9
PARKING THE CAR
To park the car safely it is absolutely nec-
essary to press the brake pedal and to en-
gage first gear or reverse (R) and also the
hand brake if the car is on a slope; it is al-
so absolutely necessary to wait for the re-
configurable multifunction display show-
ing the gear engaged to go off before re-
leasing the brake pedal.
IMPORTANT NEVERleave the car with
gearbox in neutral (N).IMPORTANT NOTES
❒With the car stopped and a gear en-
gaged always keep the brake pedal
pressed until deciding to move off, then
release the brake pedal and accelerate
gradually;
❒during prolonged halts with the engine
running it is advisable to keep the gear-
box in neutral (N);
❒to safeguard clutch efficiency do not use
the accelerator to keep the car still
(e.g.: when the car is parked facing up-
hill) since clutch overheating could dam-
age it. Use the brake pedal and press
the accelerator pedal only when decid-
ing to move off;
❒use second gear only when more con-
trol is needed for moving off manoeu-
vres with poor grip;
❒if, in reverse gear (R), first gear is to
be engaged or vice versa, shift gear on-
ly when the car is stopped completely
and with the brake pedal pressed;
❒though highly inadvisable, if when trav-
elling downhill for some unexpected
reason the car is set to neutral (N),
when the engagement of a gear is re-
quested, the system automatically en-
gages the best gear in relation to the
speed of the car to allow the correct
transmission of torque to the wheels;
❒when needed, with the engine off you
can change gear with the key on MAR
and the brake pedal depressed. In this
case the instructions required to change
the gear letting at least 5 seconds pass
between one gear shift and the other, in
order to preserve proper operation of
the hydraulic system and of the pump
in particular;
❒pressing the accelerator pedal quickly
flat out and deactivating the ASR, if any,
will obtain a “brilliant” start;
❒when starting uphill, accelerating grad-
ually and fully immediately after releas-
ing the hand brake or the brake pedal
will obtain higher engine rpm pick-up.
603_97_321 Punto FL Dual GB 1ed 4-09-2009 15:53 Pagina 9
