dashboard Acura TSX 2004 Owner's Manual

2004 TSX 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........................................................................\
.................................................. .57
Instrument panel indica tor and gauge, and how to use dashboard and steering column controls.
Comfort and Convenience Features........................................................................\
.............................. .113
How to operate the climate control system, the audio system, and other convenience features.
Before Driving ........................................................................\
...................................................... ...............183
What gasoline to use, how to break-in your new vehicle, and how to load luggage and other cargo.
Driving........................................................................\
...................................................................................197
The proper way to start the engine, shift the tr ansmission, and park, plus towing a trailer.
Maintenance........................................................................\
...................................................... ...................229
The Maintenance Schedule shows you when you need to take your vehicle to the dealer.
Appearance Care........................................................................\
...................................................... ...........295
Tips on cleaning and protecting your vehicle. Things to look for if your car ever needs body repairs.
Taking Care of the Unexpected........................................................................\
.......................................303
This section covers several problems motorists someti mes experience, and how to handle them.
Technical Information........................................................................\
...................................................... .331
ID numbers, dimensions, capaciti es, and technical information.
Warranty and Customer Relations (U.S. and Canada)..................................................................... .347
A summary of the warranties covering your new Honda, and how to contact us.
Authorized Manuals (U.S. only )........................................................................\
......................................
.351
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’s seats are designed to keep
you in a comf ortable, upright
position so you can take f ull
advantage of the protection offered
by seat belts and the energy
absorbing materials in the seats.
How you adjust your seats and seat-
backs can also affect your safety. For
example, sitting too close to the
steering wheel or dashboard
increases the risk of you or your
passenger being injured by striking
theinsideof thecar,orbyan
inf lating airbag.
Reclining a seat-back too f ar reduces
the seat belt’s ef f ectiveness and
increases the chance that the seat’s
occupant will slide under the seat
belt in a crash and be seriously
injured.
Always wear
your seat belt properly, and sit
upright and as f ar back as possible
f rom the steering wheel or
dashboard. They are designed to supplement
the seat belts.
To do their job, airbags must
inf late with tremendous f orce and
speed. So while airbags help save
lives, they can cause minor injuries,
or more serious or even fatal
injuries if occupants are not
properly restrained or sitting
properly.
Your car also has side curtain
airbags. During a moderate to severe
side impact, side curtain airbags help
to protect the heads of the driver,
f ront seat passenger, and passengers
sitting in the outer rear seating
positions.
The most important things you need
to know about your airbags are:
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Your Car’s Saf ety Features
Seats and Seat-Backs
What you should do:
A irbags of f er no prot ect ion in rear
impact s, rollovers, or minorf ront al or side collisions.
Airbags do not replace seat belts.
Airbags can pose serious hazards.
10

Frontseatoccupantsaresitting
upright and as f ar back as possible
f rom the steering wheel and
dashboard (see page ).
Seat-backs are upright (see page).
Head restraints are properly
adjusted (see page ).
All doors are closed and locked
(see page ).
All cargo is properly stored or
secured (see page ).
To make sure you and your
passengers get the maximum
protection f rom your car’s saf ety
f eatures, check the f ollowing each
time before you drive away:
All adults, and children who have
outgrown child saf ety seats, are
wearing their seat belts and
wearingthemproperly(seepage ).
Any inf ant or small child is
properly restrained in a child seat
inthebackseat(seepage ).
Move the f ront
seats as far back as possible, and
keep adjustable seat-backs in an
upright position whenever the car is
moving.
Head restraints can help protect you
f rom whiplash and other injuries. For
maximum protection, the back of
your head should rest against the
center of the head restraint.
Keeping your doors locked reduces
thechanceof beingthrownoutof
the car during a crash. It also helps
prevent occupants f rom accidentally
opening a door and f alling out, and
outsiders f rom unexpectedly opening
your doors. 15
14
15
12
21 13
193
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Your Car’s Saf ety Features
Pre-Drive Saf ety Checklist
Head Restraints
Door L ocksWhat you should do:
11

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.See page f or how to adjust seat-
backs.
Adjust the driver’s seat-back to a
comf ortable, upright position,
leaving ample space between your
chest and the airbag cover in the
center of the steering wheel. If you
sit too close to the steering wheel,
you could be injured if the f ront
airbag inflates. 91
Protecting Adults
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Adjust the Seat-Backs
3.
14
Reclining the seat-back too far
can result in serious injury or
death in a crash.
Adjust the seat-back to an
upright position and sit well
back in the seat.

