dashboard HONDA CIVIC COUPE 1998 Owners Manual

1998 Civic Coupe 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.h\
elminc.com.

Contents

Introduction ........................................................................\
........................ .........................................
i


A Few Words About Safety........................................................................\
.........................................ii
Driver and Passenger Safety ........................................................................\
......................................3
Proper use and care of your vehicle's seat belts, and Supplemental Restr\
aint System.
Instruments and Controls........................................................................\
.........................................49
Instrume nt panel indicator and gauge, and how to use dashboard and steering colu\
mn controls.
Comfort and Convenience Features ........................................................................\
...................... 85
How to operate the climate control system, the audio system, and other c\
onvenience features.
Before Driving........................................................................\
......................................................... 107
What gasoline to use, how to break-in your new vehicle, and how to load luggage and other cargo.
Driving ........................................................................\
..................................................................... 119
The proper way to start the engine, shift the transmission, and park, pl\
us towing a trailer.
Maintenance........................................................................\
.............................................................141
The Maintenance Schedule shows you when you need to take you r vehicle to the dealer.
Appearance Care........................................................................\
......................................................199
Tips on cleaning and protecting your vehicle. Things to look for if your\
vehicle ever needs body repairs.
Taking Care of the Unexpected........................................................................\
..............................205
This section covers several problems motorists sometimes experience, an d how to handle them.
Technical Information........................................................................\
.............................................229
ID numbers, dimensions, capacities, and technical information.
Warranty and Customer Relations (U.S. and Canada)................................................................243
A summary of the warranties covering your new Acura, and how to contact \
us.
Authorized Manuals (U.S. only)........................................................................\
..............................249
How to order manuals and other technical literature.

Index........................................................................\
............................................................................. I
A summary of information you need when you pull up to the fuel pump. Service Information Summary Owner's Identification

Your Vehicle's Safety Features

Airbags

Your vehicle has a SupplementalRestraint System (SRS) with frontal
airbags to help protect the driver and
a front seat passenger.
This system also includesan indicator light on the
instrument panel to alert you to a
possible problem with the system. Following are the most important
things you need to know about your

airbags.
Airbags do not replace seat belts.
They supplement seat belts by providing extra protection for the
heads and chests of front seat

occupants.
Airbags offer no protection in side
impacts, rear impacts, rollovers,or minor or moderate collisions.
Airbags are designed to deploy only during a severe frontal
collision (such as a 25 mph [40
km/h] crash into a parked car of similar size and weight). Airbags can pose serious hazards.
To do their job, airbags must inflate with tremendous force andspeed. So while airbags save lives,
they can cause serious injuries to adults and larger children who are
not wearing seat belts, are not wearing them properly, are sitting
too close to the airbag, or are notsitting in a good position. Infants
and small children are at an even
greater risk of injury or death.

What you should do: Always wear

your seat belt properly and sit upright and as far back as possible
from the steering wheel or
dashboard.

Driver and Passenger Safety
SRSMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Your Vehicle's Safety Features
Seats & Seat-Backs
Your vehicle seats are designed to
keep you in a comfortable, upright
position so you can take full advantage of the protection offered
by seat belts and the seats' energy
absorbing materials.
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 your risk of being injured
by striking the inside of the vehicle or being injured by an inflating

airbag.

Reclining a seat-back too far makes
your seat belt less effective and increases your chance of sliding
under the seat belt and being seriously injured in a crash. What you should do: Move the front
seats as far back as practical, and
keep adjustable seat-backs in an upright position whenever the
vehicle is moving.
Head Restraints
Head restraints can help protect you
from whiplash and other injuries. Formaximum protection, the back of
your head should rest against the center of the head restraint.

Driver and Passenger SafetyMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Your Vehicle's Safety Features
Door Locks
Keeping your doors locked reduces
the chance of being thrown out of
the vehicle during a crash. It also
helps prevent occupants from accidentally opening a door and
falling out, and outsiders from
unexpectedly opening your doors. Pre-Drive Safety Checklist
To make sure you and your passengers get the maximum
protection from your vehicle's safety
features, check the following eachtime before you drive away:
All adults, and children who haveoutgrown child safety seats, are
wearing their seat belts and
wearing them properly (see page 13).

Any infant or small child is properly restrained in a child seat
in the back seat (see page 19).
Front seat occupants are sitting as
far back as possible from the steering wheel and dashboard (see page 10). Seat-backs are upright (see page
11). Head restraints are properly
adjusted (see page 12).
Both doors are closed and locked (see page 10). All cargo is properly stored or
secured (see page 116).
The rest of this section gives more detailed information about how you
can maximize your safety.
Remember, however, that no safetysystem can prevent all injuries or
deaths that can occur in severe
crashes, even when seat belts are
properly worn and the airbags deploy.

