display HONDA ELEMENT 2003 1.G Owners Manual
Page 67 of 338
This section gives inf ormation about
the controls and displays that
contribute to the daily operation of
your Honda. All the essential
controls are within easy reach............................
Control Locations .64
...............................
Indicator Lights .65
.............................................
Gauges .72
...............................
Speedometer .72 .................................
Tachometer .72
..............
Odometer/Trip Meter . 73
..................................
Fuel Gauge .73
...................
Temperature Gauge . 74
Controls Near the Steering .......................................
Wheel .75
...................................
Headlights .76
............
Daytime Running Lights . 77
....
Instrument Panel Brightness . 77
................................
Turn Signals .77
.....................
Windshield Wipers .78
..................
Windshield Washers . 79
Rear Window Wiper and .....................................
Washer .80
..........................
Hazard Warning .81
.............
Rear Window Def ogger . 81
......
Steering Wheel Adjustment . 82
...............................
Keys and Locks .83
..............................................
Keys .83
....................
Immobilizer System . 84
............................
Ignition Switch .85
......................
Power Door Locks .87
..................................
Rear Doors .88
............................................
Hatch .89
........................................
Tailgate .90
....................................
Glove Box .91 .................................................
Seats .92
.............
Front Seat Adjustments . 92
Driver’s Seat Height ..............................
Adjustment .93
................
Driver’s Seat Armrest . 93
..........................
Head Restraints .94
........................
Rear Seat Access .95
.......
Rear Seat-back Adjustment . 96
..........
Reclining the Front Seats . 97
...............
Folding the Rear Seats . 99
........
Removing the Rear Seats . 101
............................
Power Windows .103
...............................
Rear Windows .105
...........................................
Mirrors .106
..
Adjusting the Power Mirrors . 106
..........................................
Skylight .107
.........................
Beverage Holders .110
...............................
Parking Brake .111
...............................
Ceiling Pocket .112
.......................................
Coin Tray .112
............
Accessory Power Sockets . 113
...............................
Interior Lights .114
..............................
Ceiling Light .114
...................................
Spotlights .114
......................
Cargo Area Light .115
................
Ignition Switch Light . 115
Instruments and Controls
Inst rument s and Cont rols63 
Page 77 of 338
CONT INUED
The odometer shows the total dis-
tance your vehicle has been driven.
It measures miles in U.S. models and
kilometers in Canadian models.
It is illegal under U.S. f ederal law and
Canadian provincial regulations to
disconnect, reset, or alter the
odometer with the intent to change
the number of miles or kilometers
indicated.
The trip meter shows the number of
miles (U.S.) or kilometers (Canada)
driven since you last reset it. There
are two trip meters: Trip A and Trip
B. Switch between these displays
and the odometer by pressing the
Select/Reset button repeatedly.
Each trip meter works independently,
so you can keep track of two
dif f erent distances.To reset a trip meter, display it, and
then press and hold the Select/Reset
button until the number resets to
‘‘0.0’’.
This shows how much f uel you have.
It is most accurate when the vehicle
is on level ground. It may show
slightly more or less than the actual
amount when you are driving on
curvy or hilly roads.
The needle returns to the bottom
after you turn off the ignition. The
gauge shows the f uel level reading
immediately af ter you turn the
ignition switch back ON (II).
Inst rument s and Cont rols
Gauges
Odometer/T rip Meter
Fuel Gauge
73
Avoid driving with an extremely low
f uel level. Running out of f uel could
cause the engine to misf ire, damaging
the catalytic converter. 
Page 81 of 338
Canadian models only
With the headlight switch off, the
high beam headlights come on with
reduced brightness when you turn
the ignition switch to ON (II) and
release the parking brake. They
remain on until you turn the ignition
of f , even if you set the parking brake.
The headlights revert to normal
operation when you turn them on
with the switch.Signal a turn or lane change with this
lever. Push down on the lever to
signal a lef t turn, and up to signal a
right turn. If you push it up or down
all the way, the turn signal continues
to blink even when you release the
lever. It shuts off automatically as
you complete the turn.
Push the knob in the speedometer
repeatedly to adjust the brightness
of the instrument panel lights. There
are six brightness levels. A segment
display shows the current brightness
level.
CONT INUED
Instrument Panel Brightness
Daytime Running L ights T urn Signals
Controls Near the Steering Wheel
Inst rument s and Cont rols77
TURN SIGNAL LEVER 
Page 130 of 338
The band and f requency that the
radio was last tuned to is displayed.
To change bands, press the AM/FM
button. On the FM band, ST will be
displayed if the station is broadcast-
ing in stereo. Stereo reproduction on
AM is not available. The ignition switch must be in
ACCESSORY (I) or ON (II) to
operate the audio system. Turn the
system on by pushing the PWR/
VOL knob or the AM/FM button.
Adjust the volume by turning the
same knob. Your Honda’s audio system provides
clear reception on both AM and FM
bands, while the preset buttons allow
you to easily select your f avorite
stations.
On Canadian DX models
Comf ort and Convenience Feat ures
Audio System
Operating the Radio AM/FM/CD Player Audio System
126
SEEK BARSCAN BUTTON
TUNE KNOB
SCAN INDICATOR
PRESET BUTTONS
AM/FM BUTTON
PWR/VOL KNOB AUTO
SELECT
BUTTON
STEREO INDICATOR 
Page 131 of 338
µ
µ µ
µ The preset f requencies will be lost if
your vehicle’s battery goes dead, is
disconnected, or the radio f use is
removed. Once a station’s frequency is stored,
simply press and release the proper
preset button to tune to it.Repeat steps 1 to 3 to store a total
of six stations on AM and twelve
on FM. Pick the preset button you want
for that station. Press the button
and hold it until you hear a beep. UsetheTUNE,SEEK,orSCAN
function to tune the radio to a
desired station. Select the desired band, AM or
FM. FM1 and FM2 let you store
two f requencies with each preset
button.
