service indicator Acura RDX 2012 Owner's Manual

Your Vehicle at a Glance(main controls)
....................................................................................................................
3
Driver and Passenger Safety (seat belts, SRS, and child protection)
...........................................................................
5
Instruments and Controls (indicators, gauges, multi-information display, dashboard, and steering column)
...........
61
Features (
climate control, audio, steering wheel, security, cruise control, HomeLink
®, and other convenience items
)...
163
Before Driving (fuel, vehicle break-in, and cargo loading)
.......................................................................................
351
Driving (engine and transmission operation)
...........................................................................................................
371
Maintenance (minders, fluid checking, minor services, and vehicle storage)
..........................................................
409
Taking Care of the Unexpected (flat tire, jump starting, overheating, and fuses)
...................................................
453
Technical Information (vehicle specifications, tires, and emissions controls)
........................................................
477
Warranty and Client Relations (U.S. and Canada only) (warranty and contact information)
...............................
493
Index
..............................................................................................................................................................................
I
INDEX
Service Information Summary (fluid capacities and tire pressures)
...............................................................
last page
Contents
1
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Contents
A convenient reference to the
sections in this manual.
Your Vehicle at a Glance
A quick reference to the main
controls in your vehicle.
Driver and Passenger Safety
Important information about the
proper use and care of your vehicle's
seat belts, an overview of the
supplemental restraint system, and
valuable information on how to
protect children with child restraints.
Instruments and Controls
Explains the purpose of each
instrument panel indicator and
gauge, and how to use the controls
on the dashboard and steering
column.
Features
How to operate the climate control
system, the audio system, and other
convenience features.Before Driving
What gasoline to use, how to break-
in your new vehicle, and how to load
luggage and other cargo.
Driving
The proper way to start the engine,
shift the transmission, and park; plus
what you need to know if you're
planning to tow a trailer.
Maintenance
The Maintenance Minder
TM
shows
you when you need to take your
vehicle to the dealer for maintenance
service. There is also a list of things
to check and instructions on how to
check them.
Taking Care of the Unexpected
This section covers several problems
motorists sometimes experience, and
details how to handle them. Technical Information
ID numbers, dimensions, capacities,
and technical information.
Warranty and Client Relations
(U.S. and Canada only)
A summary of the warranties
covering your new vehicle, and how
to contact us for any reason. Refer to
your warranty manual for detailed
information.
Index
Service Information Summary
A summary of the information you
need when you pull up to the fuel
pump.
Overview of Contents211/06/16 17:42:51 12 ACURA RDX MMC North America Owner's M 50 31STK650 enu

This section gives you important
information about how to protect
yourself and your passengers. It shows
you how to use seat belts properly. It
explains how your airbags work, and it
tells you how to properly restrain infants
and children in your vehicle.
Important Safety Precautions
..............
6
Your Vehicle's Safety Features
............
8
Seat Belts
.....................................
9
Airbags
.......................................
10
Protecting Adults and Teens
.............
12
1. Close and Lock the Doors
..........
12
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
...................................
15
6. Maintain a Proper Sitting Position
...............................
17
Advice for Pregnant Women
..........
18
Additional Safety Precautions
........
19
Additional Information About Your
Seat Belts
...............................
20
Seat Belt System Components
.......
20
Lap/Shoulder Belt
........................
21 Automatic Seat Belt Tensioners
.....
22
Seat Belt Maintenance
..................
23
Additional Information About Your Airbags
...................................
24
Airbag System Components
..........
24
How Your Front Airbags Work
......
26
How Your Side Airbags Work
........
30
How Your Side Curtain Airbags Work
......................................
31
How the SRS Indicator Works
.......
32
How the Side Airbag Off Indicator Works
.....................................
32
How the Passenger Airbag Off Indicator Works
.......................
33
Airbag Service
.............................
34
Additional Safety Precautions
........
35
Protecting Children －General
Guidelines
..............................
36
All Children Must Be Restrained
...............................
36
All Children Should Sit in a Back Seat
........................................
37
The Passenger's Front Airbag Can Pose Serious Risks
...................
37
If You Must Drive with Several Children
..................................
39 If a Child Requires Close
Attention
.................................
39
Additional Safety Precautions
........
40
Protecting Infants and Small Children
.................................
41
Protecting Infants
.........................
41
Protecting Small Children
.............
42
Selecting a Child Seat
......................
44
Important considerations when selecting a child seat
.................
44
Installing a Child Seat
......................
45
Installing a Child Seat with LATCH
...................................
46
Installing a Child Seat with a Lap/
Shoulder Belt
...........................
50
Installing a Child Seat with a Tether
.....................................
51
Protecting Larger Children
...............
53
Checking Seat Belt Fit
..................
53
Using a Booster Seat
....................
54
When Can a Larger Child Sit in Front
.......................................
55
Additional Safety Precautions
........
56
Carbon Monoxide Hazard
................
57
Safety Labels
..................................
58
Driver and Passenger Safety
5
Driver and Passenger Safety
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Airbag Service
Your airbag systems are virtually
maintenance free, and there are no
parts you can safely service.
However, you must have your
vehicle serviced if:●An airbag ever inflates.
Any airbag
that has deployed must be
replaced along with the control
unit and other related parts. Any
seat belt tensioner that activates
must also be replaced.
We recommend against the use of
salvaged airbag system
components, including the airbag,
tensioners, sensors, and control
unit.
Do not try to remove or replace
any airbag by yourself. This must
be done by an authorized dealer or
a knowledgeable body shop.
●The SRS indicator alerts you to a
problem.
Take your vehicle to an
authorized dealer as soon as
possible. If you ignore this
indication, your airbags may not
operate properly.
●If your vehicle has a moderate to
severe impact.
Even if your airbags
do not inflate, your dealer should
inspect the driver's seat position
sensor, the front passenger's
weight sensors, the front seat belt
tensioners, and all seat belts and
their anchor worn during a crash
to make sure they are operating
properly.
Additional Information About Your Airbags3411/06/16 17:42:51 12 ACURA RDX MMC North America Owner's M 50 31STK650 enu

