Sts Acura RL 2004 3.5 Owner's Manual

2004 RL Online Reference Owner's Manual Use these links (and links throughout this manual) to navigate through this reference.
For a printed owner's manual, click on authorized manuals or go to www.helminc.com. Contents
Owner's Identification Form
Introduction ........................................................................\
............................................................................. i
A Few Words About Safety ........................................................................\
.................................................. ii
Your Vehicle at a Glance ........................................................................\
....................................................... 2
Driver and Passenger Safety ........................................................................\
............................................... 5
Proper use and care of your vehicle's seat belts, and Supplemental Restraint System.
Instruments and Controls........................................................................\
.................................................. .55
Instrument panel indica tor and gauge, and how to use dashboard and steering column controls.
Comfort and Convenience Features........................................................................\
.............................. .119
How to operate the climate control system, the audio system, and other convenience features.
Before Driving ........................................................................\
...................................................... ...............203
What gasoline to use, how to break-in your new vehicle, and how to load luggage and other cargo.
Driving........................................................................\
...................................................................................215
The proper way to start the engine, shift the tr ansmission, and park, plus towing a trailer.
Maintenance........................................................................\
...................................................... ...................239
The Maintenance Schedule shows you when you need to take your vehicle to the dealer.
Appearance Care........................................................................\
...................................................... ...........299
Tips on cleaning and protecting your vehicle. Things to look for if your car ever needs body repairs.
Taking Care of the Unexpected........................................................................\
.......................................307
This section covers several problems motorists someti mes experience, and how to handle them.
Technical Information........................................................................\
...................................................... .335
ID numbers, dimensions, capaciti es, and technical information.
Warranty and Customer Relations (U.S. and Canada only).............................................................351
A summary of the warranties covering your new Honda, and how to contact us.
Authorized Manuals (U.S. only )........................................................................\
......................................
.355
How to order manuals and other technical literature.
Index ........................................................................\
......................................................................................... I
Service Information Summary
A summary of information you need when you pull up to the fuel pump.

Your car also has side airbags to help
protect the upper torso of the driver
or a f ront seat passenger during a
moderate to severe side impact.
The most important things you need
to know about your airbags are:They are designed to supplement
the seat belts.
Help keep you in a good position
should the airbags ever deploy. A
good position reduces the risk of
injury f rom an inf lating airbag, and
allows you to get the best
advantage f rom the airbag.
Of course, seat belts cannot
completely protect you in every
crash.Butinmostcases,seatbelts
can reduce your risk of serious
injury. Always wear
your seat belt, and make sure you
wear it properly. Your car has a Supplemental
Restraint System (SRS) with f ront
airbags to help protect the heads and
chests of the driver and a front seat
passenger during a moderate to
severe f rontal collision.
Help keep you f rom being thrown
against the inside of the vehicle
and against other occupants.
Keep you f rom being thrown out
of the vehicle.
CONT INUED
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Your Car’s Saf ety Features
Airbags do not replace seat belts.
What you should do:
Airbags
9

Bef ore driving, make sure everyone
with an adjustable head restraint has
properly positioned the head
restraint. The restraint should be
positioned so the back of the
occupant’s head rests against the
center of the restraint. A taller
person should adjust the restraint as
high as possible.
See page f or how to adjust seat-
backs.
A f ront passenger should also adjust
the seat-back to an upright position,
but as f ar f rom the dashboard as
possible. A passenger who sits too
close to the dashboard could be
injured if the f ront airbag inf lates.
Reclining a seat-back so that the
shoulder part of the belt no longer
rests against the occupant’s chest
reduces the protective capability of
the belt. It also increases the chance
of sliding under the belt in a crash
and being seriously injured. The
farther a seat-back is reclined, the
greater the risk of injury.
92
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Protecting Adults
A djust the Head Restraints
4.
14
Reclining the seat-back too far
can result in serious injury or
death in a crash.
Adjusttheseat-backtoan
upright position and sit well
back in the seat.

If necessary, pull up on the belt again
to remove any slack from the
shoulder part, then check that the
belt rests across the center of your
chest and over your shoulder. This
spreads the f orces of a crash over
the strongest bones in your upper
body.
If the seat belt touches or crosses
your neck, or if it crosses your arm
instead of your shoulder, you need to
adjust the seat belt anchor height.To adjust the height of a f ront seat
belt anchor, press the release button
and slide the anchor up or down as
needed (it has f our positions).
This could cause
very serious injuries in a crash. If a seat belt does not seem to work
as it should, it may not protect the
occupant in a crash.
Anyone using a seat belt that is
not working properly can be
seriously injured or killed. Have your
Acura dealer check the belt as soon
as possible.
See page f or additional
inf ormation about your seat belt
system and how to take care of your
belts. 44
Protecting Adults
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Never place t he shoulder port ion of a
lap/shoulder belt under your arm orbehind your back. No one should
sit in a seat wit h an inoperat ive seat belt.
16
Improperly positioning the seat
belts can cause serious injury
or death in a crash.
Make sure all seat belts are
properly positioned before
driving.