To store a f requency:
You can use any of f ive methods to
f ind radio stations on the selected
band: TUNE, SEEK, SCAN, AUTO
SELECT, and the preset buttons.
Use the TUNE knob to
tune the radio to a desired f requency.
Turn the TUNE knob to the right to
tune to a higher f requency, or to the
lef t to tune to a lower f requency.
Releasetheknobwhenthedisplay
reaches the desired f requency.
The SEEK f unction
searches the band for a station with
a strong signal. To activate it, press
theSEEKbaroneitherthe or side, then release it.
Depending on which side you press,
the system scans upward or down-
ward f rom the current f requency. It
stops when it finds a station with a
strong signal. The SCAN f unction
samples all the stations with strong
signals on the selected band. To
activate it, press the SCAN button,
then release it. When the system is
intheSCANmode,SCNshowsin
the display. The system will scan up
the band for a station with a strong
signal. When it f inds one, it will stop
and play that station for about five
seconds. If you do nothing, the
system will then scan f or the next
strong station and play that for five
seconds. When it plays a station that
you want to continue listening to,
press the SCAN button again.
You can store the
f requencies of your f avorite radio
stations in the six preset buttons.
Each button will store one f requency
on the AM band, and two
f requencies on the FM band. 1.
2.
3.
4.
Audio System
Comf ort and Convenience Feat ures
TUNE
SEEK
SCAN
Preset
127 
Page 132 of 338
µIf 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. SEL button. A. SEL will f lash in
the display, and the system will go
into scan mode f or several seconds.
It automatically scans both bands,
looking f or stations with strong
signals. It stores the f requencies 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 f ind 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. If you do not like the stations Auto
Select has stored, you can store
other f requencies in the preset
buttons. Use the TUNE, SEEK, or
SCAN f unction to f ind the desired
f requencies, then store them in the
selected preset buttons as described
previously.
Auto Select does not erase the
f requencies that you preset pre-
viously. When you return home, turn
of f Auto Select by pressing the
A. SEL button. The preset buttons
will then select the f requencies you
originally set.
Comf ort and Convenience Feat ures
Audio System
AUTO SELECT
128
SEEK BARSCAN BUTTON
A.SEL BUTTON TUNE KNOB
AUTO SELECT INDICATOR 
Page 133 of 338
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. Each mode is shown in
the display as it changes.
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 ‘‘ ’’. 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 ‘‘ ’’. 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.
Audio System
Comf ort and Convenience Feat ures
Adjusting the Sound
Balance/Fader
Treble/Bass
129
Adjustment Level 
Page 134 of 338
The display of your audio system
usually shows the time when the
ignition switch is in ACCESSORY (I)
or ON (II). It shows the operation
mode of the radio or CD player when
you operate them, and goes back to
the time display af ter f ive seconds.
If an error occurs while operating
the CD player or optional CD
changer, the display will keep
showing the error code and will not
switch to the time display until the
error is corrected (see pages and). 148
149
Comf ort and Convenience Feat ures
Audio System
Digital Clock
130
R BUTTON
H BUTTON
M BUTTONCLOCK BUTTON
TIME DISPLAY 
Page 135 of 338
You can use the R (Preset 6) button
to quickly set the time to the nearest
hour. Press the R button while
pressing the CLOCK button. If the
displayed time is bef ore the half
hour, pressing R sets the clock back
to the previous hour. If the displayed
time is af ter the half hour, pressing
R sets the clock f orward to the
beginning of the next hour.For example:
1:06 would RESET to 1:00.
1:52 would RESET to 2:00.
If your vehicle’s battery is
disconnected or goes dead, the time
setting will be lost. To set the time
again, f ollow the setting procedure.
To set the hour, press the H (Preset
4) button while pressing the CLOCK
(SCAN/RPT) button. Press and hold
the H button until the hour advances
to the desired time.
To set the minute, press the M
(Preset 5) button while pressing the
CLOCK (SCAN/RPT) button. Press
andholdtheMbuttonuntilthe
minute numbers advance to the
desired time.
Audio System
Comf ort and Convenience Feat ures131 
Page 136 of 338
For inf ormation, see page .
You can use the instrument panel
brightness control knob to adjust the
illumination of the audio system (see
page ). The audio system
illuminates when the parking lights
are on, even if the radio is turned of f .
You operate the CD player with the
same controls used f or the radio.
With the ignition switch in
ACCESSORY (I) or ON (II), insert
the disc into the CD slot. Push the
disc in half way, the drive will pull it
in the rest of the way and begin to
play. The number of the track that is
playing is shown in the display.You can also play 3-inch (8-cm) discs
without using an adapter ring. Play
only standard round discs. Odd-
shaped CDs may jam in the drive or
cause other problems.
For best results when using CD-R
discs, use only high quality discs
labeled f or audio use. When
recording a CD-R, the recording
must be closed in order f or the disc
to be used by CD players. CD-RW
discs will not work in this unit.
77
143
Comf ort and Convenience Feat ures
Audio System
Radio Frequencies and Reception
A udio System L ighting
Operating the CD Player
132
EJECT BUTTON
CD SLOT
CD BUTTON
PWR/VOL KNOB SEEK/SKIP BAR A.SEL/RDM BUTTON
RAMDOM INDICATOR REPEAT INDICATOR