2007 SUZUKI FORENZA brake

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steer the way you want the vehicle to go. If
you start steering quickly enough, your
vehicle may straighten out. Always be
ready for a second skid if it occurs.
Of course, traction is reduced when water,
snow, ice, gravel or other material is on the
road. For safety, you’ll want to slow down
and adjust your driving to these conditions.
It is important to slow down on slippery
surfaces because stopping distance will be
longer and vehicle control more limited.
While driving on a surface with reduced
traction, try your best to avoid sudden
steering, acceleration or braking (including
engine braking by shifting to a lower gear).
Any sudden changes could cause the tires
to slide. You may not realize the surface is
slippery until your vehicle is skidding.
Learn to recognize warning clues – such
as enough water, ice or packed snow on
the road to make a “mirrored surface” –
and slow down when you have any doubt.
If you have the anti-lock braking system,
remember: It helps avoid only the braking
skid. If you do not have anti-lock, then in a
braking skid (where the wheels are no
longer rolling), release enough pressure
on the brakes to get the wheels rolling
again. This restores steering control. Push
the brake pedal down steadily when you
have to stop suddenly. As long as the
wheels are rolling, you will have steering
control.
Driving at NightNight driving is more dangerous than day
driving. One reason is that some drivers
are likely to be impaired – by alcohol or
drugs, with night vision problems, or by
fatigue.
Here are some tips on night driving.
 Drive defensively.
 Don’t drink and drive.
 Adjust your inside rearview mirror to
reduce the glare from headlamps behind
you.
 Since you can’t see as well, you may
need to slow down and keep more space
between you and other vehicles.
 Slow down, especially on higher speed
roads. Your headlamps can light up only
so much road ahead.
 In remote areas, watch for animals. If you’re tired, pull off the road in a safe
place and rest.
No one can see as well at night as in the
daytime. But as we get older these differ-
ences increase. A 50-year-old driver may
require at least twice as much light to see
the same thing at night as a 20-year-old.
What you do in the daytime can also affect
your night vision. For example, if you
spend the day in bright sunshine you are
wise to wear sunglasses. Your eyes will
have less trouble adjusting to night. But if
you’re driving, don’t wear sunglasses at
night. They may cut down on glare from
headlamps, but they also make a lot of
things invisible.
You can be temporarily blinded by
approaching headlamps. It can take a sec-
ond or two, or even several seconds, for
your eyes to readjust to the dark. When
you are faced with severe glare (as from a
driver who doesn’t lower the high beams,
or a vehicle with misaimed headlamps),
slow down a little. Avoid staring directly
into the approaching headlamps.
Keep your windshield and all the glass on
your vehicle clean – inside and out. Glare
at night is made much worse by dirt on the
glass. Even the inside of the glass can
build up a film caused by dust. Dirty glass
makes lights dazzle and flash more than
clean glass would, making the pupils of
your eyes contract repeatedly.
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Remember that your headlamps light up
far less of a roadway when you are in a
turn or curve. Keep your eyes moving; that
way, it’s easier to pick out dimly lighted
objects. Just as your headlamps should be
checked regularly for proper aim, so
should your eyes be examined regularly.
Some drivers suffer from night blindness –
the inability to see in dim light – and aren’t
even aware of it.Driving in Rain and on Wet RoadsRain and wet roads can mean driving trou-
ble. On a wet road, you can’t stop, acceler-
ate or turn as well because your tire-to-
road traction isn’t as good as on dry roads.
And, if your tires don’t have much tread
left, you’ll get even less traction. It’s always
wise to go slower and be cautious if rain
starts to fall while you are driving. The sur-
face may get wet suddenly when yourreflexes are tuned for driving on dry pave-
ment.
The heavier the rain, the harder it is to see.
Even if your windshield wiper blades are in
good shape, a heavy rain can make it
harder to see road signs and traffic signals,
pavement markings, the edge of the road
and even people walking.
It’s wise to keep your windshield wiping
equipment in good shape and keep your
windshield washer tank filled with washer
fluid. Replace your windshield wiper
inserts when they show signs of streaking
or missing areas on the windshield, or
when strips of rubber start to separate
from the inserts.Driving too fast through large water pud-
dles or even going through some car
washes can cause problems, too. The
water may affect your brakes. Try to avoid
puddles. But if you can’t, try to slow down
before you hit them.
WARNING
Wet brakes can cause accidents.
