5
Before driving / 5-3
Key positions / 5-4
Starting the engine / 5-6
Manual transmission / 5-9
Automatic transmission / 5-12
Brake system / 5-19
Locking differential / 5-29
Economical operation / 5-30
Special driving conditions / 5-32
Winter driving / 5-37
Trailer towing (for Europe) / 5-41
Vehicle weight / 5-48
Driving your vehicle
529
Driving your vehicle
E080000ATQ
Wagon/Van (If equipped)
A locking differential, if equipped, is for
the rear wheel differential only. The fea-
tures of this locking differential are
described below:
Just as with a conventional differential,
the wheel on one side is allowed to turn
at a different speed from the wheel on
the other side when the vehicle is cor-
nering. The difference between the lock-
ing differential and a conventional differ-
ential is that if the wheel on one side of
the vehicle loses traction, a greater
amount of torque is applied to the rear
wheel on the other side to improve trac-
tion.
✽NOTICE
In a stationary position, the LD
(Locking Differential) will operate when
the difference of the revolution speed
between the rear right wheel and the
rear left wheel occurs.
The following procedures can be used to
confirm that the locking differential is
functioning properly:
(1) Position the vehicle so that one wheel
is on a dry paved surface and the
other on ice, snow, mud, etc. Drive
the vehicle, and observe the opera-
tion of the locking differential. The
vehicle should not become stuck if
the differential is functioning properly.
(2) Depress the accelerator pedal gradu-
ally, and then when traction is good,
depress it forcefully. If the vehicle
accelerates well, the differential is
functioning properly.
✽NOTICE
Usually a locking differential will oper-
ate and release automatically but occa-
sionally it may not release automatically.
At this time you will feel the tire is
dragged when you are driving or corner-
ing. You can release it manually by slight-
ly turning the steering wheel right and
left while the vehicle is moving slowly.
LOCKING DIFFERENTIAL (IF EQUIPPED)
CAUTION
• Never start the engine with the
gearshift lever placed in the for-
ward or reverse while one of the
rear wheels is jacked up and the
other in contact with the ground;
doing so may cause the vehicle to
jump forward.
• If one of the rear wheels begins to
spin in mud, snow, etc., the vehi-
cle can sometimes be driven out
by depressing the accelerator
pedal further; however, avoid run-
ning the engine continuously at
high rpm because doing so could
damage the locking differential.
