automatic transmission Acura RL 2008 Owner's Manual

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Your Vehicle at a Glance
4
POWER DOOR
LOCK MASTER
SWITCH
POWER WINDOW
SWITCHES
DRIVING POSITION
MEMORY SYSTEM
(P.11,26)PASSENGER’S FRONT AIRBAG
(P.160)
(P.152) (P.181) (P.198)
(P.207)
AUTOMATIC
TRANSMISSION
INTERFACE DIAL
COMPASS SYSTEM
ACCESSORY
POWER SOCKETS
(P.192)
AUDIO SYSTEM
CLIMATE CONTROL
SYSTEM
1:
2: RL models MIRROR CONTROL
AUTO BUTTON
DRIVER’S FRONT
AIRBAG INSTRUMENT PANEL
INDICATORS
(P.62)
(P.11,26) CEILING
CONSOLE
TRUNK RELEASE
BUTTON
(P.153)
FUEL FILL DOOR RELEASE
BUTTON HOOD RELEASE LEVER
(P.329) (P.331) (P.242)
(P.199,207,243)
POWER REAR
SUNSHADE BUTTON (P.194)
REAR HEAD RESTRAINT
TILT BUTTON
HOMELINK
BUTTONS (P.295) (P.184)
MOONROOF SWITCH
(P.157) (P.349)
(P.158)
2
1
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Control L ocations
60
AUDIO SYSTEM
POWER WINDOW
SWITCHES INSTRUMENT PANEL
INDICATORS
GAUGES
CLIMATE CONTROL
SYSTEM
TRUNK RELEASE BUTTON HOOD RELEASE LEVER
DRIVING POSITION
MEMORY SYSTEM
FUEL FILL DOOR RELEASE
BUTTON
POWER DOOR LOCK
MASTER SWITCH
MOONROOF SWITCH MIRROR CONTROL
AUTO BUTTON
AUTOMATIC
TRANSMISSION
ACCESSORY POWER
SOCKETS
(P.62)
(P.70)
INTERFACE DIAL
1: 2: CEILING CONSOLE
(P.160)
(P.152) (P.181)
(P.194)(P.153) (P.192)
COMPASS SYSTEM
(P.199) (P.207) (P.198)
RL models (P.184)
(P.157) (P.329) (P.331) (P.349)
(P.242)
(P.158)
HOMELINK
BUTTONS
POWER REAR
SUNSHADE BUTTON
REAR HEAD RESTRAINT
TILT BUTTON (P.295)
1
2
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You can increase the set cruising
speed in any of these ways:You can decrease the set cruising
speed in any of these ways:
Press and hold the RES/ACCEL
button. When you reach the
desired cruising speed, release the
button.
Push on the accelerator pedal.
Accelerate to the desired cruising
speed, then press the SET/
DECEL button. Press and hold the SET/DECEL
button. Release the button when
you reach the desired speed.
To increase your speed in very
small amounts, tap the RES/
ACCEL button. Each time you do
this, the vehicle speeds up about 1
mph (1.6 km/h).
Cruise control may not hold the set
speed when you are going up and
down hills. If your speed increases
going down a hill, use the brakes to
slow down. This will cancel cruise
control. On models with adaptive
cruise control (ACC), this also
causes the cruise control icon on the
multi-inf ormation display to go of f
and the cruise mode icon to come on.
To resume the set speed, press the
RES/ACCEL button. The CRUISE
CONTROLicononthemulti-
inf ormation display will come back
on.
When climbing a steep hill, the
automatic transmission may
downshif t to hold the set speed.
To slow down in very small
amounts, tap the SET/DECEL
button. Each time you do this,
your vehicle will slow down about
1 mph (1.6 km/h).
Tap the brake pedal lightly with
your f oot. The CRUISE
CONTROLindicatororACC
indicator on the instrument panel
and the CRUISE CONTROL icon
on the multi-information display
will go out. When the vehicle
slows to the desired speed, press
the SET/DECEL button.
Changing the Set Speed
Cruise Control
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This section gives you tips on
starting the engine under various
conditions, and how to operate the
automatic transmission. It also
includes important inf ormation on
parking your vehicle, the braking
system, the Super handling-all wheel
drive (SH-AWD) system, the vehicle
stability assist (VSA) system, the tire
pressure monitoring system (TPMS),
the collision mitigation brake system
(CMBS), and f acts you need if you
are planning to tow a trailer.........................
