7-4 Vehicle care and maintenance
7Engine hood
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To openUse the engine hood release lever (located under the instrument
panel near the driver’s door) to unlock the engine hood.
Pull the lever toward you to release the engine hood latch.
CAUTION
!To avoid the risk of being burned, do not touch the
air outlets (A) and air scoop (B) on the engine hood
when the engine compartment is hot (when the
engine is running or immediately after the vehicle
has been driven).
WA R N I N G
!Never use the release lever to unlatch the engine
hood while the vehicle is in motion. Do not drive your vehicle unless the engine hood is
locked.
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Vehicle care and maintenance
7-5
7
Release the safety lever and lift the engine hood. NOTETo prevent damage to the engine hood and wipers, make
sure the wipers are at resting position when you open the
engine hood. Support the engine hood with the hood prop. Insert the hood
prop securely in the opening under the hood marked with an
arrow.
CAUTION
!Always insert the support prop into the hole spe-
cially made for it. Propping the engine hood at any
other place could cause the prop to slip out and lead
to an accident. The hood prop can fall out if the hood is lifted by a
strong wind.
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7-6 Vehicle care and maintenance
7
To closeUnlatch the prop from the engine hood and put it back in its
retainer.
Slowly lower the engine hood about 8 inches (20 cm), then let
it drop from its own weight.
NOTEIf this does not close the engine hood properly, drop it
again from a slightly higher position.
Do not push down strongly on the engine hood. Depend-
ing on how strongly or where you push down, you could
create a dent in the vehicle body.
If you drive with the engine hood left open, warning dis-
play is displayed on the information screen in the multi-
information display.
CAUTION
!Be careful not to trap your hands or fingers when
closing the engine hood. Make sure the engine hood is firmly closed before
driving.
If you drive without the engine hood completely
closed, it could open up while driving.
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Vehicle care and maintenance
7-75
7
During cold weather Salt and other chemicals spread on winter roads in some geo-
graphical areas can have a detrimental effect on the vehicle
underbody. You should flush the underbody with a high pres-
sure hose every time you wash the outside of your vehicle.
Take special care to remove mud or other debris which could
trap and hold salt and moisture.
After washing your vehicle, wipe off all waterdrops from the
rubber parts around the doors to prevent the doors from freez-
ing.NOTEWhen the door is frozen, opening it by force may tear off
or crack the rubber gasket installed around the door. Pour
warm water to melt the ice. Be sure to thoroughly wipe off
the water after opening the door. To prevent freezing of
the weatherstripping on the doors, hood, etc., treat with
silicone lubricant.Waxi n g
N00946000221
Wax your vehicle once or twice a year, or when water does not
bead up on the paint.
Use a soft cloth to put a small amount of wax on the painted
surfaces. After the wax has dried, polish with a dry soft cloth.
Do not wax your vehicle in direct sunlight.
You should wax when the painted surfaces are cool.
Polishing
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If painted surfaces have been severely damaged and lost their
original luster and color tone, polish the surface lightly with a
fine polishing compound. Avoid limiting your polishing to the
damaged surface only; polish a somewhat wider area, moving
the polishing cloth in one direction. After polishing, flush the
CAUTION
!Waxes containing high abrasive compounds should
not be used. These waxes remove rust and stain
effectively from the paintwork, but are harmful to
the finish on the paint and the plate, because they
also remove clearcoat.
They are also harmful to other glossy surfaces such
as the grille, trim, moldings, etc.Do not use gasoline, kerosene, benzine or paint thin-
ners to remove road tar or other dirt from the vehi-
cle surface.Do not put wax on the areas having black matte
coating because it can cause uneven discoloration,
patches, blurs, etc. If these get wax on them, wipe
the wax off right away with a soft cloth and warm
water.If your vehicle is equipped with a sunroof, be careful
not to apply any wax on the weatherstrip (black
rubber) when waxing the area around the sunroof
opening.
If stained with wax, the weatherstrip cannot main-
tain a weatherproof seal with the sunroof.
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