ECO mode Acura RL 2001 3.5 User Guide

Climate Control System

Semi-automatic Operation
You can manually select various functions of the Climate Controlsystem when it is in FULL AUTO.
All other features remain auto- matically controlled. Making any
manual selection causes the wordFULL to go out.

Air Conditioning (A/C) Button
Press the A/C button to operate the
air conditioning. Each time you press
the A/C button, the display shows
the mode: A/C ECON, A/C OFF, or

A/C ON.
When you turn the A/C off, the sys-
tem cannot regulate the inside tem-
perature if you set the dial below theoutside temperature. With the A/C
on, use the temperature control dial
to adjust the temperature of the air
flow to a comfortable setting. With the A/C in economy mode, you
will see A/C ECON in the system's
display. Use this mode to get better
fuel economy.
In this mode, you may feel a slight re-

duction in cooling efficiency. If you

want more cooling, select A/C ON or
FULL AUTO.
CONTINUED
Comfort and Convenience Features

TEMPERATURE

CONTROL DIAL AIR CONDITIONING
BUTTON

RECIRCULATED AIR

FRESH AIR

Climate Control System

Semi-automatic Operation
You can manually select various functions of the Climate Control system when it is in FULL AUTO.
All other features remain auto- matically controlled. Making any
manual selection causes the word
FULL to go out.
Air Conditioning (A/C) Button

Press the A/C button to operate the
air conditioning. Each time you press
the A/C button, the display shows
the mode: A/C ECON, A/C OFF, or

A/C ON.
When you turn the A/C off, the sys-
tem cannot regulate the inside tem-
perature if you set the dial below theoutside temperature. With the A/C
on, use the temperature control dial
to adjust the temperature of the air
flow to a comfortable setting. AIR CONDITIONING
BUTTON
TEMPERATURE

CONTROL DIAL

RECIRCULATION BUTTON

With the A/C in economy mode, you will see A/C ECON in the system's display. Use this mode to get better
fuel economy. In this mode, you may feel a slight re-
duction in cooling efficiency. If you
want more cooling, select A/C ON or FULL AUTO.
Comfort and Convenience Features

Audio System
AUTO SELECT — If you are traveling far from home and can no
longer receive the stations you
preset, you can use the Auto Select
feature to find stations in the local
area.

To activate Auto Select, press the
A. SELECT button. A. SELECT will appear in the display, and the system
will go into scan mode for several seconds. It automatically scans both
bands, looking for stations with strong signals. It stores the frequen-
cies of six AM stations and twelve
FM stations in the preset buttons.
You can then use the preset buttons to select those stations.
If you are in a remote area. Auto
Select may not find six strong AM
stations or twelve strong FM stations.
If this happens, you will see a "0"
displayed when you press any preset
button that does not have a station stored. With Auto Select on, you cannot
manually store any frequencies in
the preset buttons. If you do not like
the stations found by Auto Select,
you can use the TUNE and SEEK

functions to find other stations.
Auto Select does not erase the
frequencies that you preset pre-

viously. When you return home, turn
off Auto Select by pressing the
A. SELECT button. The preset
buttons will then select the fre-
quencies you originally set.
Comfort and Convenience Features
AUTO SELECT INDICATOR
PRESET BUTTONS
SEEK/SKIP

BUTTONS
TUNE

KNOB

AUTO SELECT BUTTON
AM/FM BUTTON

Audio System

You can use the SEEK/SKIP buttonsto select tracks within a disc. If you
push and release cither side of theSEEK/SKIP buttons ( — or +),the
system will move to the beginning of
a track. Push the + button to move
to the beginning of the next track,
and push the — button to move to
the beginning of the current track.
If you push and hold the SEEK/
SKIP button, you will hear a beep
and the system will continue to move
across tracks. Release the button
when you think it has reached the de- sired place on the disc. REPEAT — When you activate the
Repeat feature by pressing the
REPEAT button, the system continu-
ously replays the current track. You
will see RPT in the display as a
reminder. Press the REPEAT button again to turn it off.
RANDOM PLAY — This feature,
when activated, plays the tracks on a CD in random order, rather than in
the order they are recorded on the CD. To activate Random Play, press
the A. SELECT button. You will see
A. SELECT in the display. The sys- tem will then select and play tracks
randomly on the current disc. Whenall tracks on that disc have been
played, the next disc is loaded and
played randomly. This continues un-
til you deactivate Random Play by
pressing A. SELECT again. To take the system out of CD mode,
press the AM/FM button or insert acassette in the player. If a tape is
already in the cassette player, press
the CD/TAPE button. When you return to CD mode, play will contin-
ue at the same point that it left off.
If you turn the system off while a CD
is playing, either with the PWR/VOL
knob or the ignition switch, play will continue at the same point when you
turn it back on.