Driver and Passenger SafetyMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Protecting Adults

Most shorter drivers can get far
enough away from the steering
wheel and still reach the pedals. However, if you are concerned aboutsitting too close, we recommend that
you investigate whether some type of adaptive equipment may help.
Once your seat is adjusted correctly,
rock it forward and back to make sure the seat is locked in position.
See page 74 for how to adjust the
front seats. 3. Adjust the Seat-Backs
Adjust the driver's seat-back to a comfortable, 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 airbag inflates.
A front passenger should also adjust the seat-back to an upright position, but as far from the dashboard as possible. If the passenger sits too
close to the dashboard, they could be
injured if the airbag inflates.
Reclining a seat-back so that the shoulder part of the belt no longer
rests against an occupant's chest
reduces the protective capability of
the belt. It also increases the chance of sliding under the belt and being
seriously injured in a crash. The
farther a seat-back is reclined, the greater the risk of injury.
See page 75 for how to adjust seat-

backs.

Driver and Passenger Safety

Sitting too close to an airbag
can result in serious injury or
death if the airbags inflate.
Always sit as far back from the
airbags as possible.
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.Main Menu Table of Contents s t

Protecting Adults

Advice for Pregnant Women
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.
We recommend that pregnant women use a lap/shoulder belt
whenever possible. Remember to keep the lap portion of the belt aslow as possible across your hips. Pregnant women should also sit as
far back as practical from the steering wheel or dashboard. This
will reduce the risk of injuries to both the mother and her unbornchild that can be caused by a crashor an inflating airbag.
Each time you have a checkup, ask
your doctor if it's okay for you to drive. Additional Safety Precautions
Two people should never use the

same seat belt. If they do, they
could be very seriously injured in a

crash.
Do not put any accessories on seat

belts. Devices intended to improve
occupant comfort, or reposition
the shoulder part of a seat belt, can severely compromise the
protective capability of seat belts and increase the chance of serious
injury in a crash.

CONTINUED

Driver and Passenger SafetyMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Protecting Adults

Do not place hard or sharp objects

between yourself and an airbag.

Carrying hard or sharp objects on
your lap, or driving with a pipe or other sharp object in your mouth,
can result in injuries if your
airbags inflate.
Keep your hands and arms away

from the airbag covers.

If your hands or arms are close to
the SRS covers in the center of the steering wheel and on top of the
dashboard, they could be injured if
the airbags inflate.

Driver and Passenger SafetyMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Protecting Children

U.S. Models
To remind you of the passenger airbag hazards, and that children
must be properly restrained in the
back seat, your vehicle has warning
labels on the dashboard and on thedriver's and front passenger's visors.Please read and follow the
instructions on these labels. If You Must Drive With Several
Children
Your vehicle has three seating positions in the back seat wherechildren can be properly restrained.
If you ever have to carry more than
three children in your vehicle:
Place the largest child in the frontseat, provided the child is large
enough to wear a seat belt
properly (see page 35).
Move the vehicle seat as far to the
rear as possible (see page 10).
Have the child sit upright and well
back in the seat (see page 16). Make sure the seat belt is properly
positioned and secured (see page 13).

Driver and Passenger Safety

Children Can Be KILLED or INJURED
by Passenger Airbag

The back seat is the safest place for children 12 and under. Make sure all children use seat belts or child seats.Main Menu Table of Contents s t

Protecting Children

Additional Precautions for Infants
Never hold a baby 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
baby can be torn from your arms.
For example, if the vehicle crashes
into a parked vehicle at 30 mph (48 km/h), a 20 Ib (9 kg) baby will
become a 600-lb (275-kg) force,
and you will not be able to hold it.
Never put a seat belt over yourself

and a baby. During a crash, the

belt could press deep into the child
and cause very serious injuries.
Protecting Small Children
Child Seat Type
A child who can sit up without support, and who fits within the child
seat 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 they reach the weightor height limit for the seat.
Child Seat Placement
In this vehicle, 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 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 passenger's airbag canstrike 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.
Driver and Passenger Safety
CONTINUEDMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Protecting Children

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.
Installing a Child Seat With the Lap

Belt

To install a forward-facing child seat in the center back seat with the lap
belt, follow instruction number 1 on
page 32 for routing and latching the seat belt. Then pull hard on the loose
end of the belt to remove any slack (it may help to put weight on the
child seat while pulling on the belt).
Finally, follow instruction number 5
on page 33 to verify that the child
seat is secure.
Additional Precautions for Small
Children
Never
hold a small ch \
ild on your

lap. If you are not wearing a seat
belt in a crash, you could be thrown forward into thedashboard 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 the
vehicle crashes into a parked
vehicle at 30 mph (48 km/h), a 30 Ib (14 kg) child will become a
900-lb (410-kg) force, and you will
not be able to hold it.
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.
Driver and Passenger SafetyMain Menu Table of Contents s t