Preparing to Drive .346
.......................
Starting the Engine .347
Check Starting System
.................................
Message .348
..............
Automatic Transmission .349
Super Handling-All Wheel Drive
...................
(SH-AWD) System .356
...........................................
Parking .357
.............................
Braking System .358
................
Anti-lock Brakes(ABS) .359
Collision Mitigation Brake
........................
System (CMBS) .361
Tire Pressure ...
Monitoring System (TPMS) .371
Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) ........................................
System .377
...........................
Towing a Trailer .379
...................
Towing Your Vehicle .384
Driving
Driving
345
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These indicators on the instrument
panel show which position the shif t
lever is in. In the Sequential
SportShif t Mode, the ‘‘M’’ indicator
next to the ‘‘D’’ indicator comes on,
and the illuminated number under
the low oil pressure indicator shows
you the gear you have selected.To shif t f rom Park to any position,
press firmly on the brake pedal and
slide the lever along the guide on the
console. You cannot shif t out of Park
when the ignition switch is in the
LOCK (0) or the ACCESSORY (I)
position.
The ‘‘D’’ indicator comes on f or a
f ew seconds when you turn the
ignition switch to the ON (II)
position. If it f lashes while driving (in
any shif t position), it indicates a
possible problem in the transmission.
If the malf unction indicator lamp
comes on along with the ‘‘D’’
indicator, there is a problem with the
automatic transmission control
system. Avoid rapid acceleration, and
have the transmission checked by
your dealer as soon as possible.
When the ‘‘D’’ indicator warns of a
possible problem with the
transmission, you will see a ‘‘CHECK
TRANSMISSION’’ message on the
multi-inf ormation display (see page
).
78
CONT INUED
Shif t L ever Position Indicators Shif ting
Automatic Transmission
Driving
349
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Do this:
Press the brake pedal, then
move the shift lever.
Move the lever.
To shift from:
PtoR
RtoN
NtoD
DtoD
DtoD DtoNNtoR RtoP
3
3
To avoid transmission damage, come
to a complete stop bef ore shif ting
into Park. The shif t lever must be in
Park bef ore you can turn the ignition
switch to the LOCK (0) position, or
remove the built-in key from the
ignition switch. Press the brake
pedal to shif t f rom Park to reverse.
To shif t f rom neutral to reverse,
come to a complete stop and then
shif t.
Your vehicle has a reverse lockout so
you cannot accidentally shif t to
reverse f rom neutral or any other
driving position when the vehicle
speed exceeds 5 6 mph (8 10
km/h).
If you cannot shif t to reverse when
the vehicle is stopped, press the
brake pedal, slowly shif t to neutral,
andthenshifttoreverse. If there is a problem in the reverse
lockout system, or your vehicle’s
battery is disconnected or goes dead,
you cannot shif t to reverse. (Ref er to
on page ).
Use neutral if you
need to restart a stalled engine, or if
it is necessary to stop brief ly with
the engine idling. Shif t to the Park
position if you need to leave your
vehicle for any reason. Press on the
brake pedal when you are moving
the shift lever from neutral to
another gear.
Use this position f or
your normal driving. The
transmission automatically selects a
suitable gear (1 through 5) f or your
speed and acceleration. You may
notice the transmission shif ting up at
higher engine speeds when the
engine is cold. This helps the engine
warm up f aster.
If you have done all of the above and
still cannot move the lever out of
Park, see on
page . This position mechani-
cally locks the transmission. Use
Park whenever you are turning of f or
starting the engine. To shif t out of
Park, you must press on the brake
pedal and have your f oot of f the
accelerator pedal. Move the shif t
levertotherighttoshiftoutof Park.
354 354
Automatic Transmission
Reverse (R)
Shif t L ock Release
Neutral (N)
Drive (D)
Shif t L ock Release
Park (P)
350
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With the shif t lever in ‘‘D’’ position,
you can select the Sequential
SportShift mode to shift gears much
like a manual transmission, but
without a clutch pedal. To enter the Sequential SportShif t
mode, move the shif t lever f urther to
the driver’s side. To return to ‘‘D,’’
move the shift lever to the
passenger’s side.
