53
Driving your vehicle
Before entering vehicle
• Be sure that all windows, outside mir-ror(s), and outside lights are clean.
Check the condition of the tires.
Check under the vehicle for any sign of leaks.
Be sure there are no obstacles behind you if you intend to back up.
Necessary inspections
Fluid levels, such as engine oil, engine
coolant, brake fluid, and washer fluid
should be checked on a regular basis,
with the exact interval depending on the
fluid. Further details are provided in sec-
tion 7, “Maintenance”. Before starting
Close and lock all doors.
Position the seat so that all controls are
easily reached.
Adjust the inside and outside rearview mirrors.
Be sure that all lights work.
Check all gauges.
Check the operation of warning lights when the ignition switch is turned to the ON position.
Release the parking brake and make sure the brake warning light goes out.
For safe operation, be sure you are famil-
iar with your vehicle and its equipment.
BEFORE DRIVING
WARNING
All passengers must be properly
belted whenever the vehicle is mov-
ing. Refer to “Seat belts” in section
3 for more information on their
proper use.
WARNING
Always check the surrounding
areas near your vehicle for people,
especially children, before putting a
car into D (Drive) or R (Reverse).
WARNING - Driving under
the influence of alcohol or drugs
Drinking and driving is dangerous.
Drunk driving is the number one
contributor to the highway death
toll each year. Even a small amount
of alcohol will affect your reflexes,
perceptions and judgment. Drivingwhile under the influence of drugs
is as dangerous or more dangerousthan driving drunk.
You are much more likely to have a
serious accident if you drink or
take drugs and drive.
If you are drinking or taking drugs,
don’t drive. Do not ride with a driv-er who has been drinking or taking
drugs. Choose a designated driveror call a cab.
WARNING
When you intend to park or stop the
vehicle with the engine on, be care-ful not to depress the accelerator
pedal for a long period of time. It
may overheat the engine or exhaust
system and cause fire.
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Driving your vehicle
Starting the engine
✽✽
NOTICE - Kick down mecha- nism (if equipped)
If your vehicle is equipped with a kick down mechanism in the accelerator
pedal, it prevents you from driving at
full throttle unintentionally by making
the driver require increased effort to
depress the accelerator pedal. However,
if you depress the pedal more than
approximately 80%, the vehicle can be
at full throttle and the accelerator pedal
will be easier to depress. This is not amalfunction but a normal condition.
WARNING - Ignition switch
Never turn the ignition switch to LOCK or ACC while the vehicle is
moving. This would result in loss
of directional control and braking
function, which could cause anaccident.
The anti-theft steering column lock is not a substitute for the parking
brake. Before leaving the driver’s
seat, always make sure the shift
lever is engaged in 1 st
gear for the
manual transaxle or P (Park) for
the automatic transaxle, set the
parking brake fully and shut the
engine off. Unexpected and sud-
den vehicle movement may occurif these precautions are not taken.
(Continued)(Continued)
Never reach for the ignition switch,or any other controls through the
steering wheel while the vehicle is
in motion. The presence of yourhand or arm in this area could
cause a loss of vehicle control, an
accident and serious bodily injuryor death.
Do not place any movable objects around the driver’s seat as they
may move while driving, interferewith the driver and lead to an acci-dent.
WARNING
Always wear appropriate shoes
when operating your vehicle.
Unsuitable shoes (high heels, ski
boots,etc.) may interfere with yourability to use the brake and acceler-
ator pedal, and the clutch (ifequipped).
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Driving your vehicle
6
5
Starting the gasoline engine
1. Make sure the parking brake is
applied.
2. Manual Transaxle - Depress the
clutch pedal fully and leave the shift
lever at Neutral. Keep the clutch pedal
and brake pedal depressed while turn-
ing the ignition switch to the start posi-tion.
Automatic Transaxle - Place the
transaxle shift lever in P (Park).
Depress the brake pedal fully.
You can also start the engine when
the shift lever is in the N (Neutral)position.
3. Turn the ignition switch to START and hold it there until the engine starts (a
maximum of 10 seconds), then
release the key.
4. In extremely cold weather (below -18°C / 0°F) or after the vehicle has
not been operated for several days, let
the engine warm up without depress-
ing the accelerator.
Whether the engine is cold or warm, it
should be started without depressing
the accelerator.
Starting the diesel engine
To start the diesel engine when the engine is cold, it has to be pre-heated
before starting the engine and then have
to be warmed up before starting to drive.
