Page 9 of 542

F9
Introduction
Operation in foreign countries
If you are going to drive your vehicle
in another country, be sure to:
Observe all regulations regardingregistration and insurance.
Determine that acceptable fuel is available. As with other vehicles of this type,
failure to operate this vehicle correct-
ly may result in loss of control, an
accident or vehicle rollover.
Specific design characteristics (high-
er ground clearance, track, etc.) give
this vehicle a higher center of gravity
than other types of vehicles. It is not
designed for cornering at the same
speeds as a conventional 2-wheel
drive sedans or sports coupe. Avoid
sharp turns or abrupt maneuvers.
Failure to operate this vehicle cor-
rectly may result in loss of control, an
accident or vehicle rollover.
Be sure
to read the “Reducing the risk of a
rollover” driving guidelines, in
chapter 5 of this manual.No special break-in period is
needed. By following a few simple
precautions for the first 600 miles
(1,000 km) you may add to the
performance, economy and life of
your vehicle.
Do not race the engine.
While driving, keep your engine speed (rpm, or revolutions per
minute) between 2,000 rpm and
4,000 rpm.
Do not maintain a single speed for long periods of time, either fast or
slow. Varying engine speed is
needed to properly break-in the
engine.
Avoid hard stops, except in emer- gencies, to allow the brakes to seat
properly.
Don't let the engine idle longer than 3 minutes at one time.
Don't tow a trailer during the first 1,200 miles (2,000 km) of opera-tion.
VVEEHH IICC LLEE BB RREEAA KK--IINN
P
P RR OO CCEE SSSS
V
V
EEHH IICC LLEE HH AANN DDLLIINN GG
I
I NN SSTT RR UU CCTT IIOO NNSS
Page 83 of 542

2-66
Safety system of your vehicle
In an angled collision, the force of
impact may direct the occupants in a
direction where the air bags would
not be able to provide any additional
benefit, and thus the sensors may
not deploy any air bags.Just before impact, drivers often
brake heavily. Such heavy braking
lowers the front portion of the vehicle
causing it to “ride” under a vehicle
with a higher ground clearance. Air
bags may not inflate in this "under-
ride" situation because deceleration
forces that are detected by sensors
may be significantly reduced by such
“underride” collisions. Front air bags may not inflate in
rollover accidents because air bag
deployment could not provide protec-
tion to the occupants.
However, side impact and curtain air
bags may inflate when the vehicle is
rolled over by a side impact collision,
if the vehicle is equipped with side
impact air bags and curtain air bags.
Also, if the vehicle is equipped with a
rollover sensor, side impact and cur-
tain air bags may inflate in a rollover.
OLMB033073OLMB033074OLMB033075
Page 390 of 542

5-54
Driving your vehicle
Hydroplaning
If the road is wet enough and you are
going fast enough, your vehicle may
have little or no contact with the road
surface and actually ride on the
water. The best advice is SLOW
DOWN when the road is wet. The
risk of hydroplaning increases as the
depth of tire tread decreases, refer to
“Tire Tread” in chapter 7.
Driving in flooded areas
Avoid driving through flooded areas
unless you are sure the water is nohigher than the bottom of the wheel
hub. Drive through any water slowly.
Allow adequate stopping distance
because brake performance may bereduced.
After driving through water, dry the
brakes by gently applying them sev-
eral times while the vehicle is moving
slowly.
Reducing the risk of a rollover
Your multi-purpose passenger vehi-
cle is defined as a Sports Utility
Vehicle (SUV). SUV’s have higher
ground clearance and a narrower
track to make them capable of per-
forming in a wide variety of off-road
applications. The specific design
characteristics give them a higher
center of gravity than ordinary vehi-
cles making them more likely to roll
over if you make abrupt turns. Utility
vehicles have a significantly higher
rollover rate than other types of vehi-
cles. Due to this risk, driver and pas-sengers are strongly recommended
to buckle their seat belts. In a rollover
crash, an unbelted person is signifi-
cantly more likely to die than a per-
son wearing a seat belt.
There are steps that a driver can
make to reduce the risk of a rollover.
If at all possible, avoid sharp turns or
abrupt maneuvers, do not load your
vehicle with heavy cargo on the roof,
and never modify your vehicle in any
way.Utility vehicles have a signifi-
cantly higher rollover rate than
other types of vehicles. To pre-
vent rollovers or loss of control:
Take corners at slower speeds
than you would with a passen-
ger vehicle.
Avoid sharp turns and abrupt
maneuvers.
Do not modify your vehicle in
any way that you would raise
the center of gravity.
Keep tires properly inflated.
Do not carry heavy cargo on
the roof.
WARNING
In a rollover crash, an unbelted
person is significantly more
likely to die than a person wear-
ing a seat belt. Make sure all
passengers are wearing theirseat belts.
WARNING
Page 426 of 542
6-20
What to do in an emergency
✽✽NOTICE
When the original tire and wheel are
repaired and reinstalled on the vehi-
cle, the lug nut torque must be set
correctly to prevent wheel vibration.
The correct lug nut tightening
torque is 65-79 lb.ft (9-11 kg.m).
To prevent damaging the com-
pact spare tire and your vehicle:
Drive slowly enough for the
road conditions to avoid all
hazards, such as a potholesor debris.
Avoid driving over obstacles. The compact spare tire diame-ter is smaller than the diame-
ter of a conventional tire and
reduces the ground clearance
approximately 1 in (25 mm).
Do not use tire chains on the
compact spare tire. Because
of the smaller size, a tire chain
will not fit properly.
Do not use the compact spare
tire on any other wheels, nor
should standard tires, snow
tires, wheel covers or trimrings be used with the com-pact spare wheel.
CAUTION