2012 HONDA ODYSSEY service

Contents
Child Safety P. 54 Exhaust Gas Hazard P. 68 Safety Labels P. 69Opening and Closing the Tailgate P. 120 Opening and Closing the Sliding Doors P. 126
Opening and Closing the Moonroof
* P. 140 Operating the Switches Around the Steering Wheel P. 141
Adjusting the Seats P. 154 Interior Lights/Interior Convenience Items P. 169
Climate Control System
* P. 187
Audio Error Messages P. 235 General Information on the Audio System P. 237
Bluetooth
® HandsFreeLink
®* P. 259 Compass
* P. 282
When Driving P. 297 Braking P. 314 Parking Your Vehicle P. 318
Fuel Economy P. 328 Accessories and Modifications P. 329Maintenance Under the Hood P. 343 Replacing Light Bulbs P. 355
Checking and Maintaining Tires P. 370 Battery P. 379 Remote Transmitter Care P. 380
Heating and Cooling System
*/Climate Control System
* Maintenance P. 384 Cleaning P. 385
Engine Does Not Start P. 400 Jump Starting P. 401 Shift Lever Does Not Move P. 403
Fuses P. 411 Emergency Towing P. 417Devices that Emit Radio Waves P. 423 Reporting Safety Defects P. 424 Emissions Testing P. 425
Customer Service Information P. 430 Gracenote
® End User License Agreement P. 431
Quick Reference Guide
P. 2
Safe Driving
P. 25
Instrument Panel
P. 71
Controls
P. 107
Features
P. 193
Driving
P. 285
Maintenance
P. 331
Handling the Unexpected
P. 389
Information
P. 419
Index
P. 433

20Quick Reference Guide
Handling the Unexpected
(P389)
Flat Tire
(P391)
●Park in a safe location and replace the
flat tire with the compact spare tire in
under the floor between the front seats
and the second row seats.
Indicators Come On (P 406)
●Identify the indicator and consult the
owner's manual.
Engine Won't Start (P400)
●If the battery is dead, jump start using a
booster battery.Blown Fuse
(P411)
●Check for a blown fuse if an electrical
device does not operate.
Overheating
(P404)
●Park in a safe location. If you do not see
steam under the hood, open the hood,
and let the engine cool down.
Emergency Towing (P417)
●Call a professional towing service if you
need to tow your vehicle.

23Quick Reference Guide
California Proposition 65 WarningEvent Data RecordersThis 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 performed. The EDR is designed to record data related
to vehicle dynamics and safety systems for 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;
•Whether or not the driver and passenger safety belts were
buckled/fastened;
•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
enforcement, could combine the EDR data with the type of
personally identifying data routinely acquired during a crash
investigation.WARNING: This product contains or emits
chemicals known to the state of California to cause
cancer and birth defects or other reproductive
harm.
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.
The data belongs to the vehicle owner and may not be accessed by
anyone else except as legally required or with the permission of the
vehicle owner.Service Diagnostic RecordersThis vehicle is equipped with service-related devices that record
information about powertrain performance. The data can be used
to verify emissions law requirements and/or help technicians
diagnose and solve service problems. It may also be combined with
data from other sources for research purposes, but it remains
confidential.California Perchlorate Contamination Prevention ActThe 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/
As you read this manual, you will find information that is preceded
by a symbol. This information is intended to help you avoid
damage to your vehicle, other property, or the environment.
NOTICE

53
uuAirbagsuAirbag Care
Safe Driving
Airbag CareYou do not need to, and should not, perform any maintenance on or replace any
airbag system components yourself. However, you should have your vehicle
inspected by a dealer in the following situations:■
When the airbags have deployed
If an airbag has inflated, the control unit and other related parts must be replaced.
Similarly, once an automatic seat belt tensioner has been activated, it must be
replaced.
■
When the vehicle has been in a moderate-to-severe collision
Even if the airbags did not inflate, have your dealer inspect the following: the driver’s
seat position sensor, weight sensors in the passenger’s seat, front seat belt
tensioners, and each seat belt that was worn during the crash.
■
Do not remove or modify a front seat without consulting a dealer
This would likely disable the driver's seat position sensor or the passenger's weight
sensor. If it is necessary to remove or modify a front seat to accommodate a person
with disabilities, contact a Honda dealer, or for U.S. vehicles, American Honda
Automobile Customer Service at 800-999-1009 and for Canadian vehicles, Honda
Canada Customer Relations at 888-9-HONDA-9.
1Airbag Care
We recommend against the use of salvaged airbag
system components, including the airbag, tensioners,
sensors, and control unit.

