2008 SUZUKI RENO lock

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DRIVING YOUR VEHICLE
85Z14-03E
Let’s say the road is wet and you’re driving
safely. Suddenly, an animal jumps out in
front of you. You slam on the brakes and
continue braking. Here’s what happens
with ABS:
A computer senses that wheels are slow-
ing down. If one of the wheels is about to
stop rolling, the computer will separately
work the brakes at each front wheel and at
both rear wheels.
The anti-lock system can change the brake
pressure faster than any driver could. The
computer is programmed to make the most
of available tire and road conditions. This
can help you steer around the obstacle
while braking hard.As you brake, your computer keeps receiv-
ing updates on wheel speed and controls
braking pressure accordingly.
Remember: Anti-lock doesn’t change the
time you need to get your foot up to the
brake pedal or always decrease stopping
distance. If you get too close to the vehicle
in front of you, you won’t have time to apply
your brakes if that vehicle suddenly slows
or stops. Always leave enough room up
ahead to stop, even though you have anti-
lock brakes.
Using Anti-Lock
Don’t pump the brakes. Just hold the brake
pedal down firmly and let anti-lock work for
you. You may hear the anti-lock pump or
motor operate, and feel the brake pedal
pulsate, but this is normal.Braking in Emergencies
At some time, nearly every driver gets into
a situation that requires hard braking.
If you have anti-lock, you can steer and
brake at the same time. However, if you
don’t have anti-lock, your first reaction – to
hit the brake pedal hard and hold it down –
may be the wrong thing to do. Your wheels
can stop rolling. Once they do, the vehicle
can’t respond to your steering. Momentum
will carry it in whatever direction it was
headed when the wheels stopped rolling.
That could be off the road, into the very
thing you were trying to avoid, or into traf-
fic.
If you don’t have anti-lock, use a “squeeze”
braking technique. This will give you maxi-
mum braking while maintaining steering
control. You can do this by pushing on the
brake pedal with steadily increasing pres-
sure. In an emergency, you will probably
want to squeeze the brakes hard without
locking the wheels. If you hear or feel the
wheels sliding, ease off the brake pedal.
This will help you retain steering control. If
you do have anti-lock, it’s different. See
“Anti-Lock Brake System” in this section.
In many emergencies, steering can help
you more than even the very best braking.
Your Driving, the Road, and Your Vehicle:

