Driving your vehicle
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The more severe weather conditions of
winter result in greater wear and other
problems. To minimise the problems of
winter driving, you should follow thesesuggestions:
Snowy or Icy conditions
To drive your vehicle in deep snow, it may
be necessary to use snow tyres or to
install tyre chains on your tyres. If snow
tyres are needed, it is necessary to
select tyres equivalent in size and type of
the original equipment tyres. Failure to do
so may adversely affect the safety and
handling of your car. Furthermore,
speeding, rapid acceleration, sudden
brake applications, and sharp turns are
potentially very hazardous practices.
During deceleration, use engine braking
to the fullest extent. Sudden brake appli-
cations on snowy or icy roads may cause
skids to occur. You need to keep suffi-
cient distance between the vehicle in
operation in front and your vehicle. Also,
apply the brake gently. It should be notedthat installing tyre chains on the tyre will
provide a greater driving force, but will
not prevent side skids.
✽✽
NOTICE
Tyre chains are not legal in all states.
Check state laws before fitting tyrechains.
Snow tyres
If you mount snow tyres on your vehicle,
make sure they are radial tyres of the
same size and load range as the original
tyres. Mount snow tyres on all four
wheels to balance your vehicle’s han-
dling in all weather conditions. Keep in
mind that the traction provided by snow
tyres on dry roads may not be as high as
your vehicle's original equipment tyres.
You should drive cautiously even when
the roads are clear. Check with the tyre
dealer for maximum speed recommen-
dations.
Do not install studded tyres without first checking local, state and municipal regu-
lations for possible restrictions against their use.
Tyre chains
Since the sidewalls of radial tyres are
thinner, they can be damaged by mount-
ing some types of snow chains on them.
Therefore, the use of snow tyre is recom-
mended instead of snow chains. Do not
mount tyre chains on vehicles equipped
with aluminum wheels; snow chains may
cause damage to the wheels. If snow
chains must be used, use wire-type
chains with a thickness of less than 15
mm. Damage to your vehicle caused by
improper snow chain use is not covered
by your vehicle manufacturers warranty.
Install tyre chains only on the front tyres.
WINTER DRIVING
WARNING
- Snow tyre size
Snow tyres should be equivalent in
size and type to the vehicle's stan-
dard tyres. Otherwise, the safety
and handling of your vehicle may
be adversely affected.
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What to do in an emergency
Emergency towing precautions
Turn the ignition switch to ACC so thesteering wheel isn’t locked.
Place the transaxle shift lever in N (Neutral).
Release the hand bake.
Press the brake pedal with more force than normal since you will have
reduced brake performance.
More steering effort will be required because the power steering system
will be disabled.
If you are driving down a long hill, the brakes may overheat and brake per-
formance will be reduced. Stop often
and let the brakes cool off. Tie-down hook
(for flatbed towing)
OHD066006L
WARNING
Do not use the hooks under the
front of the vehicle for towing pur-
poses. These hooks are designed
ONLY for transport tie-down. If the
tie-down hooks are used for tow-
ing, the tie-down hooks or front
bumper will be damaged and this
could lead to serious injury.
CAUTION - Automatic transaxle
If the car is being towed with all four
wheels on the ground, it can betowed only from the front. Be sure that the transaxle is in neutral. Do
not tow at speeds greater than 40km/h and for more than 25 km. Be sure the steering is unlocked byplacing the ignition switch in the
ACC position. A driver must be in the towed vehicle to operate thesteering and brakes.
