soaks into a seat-
back, it can prevent the side airbag
cutoff system from working
properly.
Tampering could cause
the airbags to deploy, possibly
causing very serious injury. Together, airbags and
seat belts provide the best
protection. This could make the
driver’s seat position sensor or the
f ront passenger’s weight sensors
inef f ective. If it is necessary to
remove or modif y a f ront seat to
accommodate a person with
disabilities, f irst contact Honda
Automobile Customer Service at
(800) 999-1009 in the US, or
Honda Customer Relations at 1-
888-9-HONDA-9 in Canada.
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
Do not expose t he f ront passenger’s
seat -back t o liquid.
Do not t amper wit h airbag component s or wiring f or anyreason.
Donotattempttodeactivateyour
airbags. Do not remove or modif y a f ront
seat wit hout consult ing yourdealer.Additional Saf ety Precautions
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
37

If this happens, pull to the side of the
road when it is safe, check which tire
has lost pressure, and determine the
cause. If it is because of a f lat tire,
replace the flat tire with the compact
spare (see page ), and have the
f lat tire repaired as soon as possible.
If two or more tires are underinf lated,
call a prof essional towing service.
Refer to page for more
inf ormation.If this indicator begins to f lash,
there is a problem with the tire
pressure monitoring system
(TPMS). You will also see a
‘‘CHECK TPMS SYSTEM’’
message on the multi-inf ormation
display. The indicator continues to
f lash f or a while (approximately 1
minute), then stays on. If this
happens, have your dealer check
the system as soon as possible.
For more inf ormation, see page .
This indicator normally comes on f or
a f ew seconds when you turn the
ignition switch to the ON (II)
position. If it comes on at any other
time, it indicates a problem in the
integrated motor assist (IMA)
system. With the IMA indicator on,
the vehicle may not accelerate as it
normally does. Have the vehicle
checked by the dealer as soon as
possible.
You will also see a ‘‘CHECK IMA
SYSTEM’’ message on the multi-
inf ormation display.
See pages and .
You will also see a ‘‘CHECK TIRE
PRESSURE’’ message on the multi-
inf ormation display (see page ).If it comes on while driving, it
indicates that one or more of your
vehicle’s tires are signif icantly low
on pressure.
This indicator has two f unctions: This indicator normally comes on f or
a f ew seconds when you turn the
ignition switch to the ON (II)
position.
1.
2.
281 283 289349
374
290
U.S. models only
Instrument Panel Indicators
Low Tire Pressure/
TPMS Indicator
IMA System Indicator
A uto Idle Stop Indicator
66

On the FM band, you can select a
favorite station and display the
program service name provided by
the radio data system (RDS).
Theprogramservicenamedisplay
f unction shows the name of the
station you are listening to. You can
turn this f unction on or of f .To switch the function between on
and off, press and release the TITLE
button. With the system on, you will
see the ‘‘RDS INFO ON’’ message on
the display. If the station you are
listening to is an RDS station, the
display shows the station name.If the station you are listening to is
not an RDS station, the display
continues to show the f requency
with the PS name display function on.
When you turn of f this f unction by
pressing the TITLE button, the
display shows ‘‘RDS INFO OFF.’’
Radio Data System (RDS)
Program Service (PS) Name Display
Playing the FM/AM Radio (LX model and EX model without navigation system)
184
PROGRAM SERVICE
NAME DISPLAY ON

Bef ore you begin driving your
vehicle, you should know what
gasoline to use and how to check the
levels of important f luids. You also
need to know how to properly store
luggage or packages. The
inf ormation in this section will help
you. If you plan to add any
accessories to your vehicle, please
read the information in this section
first..............................
Break-in Period .244
.................
Fuel Recommendation . 244
.........
Service Station Procedures . 245
....................................
Ref ueling .245
.....
Tighten Fuel Cap Message . 247
OpeningandClosingthe .......................................
Hood .248
...................................
Oil Check .249
.............
Engine Coolant Check . 250
...............................
Fuel Economy .251
...
Accessories and Modif ications . 254
.............................
Carrying Cargo .256
Bef ore Driving
Bef ore Driving
243