Protecting Compact Discs

For information on how to handle

and protect compact discs, see page
161
.
Comfort and Convenience Features

Audio System

AUTO SELECT — If you are traveling far from home and can no
longer receive the stations yon
preset, you can use the Auto Select
feature to find stations in the local
area.

To activate Auto Select, press the
A. SELECT button. A. SELECT will appear in the display, and the system
will go into scan mode for several seconds. It automatically scans both
bands, looking for stations with strong signals. It stores the frequen-
cies of six AM stations and twelve
FM stations in the preset buttons.
You can then use the preset buttons to select those stations.
If you are in a remote area, Auto
Select may not find six strong AM
stations or twelve strong FM stations.
If this happens, you will see a "0"
displayed when you press any preset
button that does not have a station
stored.
PRESET BUTTONS
With Auto Select on, you cannot manually store any frequencies in
the preset buttons. If you do not like
the stations found by Auto Select,
you can use the TUNE and SEEK
functions to find other stations. Auto Select does not erase the
frequencies that you preset pre-
viously. When you return home, turn off Auto Select by pressing the
A. SELECT button. The preset buttons will then select the fre-quencies you originally set.

Comfort and Convenience Features

TUNE/SEEK BAR
AUTO SELECT
INDICATOR
AM/FM BUTTON
AUTO SELECT BUTTON

Audio System

Caring for the Cassette Player
The cassette player picks up dirt and oxides from the tape. This contami-
nation builds up over time and
causes the sound quality to degrade.
To prevent this, you should clean the player after every 30 hours of use.
Your dealer has a cleaning kit
available.

If you do not clean the cassette
player regularly, it may eventually
become impossible to remove the
contamination with a normal
cleaning kit.
Use 100-minute or shorter cassettes.
Cassettes longer than that use
thinner tape that may break or jam
the drive. Look at the cassette before you
insert it. If the tape is loose, tighten
it by turning a hub with a pencil or
your finger.
If the label is peeling off, remove it
from the cassette or it could cause
the cassette to jam in the player. Never try to insert a warped or
damaged cassette in the player.
When they are not in use, store cassettes in their cases to protect
them from dust and moisture. Never
place cassettes where they will be exposed to direct sunlight, high heat,or high humidity. If a cassette is
exposed to extreme heat or cold, let
it reach a moderate temperature
before inserting it in the player.
Never try to insert foreign objects
into the cassette player. If you see the error indication (3.5 RL with navigation
system)/ (3.5 RL without
navigation system) on the display,
press the EJECT button to remove
the cassette from the unit. Make sure the tape is not damaged. If the
cassette will not eject or the error
indication stays on after the cassette ejects, take the car to your Acura

dealer.

Comfort and Convenience Features

Audio System

To select a different disc, press the appropriate preset button (1— 6). If
you select an empty slot in the
magazine, the changer will, after
finding that slot empty, try to load
the CD in the next slot. This continues until it finds a CD to load
and play.
You can use the SEEK bar to select tracks within a disc. If you push andrelease either side of the SEEK bar (— or +), the system will move to
the beginning of a track. Push the +
button to move to the beginning of
the next track, and push the — but-
ton to move to the beginning of the
current track. If you push and hold the SEEK bar
(— or +), you will hear a beep and
the system will continue to move across tracks. Release the button
when you think it has reached thedesired place on the disc.
REPEAT — When you activate the Repeat feature by pressing the
REPEAT button, the system
continuously replays the current
track. You will see REPEAT in the display as a reminder. Press the
REPEAT button again to turn it off.
RANDOM PLAY — This feature,
when activated, plays the tracks on a CD in random order, rather than in
the order they are recorded on the CD. To activate Random Play, press
the A. SELECT button. You will see
A. SELECT in the display. The sys- tem will then select and play tracks
randomly on the current disc. When
all tracks on that disc have been
played, the next disc is loaded and played randomly. This continues un-
til you deactivate Random Play by
pressing A. SELECT again.
To take the system out of CD mode, press the AM/FM button or insert acassette in the player. If a tape is
already in the cassette player, press
the CD/TAPE button. When you
return to CD mode, play will contin-
ue at the same point that it left off.
If you turn the system off while a CD
is playing, either with the PWR/VOL
knob or the ignition switch, play will
continue at the same point when you
turn it back on.