They won’t work as well in a quick
stop and may cause pulling to one
side. You could lose control of the
vehicle.
After driving through a large puddle
of water or a car wash, apply your
brake pedal lightly until your brakes
work normally.
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 Tires: They are vitally important to a
safe, trouble-free trip. Is the tread good
enough for long-distance driving? Are
the tires all inflated to the recommended
pressure?
 Weather Forecasts: What’s the weather
outlook along your route? Should you
delay your trip a short time to avoid a
major storm system?
 Maps: Do you have up-to-date maps?Highway HypnosisIs there actually such a condition as “high-
way hypnosis”? Or is it just plain falling
asleep at the wheel? Call it highway hyp-
nosis, lack of awareness, or whatever.
There is something about an easy stretch
of road with the same scenery, along with
the hum of the tires on the road, the drone
of the engine, and the rush of the wind
against the vehicle that can make you
sleepy. Don’t let it happen to you! If it does,
your vehicle can leave the road in less than
a second, and you could crash and be
injured.
What can you do about highway hypnosis?
First, be aware that it can happen.
Then here are some tips:
 Make sure your vehicle is well ventilated,
with a comfortably cool interior.
 Keep your eyes moving. Scan the road
ahead and to the sides. Check your rear-
view mirrors and your instruments fre-
quently. If you get sleepy, pull off the road into a
rest, service or parking area and take a
nap, get some exercise, or both. For
safety, treat drowsiness on the highway
as an emergency.
Hill and Mountain RoadsDriving on steep hills or mountains is differ-
ent from driving in flat or rolling terrain.
If you drive regularly in steep country, or if
you’re planning to visit there, here are
some tips that can make your trips safer
and more enjoyable.
 Keep your vehicle in good shape. Check
all fluid levels and also the brakes, tires,
cooling system and transmission. These
parts can work hard on mountain roads.
 Know how to go down hills. The most
important thing to know is this: let your
engine do some of the slowing down.Shift to a lower gear when you go down
a steep or long hill.
 Know how to go uphill. You may want to
shift down to a lower gear. The lower
gears help cool your engine and trans-
mission, and you can climb the hill bet-
ter.
 Stay in your own lane when driving on
two-lane roads in hills or mountains.
Don’t swing wide or cut across the cen-
ter of the road. Drive at speeds that let
you stay in your own lane.
WARNING
If you don’t shift down, your brakes
could get so hot that they wouldn’t
work well. You would then have poor
braking or even none going down a
hill. You could crash. Shift down to let
your engine assist your brakes on a
steep downhill slope.
WARNING
Coasting downhill in NEUTRAL (N) or
with the ignition off is dangerous.
Your brakes will have to do all the
work of slowing you down. They
could get so hot that they wouldn’t
work well. You would then have poor
braking or even none going down a
hill. You could crash. Always have
your engine running and your vehicle
in gear when you go downhill.
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 As you go over the top of a hill, be alert.
There could be something in your lane,
like a stalled car or an accident.
 You may see highway signs on moun-
tains that warn of special problems.
Examples are long grades, passing or
no-passing zones, a falling rocks area or
winding roads. Be alert to these and take
appropriate action.Winter DrivingHere are some tips for winter driving:
 Have your vehicle in good shape for win-
ter.
 You may want to put winter emergency
supplies in your trunk.Include an ice scraper, a small brush or
broom, a supply of windshield washer fluid,
a rag, some winter outer clothing, a small
shovel, a flashlight, a red cloth and a cou-
ple of reflective warning triangles. And, if
you will be driving under severe conditions,
include a small bag of sand, a piece of old
carpet or a couple of burlap bags to help
provide traction. Be sure you properly
secure these items in your vehicle.
Driving on Snow or Ice
Most of the time, those places where your
tires meet the road probably have good
traction.
However, if there is snow or ice between
your tires and the road, you can have a
very slippery situation. You’ll have a lot
less traction or “grip” and will need to be
very careful.Very cold snow or ice can be slick and hard
to drive on. But wet ice can be even more
trouble because it may offer the least trac-
tion of all. You can get wet ice when it’s
about freezing (32°F; 0°C) and freezing
rain begins to fall. Try to avoid driving on
wet ice until salt and sand crews can get
there.
Whatever the condition – smooth ice,
packed, blowing or loose snow – drive with
caution.
Accelerate gently. Try not to break the frag-
ile traction. If you accelerate too fast, the
drive wheels will spin and polish the sur-
face under the tires even more.