Devices intended to improve
occupant comf ort or reposition the
shoulder part of a seat belt, severely
compromise the protective capability
of the seat belt and increase the
chance of serious injury in a crash.
If they do, they could
be very seriously injured in a crash.
To determine if a lap/shoulder belt
properly f its a child, have the child
sit in the rear seat, all the way back
against the seat and put on the seat
belt. Follow the instructions on page . Then check how the belt f its. However, if the shoulder belt
touchesorcrossesthechild’sneck,
or if the lap belt crosses the child’s
stomach, the child needs to use a
booster seat.
This could result in serious neck and
internal injuries during a crash.
This could cause
very serious injuries during a crash.
It also increases the chance that the
child will slide under the belt in a
crash and be injured.
If the shoulder part of the belt rests
over the child’s collarbone and
against the center of the chest, and
the lap belt rests over the child’s
hipbones and touches the tops of their thighs as shown, the child is
probably big enough to wear the seat
belt.
15
Do not put any accessories on a seat belt.
T wo children should never use t hesame seat belt .
Checking Seat Belt Fit
Do not let a child wear a seat beltacross t he neck or over t he st omach.
Do not let a child put the shoulderpart of a seat belt behind t he back orunder t he arm.
Protecting Children
Driver and Passenger Saf ety36

µ
Pull up or push down on the f ront of
the switch to move the seat bottom’s
f ront edge up or down. Pull up or
push down on the rear of the switch
to move the rear of the seat bottom
up or down.
Push the horizontal switch forward
or backward to move the seat
forward or backward. The long horizontal switch adjusts
the seat bottom in several directions.
The short vertical switch adjusts the
seat-back angle.
Make all seat adjustments bef ore
you start driving.
Your Acura has power adjustments
f or both f ront seats. The two power
seat adjustment switches are on the
outside edge of the seat bottom.
You can adjust the power seats with
the ignition switch in any position.
See pages f or important saf ety
inf ormation and warnings about how toproperly position seats and seat-backs. 12 14
CONT INUED
Driver’s Seat Adjustments
Seat A djustments
Inst rument s and Cont rols91

To remove a head restraint f or
cleaning or repair, pull it up as f ar as
it will go. Push the release button
and pull the restraint out of the seat-
back.
The head restraints adjust f or height
and tilt. You need both hands to
adjust the restraint. Do not attempt
to adjust it while driving. To raise it,
pull upward. To lower the restraint,
push the release button sideways
and push the restraint down. To
adjust the tilt, pivot the head
restraint to the desired position.
The head restraints help protect you
and your passengers f rom whiplash
and other injuries. They are most
ef f ective when you adjust them so
the back of the occupant’s head rests
against the center of the restraint. A
taller person should adjust the
restraint as high as possible.
See page f or important saf ety
inf ormation and a warning about how toproperly position the head restraints. 14
Head Restraints
Seat A djustments
Inst rument s and Cont rols94
RELEASE BUTTON

The automatic climate control
system in your Acura picks the
proper combination of air condi-
tioning, heating, and ventilation to
maintain the interior temperature
you select. The system also adjusts
the fan speed and air flow levels.
The direction of air f low f rom the
vents in the center and each side of
the dashboard is adjustable. Move
the tab in the center of each vent up-
and-down and side-to-side.
Thesideventscanbeopenedand
closed with the dials next to them.The climate control system draws air
through the exterior vents at the
bottom of the windshield. Keep
these vents clear of leaves and other
debris.For the climate control system to
provide heating and cooling, the
engine must be running.
In the rear seat, you can also adjust
the ventilation when the climate con-
trol system is on (see page ). 132
Comf ort and Convenience Feat ures
Climat e Cont rol Syst em
120
SIDE VENTS
CENTER VENTS
Open
Close

µµ
Bass, Treble, Balance, and Fader are
each adjustable. You select which of
these you want to adjust by pressing
the TUNE knob. The mode changes
fromBAStoTREtoFADtoBAL,
and then back to the selected audio
mode, each time you press the
TUNE knob.
You can use the instrument panel
brightness control dial to adjust the il-
lumination of the audio system (see
page ). The audio system
illuminates when the parking lights
are on, even if the radio is turned of f .
For inf ormation, see page .
Use these modes to
adjust the tone to your liking. Select
TRE or BAS by pressing the TUNE
knob. Adjust the desired mode by
turning the TUNE knob. The
displayed number shows you the
current setting. When the
adjustment level reaches the center,
you will see ‘‘ ’’.
These two
modes adjust the strength of the
sound coming f rom each speaker.
BAL adjusts the side-to-side strength,
while FAD adjusts the f ront-to-back
strength. Select BAL or FAD by pressing the
TUNE knob. Adjust the Balance or
Fader to your liking by turning the
TUNE knob. The displayed number
shows you the current setting. When
the adjustment level reaches the
center, you will see ‘‘ ’’.
The system will automatically return
the display to the selected audio
mode about f ive seconds af ter you
stop adjusting a mode with the
TUNE knob.
71
156
A djusting the Sound
A udio System L ighting
Radio Frequencies and Reception
Treble/Bass
Balance/Fader
Audio System
Comf ort and Convenience Feat ures138

If you do not remove the disc f rom
the slot, the system will reload the
disc af ter ten seconds and begin
playing it. To remove the disc that is currently
playing, press the CD eject button.
You will see ‘‘EJCT’’ in the display.
When you remove the disc f rom the
slot, the system automatically begins
the Load sequence so you can load
another CD in that position. If you do
not load another CD, af ter ten
seconds the system begins playing
the next disc in the changer. If the
changer is empty, the system selects
the previous mode (AM, FM, or
Tape).
To remove a different CD from the
changer,firstselectitwiththe
appropriate preset button. When that
CD begins playing, press the CD
eject button.
Removing CDs f rom t he Changer
Comf ort and Convenience Feat ures
Audio System
148
CD EJECT BUTTON CD SLOTCD BUTTON