Cleaning the outside of your vehicle
To protect your vehicle’s finish, wash it often and thoroughly. If desired, you may wax your vehicle using a nonabrasive auto- mobile wax. Foreign material
Industrial pollution, road tar, bird droppings, tree sap, insect remains, sea water and other foreign matters can damage the finish on your vehicle. Generally, the longer any foreign material stays on the finish, the worse the damage. Wash your vehicle as soon as possible whenever the finish gets soiled. Washing
Chemicals contained in the dirt and dust picked up from air, rain, snow or road surfaces can damage the paint and body of your vehicle if left on. Frequent washing and waxing is the best way to protect your vehicle from this damage. Do not wash the vehicle in direct sunlight. Park the vehicle in the shade and spray it with water to remove dust. Next, using plenty of clean water and a car washing mitt or sponge, wash the vehicle from top to bottom. Use a mild car washing soap if necessary. Rinse thoroughly and wipe dry with a chamois or soft cloth. After washing the vehicle, carefully clean the joints and flanges of the doors, hood, etc., where dirt is likely to remain.
Vehicle care and maintenance
During cold weather
Salt and other chemicals spread on winter roads in some geo- graphical areas can have a detrimental effect on the vehicle underbody. You should flush the underbody with a high pres- sure hose every time you wash the outside of your vehicle. Take special care to remove mud or other debris which could trap and hold salt and moisture. After washing your vehicle, wipe off all waterdrops from the rubber parts around the doors to prevent the doors from freez- ing. NOTE
● When the door is frozen, opening it by force may tear off or crack the rubber gasket installed around the door. Pour warm water to melt the ice. Be sure to thoroughly wipe off the water after opening the door. To prevent freezing of the weatherstripping on the doors, hood, etc., treat with silicone lubricant.
CAUTION! ● When washing the underside of your vehicle or the
wheels, wear a pair of rubber gloves to protect your hands.
● Never spray or splash water on the electrical parts in the engine compartment. This may damage them. Be careful also when washing the underbody. Do not spray water into the engine compartment.
● Avoid automatic car washers that use rotating brushes. These brushes may scratch the paint sur- face and make it dull. Scratches are more noticeable on darker colored vehicles.
● Some hot water washing equipment uses high pres- sure and heat to clean your vehicle. This heated water may damage your vehicle’s resin parts. It can flood the interior of the vehicle. Therefore, be sure of the following: • Keep the washing nozzle at least 20 inches (50 cm)
away from the vehicle body. • When washing around the door glass, hold the
nozzle at a distance of more than 20 inches (50 cm) and at right angles to the glass surface.
• It is recommended that the water should be sprayed at a 45° angle to the side windows and top seals. (ECLIPSE SPYDER only)
● Make sure to do the following when using an auto- matic car wash, with help from either this manual or the car wash operator, to avoid damaging your vehi- cle: • Fold the outside rearview mirrors. • Remove the antenna. • Tape or remove the rear wiper arm assembly.
(ECLIPSE only) • As your vehicle is equipped with rear spoiler,
check with the car wash operator before using the car wash.
CAUTION!
Vehicle care and maintenance
Waxing
Wax your vehicle once or twice a year, or when water does not bead up on the paint. Use a soft cloth to put a small amount of wax on the painted surfaces. After the wax has dried, polish with a dry soft cloth. Do not wax your vehicle in direct sunlight. You should wax when the painted surfaces are cool.
Polishing
If painted surfaces have been severely damaged and lost their original luster and color tone, polish the surface lightly with a fine polishing compound. Avoid limiting your polishing to the damaged surface only; polish a somewhat wider area, moving the polishing cloth in one direction. After polishing, flush the compound from the surface and apply a coat of wax to regain a beautiful luster. Damaged paint
Small cracks and scratches in the paint coat should be touched up as soon as possible with touch-up paint to prevent corrosion. Check body areas facing the road or the tires carefully for dam- age to the paint caused by flying stones, etc. The paint code number for your vehicle can be found on the vehicle informa- tion code plate. Refer to “Vehicle information code plate” on page 9-2.
CAUTION! ● Waxes containing high abrasive compounds should
not be used. These waxes remove rust and stain effectively from the paintwork, but are harmful to the finish of the paint, because they also remove paint/clearcoat. They are also harmful to other glossy surfaces such as the grille, trim, moldings, etc.
● Do not use gasoline, kerosene, benzene or paint thin- ners to remove road tar or other dirt from the vehi- cle surface.
