weight Acura TL 2000 3.2 Owner's Manual

Protecting Children
Protecting InfantsChild Seat Type
Only a rear-facing child seat provides
proper support for a baby's head,
neck, and back. Infants up to about one year of age must be restrained in
a rear-facing child seat.
Two types of seats may be used: a seat designed exclusively for infants,
or a convertible seat used in the rear-
facing, reclining mode.
Placing a rear-facing child seat
in the front seat can result in
serious injury or death if the passenger's front airbag inflates.
Always place a rear-facing child seat in the back seat, not the
front.
We recommend that an infant be restrained in a rear-facing child seat
until the infant reaches the seat
maker's weight or height limit and isable to sit up without support. Rear-Facing Child Seat Placement
In this car, a rear-facing child seat
can be placed in any seating position
in the back seat, but not in the front seat.
Never put a rear-facing child seat in
the front seat. If the passenger's
front airbag inflates, it can hit the
back of the child seat with enough
force to kill or seriously injure an
infant. If an infant must be closely
watched, we recommend that another adult sit in the back seat
with the baby.
Do not put a rear-facing child seat in a forward-facing position. If placed
facing forward, an infant could be
very seriously injured during a frontal collision.
Driver and Passenger Safety

Protecting Children
4. After confirming that the belt islocked, grab the shoulder part of
the belt near the buckle and pull
up to remove any slack from the
lap part of the belt. Remember, if
the lap part of the belt is not tight,
the child seat will not be secure.
To remove slack, it may help to put weight on the child seat, or
push on the back of the seat, while
pulling up on the belt. 5. Push and pull the child seat
forward and from side to side to
verify that it is secure enough to stay upright during normal driving
maneuvers. If the child seat is not
secure, unlatch the belt, allow it to
retract fully, then repeat these steps. To deactivate the locking
mechanism and remove a child seat,
unlatch the buckle, unroute the seat
belt, and let the belt fully retract.
Driver and Passenger Safety

Protecting Children
Protecting Small Children
Child Seat Type A child who can sit up without support, and who fits within the childseat maker's weight and height
limits, should be restrained in a
forward-facing, upright child seat.
Of the different seats available, we
recommend those that have a five-
point harness system as shown. We also recommend that a small
child stay in the child seat as long as
possible, until the child reaches the
weight or height limit for the seat.
Child Seat Placement
In this car, the best place to install a
forward-facing child seat is in one of
the seating positions in the back seat.
Placing a forward-facing child seat in
the front seat of a vehicle equipped
with a passenger's front airbag can
be hazardous. If the vehicle seat is
too far forward, or the child's head is
thrown forward during a collision, an inflating front airbag can strike the
child with enough force to cause
very serious or fatal injuries. If a small child must be closely watched,
we recommend that another adult sit in the back seat with the child. Improperly placing a forward-
facing child seat in the front
seat can result in serious injury or death if the front airbags inflate.
If you must place a forward-
facing child seat in front, move
the vehicle seat as far back as possible and properly restrain
the child.
If it is necessary to put a forward-
facing child seat in the front, move
the vehicle seat as far to the rear as
possible, be sure the child seat is
firmly secured to the car, and the child is properly strapped in the seat.
Driver and Passenger Safety

Protecting Children
4. After confirming that the belt islocked, grab the shoulder part of
the belt near the buckle and pull
up to remove any slack from the
lap part of the belt. Remember, if
the lap part of the belt is not tight,
the child seat will not be secure. It may help to put weight on the
child seat, or push on the back of
the seat, while pulling up on the
belt. 5. Push and pull the child seat
forward and from side to side to
verify that it is secure enough tostay upright during normal driving
maneuvers. If the child seat is not secure, unlatch the belt, allow it to
retract fully, then repeat these steps. To deactivate the locking
mechanism in order to remove a
child seat, unlatch the buckle,
unroute the seat belt, and let the belt
fully retract.
Driver and Passenger Safety

