5 21
Driving your vehicle
Good driving practices
• Never take the vehicle out of gear
and coast down a hill. This is
extremely dangerous.
• Don't "ride" the brakes. This can
cause the brakes and related parts
to overheat and malfunction.
When you are driving down a long
hill, slow down and shift to a lower
gear. Engine braking will help slow
down the vehicle.
• Slow down before shifting to a
lower gear. This will help avoid
over-revving the engine, which can
cause damage.
• Slow down when you encounter
cross winds. This gives you much
better control of your vehicle.
• Be sure the vehicle is completely
stopped before you shift into R
(Reverse) to prevent damage to
the transaxle.
• Exercise extreme caution when
driving on a slippery surface. Be
especially careful when braking,
accelerating or shifting gears. On a
slippery surface, an abrupt change
in vehicle speed can cause the
drive wheels to lose traction and
may cause loss of vehicle control
resulting in an accident
CAUTION
To prevent damage to the
engine, clutch and transaxle:
• When downshifting from 5th
gear to 4th gear, be careful not
to inadvertently push the shift
lever sideways engaging the
2nd gear. A drastic downshift
may cause the engine speed
to increase to the point the
tachometer will enter the red-
zone.
• Do not downshift more than
two gear at a time or down-
shift the gear when the engine
is running at high speed
(5,000 RPM or higher). Such a
downshifting may damage the
engine,
clutch and the
transaxle.
WARNING
Do not use the engine brake
(shifting from a higher gear to
lower gear) rapidly on slippery
roads. The vehicle may slip
causing an accident.
