hood open Acura Integra 2000 Hatchback Owner's Manual

Befor
e Drivin g
Before you begin driving your Acura,
you should know what gasoline to use, and how to check the levels of
important fluids. You also need to
know how to properly store luggageor packages. The information in thissection will help you. If you plan to
add any accessories to your car,
please read the information in this section first. General Precautions...................... 122
Break-in Period.............................. 123
Gasoline.......................................... 123
Service Station Procedures.......... 124 Filling the Fuel Tank................. 124Opening the Hood..................... 125
Oil Check................................ 127
Engine Coolant Check.......... 128
Fuel Economy................................ 129
Vehicle Condition...................... 129Driving Habits............................ 129
Accessories and Modifications.... 130 Carrying Cargo.............................. 132

Before Drivin g

Servic
e Statio n Procedure s
5. Screw the fuel fill cap back on,
tighten it until it clicks at least
three times. If you do not properly
tighten the cap, the Malfunction Indicator Lamp may come on (see
page 237).

6. Push the fuel fill door closed until

it latches.

Openin g th e Hoo d
1. Shift to Park or Neutral and set

the parking brake. Pull the hood release handle located under the
lower left corner of the dashboard.
The hood will pop up slightly.

2. Standing in front of the car, put

your fingers under the front edge of the hood to the left of center.
Slide your hand to the right until
you feel the hood latch handle. Push this handle to the right until
it releases the hood. Lift the hood.

CONTINUED
Befor e Drivin g

LATC
H
HOO D RELEAS E HANDL E

Servic
e Statio n Procedure s
If you can open the hood without
lifting the hood latch handle, or the hood latch handle moves stiffly ordoes not spring back as before, the
mechanism should be cleaned and
lubricated (see page 187).
3. Pull the support rod out of its clipand insert the end into the hole on
the left side of the hood. To close the hood, lift it up slightly to
remove the support rod from the
hole. Put the support rod back into
its holding clip. Lower the hood to about a foot (30 cm) above the
fender, then let it drop.
After closing the hood, make sure it is securely latched.

Befor e Drivin g
SUPPOR
T RO D

CLIP

Engin
e Oi l
1. Run the engine until it reaches
normal operating temperature,
then shut it off.

2. Open the hood and remove the

engine oil fill cap. Remove the oil drain bolt and washer from thebottom of the engine. Drain the oil
into an appropriate container.

3. Remove the oil filter and let the

remaining oil drain. A special
wrench (available from your Acura dealer) is required to remove the
filter.

4. Install a new oil filter according to

instructions that come with it.

Maintenanc e
WASHE
R

OI L DRAI N BOL T OI
L FILTE R

Coolin
g Syste m
Do not add any rust inhibitors or other additives to your car's cooling
system. They may not be compatible
with the coolant or engine compo-
nents.

Replacin g Engin e Coolan t
The cooling system should be completely drained and refilled with
new coolant according to the time
and distance recommendations in
the maintenance schedule. Only use Genuine Honda Antifreeze/Coolant.
Draining the coolant requires access
to the underside of the car. Unless
you have the tools and knowledge,
you should have this maintenance done by a skilled mechanic. 1. Turn the ignition ON (II). Slidethe heater temperature control
lever to maximum heat. Turn the ignition off.
2. Open the hood. Make sure the
engine and radiator are cool to the touch.
3. Remove the radiator cap. 4. Loosen the drain plug on the
bottom of the radiator. The
coolant will drain through the splash guard. Remove the drainbolt and washer from the engine block.
Maintenanc e DRAI
N PLU G
DRAI
N
BOL T

Light
s

Headligh t Aimin g
The headlights were properly aimed when your car was new. You should check their aim if you regularly carry
heavy items in the cargo area or pull a trailer. Each headlight assembly
has horizontal and vertical adjust-
ment indicators. These are set to
their "0" positions after the head-
lights are aimed at the factory. To check these settings:
1. Make sure the fuel tank is full.

Park the car on level ground.
2. The driver or someone who

weighs the same should be sitting in the driver's seat for all checks
and adjustments.
Load your vehicle with the items
you normally carry.

If you usually pull a trailer, load it as
you would normally and attach it to the car. Push down on the front and
rear bumpers several times to makesure the car is sitting normally. 3. Open the hood.
4. Check the horizontal angle gauge.

The line on the adjustment screw
indicator should line up with the"0" mark on the gauge.

CONTINUED

Maintenanc e
HORIZONTA
L ANGL E GAUG E

Lef t headligh t
Right headligh t

Light
s

Replacin g a Headligh t Bul b
Your car has two bulbs on each side, four in total. Make sure you arereplacing the bulb that is burned out.
Your car uses halogen headlight bulbs. When replacing a bulb, handle
it by its plastic case and protect the
glass from contact with your skin or
hard objects. If you touch the glass,clean it with denatured alcohol and a
clean cloth.

Halogen headlight bulbs get very hot when lit. Oil, perspiration, or a scratch
on the glass can cause the bulb to
overheat and shatter.
1. Open the hood.
If you need to change the high
beam headlight bulb on the
passenger's side, remove the
radiator reserve tank by pulling it straight up.