Protecting Children
Additional Precautions for Small
Children
• Never hold a small child on your
lap. If you are not wearing a seat
belt in a crash, you could be
thrown forward into the dashboard and crush the child.
If you are wearing a seat belt, the
child can be torn from your arms
during a crash. For example, if
your car crashes into a parked
vehicle at 30 mph (48 km/h), a 30-lb (14 kg) child will become a
900-lb (410 kg) force, and you will
not be able to hold on.
• Never put a seat belt over yourself
and a child. During a crash, the
belt could press deep into the child and cause very serious injuries. Protecting Larger Children
When a child reaches the recommended weight or height limit
for a forward-facing child seat, the child should sit in the back seat and
wear a lap/shoulder belt.
If a child is too short for the shoulder
part of the belt to properly fit, we
recommend that the child use a
booster seat until they are tallenough to use the seat belt without a
booster.
The following pages give instructions on how to check properseat belt fit, what kind of booster
seat to use if one is needed, and
important precautions for children
who must sit in the front seat. Allowing a larger child to sit
improperly in the front seat can
result in injury or death if the
passenger's front airbag inflates.
If a larger child must sit in front,
make sure the child moves the
seat as far back as possible
and wears the seat belt properly.
CONTINUED
Driver and Passenger Safety

Keys and Locks
Trunk
TRUNK RELEASE BUTTON
You can open the trunk in three
ways:
• Press the trunk release button onthe driver's door.
• Reach through the trunk pass-through and pull the trunk release
handle.
• Press the trunk release button onthe remote transmitter.
TRUNK RELEASE HANDLE
To close the trunk, press down onthe trunk lid.
See page 156 for cargo loading and
weight limit information. Keep the trunk lid closed at all times whiledriving to avoid damaging the lid,
and to prevent exhaust gas from
getting into the interior. See Carbon
Monoxide Hazard on page 49.
TRUNK MAIN SWITCH
To protect items in the trunk when you need to give the key to someoneelse:
1. Disable the trunk release button on the driver's door by turning off
the trunk main switch in the glove
box.
Instruments and Controls

Fuel Economy
The condition of your car and yourdriving habits are the two most
important things that affect the fuel
mileage you get.
Vehicle 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 MaintenanceChecks (see page 199). 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 tocut down on air conditioning use.Use the flow-through ventilation
when the outside air temperature is moderate.
Before Driving

Carrying Cargo
CONSOLE COMPARTMENT FRONT DOOR POCKETTRUNK SEAT-BACK POCKET GLOVE BOXYour car has several convenientstorage areas so you can stow cargo
safely.
The glove box, and the pockets in the front doors and seat-back, are
designed for small, lightweight items.
The trunk is intended for larger, heavier items.
However, carrying too much cargo,or improperly storing it, can affect
your car's handling, stability and operation and make it unsafe. Before
carrying any type of cargo, be sure to read the following pages.
Before Driving

Carrying Cargo
Load Limit
The maximum load for your car is 850 lbs (395 kg).
This figure includes the total weight of all occupants, cargo, accessories,
and the tongue weight if you are
towing a trailer.
To figure out how much cargo you can carry:
• Add up the weight of all occupants.
• If you are towing a trailer, add the tongue weight to the numberabove.
• Subtract the total from 850 lbs (395 kg).
The final number is the total weight of cargo you can carry. Overloading or improper
loading can affect handling and
stability and cause a crash in
which you can be hurt or killed.
Follow all load limits and other
loading guidelines in this
manual. Carrying Items in the Passenger
Compartment
• Store or secure all items that could
be thrown around and hurtsomeone during a crash.
• Do not put any items on top of the rear shelf. They can block your
view and be thrown around the carduring a crash.
• Be sure items placed on the floor behind the front seats cannot roll
under the seats and interfere with
the driver's ability to operate the
pedals, or with the proper operation of the seats.
• Keep the glove box closed while driving. If the lid is open, a
passenger could injure their knees during a crash or sudden stop.
Before Driving

Carrying Cargo
Carrying Cargo in the Trunk or on
a Roof Rack
• Distribute cargo evenly on the floor of the trunk, placing the
heaviest items on the bottom andas far forward as possible.
• If you carry large items that prevent you from closing the
hatch, exhaust gas can enter the
passenger area. To avoid the
possibility of carbon monoxidepoisoning, follow the instructions
on page 49 . • If you can carry any items on a
roof rack, be sure the total weight
of the rack and the items does not
exceed the maximum allowable
weight.Please contact your Acura dealer for further information. Cargo Net
CARGO NET
TRUNK NET HOOK
The cargo net can be used to helphold down items stored in the trunk.
To use the cargo net, hook it to buttons on the floor and sides of the
trunk. You can use the cargo net inseveral configurations by hooking it
to different buttons.
When you are not using the cargo net, store it in the pocket in the leftside of the trunk.
Before Driving