dashboard HONDA ODYSSEY 2000 RA6-RA9 / 2.G Owners Manual

2000 Odyssey 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
Owner's Identification Form
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........................................................................\
...................................................55
Instrument panel indica tor and gauge, and how to use dashboard and steering column controls.
Comfort and Convenience Features........................................................................\
...............................129
How to operate the climate control system, the audio system, and other convenience features.
Before Driving ........................................................................\
.....................................................................187
What gasoline to use, how to break-in your new vehicle, and how to load luggage and other cargo.
Driving........................................................................\
...................................................................................201
The proper way to start the engine, shift the transmission, and park, plus towing a trailer.
Maintenance........................................................................\
.........................................................................225
The Maintenance Schedule shows you when you need to take your vehicle to the dealer.
Appearance Care........................................................................\
.................................................................283
Tips on cleaning and protecting your vehicle. Things to look for if your car ever needs body repairs.
Taking Care of the Unexpected........................................................................\
.......................................291
This section covers several problems motorists sometimes experience, and how to handle them.
Technical Information........................................................................\
.......................................................319
ID numbers, dimensions, capaciti es, and technical information.
Warranty and Customer Relations (U.S. and Canada)......................................................................331
A summary of the warranties covering your new Honda, and how to contact us.
Authorized Manuals (U.S. only)........................................................................\
.......................................337
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.

You
r Vehicle' s Safet y Feature s

Airbag s
Your vehicle has a Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) with frontal
airbags to help protect the driver anda front seat passenger.
This system also includes an indicator light on the instrument
panel to alert you to a possible
problem with the system. The most important things you need
to know about your airbags are:Airbags do not replace seat belts.
The sea
t belts are the occupants'
primary protection in all Lypes of
collisions. The airbags supplement
the seat belts by providing extra protection for the head and chestof each front seat occupant in a
moderate to severe frontal
collision.

Airbags offer no protection in side
impacts, rear impacts, rollovers,
or minor collisions. Airbags are

designed to deploy only during a moderate to severe frontal

collision.

Airbags can pose serious hazards.
To d
o their job, airbags must
inflate with tremendous force and speed. 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 not
sitting in a proper 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 an d Passenge r Safet y

Your Vehicle' s Safet y Feature s
Seats & Seat-Back s
Your vehicle's seats are designed to keep you in a comfortable, uprightposition so you can take fulladvantage of the protection offered
by seat belts and the energy absorbing materials in the seats.
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 the risk of you or your
passenger being injured by striking
the inside of the vehicle, or by an inflating airbag.
Reclining a seat-back too far reduces
the seat belt's effectiveness and increases the chance that the seat'soccupant will slide under the seat
belt in a crash and be seriously injured.What you should do: Move the front
seats as far back as possible, and
keep adjustable seat-backs in an
upright position whenever the
vehicle is moving.
Hea d Restraint s
Head restraints can help protect you
from whiplash and other injuries. For maximum protection, the back of
your head should rest against the center of the head restraint. Doo
r Lock s
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.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

You
r Vehicle' s Safet y Feature s

Pre-Driv e Safet y Checklis t
To make sure you and your passengers get the maximum
protection from your vehicle's safety
features, check the following each
time before you drive away: All adults, and children who have
outgrown child safety seats, are
wearing their seat belts and
wearing them properly (see page 15).
Any infant or small child is
properly restrained in a child seat

in a back seat (see page 22). Front seat occupants are sitting
upright and as far back as possible
from the steering wheel and dashboard (see page 12). Seat-backs are upright (see page
13). Head restraints are properly
adjusted (see page 14). All doors and the tailgate are
closed and locked (see page 12). All cargo is properly stored or
secured (see page 197).
The rest of this section gives more detailed information about how you
can maximize your safety.
Remember, however, that no safety
system can prevent all injuries or
deaths that can occur in severe
crashes, even when seat belts are properly worn and the airbags deploy.

Driver an d Passenge r Safet y

Protecting Adult s
A front passenger should also adjust
the seat-back to an upright position,
but as far from the dashboard as possible. A passenger who sits tooclose to the dashboard could be
injured if the airbag inflates.
Reclining a seat-back so that the
shoulder part of the belt no longer
rests against the occupant's chest reduces the protective capability of
the belt. It also increases the chance
of sliding under the belt in a crashand being seriously injured. The
farther a seat-back is reclined, the greater the risk of injury.
See page 101 for how to adjust seat-
backs.
4.Adjus t th e Hea d Restraint s
Before driving, make sure everyone
with an adjustable head restraint has properly positioned the head
restraint. The restraint should be
positioned so the back of theoccupant's head rests against the
center of the restraint. A taller
person should adjust the restraint as
high as possible.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y
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.