Unless you have an anti-lock braking sys-
tem, you’ll want to brake very gently, too. (If
you do have anti-lock, see “Braking” in this
section. This system improves your vehi-
Your Driving, the Road, and Your Vehicle:

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cle’s stability when you make a hard stop
on a slippery road.) Whether you have an
anti-lock braking system or not, you’ll want
to begin stopping sooner than you would
on dry pavement. Without anti-lock brakes,
if you feel your vehicle begin to slide, let up
on the brakes a little. Push the brake pedal
down steadily to get the most traction you
can.
Remember, unless you have anti-lock, if
you brake so hard that your wheels stop
rolling, you’ll just slide. Brake so your
wheels always keep rolling and you can
still steer.
 Whatever your braking system, allow
greater following distance on any slip-
pery road.
 Watch for slippery spots. The road might
be fine until you hit a spot that’s covered
with ice. On an otherwise clear road, ice
patches may appear in shaded areas
where the sun can’t reach: around
clumps of trees, behind buildings or
under bridges. Sometimes the surface of
a curve or an overpass may remain icy
when the surrounding roads are clear. If
you see a patch of ice ahead of you,
brake before you are on it. Try not to
brake while you’re actually on the ice,
and avoid sudden steering maneuvers.If You’re Caught in a Blizzard
If you are stopped by heavy snow, you
could be in a serious situation. You should
probably stay with your vehicle unless you
know for sure that you are near help and
you can hike through the snow. Here are
some things to do to summon help and
keep yourself and your passengers safe:
 Turn on your hazard flashers.
 Tie a red cloth to your vehicle to alert
police that you’ve been stopped by the
snow.
 Put on extra clothing or wrap a blanket
around you. If you have no blankets or
extra clothing, make body insulators
from newspapers, burlap bags, rags,
floor mats – anything you can wrap
around yourself or tuck under your cloth-
ing to keep warm.You can run the engine to keep warm, but
be careful.
WARNING
Snow can trap exhaust gases under
your vehicle. This can cause deadly
CO (carbon monoxide) gas to get
inside. CO could overcome you and
kill you. You can’t see it or smell it, so
you might not know it is in your vehi-
cle. Clear away snow from around the
base of your vehicle, especially any
that is blocking your exhaust pipe.
And check around again from time to
time to be sure snow doesn’t collect
there.
Open a window just a little on the
side of the vehicle that’s away from
the wind. This will help keep CO out.
Your Driving, the Road, and Your Vehicle:

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TowingTowing Your VehicleConsult your SUZUKI dealer or a profes-
sional towing service if you need to have
your disabled vehicle towed.
If you want to tow your vehicle behind
another vehicle for recreational purposes
(such as behind a motorhome), see the fol-
lowing section, “Recreational Vehicle Tow-
ing”.Recreational Vehicle TowingRecreational vehicle towing means towing
your vehicle behind another vehicle – such
as behind a motorhome. The two most
common types of recreational vehicle tow-
ing are known as “dinghy towing” (towing
your vehicle with all four wheels on the
ground) and “dolly towing” (towing your
vehicle with two wheels on the ground and
two wheels up on a device known as a
“dolly”).
With the proper preparation and equip-
ment, many vehicles can be towed in these
ways. See the following sections, “Dinghy
Towing” and “Dolly Towing”.Here are some important things to con-
sider before you do recreational vehicle
towing:
 What’s the towing capacity of the towing
vehicle? Be sure you read the tow vehi-
cle manufacturer’s recommendations.
 How far will you tow? Some vehicles
have restrictions on how far and how
long they can tow.
 Do you have the proper towing equip-
ment? See your SUZUKI dealer or traile-
ring professional for additional advice
and equipment recommendations.
 Is your vehicle ready to be towed? Just
as you would prepare your vehicle for a
long trip, you’ll want to make sure your
vehicle is prepared to be towed. See
“Before Leaving on a Long Trip” in this
section.
Dinghy Towing
Your vehicle was not designed to be towed
with all four wheels on the ground. If your
vehicle must be towed, you should use a
dolly. See “Dolly Towing” that follows for
more information.Dolly Towing
Your vehicle can be towed using a dolly. To
tow your vehicle using a dolly, follow these
steps:
1) Put the front wheels on the dolly.
