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Driving your vehicle
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NOTICE
• Do not drive in water if the level is
higher than the bottom of the vehicle.
• Check your brake condition once you
are out of mud or water. Press the
brake pedal several times as you move
slowly until you feel normal braking
forces return.
• Shorten your scheduled maintenance
interval if you drive in off-road condi-
tions such as sand, mud or water (see
“Maintenance under severe usage
conditions” in section 7). Always wash
your vehicle thoroughly after off road
use, especially cleaning the bottom of
the vehicle.
• Since the driving torque is always
applied to the 4 wheels the perform-
ance of the 4WD vehicle is greatly
affected by the condition of the tires.
Be sure to equip the vehicle with four
tires of the same size and type.
• A full time four wheel drive vehicle
cannot be towed by an ordinary tow
truck. Make sure that the vehicle is
placed on a flat bed truck for moving.
Reducing the risk of a rollover
This multi-purpose passenger vehicle is
defined as a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV).
SUV’s have higher ground clearance and
a narrower track to make them capable
of performing in a wide variety of off-road
applications. Specific design characteris-
tics give them a higher center of gravity
than ordinary vehicles. An advantage of
the higher ground clearance is a better
view of the road, which allows you to
anticipate problems. They are not
designed for cornering at the same
speeds as conventional passenger vehi-
cles, any more than low-slung sports
vehicles are designed to perform satis-
factorily in off-road conditions. Due to this
risk, driver and passengers are strongly
recommended to buckle their seat belts.
In a rollover crash, an unbelted person is
more likely to die than a person wearing
a seat belt. There are steps that a driver
can make to reduce the risk of a rollover.
If at all possible, avoid sharp turns or
abrupt maneuvers, do not load your roof
rack with heavy cargo, and never modify
your vehicle in any way.
CAUTION -
Mud or snow
If one of the front or rear wheels
begins to spin in mud, snow, etc.
the vehicle can sometimes be driv-
en out by depressing the accelera-
tor pedal further; however avoid
running the engine continuously at
high rpm because doing so could
damage the 4WD system.
WARNING -
4WD driving
• Avoid high cornering speed.
• Do not make quick steering
wheel movements, such as sharp
lane changes or fast, sharp turns.
• The risk of rollover is greatly
increased if you lose control of
your vehicle at high speed.
• In a collision, an unbelted person
is significantly more likely to die
compared to a person wearing a
seat belt.
• Loss of control often occurs if
two or more wheels drop off the
roadway and the driver over
steers to re-enter the roadway. In
the event your vehicle leaves the
roadway, do not steer sharply.
Instead, slow down before pulling
back into the travel lanes.
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