4-9
Before Driving Your Mazda
Driving Tips
Form No. 8R65-EA-03C
•Carry emergency gear, including tire
chains, window scraper, flares, a small
shovel, jumper cables, and a small bag
of sand or salt.
Ask an Authorized 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 8-17).
•Don’t use the parking brake in freezing
weather as the parking brake may
freeze. Instead, shift to P with an
automatic transmission and to 1 or R
with a manual transmission. Block the
rear wheels.
Snow Tires
Use snow tires on all four wheels
Don’t go faster than 120 km/h (75 mph).
Inflate snow tires 30 kPa (0.3 kgf/cm2,
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.
Your vehicle is originally equipped with
summer tires designed for optimum
traction on wet and dry roads. If your
vehicle is to be used on snow and ice
covered roads, you may find it necessary
to replace the original equipment tires
with snow tires, during the winter
months.
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.
NOTE
If your vehicle is equipped with the tire
pressure monitoring system, the system
may not function correctly when using
tires with steel wire reinforcement in
the sidewalls (page 5-26).
WARNING
CAUTION
J60E_8R65-EA-03C_Edition2.book Page 9 Saturday, April 26, 2003 1:48 PM
7-21
In Case of an Emergency
Emergency Starting
Form No. 8R65-EA-03C
1. Remove the engine cover.
2. Remove the rubber hose from the
battery cover.
3. Remove the battery cover from its rear
side.4. Make sure the booster battery is 12 V
and that its negative terminal is
grounded.
5. 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.
6. 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 tightening bolt)
away from the discharged battery
(4).
Engine cover
Rubber hose
Battery cover
Booster battery Discharged
battery
Connect cables
in numerical
order and
disconnect in
reverse order.Jumper cables
J60E_8R65-EA-03C_Edition2.book Page 21 Saturday, April 26, 2003 1:48 PM
7-22
In Case of an Emergency
Emergency Starting
Form No. 8R65-EA-03C
7. Start the engine of the booster vehicle
and run it a few minutes. Then start the
engine of the other vehicle.
8. When finished, carefully disconnect
the cables in the reverse order
described in Step 6.You can’t start a vehicle with an automatic
transmission by pushing it.
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 Moving
Par ts:
Connecting a jumper cable near or to
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.
NOTE
Verify that the engine cover is securely
installed.
WARNINGPush-Starting
Towing a Vehicle to Start It:
Towing a vehicle to start it is
dangerous. The vehicle being towed
could surge forward when its engine
starts, causing the two vehicles to
collide. The occupants could be
injured. Never tow a vehicle to start it.
You shouldn’t push-start a vehicle that
has a manual transmission. It can
damage the emission control system.
WARNING
CAUTION
J60E_8R65-EA-03C_Edition2.book Page 22 Saturday, April 26, 2003 1:48 PM