1. Make sure the parking brake is applied.
2. Manual Transaxle - Depress the
clutch pedal fully and leave the shift
lever at Neutral. Keep the clutch pedal
and brake pedal depressed while turn-
ing the ignition switch to the start posi-tion.
Automatic Transaxle - Place the
transaxle shift lever in P(park).
Depress the brake pedal fully.
You can also start the engine when the
shift lever is in the N(neutral) position.
CAUTION
If the engine stalls while you are inmotion, do not attempt to move the
shift lever to the P (Park) position. Iftraffic and road conditions permit, you may put the shift lever in the N(Neutral) position while the vehicle
is still moving and turn the ignitionswitch to the START position in an attempt to restart the engine.
CAUTION
Do not engage the starter for morethan 10 seconds. If the engine stalls
or fails to start, wait 5 to 10 secondsbefore re-engaging the starter. Improper use of the starter may
damage it.
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511
Driving your vehicle
Starting the engine
✽✽
NOTICE - Kick down mecha- nism (if equipped)
If your vehicle is equipped with a kick down mechanism in the accelerator
pedal, it prevents you from driving at
full throttle unintentionally by making
the driver require increased effort to
depress the accelerator pedal. However,
if you depress the pedal more than
approximately 80%, the vehicle can be
at full throttle and the accelerator pedal
will be easier to depress. This is not amalfunction but a normal condition.
Starting the gasoline engine (if equipped)
1. Carry the smart key or leave it inside the vehicle.
2. Make sure the parking brake is firmly applied
3. Manual Transaxle - Depress the
clutch pedal fully and shift the
transaxle into Neutral. Keep the clutch
pedal and brake pedal depressed
while starting the engine.
Automatic Transaxle - Place the
transaxle shift lever in P (Park).
Depress the brake pedal fully.
You can also start the engine when
the shift lever is in the N (Neutral)position.
4. Press the ENGINE START/STOP but- ton.
5. In extremely cold weather (below - 18°C / 0°F) or after the vehicle has not
been operated for several days, let the
engine warm up without depressing
the accelerator.
Whether the engine is cold or warm, it
should be started without depressing the
accelerator.
Starting the diesel engine (if equipped)
To start the diesel engine when the engine is cold, it has to be pre-heated
before starting the engine and then have
to be warmed up before starting to drive.
1. Make sure the parking brake is applied.
2. Manual Transaxle - Depress the
clutch pedal fully and shift the
transaxle into Neutral. Keep the clutch
pedal and brake pedal depressed
while pressing the ENGINE START/
STOP button to the START position.
Automatic Transaxle - Place the
transaxle shift lever in P (Park).
Depress the brake pedal fully.
You can also start the engine when the
shift lever is in the N (Neutral) position.
WARNING
Always wear appropriate shoes
when operating your vehicle.
Unsuitable shoes (high heels, ski
boots,etc.) may interfere with yourability to use the brake and acceler-
ator pedal, and the clutch (ifequipped).
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Driving your vehicle
14
5
Your vehicle may be equipped with the ISG system, which reduces fuel con-
sumption by automatically shutting down
the engine, when the vehicle is at a
standstill. (For example : red light, stop
sign and traffic jam)
The engine starts automatically as soon
as the starting conditions are met.
The ISG system is ON whenever the
engine is running.
✽✽
NOTICE
When the engine automatically starts by
the ISG system, some warning lights
(ABS, ESP, ESP OFF, EPS or Parking
brake warning light) may turn on for afew seconds.This happens because of low batteryvoltage. It does not mean the system ismalfunctioning.
Auto stop
To stop the engine in idle stop mode
1. Decrease the vehicle speed to less than 5 km/h.
2. Shift into N (Neutral) position.
3. Release the clutch pedal.
The engine will stop and the green AUTO
STOP indicator ( ) on the instrument
cluster will illuminate. If your vehicle is
equipped with a supervision cluster, the
notice will illuminate on the LCD display.
✽✽ NOTICE
519
Driving your vehicle
During cold weather, shifting may bedifficult until the transaxle lubricant has
warmed up. This is normal and not
harmful to the transaxle.
If you've come to a complete stop and it's hard to shift into 1st (First) or R
(Reverse), leave the shift lever at
Neutral position and release the clutch.
Depress the clutch pedal back down,and then shift into 1st (First) or R
(Reverse) gear position.Using the clutch
The clutch should be pressed all the way
to the floor before shifting, then released
slowly. The clutch pedal should always be
fully released while driving. Do not rest
your foot on the clutch pedal while driv-
ing. This can cause unnecessary wear.
