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What to do in an emergency
If towing service is not available in an
emergency, your vehicle may be tem-
porarily towed using a cable or chain
secured to the emergency towing hook
under the front (or rear) of the vehicle.
Use extreme caution when towing the
vehicle. A driver must be in the vehicle to
steer it and operate the brakes.
Towing in this manner may be done only
on hard-surfaced roads for a short dis-
tance and at low speeds. Also, the
wheels, axles, power train, steering and
brakes must all be in good condition.
Do not use the towing hooks to pull avehicle out of mud, sand or other con-
ditions from which the vehicle cannot
be driven out under its own power.
Avoid towing a vehicle heavier than the vehicle doing the towing.
The drivers of both vehicles should communicate with each other frequent-
ly. Attach a towing strap to the towing
hook.
Using a portion of the vehicle other than the tow hooks for towing may
damage the body of your vehicle.
Use only a cable or chain specifically intended for use in towing vehicles.
Securely fasten the cable or chain to
the towing hook provided.
Before emergency towing, check that the hook is not broken or damaged.
Fasten the towing cable or chain securely to the hook.
Do not jerk the hook. Apply it steadily with even force.
To avoid damaging the hook, do not pull from the side or at a vertical angle.
Always pull straight ahead. Use a towing strap less than 5 m
(16 feet) long. Attach a white or red
cloth (about 30 cm (12 inches) wide) in
the middle of the strap for easy visibili-
ty.
Drive carefully so that the towing strap is not loosened during towing.
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What to do in an emergency
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6
Emergency towing precautions
Turn the ignition switch to ACC so the
steering wheel isn’t locked.
Place the transaxle shift lever in N (Neutral).
Release the parking brake.
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. If the car is being towed with all four
wheels on the ground, it can be towed
only from the front. Be sure that the
transmission is in neutral. Be sure the
steering is unlocked by placing the igni-
tion switch in the ACC position. A driver
must be in the towed vehicle to operate
the steering and brakes.
Tie-down hook
(for flatbed towing, if equipped)
CAUTION - Automatic
transaxle
To avoid serious damage to the
automatic transmission, limit thevehicle speed to 15 km/h (10 mph)and drive less than 1.5 km (1mile) when towing.
Before towing, check the auto- matic transmission fluid leakunder your vehicle. If the auto-matic transmission fluid is leak-ing, a flatbed equipment or tow-ing dolly must be used.
CAUTION - Tie-down hooks
Do not use the tie-down hooks for
towing purposes. These hooks aredesigned ONLY for transport tie- down. If the tie-down hooks areused for towing, the tie-down hooks or front bumper will be damaged.
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