maintenance schedule HONDA ACCORD SEDAN 2001 Owner's Manual (in English)

2001 Accord Sedan 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
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.................................................................................................................51
Instrument panel indicator and gauge, and how to use dashboard and steering column controls.
Comfort and Convenience Features ..............................................................................................109
How to operate the climate control system, the audio system, and other convenience features.
Before Driving..................................................................................................................................177
What gasoline to use, how to break-in your new vehicle, and how to load luggage and other cargo.
Driving ..............................................................................................................................................191
The proper way to start the engine, shift the transmission, and park, plus towing a trailer.
Maintenance.....................................................................................................................................219
The Maintenance Schedule shows you when you need to take your vehicle to the dealer.
Appearance Care..............................................................................................................................287
Tips on cleaning and protecting your vehicle. Things to look for if your vehicle ever needs body repairs.
Taking Care of the Unexpected......................................................................................................295
This section covers several problems motorists sometimes experience, and how to handle them.
Technical Information.....................................................................................................................323
ID numbers, dimensions, capacities, and technical information.
Warranty and Customer Relations (U.S. and Canada)................................................................339
A summary of the warranties covering your new Acura, and how to contact us.
Authorized Manuals (U.S. only)......................................................................................................345
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.
Accord Value Package Audio System
Owner's Identification Form

Introduction

Congratulations! Your selection of a 2001 Honda Accord was a wise
investment. It will give you years of driving pleasure. One of the best ways to enhance the enjoyment of your new Honda is to
read this manual. In it, you will learn how to operate its driving controls and convenience items. Afterwards, keep this owner's manual in your car so you
can refer to it at any time.
Several warranties protect your new Honda. Read the warranty booklet
thoroughly so you understand the coverages and are aware of your rights and responsibilities.
Maintaining your car according to the schedules given in this manual helps
to keep your driving trouble-free while it preserves your investment. When
your car needs maintenance, keep in mind that your Honda dealer's staff is specially trained in servicing the many systems unique to your Honda. Your
Honda dealer is dedicated to your satisfaction and will be pleased to answer any questions and concerns.
Californi
a
Proposition 65 Warning

WARNING: This product contains or emits chemicals known to the State of
California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. As you read this manual, you will
find information that is preceded by
symbol. This
information is intended to help you avoid damage to your Honda, other
property, or the environment.
a
NOTICE

Important Safety Precautions
You'll find many safety recommendations throughout this
section, and throughout this manual.
The recommendations on this page are the ones we consider to be the
most important.
Always Wear Your Seat Belt A seat belt is your best protection in
all types of collisions. Airbags

supplement seat belts, but airbags

are designed to inflate only in a

moderate to severe frontal collision.

So even though your car is equipped
with airbags, make sure you and

your passengers always wear your
seat belts, and wear them properly.
(See page 14.)
Restrain All Children Children are safest when they are
properly restrained in the back seat,
not the front seat. A child who is too small for a seat belt must be properly
restrained in a child safety seat. (See
page 19.) Be Aware of Airbag Hazards
While airbags can save lives, they can cause serious or fatal injuries tooccupants who sit too close to them,
or are not properly restrained.
Infants, young children, and short adults are at the greatest risk. Be
sure to follow all instructions and
warnings in this manual. (See page 7.)

Don't Drink and Drive

Alcohol and driving don't mix. Even one drink can reduce your ability to
respond to changing conditions, and
your reaction time gets worse with every additional drink. So don't drink
and drive, and don't let your friendsdrink and drive, either. Control Your Speed
Excessive speed is a major factor in
crash injuries and deaths. Generally,
the higher the speed the greater the risk, but serious accidents can also
occur at lower speeds. Never drive
faster than is safe for current conditions, regardless of the
maximum speed posted.
Keep Your Car in Safe Condition
Having a tire blowout or a
mechanical failure can be extremely
hazardous. To reduce the possibility of such problems, check your tire
pressures and condition frequently, and perform all regularly scheduled
maintenance. (See page 224.)
Driver and Passenger Safety

Gauges

Maintenance Required Indicator

This indicator reminds you that it is time to take your car in for
scheduled maintenance.

