ECO mode HONDA ODYSSEY 1995 Owner's Manual

Caring for the Cassette Player

The cassette drive picks up dirt and oxides whenever you play a tape.
This builds up over time and causes the sound quality to degrade. To
prevent this, you should clean the
cassette drive after every 30 hours of
use. Your dealer has a cleaning kit available for this purpose.
After 30 hours of tape use, you will see CLEAN flashing for 5 seconds in
the display when you insert a tape
into the tape slot. If you are already regularly cleaning the tape drive at
least every 30 hours, reset the
indicator by pressing the Preset 6
button while the system is in the
tape operation mode. Hold the
button until you hear a beep and the CLEAN indicator goes out.
If you do not clean the cassette drive
regularly, it may eventually become
impossible to remove the deposits
with a normal cleaning kit.
The cassette player automatically ejects cassettes that do not play
normally. If it ejects a cassette
before it begins to play, it is probably defective and should not be inserted
again. You may have a cassette suddenly stop playing, reverse
directions once or twice and then
eject. This is normally an indication
the tape is wound unevenly. It should
play normally after being manually
rewound. Use 100-minute or shorter cassettes.
Cassettes longer than 100 minutes
use thinner tape that may break or
jam the drive.
Look at a cassette before you insert
it. If the tape is loose, tighten it by
turning one of the hubs with a pencil or your finger.
If the label is peeling off, do not put
it in the player. It may cause the
cassette to jam in the drive mecha-
nism when you try to eject it.
Do not leave cassettes sitting where
they are exposed to high heat or
humidity, such as on top of the dashboard or in the player. If a
cassette is exposed to extreme heat
or cold, let it reach a moderate
temperature before putting it in the

player.

Comfort and Convenience Features

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Break-in Period, Gasoline

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

If you need to add oil, use the engine oil recommended in this
owner's manual.
Avoid hard braking. New brakes need to be broken-in by moderate
use for the first 300 km (200

miles).

You should follow these same re- commendations with an overhauledor exchanged engine, or when the
brakes are relined.
Gasoline

Your Honda operates most effec- tively on unleaded gasoline with a
pump octane number of 86 or higher.Use of 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 will
damage your car's emission controls.
This contributes to air pollution and can void certain parts of your
warranty. Oxygenated Fuels
Some conventional gasolines are
being blended with alcohol or an ether compound. These gasolines
are collectively referred to as
oxygenated fuels. To meet clean airstandards, some areas of the United
States and Canada use oxygenated
fuels to help reduce emissions.
If you use an oxygenated fuel, besure it is unleaded and meets the
minimum octane rating requirement.
Before using an oxygenated fuel, try
to confirm the fuel's contents. Some states/provinces require this
information to be posted on the

pump.

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Gasoline

The following are the EPA-approved percentages of oxygenates:
ETHANOL (ethyl or grain alcohol)
You may use gasoline containing up to 10% ethanol by volume. Gasolinecontaining ethanol may be marketed
under the name "Gasohol."
MTBE (Methyl Tertiary Butyl
Ether)
You may use gasoline containing up to 15% MTBE by volume. METHANOL (methyl or wood

alcohol)

You may use gasoline containing up to 5% methanol by volume as long as
it also contains cosolvents andcorrosion inhibitors to protect the
fuel system. Gasoline containing more than 5% methanol by volume
may cause starting and/or perform-
ance problems. It may also damage
metal, rubber and plastic parts of
your fuel system.
If you notice any undesirable
operating symptoms, try anotherservice station or switch to another
brand of gasoline.
Fuel system damage or performance
problems resulting from the use of
an oxygenated fuel containing more
than the percentages of oxygenates
given above are not covered under
warranty. Driving in Foreign Countries
Using any type of leaded gasoline in
your Honda will affect performance
and damage its emission controls.

Unleaded gasoline may not be
available in other countries. If you
are planning to take your car outside
the U.S. or Canada, write to Honda at
the address shown for information about any modifications your car
may need. Be sure to include the
year and model of your car.
U.S. Owners:
American Honda Motor Co., Inc. Consumer Affairs
1919 Torrance Blvd.
Torrance, CA 90501-2746

Canadian Owners:

Honda Canada Inc.
715 Milner Ave.
Scarborough, Ontario M1B 2K8

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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 Periodic Checks (see
page 144). For example an under-inflated 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.
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Loading Cargo

The maximum load you can carry in your Honda is 535 kg (1,150 Ibs). Itincludes the total weight of all
passengers and their belongings, any accessories, and the tongue weight
of a trailer. This 535 kg (1,150 Ibs)
figure is shown as the Vehicle Capacity Weight on the tire infor-
mation label attached to the driver's

doorjamb.
To figure out how much cargo you
can carry:
Figure the total "occupant weight"
you will be transporting. To do this,
multiply the number of people (driver and all passengers) by 70

kg
(150
Ibs).

