NSX FAQ

Service manuals

NSX Service Manuals

There are three main service manuals: General, Body Repair and Electrical.
The body repair one is probably not all that interesting to the shade-tree mechanic/curious owner. The other two are very useful. Service manuals can be ordered from Helm, Inc. (as listed in the back of the owner’s manual).

Publication Number Description Price
61SL000 1991 Acura NSX Service Manual $65.00
61SL000EL 1991 Acura NSX Electrical Troubleshooting Manual $27.60
61SL030 1991 Acura NSX Body Repair Manual $21.00
31SL0601 1991 Acura NSX Owner’s Manual $25.00
S1SL004 1995 Acura NSX Service Manual  
61SL006 1997 Acura NSX Service Manual  
61SL009 2000 Acura NSX Service Manual Supplement  

The ’91 manuals are now out of print. When you order them from Helm they send you a bound, photocopied version of the original. The price is the same. You’re probably better off ordering a 1992 or 1993 manual. There are almost no changes to the car for 1992 and the service manual is actually better – there are some clarifications over the 1991 edition. The 1993 car is also almost unchanged except for the addition of the passenger side airbag and different center console so that manual will work as well.
[NM] I just bought a 93 Service Manuel for my 91′ NSX from Helm. It is part number 61SL003C and was $87.00. According to the FAQ area there were no changes other then the new alignment specs and color combinations. It was an “official” set and not a photo copy one. Also, they did have the 91′ manuals but they were around $130. My order number was 04559976 if they have trouble finding the pricing. It was about $50 cheaper, had corrections and amendments, and the 93′ cars were almost mechanically identical to the 91’s. When people refer to a 91 manual, it is usually in the same place / page as the 93 manual.
[MF – 99/9/9] I ordered the Owner’s Manual for my ’91 NSX. I was all excited when I told the lady what I was looking for, and she said that they had the original manual still. Then it arrives, and all it is is photocopied pages of the original ’91 manual binded together! Really cheap and cheesy for what you pay for it. I was not happy.

Electronic Copies of the Service Manual

There are PDF copies of the service manuals on the Internet:

You can also buy it on CD for a few dollars from a number of vendors on eBay and other sites if you don’t want to download the large file.

Service Manual Corrections

In ’97 and ’98 NSX owner’s manuals, the ignition switch light is still shown (page 73 in the ’97 and page 84 in the ’98). In actuality the ignition switch light was removed to make room for the immobilizer receiver starting in 1997.

Parts Catalog

The parts catalog is available online:

Service Material Intended For Dealers

  • “1991 NSX Technical Information Guide” softbound, 68 pages, E1228, copyright 1990 American Honda Motor Co, Inc. Part of the Acura Advantage line.
  • Acura Advantage Video, E1330, title and contents unknown, mentioned in the clutch section of tech guide, above. There are a couple different training videos for dealers which cover the features of the car in general and then some specific procedures in details.
  • “Acura Collision Parts Reference Guide NSX 1991-1995” 13SL00-COL, softbound, binder punched, copyright 1995 by American Honda Motor Co.

Technical Service Bulletins

The Technical Service Bulletins (TSBs) are sold in a big bundled that covers all Acura cars from 9/86 to whenever you order them. They can be ordered either through an Acura dealer or through Helm. It’s a stack of three-hole punched paper about 2″ thick, so get yourself a big binder.

Acura Publication Number Description Price
E2001 Acura Service Bulletin Set – Unbound ~$50
E2209 Acura Service Bulletin Set – Bound ?

Parts Fiche

By the way, I also discovered (by asking several times) that you can buy parts microfiches. In fact, the parts manager finally just gave me a set of out-of-date ones while we waited for the latest version to come in (they’re combining the 91-94 with the 95-96 into one set). I have since purchased a copy of the combined 91-97 parts fiches for about $25. Everything comes on 3 fiches.
These make fascinating “reading,” and I have found with all my (semi-)exotic cars (Europa, 928, NSX) that having a parts book/fiche is a tremendous help in understanding how the car is put together, etc. You should be able to acquire a used fiche reader locally for a couple hundred dollars or less, or you can probably have the whole thing printed to paper at a micrographics shop for $.05-$.10/page. There are about 200 “pages” in each fiche set. It seems like there is a lot of confusion in my dealer’s parts department about what’s available and what isn’t, so it’s worth being a little persistent and cross-checking different answers from different people.
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