
327
Safety system of your vehicle
Injured person
A seat belt should be used when an
injured person is being transported. For
specific recommendations, the advice of
a qualified Medical Practioner should besought.
One person per belt
The seat belts are designed to be used
by one seat occupant only. The use of a
seat belt by more than one person
increases the levels of injury which may
be sustained in the event of an accident.
Do not lie down
To reduce the chance of injuries in the
event of an accident and to achieve max-
imum effectiveness of the restraint sys-tem, all passengers should be sitting upand the front seats should be in an
upright position when the car is moving.
A seat belt cannot provide proper protec-
tion if the person is lying down in the rearseat or if the front seat is in a reclinedposition.Care of seat belts
Seat belt assemblies must never be dis-
assembled or modified in any way. In
addition, care should be exercised to
ensure that the belt assemblies do not
become damaged by being trapped in
seat mechanisms, door shuts etc.
WARNING
Riding with a reclined seatback
increases your chance of serious
or fatal injuries in the event of a col-
lision or sudden stop. The protec-
tion of your restraint system (seat
belts and air bags) is greatly
reduced by reclining your seat.
Seat belts must be snug against
your hips and chest to work proper-
ly. The more the seatback is
reclined, the greater the chancethat an occupant's hips will slideunder the lap belt causing seriousinternal injuries or the occupant's
neck could strike the shoulder belt.
Drivers and passengers should
always sit well back in their seats,
properly belted, and with the seat-
backs upright.
WARNING
When you return the rear seatback to its upright position after the rear
seatback was folded down, be care-
ful not to damage the seat belt web-
bing or buckle. Be sure that the
webbing or buckle does not get
caught or pinched in the rear seat.
A seat belt with damaged webbing
or buckle will not be as strong and
could possibly fail during a colli-
sion or sudden stop, resulting in
serious injury. If the webbing or
buckles are damaged, get them
replaced immediately.
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Safety system of your vehicle
48
3
The indications of the system's presence
are the letters "AIR BAG" embossed on
the air bag pad cover on the steeringwheel and the passenger's side front
panel pad above the glove box. The SRS consists of air bags installed
under the pad covers in the centre of the
steering wheel and the passenger's side
in the front panel above the glove box.
The purpose of the SRS is to provide the
vehicle's driver and/or the front passen-ger with additional protection than that
offered by the seat belt system alone incase of a frontal impact of sufficient
severity.
WARNING
Always use seat belts and child
restraints – every trip, every time,
everyone! Air bags inflate with
considerable force and in the blink
of an eye. Seat belts help keep
occupants in proper position to
obtain maximum benefit from the
air bag. Even with air bags, improp-
erly and unbelted occupants can be
severely injured when the air bag
inflates. Always follow the precau-
tions about seat belts, air bags and
occupant safety contained in this
manual.
To reduce the chance of serious or fatal injuries and receive the maxi-
mum safety benefit from yourrestraint system:
Never place a child in any child or booster seat in the front seat. NB
See section - Passenger's front
air bag ON/OFF switch (ifequipped).
ABC – Always Buckle Children in the back seat. It is the safest
place for children of any age to
ride.
(Continued)(Continued)
Front and side impact air bagscan injure occupants improperly
positioned in the front seats.
Move your seat as far back as practical from the front air bags,
whilst still maintaining control of
the vehicle.
You and your passengers should never sit or lean unnecessarily
close to the air bags. Improperly
positioned drivers and passen-
gers can be severely injured by
inflating air bags.
Never lean against the door or centre console – always sit in anupright position.
No objects should be placed over or near the air bag modules on
the steering wheel, instrument
panel, and the front passenger's
panel above the glove box,
because any such object could
cause harm if the vehicle is in a
crash severe enough to cause
the air bags to deploy.
(Continued)
EL UK 3.QXP 1/12/2010 2:58 PM Page 48

Driving your vehicle
16
5
Downshifting
When you must slow down in heavy traf-
fic or whilst driving up steep hills, down-
shift before the engine starts to labour.
Downshifting reduces the chance of
stalling and gives better acceleration
when you again need to increase your
speed. When the vehicle is travelling
down steep hills, downshifting helps
maintain safe speed and prolongs brake
life. Good driving practices
Never take the vehicle out of gear and
coast down a hill. This is extremely
hazardous. Always leave the vehicle in
gear.
