4-8
Before Driving Your Mazda
Driving Tips
Form No. 8Q94-EA-02G
•Carry emergency gear, including tire
chains, window scraper, flares, a small
shovel, jumper cables, and a small bag
of sand or salt.
Ask a Mazda dealer to perform the
following precautions:
•Have the proper ratio of antifreeze in
the radiator.
•Inspect the battery and its cables. Cold
reduces battery capacity.
•Use only cold-weather engine oil
(page 8-9).
•Inspect the ignition system for damage
and loose connections.
•Use washer fluid made with
antifreeze—but don’t use engine
coolant antifreeze for washer fluid
(page 8-18).
•Don’t use the parking brake in freezing
weather as the parking brake may
freeze. Instead, shift to P with an
automatic transaxle and to 1 or R with
a manual transaxle. Block the rear
wheels.
Snow Tires
Use snow tires on all four wheels
Your vehicle is originally equipped with
all season radials designed to be used all
year around. In some extreme climates
you may find it necessary to replace them
with snow tires during the winter months
to further improve traction on snow and
ice covered roads.
Don’t go faster than 120 km/h (75 mph).
Inflate snow tires 30 kPa (0.3 kgf/cm
2, 4.3
psi) more than recommended on the tire
pressure label (driver’s door), but never
more than the maximum cold-tire
pressure shown on the tires.
Winter Driving
Mixing Tire Types:
Using tires different in size or type is
dangerous. Your vehicle’s handling
could be greatly affected and result in
an accident. Use only the same size
and type tires (snow, radial, or non-
radial) on all four wheels.
Check local regulations before using
studded tires.
WARNING
CAUTION
J39L_EA.book Page 8 Saturday, June 8, 2002 5:35 PM
7-16
In Case of an Emergency
Emergency Starting
Form No. 8Q94-EA-02G
1. Make sure the booster battery is 12 V
and that its negative terminal is
grounded.
2. If the booster battery is in another
vehicle, don’t allow the vehicles to
touch. Turn off the engine of the
vehicle with the booster battery and all
unnecessary electrical loads in both
vehicles.
3. Connect the jumper cables in the exact
sequence as in the illustration.
•Connect one end of a cable to the
positive terminal on the discharged
battery (1).
•Attach the other end to the positive
terminal on the booster battery (2).
•Connect one end of the other cable
to the negative terminal of the
booster battery (3).
•Connect the other end to a solid,
stationary, exposed metallic point
(for example, the engine hanger)
away from the discharged battery
(4).4. Start the engine of the booster vehicle
and run it a few minutes. Then start the
engine of the other vehicle.
5. When finished, carefully disconnect
the cables in the reverse order
described in Step 3.
Booster battery Discharged
batteryJumper
cables
Connect cables in
numerical order and
disconnect in reverse order
.
Connecting to Negative Terminal:
Connecting the end of the second
cable to the negative ( ) terminal of
the discharged battery is dangerous.
A spark could cause the gas around
the battery to explode and injure
someone. Connect the cable to a point
away from the battery.
Connecting Jumper Cable to a
Moving Part:
Connecting a jumper cable near or to
a moving parts (cooling fans, belts) is
dangerous. The cable could get
caught when the engine starts and
cause serious injury. Never connect a
jumper cable to or near any part that
moves.
WARNING
J39L_EA.book Page 16 Saturday, June 8, 2002 5:35 PM
