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The tires on your vehicle meet all
U.S. Federal Saf ety Requirements.
All tires are also graded f or
treadwear, traction, and temperature
perf ormance according to
Department of Transportation
(DOT) standards. The f ollowing
explains these gradings.The treadwear grade is a compara-
tive rating based on the wear rate of
the tire when tested under controlled
conditions on a specif ied government
test course. For example, a tire
graded 150 would wear one and one-
half (1 1/2) times as well on the
government course as a tire graded
100. The relative perf ormance of
tires depends upon the actual condi-
tions of their use, however, and may
depart signif icantly f rom the norm
due to variations in driving habits,
service practices and dif f erences in
road characteristics and climate.The traction grades, f rom highest to
lowest, are AA, A, B, and C. Those
grades represent the tire’s ability to
stop on wet pavement as measured
under controlled conditions on
specif ied government test surf aces
of asphalt and concrete. A tire
marked C may have poor traction
perf ormance.
Warning: The traction grade
assignedtothistireisbasedon
straight-ahead braking traction tests,
and does not include acceleration,
cornering, hydroplaning, or peak
traction characteristics.
Quality grades can be f ound where
applicable on the tire sidewall
between tread shoulder and
maximum section width. For
example:
All passenger car tires must conf orm
to Federal Saf ety Requirements in
addition to these grades. Unif orm T ire Quality Grading T readwear
T raction
T readwear 200
Traction AA
Temperature A
DOT Tire Quality Grading (U.S. Vehicles)
388
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Technical Inf ormation
Page 394 of 422

Warning: The temperature grade f or
this tire is established f or a tire that
is properly inf lated and not
overloaded. Excessive speed,
underinf lation, or excessive loading,
either separately or in combination,
can cause heat buildup and possible
tire f ailure.
The temperature grades are A (the
highest), B, and C, representing the
tire’s resistance to the generation of
heat and its ability to dissipate heat
when tested under controlled
conditions on a specif ied indoor
laboratory test wheel. Sustained high
temperature can cause the material
of the tire to degenerate and reduce
tire life, and excessive temperature
can lead to sudden tire f ailure. The
grade C corresponds to a level of
perf ormance which all passenger car
tires must meet under the Federal
Motor Vehicle Saf ety Standard No.
109. Grades B and A represent
higher levels of perf ormance on the
laboratory test wheel than the
minimum required by law.
DOT Tire Quality Grading (U.S. Vehicles)
Temperature
389
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Technical Inf ormation
Page 395 of 422
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The tires that came on your vehicle
have a number of markings. Those
you should be aware of are
described below.
Rim diameter in inches.
Load index (a numerical code
associated with the maximum
load the tire can carry).
Speed symbol (an
alphabetical code indicating
the maximum speed rating).
Whenever tires are replaced, they
should be replaced with tires of the
same size. The following is an
example of tire size with an
explanation of what
each component means.
Vehicletype(Pindicates
passenger vehicle).
Tire width in millimeters.
Aspect ratio (the tire’s section
height as a percentage of its
width).
Tire construction code (R
indicates radial).
R 65 245 P 17
105
T
Tire Labeling
Tire Size
390
TIRE LABELING EXAMPLE
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4) (4) (3) (2) (1)
(1)
Tire Identification Number (TIN) Tire Size
Maximum Tire Pressure
Maximum Tire Load
P245/65R17 105T
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Technical Inf ormation
Page 396 of 422

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The tire identification number
(TIN) is a group of numbers and
letters that look like the following
example. TIN is located on the
sidewall of the tire.
Week Year
Date of manufacture. Tire type code. Manuf acturer’s
identification mark. This indicates that the
tire meets all
requirements of the U.S.
Department of
Transportation. Cold Tire Pressure The tire air
pressure when the vehicle has been
parked f or at least three hours or
driven less than 1 mile (1.6 km).
Load Rating Means the maximum
load that a tire is rated to carry for a
given inf lation pressure.
Maximum Inf lation Pressure The
maximum tire air pressure that the
tire can hold.
Maximum Load Rating Means the
load rating for a tire at the maximum
permissible inf lation pressure f or
that tire. Recommended Inf lation Pressure
The cold tire inf lation pressure
recommended by the manuf acturer.
Treadwear Indicators (TWI)
Means the projections within the
principal grooves designed to give a
visual indication of the degrees of
wear of the tread.
DOT
B97R
FW6X
2202
T ire Ident if icat ion Number (T IN)
Tire Labeling
Glossary of T ire T erminology
391
DOT B97R FW6X 2202
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Technical Inf ormation
Page 397 of 422