2. To disconnect the bulb from the

electrical harness, push on the end
of the lock tab to release the
connector then push the connec-
tor straight down.

3. Turn the bulb about one-eighth

turn counterclockwise to unlock it
from the headlight assembly.

4. Remove the bulb by pulling it

straight out of its recess.

5. Align the tabs on the new bulb
with the slots in the headlightassembly and push it into place.
6. Turn the bulb clockwise to lock it

in place. Do not force it. Check the seating of the bulb's tabs in the
slots if the bulb will not return to
its original position.

7. Reinstall the harness connector on

the bulb connector. Make sure it
locks in place.
Turn on the headlights to test the new bulb.

8. (Passenger's side)

Reinstall the radiator reserve tank.

Maintenanc e

NOTIC
E

I
f You r Engin e Won' t Start , Jum p Startin g
Th e Starte r Operate s Normall y
In this case, the starter motor's speed sounds normal, or even faster
than normal, when you turn the ignition switch to START (III), but
the engine does not run. Are you using the proper starting
procedure? Refer to Startin g th e
Engin e on page 137. Do you have fuel? Turn the
ignition switch to ON (II) for a
minute and watch the fuel gauge.
The low fuel level warning light may not be working, so you were
not reminded to fill the tank. There may be an electrical
problem, such as no power to the
fuel pump. Check all the fuses (see page 240).
If you find nothing wrong, you will
need a qualified technician to find
the problem. See Emergenc y
Towin g on page 245 . Jum
p Startin g
If your car's battery has run down,
you may be able to start the engine
by using a booster battery. Although this seems like a simple procedure,
you should take several precautions.
You cannot start an Acura with an automatic transmission by pushing
or pulling it. To jump start your car, follow these
directions closely:
1. Open the hood and check the
physical condition of the battery(see page 189). In very cold
weather, check the condition of
the electrolyte. If it seems slushy or like ice, do not try jump starting
until it thaws.

If a battery sits in extreme cold, the
electrolyte inside can freeze.
Attempting to jump start with a frozen battery can cause it to rupture.

2. Turn off all the electrical acces-

sories: heater, A/C, stereo system,
lights, etc.
Put the transmission in Neutral or
Park and set the parking brake.

CONTINUED

Takin g Car e o f th e Unexpecte d

NOTIC
E
A battery can explode if you do
not follow the correct procedure,

seriously injuring anyone
nearby.

Keep all sparks, open flames,

and smoking materials away

from the battery.

I
f You r Engin e Overheat s
The pointer of your car's tempera- ture gauge should stay in the mid-
range under most conditions. It may
go higher if you are driving up a longsteep hill on a very hot day. If it
climbs to the red mark, you should determine the reason.
Driving with the temperature gauge
pointer at the red mark can cause serious damage to your engine. Your car can overheat for several
reasons, such as lack of coolant or a
mechanical problem. The only indication may be the temperature
gauge climbing to or above the red
mark. Or you may see steam or spray coming from under the hood.
In either case, you should take
immediate action.
1. Safely pull to the side of the road.
Put the transmission in Neutral or
Park and set the parking brake.
Turn off the heating and cooling system and all other accessories.
Turn on the hazard warning indicators.

2. If you see steam and/or spray
coming from under the hood, turn
off the engine.
3. If you do not see steam or spray,

leave the engine running and
watch the temperature gauge. If the high heat is due to overloading (climbing a long, steep hill on a
hot day with the A/C running, for example), the engine should start
to cool down almost immediately. If it does, wait until the tempera-
ture gauge comes down to the mid-
point then continue driving.

4. If the temperature gauge stays at

the red mark, turn off the engine.

5. Wait until you see no more signs

of steam or spray, then open the
hood.

CONTINUED

Takin g Car e o f th e Unexpecte d

NOTIC
E

Steam and spray from an

overheated engine can

seriously scald you.

Do not open the hood if steam

is coming out.

Lo
w Oi l Pressur e Indicato r
This indicator should light when the ignition switch is ON (II), and go out
after the engine starts. It should
never come on when the engine is
running. If it starts flashing, it indicates that the oil pressuredropped very low for a moment, then
recovered. If the indicator stays on
with the engine running, it shows that the engine has lost oil pressureand serious engine damage is
possible. In either case, you should
take immediate action.
Running the engine with low oil
pressure can cause serious mechanical damage almost immediately. Turn offthe engine as soon as you can safely get
the car stopped.

1. Safely pull off the road and shut
off the engine. Turn on the hazard
warning indicators.

2. Let the car sit for a minute. Open

the hood and check the oil level (see page 127). Although oil level
and oil pressure are not directly
connected, an engine that is very
low on oil can lose pressure during cornering and other driving
maneuvers.

3. If necessary, add oil to bring the

level back to the full mark on the
dipstick (see page 171).

4. Start the engine and watch the oil

pressure indicator. If the lightdoes not go out within ten seconds,
turn off the engine. There is a
mechanical problem that needs to
be repaired before you can continue driving. (See Emergenc y
Towin g on page 245.)

Takin g Car e o f th e Unexpecte d
NOTIC
E

LO W OI L PRESSUR E INDICATO R