2006 Acura TL service

2006 TL 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 Wo r

ds About Safety ........................................................................\
.................................................. ii
Driver and Passenger Safety ........................................................................\
...............................................7
Proper use and care of your vehicle's seat belts, and Supplemental Restraint System.
Instruments and Cont r
ols........................................................................\
...................................................57
Instrument panel indica tor and gauge, and how to use dashboard and steering column controls.
Comfort and Convenience Features........................................................................\
...............................119
How t o
op era

te the climate control system, the audio system, and other convenience features.
Before Driving ........................................................................\
...................................................... .
............. .

175
What gasoline to use, how to break-in your new vehicle, and how to load luggage and other cargo.
Driving........................................................................\
.................................................................................. 187
The proper way to start

the engine, shift the transmission, and park, plus towing a trailer.
Maintenance........................................................................\
.........................................................................207
T h
e Ma int

enance Schedule shows you when you need to take your vehicle to the dealer.
Taking Care of the Unexpected........................................................................\
.......................................243
This section covers several problems motorists someti mes experience, and how to handle them.
Technical Information........................................................................\
.......................................................267
ID numbers, dimensions, capaciti es, and techni

cal information.
Warranty and Customer Relations (U.S. and Canada)......................................................................279
A summary of th
e warr anties coverin

g your new Honda, and how to contact us.
Authorized Manuals (U.S. only)........................................................................\
.......................................283
How t o
order manuals an

d other technical literature.
Index ........................................................................\
......................................................................................... I
Service Inf ormat

ion Summary
A summary of informat

ion you need when you pull up to the fuel pump.

Your Vehicle at a Glance........................................................................\
.......................................................4

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 .8
.......
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features .9
.........
Protecting Adults and Teens .13
.....
1. Close and Lock the Doors .13
...........
2. Adjust the Front Seats .13
............
3. Adjust the Seat-Backs .14
...
4. Adjust the Head Restraints .15
5. Fasten and Position the
.............................
Seat Belts .16
6. Maintain a Proper Sitting ................................
Position .18
.....
Advice f or Pregnant Women .18
...
Additional Safety Precautions .19
Additional Inf ormation About .......................
Your Seat Belts .20
..
Seat Belt System Components .20 ......................
Lap/Shoulder Belt .20
Automatic Seat Belt ...............................
Tensioners .21
...............
Seat Belt Maintenance .22
Additional Inf ormation About ...........................
Your Airbags .23
......
Airbag System Components .23
How Your Front Airbags
.........................................
Work .25
...
How Your Side Airbags Work .28
How Your Side Curtain Airbags
.........................................
Work .30
..
How the SRS Indicator Works .30
How The Side Airbag Of f
......................
Indicator Works .31
How the Passenger Airbag Of f ......................
Indicator Works .31
.............................
Airbag Service .32
...
Additional Safety Precautions .33
Protecting Children General ................................
Guidelines .34
All Children Must Be ...............................
Restrained .34
All Children Should Sit in a .................................
Back Seat .35The Passenger’s Front Airbag
.........
Can Pose Serious Risks .35
If You Must Drive with Several ...................................
Children .37
If a Child Requires Close ..................................
Attention .37
...
Additional Safety Precautions .38
Protecting Inf ants and Small ...................................
Children .39
.......................
Protecting Inf ants .39
.........
Protecting Small Children .40
.....................
Selecting a Child Seat .42
....................
Installing a Child Seat .43
...............................
With LATCH .44
.........
With a Lap/Shoulder Belt .46
..............................
With a Tether .47
..............
UsinganOuterAnchor .48
...........
Protecting Larger Children .49
...............
Checking Seat Belt Fit .49
..................
Using a Booster Seat .50
When Can a Lager Child Sit in
.........................................
Front .51
...
Additional Safety Precautions .52
.............
Carbon Monoxide Hazard .53
...................................
Saf ety Labels .54
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
7

If no one is riding in the f ront seat,
the airbag will be automatically shut
of f . However, the indicator will not
come on.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. If a
f ront airbag inf lates, the seat belt
tensioners must also be replaced. Even if your
airbags do not inflate, your dealer
should inspect the driver’s seat
position sensor and the f ront
passenger’s weight sensors to
make sure they are operating
properly.
Take your vehicle to an
authorized dealer as soon as
possible. If you ignore this
indication, your airbags may not
operate properly. Do not try to remove or replace
anyairbagbyyourself.Thismust
be done by your dealer or a
knowledgeable body shop.
If the indicator comes on with no
passenger in the f ront, or with an
adult in the seat, there may be a
problem with the advanced airbag
system. Have the vehicle checked by
your dealer as soon as possible.
The passenger airbag of f indicator
may also come on and of f repeatedly
if total weight on the seat is near the
airbag cutoff threshold.
If this happens, have the passenger
ride properly restrained in a back
seat. If the passenger must ride in
front, move the seat as far to the
rear as possible, and have the
passenger sit upright and wear the
seat belt properly.
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
Airbag Service
An airbag ever inf lates.
If your vehicle has a moderat e t o
severe impact .
T he SRS indicat or alert s you t o a problem.
32