2) Put the vehicle in PARK (P) for auto-
matic transaxle and NEUTRAL (N) for
manual transaxle.
3) Set the parking brake and then remove
the ignition key.
4) For a vehicle with an automatic tran-
saxle, remove the hole cover from the
shift lock release slot, insert the key,
WARNING
Always use a safety chain when tow-
ing your vehicle and be sure to
observe federal, state, and local
requirement for trailer hitches, tow
bars, lights, etc.
CAUTION
Towing your vehicle with all four
wheels on the ground will damage
drivetrain components. The repairs
would not be covered by your war-
ranty.
CAUTION
Do not tow the vehicle from the rear
with the front wheels on the road.
This could cause severe transmis-
sion damage.
Towing:

4-17 DRIVING YOUR VEHICLE
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and shift to NEUTRAL (N). See “Shift-
ing Out of Park (P)” in Section 2.
5) Clamp the steering wheel in a straight-
ahead position with a clamping device
designed for towing.
6) Release the parking brake.
Loading Your VehicleIt is very important to know how much
weight your vehicle can carry. The load
capacities of your vehicle are indicated by
the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR),
the Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR,
front and rear), the total load capacity, the
seating capacity, and the cargo load
capacity. The GVWR and GAWR (front and
rear) are listed on the Safety Certification
Label which is located below the driver’s
side door latch striker. The total load
capacity and seating capacity are listed on
the Tire and Loading Information Label
which is located on the center pillar, near
the driver’s door latch.
The Tire and Loading Information label
also gives you the size and recommended
inflation pressure for the factory installed,
original equipment tires on your vehicle.
For more information on tires and inflation,
see “Tires” in section 5.Tire and Loading Information Label
Certification Label
The cargo load capacity can be deter-
mined as described below.
Cargo Load Capacity – Maximum weight
of cargo and luggage that the vehicle cansafely carry. Cargo load capacity is the dif-
ference between the total load capacity of
the vehicle and the total combined weight
of all vehicle occupants. Refer to “Steps for
Determining Correct Load Limit” for details
on how to determine cargo load capacity.
GVWR – Maximum permissible overall
weight of the fully loaded vehicle (including
all the occupants, accessories and cargo
plus the trailer tongue weight if towing a
trailer).
GAWR – (Front and Rear) Maximum per-
missible weight on an individual axle.
Seating Capacity – Maximum number of
occupants the vehicle is designed to carry.
NOTE:
Even though the number of occupants is
within the seating capacity, you still must
make sure that you do not exceed the total
load capacity of the vehicle.
Total Load Capacity – Maximum permissi-
ble weight a vehicle can carry including the
weight of all the occupants, accessories
and cargo.
The weight of any accessories already
installed on your vehicle at the time of pur-
chase, or that you or the dealer install after
purchase, must be subtracted from the
total load capacity to determine how much
capacity remains available for occupants
and cargo. Contact your SUZUKI dealer for
further information.
J7U4001A
TIRE
SIZE
COLD TIRE PRESSURE
FRONT
REAR
SPAREThe combined weight of occupants and carge should never exceedKg or lbs
Towing:

5-4 SERVICE AND APPEARANCE CARE
85Z03-03E
Filling a Portable Fuel Container
Checking Things Under the
Hood
Hood ReleaseTo open the hood, do the following.
1) Pull the hood release handle located at
the lower left side of the instrument
panel.
WARNING
Never fill a portable fuel container
while it is in your vehicle. Static elec-
tricity discharge from the container
can ignite the gasoline vapor. You
can be badly burned and your vehicle
can be damaged if this occurs. To
help avoid injury to you and others:
 Dispense gasoline only into
approved containers.
 Do not fill a container while it is
inside a vehicle, in a vehicle’s
trunk, pickup bed or on any surface
other than the ground.
 Bring the fill nozzle in contact with
the inside of the fill opening before
operating the nozzle. Contact
should be maintained until the fill-
ing is complete.
 Don’t smoke while pumping gaso-
line.
WARNING
An electric fan under the hood can
start up and injure you even when the
engine is not running. Keep hands,
clothing and tools away from any
under hood electric fan.
WARNING
Things that burn can get on hot
engine parts and start a fire. These
include liquids like fuel, oil, coolant,
brake fluid, windshield washer and
other fluids, and plastic or rubber.
You or others could be burned. Be
careful not to drop or spill things that
will burn onto a hot engine.
Fuel:
Checking Things Under the Hood: