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(b) Overdrive switch
You can select either third gear (with
overdrive off) or fourth gear (with over-
drive on) by pushing this switch.
To turn the overdrive off, push the switch.
The “O/D OFF” indicator light should come
on. To turn the overdrive on again, push
the switch again. The “O/D OFF” indicator
light should go off.
Always drive your vehicle with the over-
drive on for better fuel economy and
quieter driving.
If the engine is turned off when the over-
drive is off and restarted, the overdrive
will automatically be on.When you are driving in M mode, over-
drive switch does not activate. (For de-
tails, see “(d) Driving in M mode” and “(e)
Using engine braking”.)
Vehicles with cruise control—When the
cruise control is being used, even if you
downshift the transmission by pushing and
releasing the overdrive switch, engine
braking will not be enabled because the
cruise control is not cancelled.
For ways to decrease the vehicle speed,
see “Cruise control” in this section.(c) Normal driving
1. Start the engine as instructed in “How to start the engine” in Section 3. The
transmission must be in “P” or “N”.
2. With your foot holding down the brake pedal, shift the selector lever to “D”.
When the lever is in the “D” position, the
automatic transmission system will select
the most suitable gear for running condi-
tions such as normal cruising, hill climb-
ing, hard towing, etc. The current gear
position is displayed on the instrument
cluster.
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Always turn the overdrive on for better
fuel economy and quieter driving. If the
engine coolant temperature is low, the
transmission will not shift into the over-
drive gear even with the overdrive on.
CAUTION
Never put your foot on the accelera-
tor pedal while shifting.
3. Release the parking brake and brakepedal. Depress the accelerator pedal
slowly for smooth starting.
(d) Driving in M mode
When the selector lever is into the “M”
position, you can select the gear posi-
tion manually by pushing the transmis-
sion shift switches on the steering
wheel. The M mode indicator light will
be displayed on the instrument cluster.
1: Upshift switch (rear side)
2: Downshift switch (front side)
When you push the transmission upshift
switch on the rear side of the steering
wheel, the transmission upshifts from “1”
to “2”, “3” and “4”.
Each time you push the transmission
downshift switch on the front side of the
steering wheel, the transmission down-
shifts from “4” to “3”, “2” and then to “1”.
The current gear position is displayed on
the instrument cluster.
Even if the lever is in the “M” position,
the transmission will downshift automati-
cally to first gear when you stop the ve-
hicle.
You attempt to downshift the transmission
when it is not possible to downshift due
to the high vehicle speed. A buzzer will
sound when this happens.
You can start from second gear by setting
the shift switch while the vehicle is
stopped. This is useful for driving your
vehicle on slippery (rainy, icy or snow
covered) roads.
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Ty p e A
Ty p e B
When parking, firmly apply the parking
brake to avoid inadvertent creeping.
To set: Pull up the lever. For better hold-
ing power, first depress the brake pedal
and hold it while setting the parking
brake.
To release: Pull up the lever slightly (1),
press the lock release button (2), and low-
er (3).
To remind you that the parking brake is
set, the parking brake reminder light in
the instrument panel remains on until you
release the parking brake.
CAUTION
Before driving, be sure the parking
brake is fully released and the park-
ing brake reminder light is off.
The cruise control allows you to cruise
the vehicle at a desired speed over 40
km/h (25 mph) even with your foot off
the accelerator pedal.
Your cruising speed can be maintained up
or down grades within the limits of engine
performance, although a slight speed
change may occur when driving up or
down the grades. On steeper hills, a
greater speed change will occur so it is
better to drive without the cruise control.
CAUTION
To help maintain maximum control
of your vehicle, do not use the
cruise control when driving in
heavy or varying traffic, or on slip-
pery (rainy, icy or snow covered) or
winding roads.
Avoid vehicle speed increases when
driving downhill. If the vehicle
speed is too fast in relation to the
cruise control set speed, cancel the
cruise control then downshift the
transmission to use engine braking
to slow down.
Parking brake Cruise control
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