If this indicator blinks while driving,
it indicates the differential
temperature is too high.
You will also see an‘‘SH-AWD DIFF
TEMP. HIGH ’’message on the multi-
information display (see page 80).
Pull to the side of the road when it is
safe, shift to Park, and let the engine
idle until the indicator goes out. If
the indicator does not go out, take
your vehicle to a dealer to have it
checked.
For more information, see page 385.Continuing to drive with the SH-AWD
indicator blinking may cause serious
damage to the system.
Low Tire Pressure/TPMS
Indicator
This indicator normally comes on for
a few seconds when you turn the
ignition switch to the ON (II)
position.
This indicator has two functions:
1. If it comes on while driving, it indicates that one or more of your
vehicle's tires are significantly low
on pressure. You will also see a
‘‘CHECK TIRE
PRESSURE ’’message on the multi-
information display (see page 79).
Check the tire pressure monitor on
the multi-information display and
determine the cause (see page 392).
If this happens, pull to the side of the
road when it is safe, check which tire
has lost pressure on the multi-
information display, and determine
the cause. If it is because of a flat tire,
have the flat tire repaired as soon as
possible. If two or more tires are
underinflated, call a professional
towing service. For more
information, see page 475.
CONTINUED
Instrument Panel Indicators
71
Instruments and Controls
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Use of gasoline with these additives
may adversely affect performance,
and cause the malfunction indicator
lamp on your instrument panel to
come on. If this happens, contact
your dealer for service. Some
gasoline today is blended with
oxygenates such as ethanol. Your
vehicle is designed to operate on
oxygenated gasoline containing up to
10% ethanol by volume. Do not use
gasoline containing methanol. If you
notice any undesirable operating
symptoms, try another service
station or switch to another brand of
gasoline.Because the level of detergency and
additives in gasoline vary in the
market, Honda endorses the use of
‘‘
TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline ’’
where available to help maintain the
performance and reliability of your
vehicle. TOP TIER Detergent
Gasoline meets a new gasoline
standard jointly established by
leading automotive manufacturers to
meet the needs of today ’s advanced
engines. Qualifying gasoline retailers
will, in most cases, identify their
gasoline as having met ‘‘TOP TIER
Detergent Gasoline ’’standards at the
retail location. This fuel is
guaranteed to contain the proper
level of detergent additives and be
free of metallic additives. The proper
level of detergent additives, and
absence of harmful metallic additives
in gasoline, help avoid build-up of
deposits in your engine and emission
control system. For further important fuel-related
information for your vehicle, or
information on gasoline that does not
contain MMT, visit My Acura at
owners.acura.com.
In Canada, visit
www.acura.ca
for additional
information on gasoline. For more
information on top tier gasoline, visit
www.toptiergas.com
.
Fuel Recommendation
353
Before Driving
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5. Screw the fuel fill cap back on untilit clicks at least once. If you do not
properly tighten the cap, you will
see a ‘‘TIGHTEN FUEL CAP ’’
message on the multi-information
display (see right column on this
page), and the malfunction
indicator lamp may also come on
(see page 466).
6. Push the fuel fill door closed until it latches. Tighten Fuel Cap Message
If your fuel fill cap is loose or
missing, a
‘‘TIGHTEN FUEL CAP ’’
message appears on the multi-
information display after you start the
engine. Turn the engine off, and confirm the
fuel fill cap is installed. If it is, loosen
it, then retighten it until it clicks at
least once. When you can restart the
engine, the message appears again.
The message goes off after several
days of normal driving once you
tighten or replace the fuel fill cap. To
scroll to another message, press the
INFO (
/
) button.
If the system still detects a leak in
your vehicle's evaporative emissions
system, the malfunction indicator
lamp (MIL) comes on. If the fuel fill
cap was not already tightened, turn
the engine off, and check or
retighten the fuel fill cap until it
clicks at least once. The MIL should
go off after several days of normal
driving once the cap is tightened or
replaced. If the MIL does not go off,
have your vehicle inspected by a
dealer. For more information, see
page 466.
Service Station Procedures
355
Before Driving
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Your vehicle is equipped with a tire
pressure monitoring system (TPMS)
that turns on every time you start the
engine and monitors the pressure in
your tires while driving.
Each tire has its own pressure
sensor. If the air pressure of a tire
becomes significantly low, the sensor
in that tire immediately sends a
signal that causes the low tire
pressure/TPMS indicator in the
instrument panel to come on. If this
happens, you will see which tire is
losing pressure on the multi-
information display along with a
‘‘CHECK TIRE PRESSURE ’’
message.
Low Tire Pressure/TPMS
Indicator
When the low tire pressure/TPMS
indicator is on, one or more of your
tires is significantly underinflated.
You should stop and check your tires
as soon as possible, and inflate them
to the proper pressure as indicated
on the vehicle's tire information
placard.
It is possible that the pressures
shown on the multi-information
display and the pressures you
manually measure are slightly
different.
If the difference is significant or you
cannot make the low tire pressure/
TPMS indicator and message on the
multi-information display go out after
inflating the tires to the specified
values, have your dealer check the
system as soon as possible. If you think you can safely drive a
short distance to a service station,
proceed slowly to the station, then
inflate the tire to the recommended
pressure.
If the tire is flat, or if the tire pressure
is too low to continue driving, replace
the tire with the compact spare tire
(see page 454).
Driving on a significantly under-
inflated tire causes the tire to
overheat and can lead to tire failure.
Under-inflation also reduces fuel
efficiency and tire tread life, and may
affect the vehicle's handling and
stopping ability.
Because tire pressure varies by
temperature and other conditions,
the low tire pressure/TPMS
indicator may come on unexpectedly.
Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)39011/06/16 17:42:51 12 ACURA RDX MMC North America Owner's M 50 31STK650 enu