Do not partially engage the clutch to hold
the car on an incline. This causes unnec-
essary wear. Use the foot brake or park-
ing brake to hold the car on an incline. Do
not operate the clutch pedal rapidly and
repeatedly.
Downshifting
When you must slow down in heavy traf-
fic or while driving up steep hills, down-
shift before the engine starts to labor.
Downshifting reduces the chance of
stalling and gives better acceleration
when you need to increase your speed
again. When the vehicle is traveling down
steep hills, downshifting helps maintain
safe speed and prolongs brake life.
CAUTION
To avoid premature clutch wear
and damage, do not drive with
your foot resting on the clutch pedal. Also, don’t use the clutchto hold the vehicle stopped on an
uphill grade, while waiting for atraffic light, etc.
Do not use the shift lever as a handrest during driving, as thiscan result in premature wear of
the transaxle shift forks.
WARNING
Before leaving the driver’s seat, always set the parking brake fully
and shut the engine off. Thenmake sure the transaxle is shifted
into 1st (First) gear when the
vehicle is parked on a level or
uphill grade, and shifted into R
(Reverse) on a downhill grade.
Unexpected and sudden vehicle
movement can occur if these pre-
cautions are not followed in the
order identified.
If your vehicle has a manual transaxle not equipped with a
ignition lock switch, it may moveand cause a serious accident
when starting the engine without
depressing the clutch pedal whilethe parking brake is released and
the shift lever not in the Neutralposition.
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Driving your vehicle
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5
For smooth operation, depress the brake
pedal when shifting from N (Neutral) to aforward or reverse gear.Transaxle ranges
P (Park)
Always come to a complete stop before
shifting into P (Park). This position locks
the transaxle and prevents the frontwheels from rotating.
WARNING - Automatic
transaxle
Always check the surrounding areas near your vehicle for peo-
ple, especially children, beforeshifting a car into D (Drive) or R
(Reverse).
Before leaving the driver’s seat, always make sure the shift lever
is in the P (Park) position; then
set the parking brake fully and
shut the engine off. Unexpected
and sudden vehicle movementcan occur if these precautions
are not followed in the order iden-tified.
CAUTION
To avoid damage to your
transaxle, do not accelerate the
engine in R (Reverse) or any for-ward gear position with thebrakes on.
When stopped on an upgrade, do not hold the vehicle with enginepower. Use the service brake or the parking brake.
Do not shift from N (Neutral) or P (Park) into D (Drive), or R
(Reverse) when the engine isabove idle speed.
WARNING
Shifting into P (Park) while the vehicle is in motion will cause the
drive wheels to lock which will
cause you to lose control of the
vehicle.
Do not use the P (Park) position in place of the parking brake.
Always make sure the shift lever
is latched in the P (Park) position
and set the parking brake fully.
Never leave a child unattended in a vehicle.
CAUTION
The transaxle may be damaged if
you shift into P (Park) while the
vehicle is in motion.
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Driving your vehicle
R (Reverse)
Use this position to drive the vehicle
backward. N (Neutral)
The wheels and transaxle are not locked.
The vehicle will roll freely even on the
slightest incline unless the parking brake
or service brakes are applied.D (Drive)
This is the normal forward driving posi-
tion. The transaxle will automatically shift
through a 4-gear sequence, providing the
best fuel economy and power.
For extra power when passing another
vehicle or climbing grades, depress the
accelerator fully, at which time the
transaxle will automatically downshift to
the next lower gear.
✽✽
NOTICE
Always ensure vehicle is stationary, at a
complete stop, before selecting D(Drive).
3 (Third Gear)
Move the shift lever to this position for
towing a trailer when climbing up a hill.
This position also provides engine brak-
ing when going down hills. 2 (Second Gear)
Use 2 (Second Gear) for more power
when climbing hills and for increased
braking when going down hills. This posi-tion also helps reduce wheel spin on slip-
pery surfaces. When the shift lever is
placed in 2 (Second Gear), the transaxlewill automatically shift from first to sec-
ond gear. 1 (First Gear)
Move the shift lever to this position in
hard pulling situations and for climbing
steep grades.
CAUTION
Always come to a complete stop
before shifting into or out of R (Reverse); you may damage the
transaxle if you shift into R(Reverse) while the vehicle is inmotion, except as explained in “Rocking the vehicle” in this sec-
tion.
CAUTION
Do not exceed the recommendedmaximum speeds in 2 (SecondGear) or 1 (First Gear). Operating
the vehicle at speeds above themaximum recommended for 2 (Second Gear) or 1 (First Gear) maycause excessive heat to develop
which could result in damage or failure of the automatic transaxle.
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