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Rocking the Vehicle
WARNING
Do not spin the wheels at more than 56
km/h (35 mph), and do not allow
anyone to stand behind a wheel when
pushing the vehicle:When the vehicle is stuck, spinning
the wheels at high speed is
dangerous. The spinning tire could
overheat and explode. This could
cause serious injuries.
CAUTION
Too much rocking may cause engine
overheating, transmission failure,
and tire damage.
If you must rock the vehicle to free it from
snow, sand or mud, depress the
accelerator slightly and slowly move the
shift lever from 1 (D) to R.
Winter Driving
lCarry 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:
lHave the proper ratio of antifreeze in
the radiator.
Refer to Engine Coolant on page 8-23.
lInspect the battery and its cables. Cold
reduces battery capacity.
lInspect the ignition system for damage
and loose connections.
lUse washer fluid made with
antifreeze ―but don't use engine
coolant antifreeze for washer fluid
(page 8-26).
lDon'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.
q Snow Tires
Use snow tires on all four wheels
Don't go faster than 120 km/h (75 mph)
while driving with snow tires. Inflate
snow tires 30 kPa (0.3 kgf/cm
2, 4.3 psi)
more than recommended on the tire
pressure label (driver's door frame), 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, Mazda recommends that
you replace the tires originally equipped
on your vehicle with snow tires during the
winter months.
4-8
Before Driving Your Mazda
Driving Tips
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Keep all flames, including cigarettes, and sparks away from open battery cells:
Flames and sparks near open battery cells are dangerous. Hydrogen gas, produced
during normal battery operation, could ignite and cause the battery to explode. An
exploding battery can cause serious burns and injuries.
Do not jump-start a frozen battery or one with a low fluid level: Jump-starting a frozen battery or one with a low fluid level is dangerous. It may
rupture or explode, causing serious injury.
Connect the negative cable to a good ground point away from the battery: Connecting the end of the second jumper 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.
Route the jumper cables away from parts that will be moving: 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.
CAUTION
Use only a 12 V booster system. You can damage a 12 V starter, ignition system, and
other electrical parts beyond repair with a 24 V power supply (two 12 V batteries in
series or a 24 V motor generator set).
Discharged battery
Connect cables in numerical order and disconnect in reverse order.
Jumper cables
Booster battery
7-22
In Case of an Emergency
Emergency Starting
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Form No.8X49-EA-07F
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1. Remove the rubber hose from thebattery cover.
2. Remove the battery cover from its right
side.
3. Make sure the booster battery is 12 Vand that its negative terminal is
grounded.
4. If the booster battery is in another vehicle, don't allow both vehicles to
touch. Turn off the engine of the
vehicle with the booster battery and all
unnecessary electrical loads in both
vehicles. 5. Connect the jumper cables in the exact
sequence as in the illustration.
lConnect one end of a cable to the
positive terminal on the discharged
battery (1).
lAttach the other end to the positive
terminal on the booster battery (2).
lConnect one end of the other cable
to the negative terminal of the
booster battery (3).
lConnect the other end to the ground
point indicated in the illustration
away from the discharged battery
(4).
6. Start the engine of the booster vehicle and run it a few minutes. Then start the
engine of the other vehicle.
7. When finished, carefully disconnect the cables in the reverse order described in
the illustration.
8. If the battery cover has been removed, install it in the reverse order of
removal.
In Case of an Emergency
Emergency Starting
7-23
MX-5_8X49-EA-07F_Edition5 Page277
Thursday, February 21 2008 12:51 AM
Form No.8X49-EA-07F