Changing a Tire with TPMS
If you have a flat tire, the low tire
pressure/TPMS and tire monitor
indicators will come on. Replace the
indicated flat tire with the compact
spare tire (see page 454).
After the flat tire is replaced with the
spare tire, the low tire pressure/
TPMS indicator stays on while
driving. After several miles
(kilometers) driving, this indicator
begins to flash, then stays on again.
You will also see a‘‘CHECK TPMS
SYSTEM ’’message on the multi-
information display. This is normal;
the system cannot monitor the spare
tire pressure. Manually check the
spare tire pressure to be sure it is
correct. This indicator and the warning
message on the multi-information
display will go off, after several miles
(kilometers) driving, when the spare
tire is replaced with the specified
regular tire equipped with the tire
pressure monitor sensor.
Each wheel is equipped with a tire
pressure sensor. You must use
TPMS specific wheels. It is
recommended that you always have
your tires serviced by your dealer or
a qualified technician.
Never use a puncture-repairing agent
in a flat tire. If used, you will have to
replace the tire pressure sensor.
Have the flat tire repaired by your
dealer as soon as possible.
As required by the FCC:
This device complies with Part 15 of theFCC rules. Operation is subject to the
following two conditions: (1) This devicemay not cause harmful interference, and(2) this device must accept any
interference received, includinginterference that may cause undesiredoperation.
Changes or modifications not expresslyapproved by the party responsible for
compliance could void the user'sauthority to operate the equipment.
This device complies with IndustryCanada Standard RSS-210.
Operation is subject to the following twoconditions: (1) this device may not causeinterference, and (2) this device must
accept any interference that may causeundesired operation of the device.
Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)39411/06/16 17:42:51 12 ACURA RDX MMC North America Owner's M 50 31STK650 enu

Your tires have wear indicators
molded into the tread. When the
tread wears down, you will see a 1/2
inch (12.7 mm) wide band across the
tread. This shows there is less than
1/16 inch (1.6 mm) of tread left on
the tire.
A tire this worn gives very little
traction on wet roads. You should
replace the tire if you can see three
or more tread wear indicators.Tire Service Life
The service life of your tires is
dependent on many factors,
including, but not limited to, driving
habits, road conditions, vehicle
loading, inflation pressure,
maintenance history, speed, and
environmental conditions (even
when the tires are not in use).
In addition to your regular
inspections and inflation pressure
maintenance, it is recommended that
you have annual inspections
performed once the tires reach five
years old. It is also recommended
that all tires, including the spare, be
removed from service after 10 years
from the date of manufacture,
regardless of their condition or state
of wear.
The last four digits of the TIN (tire
identification number) are found on
the sidewall of the tire and indicate
the date of manufacture (See
Tire
Labeling on page 484). Tire Maintenance
In addition to proper inflation, correct
wheel alignment helps to decrease
tire wear. If you find a tire is worn
unevenly, have your dealer check the
wheel alignment.
Have your dealer check the tires if
you feel a consistent vibration while
driving. A tire should always be
rebalanced if it is removed from the
wheel. When you have new tires
installed, make sure they are
balanced. This increases riding
comfort and tire life. For best results,
have the installer perform a dynamic
balance.
Improper wheel weights can damage
your vehicle's aluminum wheels. Use
only Acura wheel weights for
balancing.
INDICATOR LOCATION MARKS
TREAD WEAR INDICATORS
Tires44611/06/16 17:42:51 12 ACURA RDX MMC North America Owner's M 50 31STK650 enu