Protecting Adult s
Advice fo r Pregnan t Wome n
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 vehicle.
Remember to keep the lap portion of
the belt as low as possible across
your hips. Pregnant women should also sit
upright and as far back as possible
from the steering wheel or dashboard. This will reduce the risk
of injuries to both the mother and
her unborn child that can be caused
by a crash or an inflating airbag.
Each time you have a check-up, ask
your doctor if it's okay for you to drive.Additiona l Safet y Precaution s
Never let passengers ride in the
cargo area or on top of a folded-
down back seat. All passengers
must sit in locked, upright seats
and be properly restrained by seat
belts.
Passengers should not stand up or
change seats while the vehicle is
moving. A passenger who is not
wearing a seat belt during a crash or emergency stop can be thrown
against the inside of the vehicle,
against other occupants, or out of
the vehicle.
Two people should never use the
same seat belt. If they do, they
could be very seriously injured in a
crash.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

Protecting Adult s
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 the seat
belt and increase the chance of serious injury in a crash.
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 airbag covers in the center of thesteering wheel and on top of the
dashboard, they could be injured if
the airbags inflate.
Do not attach or place objects on
the airbag covers. Any object
attached to or placed on the covers
marked "SRS AIRBAG," in the center of the steering wheel and
on top of the dashboard, could
interfere with the proper operation of the airbags. Or, if the airbags
inflate, the objects could be
propelled inside the car and hurt
someone.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

Protecting Childre n
U.S. Models
To remind you of the passenger's
airbag hazards, and that children
must be properly restrained in a
back seat, your vehicle has warning
labels on the dashboard and on the driver's and front passenger's visors.
Please read and follow the
instructions on these labels.
Canadian Models
To remind you of the airbag hazards,your vehicle has warning labels onthe driver's and front passenger's
visors. Please read and follow the instructions on these labels.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y
CAUTIO NTO AVOID SERIOUS INJURY:FOR MAXIMUM SAFETY PROTECTION IN
ALL TYPES OF CRASHES, YOU MUST
ALWAYS WEAR YOUR SAFETY BELT. DO NOT INSTALL REARWARD-FACING
CHILD SEATS IN ANY FRONT PASSENGER SEAT POSITION.
DO NOT SIT OR LEAN UNNECESSARILY
CLOSE TO THE AIR BAG. DO NOT PLACE ANY OBJECTS OVER THE
AIR BAG OR BETWEEN THE AIR BAG
AND YOURSELF. SEE THE OWNER'S MANUAL FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION AND EXPLANATIONS.
PRECAUTION :POUR EVITER DES BLESSURES GRAVES:POUR PROFITER D'UNE PROTECTION
MAXIMALE LORS D'UNE COLLISION BOUCLEZ
TOUJOURS VOTRE CEINTURE DE SECURITE. N'lNSTALLEZ JAMAIS UN SIEGE POUR
ENFANTS FAISANT FACE A L'ARRIERE SUR
LE SIEGE DU PASSAGER AVANT.
NE VOUS APPUYEZ PAS ET NE VOUS ASSEYEZ PAS PRES DU COUSSIN GONFLABLE.
NE DEPOSEZ AUCUN OBJET SUR LE COUSSIN
GONFLABLE OU ENTRE LE COUSSIN
GONFLABLE ET VOUS.
LISEZ LE GUIDE UTILISATEUR POUR DE
PLUS AMPLES RENSEIGNEMENTS.

Protecting Childre n
Rear-Facing Child Seat Installation
Tips
For proper protection, an infant must
ride in a reclined, or semi-reclined
position. To determine the proper
reclining angle, check with the baby'sdoctor or follow the seat maker's
recommendations.
To achieve the desired reclining angle, it may help to put a rolled up
towel under the toe of the child seat, as shown. When properly installed, a rear-
facing child seat may prevent thedriver or a front-seat passenger from
moving the seat as far back as
recommended (see page 12). Or it may prevent them from locking theseat-back in the desired upright
position (see page 13).
In either case, we recommend that
you place the child seat in another back seating position, or leave theaffected seat unoccupied. If the
problem cannot be solved, you may
wish to get a smaller rear-facing child seat.
Additional Precautions for Infants
Never hold an infant 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 infant.
If you are wearing a seat belt, the
infant can be torn from your arms.
For example, if your vehicle
crashes into a parked vehicle at 30
mph (48 km/h), a 20-lb (9 kg)
infant will become a 600-lb (275
kg) force, and you will not be able to hold on.
Never put a seat belt over yourself
and an infant. During a crash, the
belt could press deep into the infant and cause very serious
injuries.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

Protecting Childre n
Additional Precautions for Small
Children
Never hold a small child 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 armsduring a crash. For example, if
your vehicle crashes into a parked
vehicle at 30 mph (48 km/h), a 30-lb (14 kg) child will become a
900-lb (410 kg) force, and you will
not be able to hold on.
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.
Protectin g Large r Childre n
When a child reaches the recommended weight or height limit
for a forward-facing child seat, thechild should sit in the back seat and
wear a lap/shoulder belt.
If a child is too short for the shoulder
part of the belt to properly fit, we
recommend that the child use a
booster seat until tall enough to use the seat belt without a booster.
The following pages give instructions on how to check properseat belt fit, what kind of booster
seat to use if one is needed, and
important precautions for children
who must sit in the front seat.
CONTINUED
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y
Allowing a larger child to sit
improperly in the front seat can
result in injury or death if the
airbags inflate.
If a larger child must sit in front,
make sure the child moves the
seat as far back as possible
and wears the seat belt properly.