Subtract this number from the
Vehicle Capacity Weight (535 kg/
1,150 Ibs).
If you are towing a trailer, subtract
the tongue weight. See Towing a
Trailer on page 128.
This final number is the total weight of cargo you can load in or on the car.
With seven occupants (driver and six
passengers), the maximum recom -
mended weight
for cargo is 45 kg

(100 Ibs).

Where you store this cargo, and how well you secure it, are just asimportant as how much it weighs.
Make sure you load cargo so it will not shift while driving. Items stored
in the cargo area behind the thirdseat should be placed as far forward
as possible. You could store addi-
tional items on the floor behind the
front seats. Make sure they cannot roll under the front seat and
interfere with the pedals.
For greater cargo capacity, the thirdseat can be folded into the floor and
the second row seats can either be
removed or folded up (depending on
model). Passengers should never sit in the open cargo area while the car
is moving. They should sit in one of
the seats and wear their seat belts.
If you must carry large objects that
prevent you from closing the tailgate,
be aware that exhaust gas can enter
the interior. See Carbon Monoxide
Hazard on page 29.

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Malfunction Indicator Lamp/Check Engine Light
MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LAMP/
CHECK ENGINE LIGHT*
* U.S. indicator shown

If this indicator comes on while
driving, there is a problem with your
engine or its emission control systems. Even though you may feel
no difference in your car's per-
formance, it can reduce your fuel economy and cause your car to put
out excessive emissions. Continued
operation may cause serious engine

damage.
If this indicator light comes on,
safely pull off the road and turn off
the engine. Restart the engine and
watch the indicator light. If it stays on, have your car checked by the
dealer as soon as possible. Drive
moderately until the dealer has
inspected the problem. Avoid full-
throttle acceleration and driving at
high speed.
You should also have the dealer inspect your car if the indicator light
comes on frequently, even though it
goes off when you follow the above
procedure.
If yon keep driving with the malfunc-
tion indicator lamp/check engine light
on, you can damage your car's
emission controls and engine. Thoserepairs may not be covered by your
car's warranties.

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Anti-lock Brake System

The Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) is standard equipment on all U.S.
models and the Canadian six-
passenger model. It is optional on the
Canadian seven-passenger model.

The ABS works by measuring how fast the wheels are turning during

braking and comparing their speed.

If any wheel is rotating much slower
than the others (on the verge of
locking up and skidding), the system reduces hydraulic pressure to that
wheel's brake caliper. When that
wheel's speed matches the other
wheels, the system applies normal hydraulic pressure. This can take
place several times per second ateach wheel. You feel the ABS
working as rapid pulsations in the
brake pedal.
Each wheel has a wheel speed
sensor assembly. As the wheel
rotates, the sensor sends electrical
pulses to the ABS control unit. The
pulse frequency varies with the
wheel speed.
The electrical output of the ABS control unit is connected to the
modulator/solenoid unit. During
braking, the ABS control unit monitors the pulse frequencies from
the four wheels. When the control unit detects a wheel locking up, it
energizes the appropriate solenoid in
the modulator/solenoid unit. Thereare six solenoids: two for each front
wheel, and two for the rear wheels.
The energized solenoid reduces hydraulic pressure to one side of amodulator valve. This, in turn,
reduces hydraulic pressure in the
brake line going to the affected
wheel. When that wheel speeds up because of the reduced braking
effort, the control unit de-energizes the solenoid. This builds hydraulic
pressure on the modulator valve.
The pressure increases in the hydraulic line to the wheel.
For the system to react quickly, the
modulator/solenoid unit must have
brake fluid under high pressure.
This is supplied by a piston-type accumulator that is pressurized by
an electric pump. A pressure-sensingswitch on the accumulator controls
this pump.
The control unit also contains error detection circuitry. It monitors the
operation of the wheel sensors,
solenoids, pump, and electronics. If
the control unit detects any faults, it shuts off power to the pump motor
and solenoids. The light on the
instrument panel comes on. The
brakes then work like a conventional system without anti-lock capabilities.
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