climate control HONDA ELEMENT 2003 1.G Owners Manual

2003 Element 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
Owner's Identification Form
Introduction ........................................................................\
................................................................. i
A Few Words About Safety........................................................................\
.........................................ii
Important Handling Information........................................................................\
.............................iii
Your Vehicle at a Glance........................................................................\
.............................................2
Driver and Passenger Safety ........................................................................\
......................................5
Proper use and care of your vehicle's seat belts, and Supplemental Restr\
aint System.
Instruments and Controls........................................................................\
.........................................63
Instrume nt panel indicator and gauge, and how to use dashboard and steering colu\
mn controls.
Comfort and Convenience Features ........................................................................\
......................117
How to operate the climate control system, the audio system, and other c\
onvenience features.
Before Driving........................................................................\
..........................................................157
What gasoline to use, how to break -in your new vehicle, and how to load luggage and other cargo.
Driving ........................................................................\
......................................................................171
The proper way to start the engine, shift the transmission, and park, pl\
us towing a trailer.
Maintenance........................................................................\
.............................................................207
The Maintenance Schedule shows you when you need to take you r vehicle to the dealer.
Appearance Care........................................................................\
......................................................267
Tips on cleaning and protecting your vehicle. Things to look for if your\
vehicle ever needs body repairs.
Taking Care of the Unexpected........................................................................\
..............................275
This section covers several problems motorists sometimes experience, an d how to handle them.
Technical Information........................................................................\
.............................................303
ID numbers, dimensions, capacities, and technical information.
Warranty and Customer Relations (U.S. and Canada)................................................................319
A summary of the warranties covering your new Acura, and how to contact \
us.
Authorized Manuals (U.S. only)........................................................................\
..............................323
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.

µ
The treadwear grade is a compara-
tive rating based on the wear rate of
the tire when tested under controlled
conditions on a specif ied government
test course. For example, a tire
graded 150 would wear one and one-
half (1 1/2) times as well on the
government course as a tire graded
100. The relative perf ormance of
tires depends upon the actual condi-
tions of their use, however, and may
depart signif icantly f rom the norm
due to variations in driving habits,
service practices and dif f erences in
road characteristics and climate. The traction grades, f rom highest to
lowest, are AA, A, B, and C. Those
grades represent the tire’s ability to
stop on wet pavement as measured
under controlled conditions on
specif ied government test surf aces
of asphalt and concrete. A tire
marked C may have poor traction
perf ormance.
Warning: The traction grade
assignedtothistireisbasedon
straight-ahead braking traction tests,
and does not include acceleration,
cornering, hydroplaning, or peak
traction characteristics.
The tires on your vehicle meet all
U.S. Federal Saf ety Requirements.
All tires are also graded f or
treadwear, traction, and temperature
perf ormance according to
Department of Transportation
(DOT) standards. The f ollowing
explains these gradings.
Quality grades can be f ound where
applicable on the tire sidewall
between the tread shoulder and the
maximum section width. For
example:
All passenger car tires must conf orm
to Federal Saf ety Requirements in
addition to these grades. Treadwear
Traction AA, A, B, C
T readwear 200
Traction AA
Temperature A
Unif orm T ire Quality Grading
DOT T ire Quality Grading (U.S. Vehicles)
T echnical Inf ormation308

Î
ÎThe burning of gasoline in your
vehicle’s engine produces several by-
products. Some of these are carbon
monoxide (CO), oxides of nitrogen
(NOx) and hydrocarbons (HC).
Gasoline evaporating f rom the tank
also produces hydrocarbons. Con-
trolling the production of NOx, CO,
and HC is important to the environ-
ment. Under certain conditions of
sunlight and climate, NOx and HC
react to f orm photochemical ‘‘smog.’’
Carbon monoxide does not contri-
bute to smog creation, but it is a
poisonous gas. The United States Clean Air Act
sets standards f or automobile
emissions. It also requires that
automobile manufacturers explain to
owners how their emissions controls
workandwhattodotomaintain
them. This section summarizes how
the emissions controls work.
Scheduled maintenance is on page
.
In Canada, Honda vehicles comply
with the Canadian emission
requirements, as specif ied in an
agreement with Environment
Canada, at the time they are
manuf actured.
Your vehicle has a Positive
Crankcase Ventilation System. This
keeps gasses that build up in the
engine’s crankcase f rom going into
the atmosphere. The Positive Crank- case Ventilation valve routes them
from the crankcase back to the
intake manif old. They are then
drawn into the engine and burned.
The Onboard Ref ueling Vapor
Recovery (ORVR) system captures
the f uel vapors during ref ueling. The
vapors are adsorbed in a canister
f illed with activated carbon. While
driving, the f uel vapors are drawn
into the engine and burned of f . As gasoline evaporates in the f uel
tank, an evaporative emissions
control canister f illed with charcoal
adsorbs the vapor. It is stored in this
canister while the engine is of f . Af ter
the engine is started and warmed up,
the vapor is drawn into the engine
and burned during driving.
211
The Clean Air Act
Crankcase Emissions Control
System
Onboard Ref ueling Vapor
Recovery Evaporative Emissions Control
System
Emissions Cont rols
T echnical Inf ormation313