● Do not put wax on the areas having black matte coating because it can cause uneven discoloration, patches, blurs, etc. If these get wax on them, wipe the wax off right away with a soft cloth and warm water.
● On vehicles with sunroof, be careful not to apply any wax on the weatherstrip (black rubber) when wax- ing the area around the sunroof opening. If stained with wax, the weatherstrip cannot main- tain a weatherproof seal with the sunroof.
Vehicle care and maintenance
Cleaning plastic parts
Use a sponge or chamois to clean these parts. If a vehicle wax sticks to a gray or black rough surface of the bumper, molding or lights, the surface may appear white in color. In this case, wipe it off using lukewarm water and a soft cloth or chamois.
Chrome parts
To prevent spots and corrosion of chrome parts, wash with water, dry thoroughly, and apply a nonabrasive automotive wax. If the chrome is severely damaged or pitted, use a com- mercially available chrome polish.
Aluminum wheels
1. Remove dirt using a wet sponge. 2. Use a mild detergent on any dirt that cannot be removed
easily with water. Rinse off the detergent after washing the wheel.
3. Dry the wheel thoroughly using a chamois leather or a soft cloth.
Window glass
The window glass can usually be cleaned using only a sponge and water. Glass cleaner can be used to remove wax, oil, grease, dead insects, etc. After washing the glass, wipe it dry with a clean, dry, soft cloth.
CAUTION! ● Do not use a scrubbing brush or other rough scrub-
ber as these may damage the plastic surface.
● Do not use wax containing compounds (polishing
powder) which may damage the plastic surface.
● Do not let the plastic parts get soiled with gasoline,
oil, brake fluids, engine oils, greases, paint thinner, and sulfuric acid (battery electrolyte). These fluids, etc., may crack, stain or discolor the plastic parts. If any of these get on the plastic parts, wipe them up with a soft cloth or chamois and a mild solution of soap and water. Then rinse them immediately with water.
CAUTION! ● Do not use a brush or other hard implement on the
wheels. Doing so could scratch the wheels.
● Do not use any cleaner that contains an abrasive substance or is acidic or alkaline. Doing so could cause the coating on the wheels to peel or become discolored or stained.
● Do not directly apply hot water using a steam cleaner or by any other means.
● Contact with seawater or road salt used for de-icing can cause corrosion. Rinse off such substances as soon as possible.
Vehicle care and maintenance
Wiper blades
Use a soft cloth and glass cleaner to remove grease, dead insects, etc., from the wiper blades. Replace the wiper blades when they no longer clean the wind- shield and rear window properly. Cleaning the sunroof (ECLIPSE only, if so equipped)
Clean the inside of the sunroof with a soft cloth. Hard deposits should be wiped away with a cloth dipped in warm, neutral detergent solution. Wipe away the solution with a sponge dipped in fresh water. NOTE
● The surface treatment on the inside of the glass may be removed if a hard cloth or organic solvent is used.
Convertible top (ECLIPSE SPYDER only)
Wash the top with water and a soft nylon brush or something similar. Wash the window sections with a sponge. If dirt or mud cannot be washed off in this way, use a 0.1 concentration of household laundry powder in water and a cloth to scrub lightly, and then wash with plain water again. If laundry pow- der is used, rinse thoroughly; be sure that none of the soap remains on the top. If soap does remain on the top, it could cause cracking and/ or discoloration. After cleaning, always be sure the top is completely dry before it is lowered. Lowering the top while wet or damp may cause interior water damage, water stains or mildew of the top mate- rial.
NOTE ● Always sprinkle water from above. ● Do not run this vehicle through any automatic car washes.
These car washes may cause water to enter the vehicle and cause damage to the convertible top. If you wash the vehi- cle by hand do not spray water directly at side windows and top seals which may cause water to enter the vehicle. Therefore, be sure to observe the following. • Maintain a good distance of approx. 16 inches (40 cm)
or more between the vehicle body and the washing noz- zle.
• It is recommended that the water should be sprayed at a 45° angle to the side windows and top seals.
● Do not use harsh or abrasive type cleaners or bleaching agents on the top material or damage may result.
Engine compartment
Never spray or splash water on the electrical components in the engine compartment, as this may cause damage. Do not allow any nearby parts (such as plastic parts) come into contact with sulphuric acid (battery electrolyte), which may crack, stain, or discolour them. If this occurs, wipe the parts with a soft cloth saturated with a mild detergent and water solution. Then immediately rinse the affected parts with plenty of water.
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