Don't "ride" the brakes. This can cause them to overheat and malfunction.
Instead, when you are driving down a
long hill, slow down and shift to a lower
gear. When you do this, engine braking
will help slow down the vehicle.
Slow down before shifting to a lower gear. This will help avoid over-revving
the engine, which can cause damage.
Slow down when you encounter cross winds. This gives you much better con-
trol of your vehicle.
Be sure the vehicle is completely stopped before you attempt to shift into
reverse. The transaxle can be dam-
aged if you do not. To shift into reverse,
depress the clutch, move the shift lever
to neutral, wait three seconds, then
shift to the reverse position.
Exercise extreme caution when driving on a slippery surface. Be especially
careful when braking, accelerating or
shifting gears. On a slippery surface,
an abrupt change in vehicle speed can
cause the drive wheels to lose traction
and the vehicle to go out of control.WARNING
Always buckle-up! In a collision, an unbelted occupant is signifi-
cantly more likely to be seriously
injured or killed than a properlybelted occupant.
Avoid high speeds when corner- ing or turning.
Do not make quick steering wheel movements, such as sharp
lane changes or fast, sharp turns.
The risk of rollover is greatly increased if you lose control of
your vehicle at highway speeds.
Loss of control often occurs if two or more wheels drop off the
roadway and the driver over-
steers to re-enter the roadway.
In the event your vehicle leaves the roadway, do not steer sharply.
Instead, slow down before pulling
back into the travel lanes.
Never exceed posted speed lim- its.
EL UK 5.QXP 1/25/2010 9:55 AM Page 16

Driving your vehicle
22
5
Good driving practices
Never move the shift lever from P
(Park) or N (Neutral) to any other posi-
tion with the accelerator pedaldepressed.
Never move the shift lever into "P" when the vehicle is in motion.
Be sure the vehicle is completely stopped before you attempt to shift into
R (Reverse) or D (Drive).
Never take the vehicle out of gear and coast down a hill. This may be
extremely hazardous. Always leave the
vehicle in gear when moving.
Do not "ride" the brakes. This can cause them to overheat and malfunc-
tion. Instead, when you are driving
down a long hill, slow down and shift to
a lower gear. When you do this, engine
braking will help slow down the vehicle.
Slow down before shifting to a lower gear. Otherwise, the lower gear maynot be engaged.
Always use the parking brake. Do not depend on placing the transaxle in P
(Park) to keep the vehicle from moving.
Exercise extreme caution when driving on a slippery surface. Be especially
careful when braking, accelerating or
shifting gears. On a slippery surface,
an abrupt change in vehicle speed can
cause the drive wheels to lose traction
and the vehicle to go out of control. Optimum vehicle performance and
economy is obtained by smoothly
depressing and releasing the accelera-tor pedal.
Moving up a steep grade from a stand-
ing start
To move up a steep grade from a stand-
ing start, depress the brake pedal, shift
the shift lever to D (Drive). Select the
appropriate gear depending on load
weight and steepness of the grade, and
release the parking brake. Depress the
accelerator gradually whilst releasing the
service brakes.
When accelerating from a stop on a
steep hill, the vehicle may have a ten-
dency to roll backwards. Shifting the
shift lever into 2 (Second Gear) will
help prevent the vehicle from rolling
backwards.
WARNING
Always buckle-up! In a collision, an unbelted occupant is signifi-
cantly more likely to be seriously
injured or killed than a properlybelted occupant.
Avoid high speeds when corner- ing or turning.
Do not make quick steering wheel movements, such as sharp
lane changes or fast, sharp turns.
The risk of rollover is greatly increased if you lose control of
your vehicle at highway speeds.
Loss of control often occurs if two or more wheels drop off the
roadway and the driver over-
steers to reenter the roadway.
In the event your vehicle leaves the roadway, do not steer sharply.
Instead, slow down before pulling
back into the travel lanes.
Never exceed posted speed lim- its.
WARNING
If your vehicle becomes stuck in
snow, mud, sand, etc., then you
may attempt to rock the vehicle free
by moving it forward and backward.
Do not attempt this procedure if
people or objects are anywhere
near the vehicle. During the rocking
operation the vehicle may suddenly
move forward of backward as it
becomes unstuck, causing injury
or damage to nearby people orobjects.
EL UK 5.QXP 1/25/2010 9:55 AM Page 22