Together, airbags and
seat belts provide the best
protection.
Tampering could cause
the airbags to deploy, possibly
causing very serious injury.
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 Acura
Client Services at 800-382-2238.
If water or another liquid
soaks into a seat-back, it can
prevent the side airbag cutof f
system f rom working properly. Improperly replacing
or covering f ront seat-back covers
can prevent your side airbags f rom
inf lating during a side impact.
Additional Saf ety Precautions
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
Donotattempttodeactivateyour
airbags.
Do not t amper wit h airbagcomponent s or wiring f or anyreason.
Do not remove or modif y a f rontseat without consulting yourdealer.
Do not expose the f ront seat-backs
to liquid. Do not cover or replace f ront seat -
back covers wit hout consult ingyour dealer.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
33

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 while driving,
it means that one or more of your
vehicle’s tires are extremely low on
pressure. You will also see a
‘‘CHECK TIRE PRESSURE’’
message on the multi-inf ormation
display. The multi-inf ormation
display will show you which tire has
lost the pressure and how much
pressure it has lost (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 this indicator comes on and stays
on at any other time, or if it does not
come on when you turn the ignition
switch to the ON (II) position, there
is a problem with the TPMS. You will
also see ‘‘CHECK TPMS SYSTEM’’
message on the multi-information
display. With this indicator on, the
low tire pressure indicator will not
come on, and the tire pressure
monitor on the multi-inf ormation
display will not be displayed.
If this happens, pull to the side of the
road when it is saf e, check which tire
has lost the pressure on the multi-
inf ormation display, and determine
the cause. If it is because of a flat 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.
For more inf ormation, see page .
245
204 204
Low Tire Pressure
Indicator
Tire Pressure Monitoring
System (T PMS) Indicator
Instrument Panel Indicators
65

This shows the remaining lif e of the
engine oil. It shows 100% af ter the
engine oil is replaced and the display
is reset. The engine oil lif e is
calculated based on engine operating
conditions and accumulated engine
revolutions.When the engine oil lif e reaches 15
percent, the display shows
‘‘SERVICE DUE SOON’’ and the
code f or the maintenance items to be
perf ormed.Have your dealer do the indicated
maintenance as soon as you see this
message, and have them reset the
display af ter completing the service.
If you do not perf orm the indicated
maintenance or do not reset the
display, the message changes to
‘‘SERVICE PAST DUE’’ when the
engine oil lif e becomes 0 percent.
These messages appear on the multi-
inf ormation display each time you
turn the ignition switch to the ON
(II) position.
When the engine oil lif e reaches 5
percent, the display shows
‘‘SERVICE DUE NOW’’ along with
the same maintenance items. For details on engine oil lif e and
maintenance messages, ref er to page
.
Also ref er to page f or important
maintenance saf ety precautions. 209
208
Engine Oil L if e
Maintenance Messages
Multi-Inf ormation Display
73

Depending on where you drive, you
may experience reception problems.
Interf erence can be caused by any of
these conditions:Driving on the north side of a
large commercial truck on an
east/west road.
Driving in tunnels.
Driving on a road beside a vertical
wall, steep clif f , or hill to the south
of you.
Driving on the lower level of a
multi-tiered road.
Driving on a single lane road
alongside dense trees taller than
50 ft. (15 m) to the south of you. If your XM Radio service has expired
or you purchased your vehicle f rom
a previous owner, you can listen to a
sampling of the broadcasts available
on XM Satellite Radio. With the
ignition switch in the ACCESSORY
(I) or ON (II) position, push the
PWR/VOL knob to turn on the audio
system and press the button.
A variety of music types and styles
will play.
If you decide to purchase XM
satellite radio service, contact XM
Radio at
, or at
1-800-852-9696. You will need to give
them your radio I.D. number and
your credit card number. To get your
radio I.D. number, turn the TUNE knob until ‘‘0’’ appears in the display.
Your I.D. will appear in the display.
After you’ve registered with XM
Radio, keep your audio system in the
Satellite Radio mode while you wait
f or activation. This should take about
30 minutes.
Driving on the north side of an
east/west mountain road.
While waiting f or activation, make
sure your vehicle remains in an open
area with good reception. Once your
audio system is activated, you should
be able to listen to XM radio
broadcasts. XM Radio will continue
to send an activation signal to your
vehicle for at least 12 hours from the
activation request. If the service has
not been activated after 36 hours,
contact XM Radio.
There may be other geographic
situations that could af f ect XM radio
reception.As required by the FCC:
Changes or modif ications not expresslyapproved by the party responsible f orcompliance could void the user’sauthority to operate the equipment.
www.xmradio.com
Receiving Satellite Radio Service
Playing the XMSatellite Radio (U.S. Models)
139

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 .176
.................
Fuel Recommendation .176
.........
Service Station Procedures .177
....................................
Ref ueling .177
Opening and Closing the .......................................
Hood .178
...................................
Oil Check .179
.............
Engine Coolant Check .180
...............................
Fuel Economy .180
...
Accessories and Modif ications .181
.............................
Carrying Cargo .183
Bef ore Driving
Bef ore Driving
175