Page 688 of 722
Vehicle care and maintenance
7-91
7 Cleaning the outside of your vehicle
N00945700061
To protect your vehicle’s finish, wash it often and thoroughly.
If desired, you may wax your vehicle using a nonabrasive auto-
mobile wax. Foreign material
N00945800046
Industrial pollution, road tar, bird droppings, tree sap, insect
remains, sea water and other foreign matters can damage the
finish on your vehicle.
Generally, the longer any foreign material stays on the finish,
the worse the damage. Wash your vehicle as soon as possible
whenever the finish gets soiled.Wash i ng
N00945900526
Chemicals contained in the dirt and dust picked up from air,
rain, snow or road surfaces can damage the paint and body of
your vehicle if left on.
Frequent washing and waxing is the best way to protect your
vehicle from this damage.
Do not wash the vehicle in direct sunlight. Park the vehicle in
the shade and spray it with water to remove dust. Next, using
plenty of clean water and a car washing mitt or sponge, wash
the vehicle from top to bottom.
Use a mild car washing soap if necessary. Rinse thoroughly
and wipe dry with a chamois or soft cloth. After washing the
vehicle, carefully clean the joints and flanges of the doors,
hood, etc., where dirt is likely to remain.
CAUTION
!When washing the underside of your vehicle or the
wheels, wear a pair of gloves to protect your hands.If your vehicle has rain sensor wipers, place the
wiper switch lever in the “OFF” position to deacti-
vate the rain sensor before washing the vehicle. Oth-
erwise, the wipers will operate in the presence of
water spray on the windshield and may get damaged
as a result.Never spray or splash water on the electrical parts
in the engine compartment. This may damage them.
Be careful also when washing the underbody. Do not
spray water into the engine compartment.Avoid automatic car washers that use rotating
brushes. These brushes may scratch the paint sur-
face and make it dull.
Scratches are more noticeable on darker colored
vehicles.Some hot water washing equipment uses high pres-
sure and heat to clean your vehicle. This heated
water may damage your vehicle’s resin parts. It can
flood the interior of the vehicle. Therefore, be sure
of the following:
• Keep the washing nozzle at least 20 inches (50 cm)
away from the vehicle body.
• When washing around the door glass, hold the
nozzle at a distance of more than 20 inches (50 cm)
and at right angles to the glass surface.
BK0138600US.book 91 ページ ２０１１年７月１７日 日曜日 午後２時３２分
Page 689 of 722
7-92 Vehicle care and maintenance
7
During cold weather Salt and other chemicals spread on winter roads in some geo-
graphical areas can have a detrimental effect on the vehicle
underbody. You should flush the underbody with a high pres-
sure hose every time you wash the outside of your vehicle.
Take special care to remove mud or other debris which could
trap and hold salt and moisture.
After washing your vehicle, wipe off all waterdrops from the
rubber parts around the doors to prevent the doors from freez-
ing.
NOTEWhen the door is frozen, opening it by force may tear off
or crack the rubber gasket installed around the door. Pour
warm water to melt the ice. Be sure to thoroughly wipe off
the water after opening the door. To prevent freezing of
the weatherstripping on the doors, hood, etc., treat with
silicone lubricant.Waxing
N00946000188
Wax your vehicle once or twice a year, or when water does not
bead up on the paint.
Use a soft cloth to put a small amount of wax on the painted
surfaces. After the wax has dried, polish with a dry soft cloth.
Do not wax your vehicle in direct sunlight.
You should wax when the painted surfaces are cool.
When using high-pressure water to wash a vehicle
equipped with the F.A.S.T.-key system, keep the
water from spraying on the open button on the
trunk. This could cause the trunk to open and flood
the inside of the trunk. Make sure to do the following when using an auto-
matic car wash, with help from either this manual or
the car wash operator, to avoid damaging your vehi-
cle:
• Fold the outside mirrors.
• Put down (except for vehicles with SIRIUS satellite
radio antenna) or remove the antenna.
• If your vehicle is equipped with rear spoiler, check
with the car wash operator before using the car
wash.
• If your vehicle has rain sensor wipers, place the
wiper switch lever in the “OFF” position to deacti-
vate the rain sensor.CAUTION
!
CAUTION
!Waxes containing high abrasive compounds should
not be used. These waxes remove rust and stain
effectively from the paintwork, but are harmful to
the finish on the paint and the plate, because they
also remove clearcoat.
They are also harmful to other glossy surfaces such
as the grille, trim, moldings, etc.Do not use gasoline, kerosene, benzine or paint thin-
ners to remove road tar or other dirt from the vehi-
cle surface.
BK0138600US.book 92 ページ ２０１１年７月１７日 日曜日 午後２時３２分
Page 716 of 722
Alphabetical index
5
Link System 3-256
Loading information 4-9
Lubricants 9-10
Luggage floor boxes 3-301
M
Malfunction indicator 3-229
Manual air conditioning 5-22
Manual transaxle 3-94
Oil 7-18
,9-10
Shift points (recommended speed) 3-95
Mirror
Inside day/night rearview mirror 3-80
Outside rearview mirrors 3-83
Modifications to and racing of your vehicle 1-7
Multi-information display 3-181
O
Octane requirement 1-2
Oil
Engine oil 7-8
,9-10
Manual transaxle oil 7-18
,9-10
Rear axle oil 7-20
Transfer oil 7-19
Operation under adverse driving conditions 6-24
Outside rearview mirrors 3-83
Overheating 6-5
P
Parking 4-8
Parking brake 3-77
Parking brake lever stroke 7-39
Polishing 7-93
Power brakes 3-144
Power door locks 3-55
Power steering
Fluid 7-22
,9-10
System 3-156
Power windows 3-69
Puncture (Tire changing) 6-9
R
Radiator cap 7-14
Radio
AM/FM electronically tuned radio with CD player 5-52
AM/FM electronically tuned radio with 6 CD autochanger 5-
80
General information about your radio 5-150
Rain sensor 3-248
Rear axle oil 7-20
Rear side-marker lights
Bulb capacity 7-55
Replacement 7-79
Rear turn signal lights
Bulb capacity 7-55
Replacement 7-79
BK0138600US.book 5 ページ ２０１１年７月１７日 日曜日 午後２時３２分
Page 719 of 722
Alphabetical index
8Wiper
Rain sensor 3-248
Windshield 3-246
Wiper blades 7-40BK0138600US.book 8 ページ ２０１１年７月１７日 日曜日 午後２時３２分