Each time you have a check-up, ask
your doctor if it’s okay f or you to
drive.
Remember to keep the lap portion of
the belt as low as possible across
your hips. Pregnant women should also sit
upright and as f ar back as possible
f rom the steering wheel or
dashboard. This will reduce the risk
of injuries to both the mother and
her unborn child that can be caused
by a crash or an inf lating airbag.
Remember, to get the best
protection f rom your car’s airbags
and other safety features, you must
sit properly and wear your seat belt
properly.
Because protecting the mother is the
best way to protect her unborn child,
a pregnant woman should always
wear a seat belt whenever she drives
or rides in a car.
Protecting Adults
Advice f or Pregnant Women
Driver and Passenger Saf ety19

If they do, they
could be very seriously injured in a
crash.
Devices intended to improve
occupant comf ort or reposition the
shoulder part of a seat belt can
severely compromise the
protective capability of the seat
belt and increase the chance of
serious injury in a crash. Carrying hard or sharp
objects on your lap, or driving with
a pipe or other sharp objects in
your mouth, can result in injuries
if your f ront airbag inf lates.
Any object
attached to or placed on the covers
marked ‘‘SRS AIRBAG’’ in the
center of the steering wheel and
on top of the dashboard could
interf ere with the proper operation
of the airbags. Or, if the airbags
inf late, the objects could be
propelled inside the car and hurt
someone. If a side airbag or a side
curtain airbag inf lates, a cup
holder or other hard object
attached on or near the door could
be propelled inside the car and
hurt someone.
If your
hands or arms are close to the
airbag cover in the center of the
steering wheel or on top of the
dashboard, they could be injured if
the front airbag inflates.
Protecting Adults
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Additional Saf ety Precautions
T wo people should never use t he
same seat belt .
Do not put any accessories on seatbelts. Do not place hard or sharp object s
bet ween yourself and a f rontairbag.
Do not at t ach or place object s onthe f ront airbag covers. On models wit h side airbags or
side curtain airbags, do not attachhard object s on or near a f rontdoor.
K eep your hands and arms awayf rom t he airbag covers.
20

If you are not wearing a
seat belt in a crash, you could be
thrown f orward into the
dashboard and crush the child.
During a
crash, the belt could press deep
into the child and cause very
serious injuries. According to accident statistics,
children of all ages and sizes are
saf er when they are restrained in the
back seat, not the f ront seat. The
National Highway Traf f ic Saf ety
Administration and Transport
Canada recommend that all children
ages 12 and under be properly
restrained in the back seat.
In the back seat, children are less
likely to be injured by striking hard
interior parts during a collision or
hard braking. Also, children cannot
be injured by an inf lating airbag
when they ride in the back.
Front airbags have been designed to
help protect adults in a moderate to
severe f rontal collision. To do this,
the passenger’s f ront airbag is quite
large, and it inf lates with tremendous
speed.
If youarewearingaseatbelt,the
child can be torn f rom your arms
during a crash. For example, if
your car crashes into a parked car
at 30 mph (48 km/h), a 20-lb
(9 kg) inf ant will become a 600-lb
(275 kg) f orce, and you will not be
able to hold on. If the
airbag inflates, it can hit the back of
the child seat with enough force to
kill or very seriously injure an inf ant.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Protecting Children
A ddit ional Precaut ions t o Parent s
Neverholdaninfantorchildonyour lap.
Never put a seat belt over yourselfand an inf ant or child. Inf ant s
Never put a rear-f acing child seat int he f ront seat of a car equipped wit ha passenger’s f ront airbag.Children Should Sit in the Back
Seat The Passenger’s Front Airbag
Poses Serious Risks to Children
22

To remind you of the passenger’s
f ront airbag hazards, and that
children must be properly restrained
in the back seat, your car has
warninglabelsonthedashboardand
on the driver’s and f ront passenger’s
visors. Please read and f ollow the
instructions on these labels.
Whenever possible,
larger children should sit in the back
seat, in a booster seat if needed, and
be properly restrained with a seat
belt. (See page f or important
inf ormation about protecting larger
children.) If the vehicle seat is too
f ar f orward, or the child’s head is
thrown f orward during a collision, an
inflating front airbag can strike the
child with enough f orce to kill or
very seriously injure a small child.
36
CONT INUED
Small Children
Larger Children U.S. Models
Children who have outgrown child seat s are also at risk of being injuredor killed by an inf lat ing passenger’sfront airbag.
Placing a f orward-f acing child seat in
t he f ront seat of a car equipped wit ha passenger’s f ront airbag can behazardous.
Protecting Children
Driver and Passenger Saf ety23

Your Supplemental Restraint System
(SRS) includes:Two f ront airbags. The driver’s
airbag is stored in the center of
the steering wheel; the f ront
passenger’sairbagisstoredinthe
dashboard. Both are marked ‘‘SRS
AIRBAG.’’
Emergency backup power in case
your car’s electrical system is
disconnected in a crash. An indicator light on the
instrument panel that alerts you to
a possible problem with the
system (see page ). A sophisticated electronic system
that continually monitors and
records inf ormation about the
sensors, the control unit, the
airbag activators, and driver and
passenger seat belt use when the
ignition is ON (II).
Your car is equipped with dual-stage,
dual-threshold airbags to help reduce
the chance of airbag-caused injuries.
Automatic seat belt tensioners
(see page ).
Sensors that can detect a
moderate to severe frontal
collision.
44
49
SRS Components
How Your Front A irbags Work
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
Driver and Passenger Saf ety46

These labels are in the locations
shown. They warn you of potential
hazards that could cause serious
injury. Read these labels caref ully. If
a label comes of f or becomes hard to
read (except f or the U.S. dashboard
label which is removed by the
owner), contact your Acura dealer
f or a replacement.
U.S. modelsCanadian models U.S. models only
On models with side curtain airbags
Saf ety L abels
Driver and Passenger Saf ety54
HOOD DASHBOARD
RADIATOR CAP