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Accordingly, when the low tire
pressure telltale illuminates, you
should stop and check your tires as
soon as possible, and inf late them to
the proper pressure.Driving on a signif icantly under-
inf lated tire causes the tire to
overheat and can lead to tire failure.
Under-inf lation also reduces f uel
efficiency and tire tread life, and may
af f ect the vehicle’s handling and
stopping ability.
Please note that the TPMS is not a
substitute for proper tire
maintenance, and it is the driver’s
responsibility to maintain correct tire
pressure, even if under-inf lation has
not reached the level to trigger
illumination of the TPMS low tire
pressure telltale.
(If your vehicle has tires of a
dif f erent size than the size indicated
on the vehicle placard or tire
inf lation pressure label, you should
determine the proper tire inf lation
pressure f or those tires.) Each tire, including the spare (if
provided), should be checked
monthly when cold and inf lated to
the inf lation pressure recommended
by the vehicle manuf acturer on the
vehicle placard or tire inf lation
pressure label. As an added safety
feature, your vehicle
has been equipped with
a tire pressure
monitoring system
(TPMS) that illuminates a low tire
pressure telltale when one or more
of your tires is significantly
under-inf lated.
All Models
Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) Required Federal Explanation
392
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Technical Inf ormation
Page 398 of 422
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Always check the TPMS malf unction
telltale af ter replacing one or more
tires or wheels on your vehicle to
ensure that the replacement or
alternate tires and wheels allow
TPMS malf unctions may occur f or a
variety of reasons, including the
installation of replacement or
alternate tires or wheels on the
vehicle that prevent the TPMS f rom
f unctioning properly. When the malfunction
indicator is illuminated,
the sytem may not be
able to detect or signal low tire
pressure as intented. Your vehicle has also been equipped
with a TPMS malf unction indicator
to indicate when the system is not
operating properly. The TPMS
malf unction indicator is provided by
a separate telltale, which displays the
symbol ‘‘TPMS’’ when illuminated.On models without navigation system
Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) Required Federal Explanation
393
12/08/09 16:51:05 31SJC670_400
Technical Inf ormation
function properly. the TPMS to continue to
Page 399 of 422

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TPMS malf unctions may occur f or a
variety of reasons, including the
installation of replacement or
alternate tires or wheels on the
vehicle that prevent the TPMS f rom
f unctioning properly.
Always check the TPMS
malfunction telltale after
replacing one or more tires or
wheels on your vehicle to ensure
that the replacement or alternate
tires and wheels allow the
TPMS to continue to
function properly.
When the malf unction indicator is
illuminated, the system may not be
able to detect or signal low tire
pressure as intended. Your vehicle has also been equipped
with a TPMS malf unction indicator
to indicate when the system is not
operating properly. The TPMS
malf unction indicator is combined
with the low tire pressure telltale.
When the system detects a
malf unction, the telltale will f lash f or
approximately one minute and then
remain continuously illuminated.
This sequence will continue upon
subsequent vehicle start-ups as long
as the malfunction exists.On models with navigation system
Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) Required Federal Explanation
394
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Technical Inf ormation
Page 400 of 422

ÎThe burning of gasoline in your
vehicle’s engine produces several by-
products. Some of these are carbon
monoxide (CO), oxides of nitrogen
(NOx), and hydrocarbons (HC).
Gasoline evaporating f rom the tank
also produces hydrocarbons. Con-
trolling the production of NOx, CO,
and HC is important to the environ-
ment. Under certain conditions of
sunlight and climate, NOx and HC
react to f orm photochemical ‘‘smog.’’
Carbon monoxide does not contri-
bute to smog creation, but it is a
poisonous gas.The United States Clean Air Act
sets standards for automobile
emissions. It also requires that
automobile manufacturers
explain to owners how their
emissions controls work and what
to do to maintain them. This
section summarizes how the
emissions controls work. Scheduled
maintenance is on page
.
Your vehicle has a positive
crankcase ventilation system. This
keeps gasses that build up in the
engine’s crankcase f rom going into
the atmosphere. The positive crankcase ventilation valve routes
them from the crankcase back to the intake manif old. They are then
drawn into the engine and burned.
As gasoline evaporates in the f uel
tank, an evaporative emissions
control canister f illed with charcoal
adsorbs the vapor. It is stored in this
canister while the engine is of f . Af ter
the engine is started and warmed up,
the vapor is drawn into the engine
and burned during driving.
The onboard ref ueling vapor
recovery (ORVR) system captures
the f uel vapors during ref ueling. The
vapors are adsorbed in a canister
f illed with activated carbon. While
driving, the f uel vapors are drawn
into the engine and burned of f .
322
The Clean Air Act
Crankcase Emissions
Control Evaporative Emissions
Control System
Onboard Ref ueling
Vapor Recovery
Emissions Cont rols
395
12/08/09 16:51:17 31SJC670_402
Technical Inf ormation
ÎIn Canada,
Honda vehicles comply with
the Canadian emission requirements , as
specified in an agreement with
Environment Canada, at the time they
are manufactured.
System