4-5DRIVING YOUR VEHICLE
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SteeringPower Steering
If you lose power steering assist because
the engine stops or the system is not func-
tioning, you can steer but it will take much
more effort.
Speed Sensitive Power Steering
System
This system continuously adjusts the effort
you feel when steering at all vehicle
speeds. It provides ease when parking, yet
a firm, solid feel at highway speeds.
If your vehicle has this system, it varies the
amount of effort required to steer the vehi-
cle in relation to the speed of the vehicle.
The amount of steering effort required is
less at slower speeds to make the vehicle
more maneuverable and easier to park. At
faster speeds, the steering effort increases
to provide a sport-like feel to the steering.
This provides maximum control and stabil-
ity.
This warning light will stay on, or come on
while you are driving, if there’s a problem
with the SSPS system.When this warning light is on, your vehicle
will seem harder to steer than normal
when parking or driving slowly. You will still
have power steering, but steering will be
stiffer than normal at slow speeds. See
your SUZUKI dealer for service.
Steering Tips
Driving on Curves
It’s important to take curves at a reason-
able speed.
A lot of the “driver lost control” accidents
mentioned on the news happen on curves.
Here’s why:
Experienced driver or beginner, each of us
is subject to the same laws of physics
when driving on curves. The traction of the
tires against the road surface makes it pos-
sible for the vehicle to change its path
when you turn the front wheels. If there’s
no traction, inertia will keep the vehicle
going in the same direction. If you’ve ever
tried to steer a vehicle on wet ice, you’ll
understand this.
The traction you can get in a curve
depends on the condition of your tires and
the road surface, the angle at which the
curve is banked, and your speed. While
you’re in a curve, speed is the one factor
you can control.
Suppose you’re steering through a sharp
curve. Then you suddenly apply the
brakes. Both control systems – steeringand braking – have to do their work where
the tires meet the road. Unless you have
four-wheel anti-lock brakes, adding the
hard braking can demand too much of
those places. You can lose control.
The same thing can happen if you’re steer-
ing through a sharp curve and you sud-
denly accelerate. Those two control
systems – steering and acceleration – can
overwhelm those places where the tires
meet the road and make you lose control.
What should you do if this ever happens?
Ease up on the brake or accelerator pedal,
steer the vehicle the way you want it to go,
and slow down.
Speed limit signs near curves warn that
you should adjust your speed. Of course,
the posted speeds are based on good
weather and road conditions. Under less
favorable conditions you’ll want to go
slower.
If you need to reduce your speed as you
approach a curve, do it before you enter
the curve, while your front wheels are
straight ahead.
Try to adjust your speed so you can “drive”
through the curve. Maintain a reasonable,
steady speed. Wait to accelerate until you
are out of the curve, and then accelerate
gently into the straightaway.
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Steering in Emergencies
There are times when steering can be
more effective than braking. For example,
you come over a hill and find a truck
stopped in your lane, or a car suddenly
pulls out from nowhere, or a child darts out
from between parked cars and stops right
in front of you. You can avoid these prob-
lems by braking – if you can stop in time.
But sometimes you can’t; there isn’t room.
That’s the time for evasive action – steer-
ing around the problem.
Your vehicle can perform very well in emer-
gencies like these. First apply your brakes
but, unless you have anti-lock, not enough
to lock your wheels.
See “Braking” in this section. It is better to
remove as much speed as you can from a
possible collision. Then steer around the
problem, to the left or right depending on
the space available.An emergency like this requires close
attention and a quick decision. If you are
holding the steering wheel at the recom-
mended 9 and 3 o’clock positions, you can
turn it a full 180 degrees very quickly with-
out removing either hand. But you have to
act fast, steer quickly, and just as quickly
straighten the wheel once you have
avoided the object.
The fact that such emergency situations
are always possible is a good reason to
practice defensive driving at all times and
wear safety belts properly.
Off-Road RecoveryYou may find that your right wheels have
dropped off the edge of a road onto the
shoulder while you’re driving.If the level of the shoulder is only slightly
below the pavement, recovery should be
fairly easy. Ease off the accelerator and
then, if there is nothing in the way, steer so
that your vehicle straddles the edge of the
pavement. You can turn the steering wheel
up to one-quarter turn until the right front
tire contacts the pavement edge. Then turn
your steering wheel to go straight down the
roadway.
Passing
The driver of a vehicle about to pass
another on a two-lane highway waits for
just the right moment, accelerates, moves
around the vehicle ahead, then goes back
into the right lane again. A simple maneu-
ver?
Not necessarily! Passing another vehicle
on a two-lane highway is a potentially dan-
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DRIVING YOUR VEHICLE
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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.
Your Driving, the Road, and Your Vehicle:

4-13DRIVING YOUR VEHICLE
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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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DRIVING 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.
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DRIVING 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:

5-3SERVICE AND APPEARANCE CARE
85Z14-03E
To open the fuel filler door, pull up on the
fuel filler door release lever located on the
floor to the left of the driver’s seat.
The fuel cap is located on the passenger’s
side of your vehicle.While refueling, hang the tethered cap
inside the fuel door.
To remove the fuel cap, turn it slowly to the
left (counterclockwise).
Be careful not to spill fuel. Don’t top off or
overfill your tank, and wait a few seconds
after you’ve finished pumping before you
remove the nozzle. Clean fuel from painted
surfaces as soon as possible. See “Clean-
ing the Outside of Your Vehicle” in this sec-
tion.
When you put the fuel cap back on, turn it
to the right (clockwise) until you hear a
clicking sound. Make sure you fully install
the cap. The diagnostic system can deter-
mine if the fuel cap has been left off or is
improperly installed. This would allow fuel
to evaporate into the atmosphere. See
“Malfunction Indicator Lamp” in section 3.
N4U5041A
WARNING
If you spill fuel and then something
ignites it, you could be badly burned.
Fuel can spray out on you if you open
the fuel cap too quickly. This spray
can happen if your tank is nearly full,
and is more likely in hot weather.
Open the fuel cap slowly and wait for
any “hiss” noise to stop. Then
unscrew the cap all the way.
WARNING
If a fire starts while you’re refueling,
don’t remove the nozzle. Shut off the
flow of fuel by shutting off the pump
or by notifying the station attendant.
Leave the area immediately.
CAUTION
If you need a new fuel cap, be sure to
get a genuine SUZUKI cap or its
equivalent. Your SUZUKI dealer can
get one for you. If you get the
improper type, it may not fit properly.
This may cause your malfunction
indicator lamp to light and may dam-
age your fuel tank and emissions
system. See “Malfunction Indicator
Lamp” in the Index.
Fuel: