Driving your vehicle
18
5
• During cold weather, shifting may be
difficult until the transaxle lubricant has
warmed up. This is normal and not
harmful to the transaxle.
• If you've come to a complete stop and
it's hard to shift into 1st (First) or R
(Reverse), leave the shift lever at
Neutral position and release the clutch.
Depress the clutch pedal back down,
and then shift into 1st (First) or R
(Reverse) gear position.
CAUTION
• When downshifting from 5th
(Fifth) gear to 4th (Fourth) gear,
caution should be taken not to
inadvertently move the shift lever
sideways in such a manner that
second gear is engaged. Such a
drastic downshift may cause the
engine speed to increase to the
point that the tachometer will
enter the red-zone. Such over-
revving of the engine may possi-
bly cause engine and transaxle
damage.
• Do not downshift more than 2
gears or downshift 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.
• When shifting between 5th and
6th gear, you should always push
the gear level all the way to the
right. You could otherwise shift
unintentionally into 3rd or 4th
gear and damage the transaxle.
CAUTION
• To avoid premature clutch wear
and damage, do not drive with
your foot resting on the clutch
pedal. Also, don’t use the clutch
to hold the vehicle stopped on an
uphill grade, while waiting for a
traffic light, etc.
• Do not use the shift lever as a
handrest during driving, as this
can result in premature wear of
the transaxle shift forks.
• To prevent possible damage to
the clutch system, do not start
with the 2nd (second) gear
engaged except when you start
on a slippery road.