Refer to the Maintenance Schedules
for Normal and Severe Driving Conditions on pages 224 — 228.
For the first 6,000 miles (9,600 km)
after the Maintenance Required
Indicator is reset, it will come on for
two seconds when you turn the
ignition switch ON (II). Between 6,000 miles (9,600 km) and
7,500 miles (12,000 km) this
indicator will light for two seconds
when you first turn the ignition switch ON (II), and then flash for
ten seconds.
If you exceed 7,500 miles (12,000
km) without having the scheduled maintenance performed, this
indicator will remain on as a constant
reminder. Your dealer will reset this indicator
after completing the scheduled
maintenance. If this maintenance is done by someone other than your
Honda dealer, reset the indicator as

follows.

1. Turn off the engine.
2. Press and hold the select/reset button in the instrument panel,
then turn the ignition switch ON
(II).
3. Hold the buttons for about ten sec- onds, until the indicator resets.

Instruments and Controls
MAINTENANCE REQUIRED
INDICATOR

SELECT/RESET BUTTON

Break-in Period, Gasoline, Service Station Procedures

Break-in Period
Help assure your car's future
reliability and performance by paying
extra attention to how you drive
during the first 600 miles (1,000 km).
During this period: Avoid full-throttle starts and rapid

acceleration.
Avoid hard braking. New brakes
need to be broken-in by moderate
use for the first 200 miles (300
km).

Do not change the oil until the

recommended time or mileage

interval shown in the maintenance
schedule.

You should follow these same re-
commendations with an overhauled
or exchanged engine, or when the

brakes are relined.
Gasoline

Your Honda is designed to operate on unleaded gasoline with a pump
octane number of 86 or higher. Useof a lower octane gasoline can cause
a persistent, heavy metallic rapping
noise in the engine that can lead to
mechanical damage.
We recommend gasolines containing detergent additives that help prevent
fuel system and engine deposits. Using gasoline containing lead willdamage your car's emissions
controls. This contributes to air
pollution.
In Canada, some gasolines contain
an octane-enhancing additive called
MMT. If you use such gasolines,
your emission control system performance may deteriorate and
the Malfunction Indicator Lamp on
your instrument panel may turn on.If this happens, contact your
authorized Honda dealer for service. Filling the Fuel Tank
1. Because the fuel fill cap is on the driver's side of the car, park with
that side closest to the service

station pumps.

2. Open the fuel fill door by pushing on the handle to the left of the
driver's seat.
Before Driving

Fuel Economy

The condition of your car and your driving 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 Maintenance
Checks (see page 231). 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 tocombine several short trips into one.
The air conditioning puts an extra load on the engine which makes ituse more fuel. Turn off the A/C to
cut down on air conditioning use.
Use the flow-through ventilation
when the outside air temperature is moderate.

Before Driving

Maintenance

This section explains why it is important to keep your car well
maintained and to follow basic
maintenance safety precautions.
This section also includes Maintenance Schedules for normaldriving and severe driving conditions,
a Maintenance Record, and instruc-
tions for simple maintenance tasks
you may want to take care of
yourself.
If you have the skills and tools to per-
form more complex maintenance
tasks on your Honda, you may want
to purchase the Service Manual. See page 345 for information on how toobtain a copy, or see your Honda

dealer.
Maintenance Safety....................... 220

Important Safety Precautions ..221

Maintenance Schedule.................. 222

Maintenance Record..................... 229
Owner Maintenance Checks........ 231

Fluid Locations............................... 232

Engine Oil....................................... 234
Adding Oil................................... 234Recommended Oil..................... 235
Synthetic Oil............................... 235

Additives..................................... 235
Changing the Oil and Filter...... 236

Cooling System.............................. 239
Adding Engine Coolant............. 239Replacing Engine Coolant........ 241