In Sequential SportShif t mode, each
time you push f orward on the shif t
lever, the transmission shifts to a
higher gear. Pull back on the lever to
downshif t. The number of the gear
selected is displayed on the
instrument panel.
When you move the shif t lever f rom
‘‘D’’ to ‘‘M’’ position, the display
shows the selected gear. While in the Sequential SportShif t
mode, you can also shif t up or down
using the (right side) or (lef t
side) paddle shif ters on the right and
lef t side of the steering wheel.
For up shif t, press the right side ( )
paddle shif ter.
For down shif t, press the lef t side
( ) paddle shif ter.
CONT INUED
Sequential SportShif t Mode
Automatic Transmission
Driving
351
SELECTED GEAR( ) DOWN SHIFT
( ) UP SHIFT PADDLE SHIFTER
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The transmission may automatically
downshif t f rom the higher gear to
the lower gear under these
conditions:
Driving on level roads and downhill
Driving uphill
Downshif ting gives you more power
when climbing, and provides engine
brakingwhengoingdownasteephill.
Thegearindicatorwillflashthe
numberof thelowergearseveral
times, then return to the higher gear.
To shift from
43
54
To shift from 43
54 Speed range
under 17 mph
(27 km/h)
under 38 mph
(60 km/h)
When you accelerate away f rom a
stop, the transmission starts in f irst
gear. You have to manually upshif t
between first and fifth gears. Make
sure you upshif t bef ore the engine
speed reaches the tachometer’s red
zone.
The transmission also shif ts
automatically as the vehicle comes to
a complete stop. It downshif ts to f irst
gear when the vehicle speed is under
8mph(13km/h).
If you try to manually downshif t at a
speed that would cause the engine to
exceed the redline in a lower gear,
the transmission does not downshif t.
If the vehicle speed slows to below
the redline of the selected lower gear
position while the indicator is
f lashing, the transmission
downshif ts, and the display shows
the selected lower gear.
Speed range
under 41 mph
(65 km/h)
under 47 mph
(75 km/h)
The transmission remains in the
selectedgear(5,4,3,2,or1).There
is no automatic downshif t when you
push the accelerator pedal to the
f loor.
Automatic Transmission
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à
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The table shows the speed ranges
f or upshif ting and downshif ting. When you are in Sequential
SportShif t mode, and the vehicle is
stopped, push f orward on the shif t
lever to shif t to second gear. You
will see ‘‘2’’ in the display. Starting
out in second gear will help to
reduce wheelspin in deep snow or
on a slippery surf ace.
If you start out in second gear, the
transmission will be f ixed in that
gear.
To shift from
12
23
34
45 To shift from
32
43
54
The transmission will not
automatically downshif t to f irst gear
even when the vehicle speed is
under 8 mph (13 km/h). You need to
shif t down to f irst gear manually.
Speed range
over 0 mph
(0 km/h)
over 8 mph
(13 km/h)
over 17 mph
(27 km/h)
over 37 mph
(60 km/h) Speed range
under 56 mph
(90 km/h)
under 93 mph
(150 km/h)
under 130 mph
(209 km/h)
CONT INUED
St art ing in Second Gear
Automatic Transmission
Driving
353
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µIf you exceed the maximum speed
f or the gear you are in, the engine
speed will enter into the tachometer’s
red zone. If this occurs, you may f eel
the engine cut in and out. This is
caused by a limiter in the engine’s
computer controls. The engine will
run normally when you reduce the
rpm below the red zone. Make sure the ignition switch is in
the LOCK (0) position.
Set the parking brake.
Bef ore downshif ting, make sure the
engine will not go into the
tachometer’s red zone. This allows you to move the shif t
lever out of Park if the normal
method of pushing on the brake
pedal does not work.
This position is
similar to D, except only the f irst
three gears are selected. Use D
when towing a trailer in hilly terrain,
or to provide engine braking when
going down a steep hill. D can also
keep the transmission f rom cycling
between third, f ourth, and f if th gears
in stop-and-go driving.
ForfasteraccelerationwheninD or
D, you can get the transmission to
automatically downshif t by pushing
the accelerator pedal to the floor.
The transmission will shif t down one,
two, or three gears, depending on
your speed. To release the reverse lockout, make
sure the ignition switch is in the
ACCESSORY(I) position.
1.
2.
3
3
3
Engine Speed Limiter Shift Lock Release
Drive (D )
Automatic Transmission
3
354
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