84
uuIndicatorsuMulti-Information Display Warning and Information Messages
*
Instrument Panel
Multi-Information Display Warning and Information Messages
*
The following messages appear only on the multi-information display. Press the / (information) button to see the message again
with the system message indicator on.
Message
Condition
Explanation
●
Appears when the fuel fill cap is loose or is not
installed.
2Check/Tighten Fuel Cap Message P. 407
●
Appears when the scheduled maintenance is due
soon.
●
Consequently, SERVICE DUE NOW and SERVICE
PAST DUE follow.
2Maintenance Minder Messages on the Multi-
Information Display P. 340
●
Appears when the ignition key is turned to
ACCESSORY
(q
from ON
(w
. (The driver’s door is
closed.)
—
●
Appears when you open the driver's door while the
ignition key is in LOCK
(0
.
●
Remove the key from the ignition switch.
●
Appears when the engine coolant temperature gets
abnormally high.
2Overheating P. 404
* Not available on all models

87
uuGauges and DisplaysuInformation Display
*
Continued
Instrument Panel
Information Display
*
The information display shows the odometer, trip meter, engine oil life and
maintenance service item codes, and other gauges.
Press the (SEL/RESET) knob to change the display.
Shows the total number of miles or kilometers that your vehicle has accumulated.■
Switching the Display
■
Odometer
Engine oil life
Trip meter B
Average fuel economy
Trip meter A
Instant fuel economyRange
(estimated distance)
Outside temperature
*
Odometer
* Not available on all models

193
Features
This chapter describes how to operate technology features on models without the navigation system.
Audio System
About Your Audio System ................ 194
USB Adapter Cable
*........................ 195
Auxiliary Input Jack .......................... 195
Audio System Theft Protection
*....... 196
Audio System Basic Operation....... 197
Adjusting the Sound ........................ 197
Playing the AM/FM Radio ................. 198
Playing a CD .................................... 200
Models without audio/information screen
Audio System Basic Operation...... 202
Audio Remote Controls.................... 203
Adjusting the Sound ........................ 204
Playing the AM/FM Radio ................. 205
Playing the XM
® Radio ..................... 209
Playing a CD .................................... 212
Playing CD Library ............................ 216
Playing an iPod®............................... 222
Playing a USB Flash Drive ................. 226
Playing Bluetooth® Audio................. 230
Audio Error Messages
CD Player ......................................... 235
Models with audio/information screen
iPod
®/USB Flash Drive
*..................... 236
General Information on the Audio
System
XM
® Radio Service
*......................... 237
Recommended CDs ......................... 238
Compatible iPod
®* and USB Flash Drives
*........ 240
Rear Entertainment System
*........... 241
HomeLink
® Universal Transceiver
*.. 257
Bluetooth
® HandsFreeLink
®*
Using HFL ........................................ 259
HFL Menus ...................................... 261
Compass
*.......................................... 282
* Not available on all models

194Features
Audio SystemAbout Your Audio SystemOn models with navigation system, see the Navigation System Manual for operation
of the audio system, Bluetooth
®HandsFreeLink
®, and voice commands for these
features.
The audio system features AM/FM radio and the XM
® Radio Service
*. It can also play
audio CDs, WMA/MP3/AAC files, iPods
®*
, USB flash drives
*, and Bluetooth
®*

devices.
You can operate the audio system from the buttons and switches on the panel, or
the remote controls on the steering wheel
*.
1About Your Audio System
XM
® Radio is available on a subscription basis only.
For more information on XM
® Radio, contact a
dealer.
2General Information on the Audio System
P. 237
XM
® Radio is available in the United States and
Canada, except Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico.
XM® Radio is a registered trademark of Sirius XM
Radio, Inc.
Video CDs, DVDs, and 3-inch (8-cm) mini CDs are not
supported.
iPod® is a registered trademark owned by Apple Inc.
MP3 and AAC are standard audio compression
formats. WMA is an audio compression format
developed by Microsoft Corporation.
Remote Control
iPod
®
USB Flash
DriveXM
® Radio
* Not available on all models