Protecting Compact Discs

For information on how to handleand protect compact discs, see page
161.

Comfort and Convenience Features

Break-in Period, Gasoline

Break-in Period

Help assure your car's future
reliability and performance by paying
extra attention to how you drive
during the first 600 miles (1,000 km).
During this period: Avoid full-throttle starts and rapid

acceleration.
Avoid hard braking. New brakes
need to be broken-in by moderate
use for the first 200 miles (300

km).
Do not change the oil until the
recommended time or mileage
interval shown in the maintenance
schedule.

You should follow these same re- commendations with an overhauled
or exchanged engine, or when the
brakes are relined.
Gasoline

Your Acura is designed to operate on premium unleaded gasoline with a
pump octane number of 91 or higher.
If you are unable to find premium unleaded gasoline, you may substi-
tute an unleaded regular gasoline.
The engine will compensate for the lower octane, but you may notice aslight decrease in power as a result.
We recommend gasolines containing detergent additives that help prevent
fuel system and engine deposits.
Using gasoline containing lead will
damage your car's emissions
controls. This contributes to air
pollution. In Canada, some gasolines contain
an octane-enhancing additive called
MMT. If you use such gasolines,
your emissions control system performance may deteriorate and
the Malfunction Indicator Lamp on
your instrument panel may turn on. If this happens, contact your
authorized Acura dealer for service.

Before Driving

Fuel Economy

The condition of your car and your driving habits are the two most
important things that affect the fuel
mileage you get.
Car Condition
Always maintain your car according to the maintenance schedule. This
will keep it in top operating condition.
An important part of that mainte- nance is the Owner Maintenance
Checks (see page 215 ). For
example, an underinflated tire
causes more "rolling resistance,"
which uses fuel. It also wears out
faster, so check the tire pressure at least monthly.
In winter, the build-up of snow on
your car's underside adds weight and
rolling resistance. Frequent cleaning
helps your fuel mileage and reduces
the chance of corrosion. Driving Habits
You can improve fuel economy by driving moderately. Rapid acceler-
ation, abrupt cornering, and hard
braking use more fuel.
Always drive in the highest gear that allows the engine to run and acceler-
ate smoothly.
Depending on traffic conditions, try
to maintain a constant speed. Every
time you slow down and speed up,
your car uses extra fuel. Use the cruise control, when appropriate, to
increase fuel economy. A cold engine uses more fuel than a
warm engine. It is not necessary to"warm-up" a cold engine by letting it
idle for a long time. You can drive
away in about a minute, no matter
how cold it is outside. The engine
will warm up faster, and you get
better fuel economy. To cut down on the number of "cold starts," try to
combine several short trips into one.
The air conditioning puts an extra load on the engine which makes it
use more fuel. Turn off the A/C orset the climate control to a higher
temperature to cut down on air
conditioning use. Use the flow-
through ventilation when the outside air temperature is moderate.

Before Driving

Malfunction Indicator Lamp

This indicator comes on for a few
seconds when you turn the ignition
switch ON (II). If it comes on at any
other time, it indicates one of the

engine's emissions control systems

may have a problem. Even though

you may feel no difference in your
car's performance, it can reduce

your fuel economy and cause your car to put out excessive emissions.
Continued operation may cause

serious damage.
If you have recently refueled your
car, the cause of this indicator
coming on could be a loose or
missing fuel fill cap. Check the cap
and tighten it until it clicks several
times. Replace the fuel fill cap if it is missing. Tightening the cap will not
make the indicator turn off
immediately; it takes at least three driving trips.
If the indicator remains on past three
driving trips, or the fuel cap was not
loose or missing, have the car checked by the dealer as soon as
possible. Drive moderately until the dealer has inspected the problem.
Avoid full-throttle acceleration and driving at high speed.
You should also have the dealer inspect your car if this indicator
comes on repeatedly, even though it
may turn off as you continue driving.
If you keep driving with the

malfunction indicator lamp on, you can

damage your car's emissions controls

and engine. Those repairs may not be
covered by your car's warranties.

Taking Care of the Unexpected
MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LAMP
NOTICE