Windshield Washers..................... 246

Transmission Fluid........................ 247
Automatic
Transmission.......................... 247

5-speed Manual
Transmission.......................... 249

Brake and Clutch Fluid................. 251
Brake System............................. 251
Clutch System............................ 252

Power Steering............................... 252

Air Cleaner Element...................... 253
Hood Latch..................................... 256

Spark Plugs..................................... 256

Replacement............................... 256

Specifications............................. 257

Battery............................................ 260

Wiper Blades.................................. 263
Air Conditioning System............... 265
Air Conditioning Filter.................. 266 Drive Belts...................................... 266
Timing Belt..................................... 267
Tires................................................ 267
Inflation...................................... 268

Inspection................................... 270
Maintenance............................... 270
Tire Rotation.............................. 271 Replacing Tires and Wheels .... 271
Wheels and Tires....................... 272 Winter Driving........................... 273
Snow Tires.............................. 273

Tire Chains............................. 273
Lights.............................................. 274 Replacing Bulbs......................... 276
Storing Your Car............................ 285
Maintenance

Maintenance Safety
Regularly maintaining your car is the
best way to protect your investment.
Proper maintenance is essential to
your safety and the safety of your passengers. It will also reward you
with more economical, trouble-free driving and help reduce air pollution. This section includes instructions for
simple maintenance tasks, such as
checking and adding oil. Any service
items not detailed in this section should be performed by a Honda
technician or other qualified mechanic. Some of the most important safety
precautions are given here. However,
we cannot warn you of every conceivable hazard that can arise in
performing maintenance. Only youcan decide whether or not you
should perform a given task.

Maintenance

Improperly maintaining this car
or failing to correct a problem before driving can cause a
crash in which you can be seriously hurt or killed.
Always follow the inspection and maintenancerecommendations and
schedules in this owner's manual. Failure to properly follow
maintenance instructions and
precautions can cause you to
be seriously hurt or killed.
Always follow the procedures
and precautions in this owner's manual.

Maintenance Schedule

The Maintenance Schedule specifies how often you should have your carserviced and what things need
attention. It is essential that you have
your car serviced as scheduled to retain its high level of safety,dependability, and emissions control
performance.
The services and time or distance
intervals shown in the maintenanceschedule assume you will use your
vehicle as normal transportation for passengers and their possessions.
You should also follow these
recommendations:

Avoid exceeding your car's loadlimit. This puts excess stress onthe engine, brakes, and many
other parts of your car. The load
limit is shown on the label on thedriver's doorjamb.
Operate your car on reasonableroads within the legal speed limit.
Drive your car regularly over a
distance of several miles (kilometers).
Always use unleaded gasoline with the proper octane rating (see page
178). Which Schedule to Follow:
Service your car according to the
time and mileage periods on one of the Maintenance Schedules on the
following pages. Select the schedule for "Severe Conditions" if most of
your driving is done under one or more of the conditions listed on that
page. Otherwise, follow the schedule
for "Normal Conditions."

Maintenance

Maintenance Schedule

Your authorized Honda dealer knows your car best and can providecompetent, efficient service.However, service at a dealer is not
mandatory to keep your warranties
in effect. Maintenance may be done
by any qualified service facility or
person who is skilled in this type of automotive service. Keep all the
receipts as proof of completion, and
have the person who does the work
fill out the Maintenance Record.Check your warranty booklet for
more information. We recommend the use of Genuine
Honda parts and fluids whenever you
have maintenance done. These are manufactured to the same high-
quality standards as the original
components, so you can be confidentof their performance and durability.
U.S. Vehicles:
Maintenance, replacement or
repair of emissions controldevices and systems may be done
by any automotive repair establishment or individual using
parts that are "certified" to EPA standards. According to state and federal
regulations, failure to perform
maintenance on the items marked
with # will not void your emissions
warranties. However, Honda recommends that all maintenanceservices be performed at the
recommended time or mileage
period to ensure long-term reliability.
Maintenance