Moving up a steep grade from astanding start
To drive up on a steep slope,
depress the brake pedal, move the
shift gear to D (Drive), and release
the parking brake. Gradually depress
the accelerator while releasing the
service brakes.
When accelerating on a steep
slope, the vehicle may have a ten-
dency to slide backwards. Shifting
to the 2nd gear (Second Gear) will
help prevent the vehicle from slid-
ing backwards.
5-16
Driving your vehicle
Always buckle up! In a colli- sion, an unbelted occupant is
more likely to be seriously
injured or killed than a proper-
ly belted occupant.
Avoid high speeds when cor- nering or turning.
Do not make quick wheel steering, such as sharp lane
changes or fast, sharp turns.
The risk of rollover is greatly increased when you lose con-
trol of your vehicle at a high
speed.
Loss of control often occurs, when two or more wheels are
swerved out of the roadway
and are overly steered to
reenter the roadway.
In the event your vehicle is swerved out of the roadway,
do not make a sharp steering.
Instead, slow down the vehi-
cle before reentering into the
lanes.
Never exceed posted speed limits.
WARNING
When your vehicle is stuck in
snow, mud, sand and others,
you may rock the vehicle by
moving it forward and back-
wards. Do not attempt this pro-
cedure when there are people
or objects near the vehicle.
During the rocking operation,
the vehicle may suddenly move
forwards or backwards as it
becomes unstuck, causing
injury or damage to nearby peo-
ple or objects.
WARNING
Power brakes
Your vehicle is equipped with the
power-assisted brakes that automat-
ically adjust themselves in a normal
driving condition.
In the event that the power-assisted
brakes lose power because of a
stalled engine or some other rea-
sons, you can still stop your vehicle
by depressing the brake pedal hard-
er than you do in normal driving. A
braking distance, however, will be
longer.
When the engine is OFF, the reserve
brake power becomes partially
depleted each time the brake pedal
is depressed. Do not repeatedly
depress the brake pedal when the
power brake is automatically set.
Pump the brake pedal only when
necessary to maintain the steering
control on slippery surfaces.
B BR
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5-17
Driving your vehicle05
- Brakes
Do not put your foot on the
brake pedal while driving. This
may abnormally increase the
brake temperatures, wear
down the brake lining/pad,
and increase the braking dis-
tances.
When driving down on a long or steep slope, shift to a lower
gear and avoid depressing the
brakes in a continuous man-
ner. Depressing brakes in a
continuous manner may over-
heat the brakes, resulting in a
temporary loss of braking per-
formance.
(Continued)
(Continued)
Wet brakes may impair thevehicle’s ability to safely slow
down. The vehicle may also be
swerved to one side when the
wet brakes are depressed.
Lightly depress the brakes to
verify whether the brakes are
wet and show the above
symptom. Always test your
brakes in this fashion after
driving through deep water.
To dry the wet brakes, lightly
depress the brakes, while
maintaining a safe driving
speed until the brake perform-
ance returns to normal.
Always confirm the positions of the brake and accelerator,
before driving. If you do not
so, you may be confused and
depress the accelerator
instead of the brake pedal. It
may cause a serious accident.
WARNING
In the event of brake failure
When service brakes fail to operate
while driving, you can make an
emergency stop by setting the park-
ing brake. The braking distance,
however, will become longer than
normal.
Disc brakes wear indicator
Your vehicle is equipped with disc
brakes. When your brake pads are
worn down and new pads are
required, you will hear a high-pitched
warning sound from the front or rear
brakes. You may hear this beeping
sound or it may sound when the
brake pedal is depressed.
Please remember that some driving
conditions or climates may cause a
brake squeal when you first apply (or
lightly apply) the brakes. This is nor-
mal and does not indicate a problem
with your brakes.
To prevent costly brake repairs,do not drive continuously with
the worn-down brake pads.
Always replace brake pads in a set of a complete front and rear
axle.
NOTICE
5-18
Driving your vehicle
- Parking brake
Setting the parking brake while
driving at a normal speed may
cause a sudden loss of vehicle
control. If you must set the
parking brake to stop, set it with
great caution.
WARNING
- Brake wear
This brake wear warning sound
indicates that your vehicle
should be repaired. If you
ignore this audible warning
sound, you will eventually lose
braking performance, which
may lead to a serious accident.
WARNING
AUTO HOLD
The AUTO HOLD makes the brakes
keep being applied after the com-
plete stop of the vehicle with the shift
lever in D, R, or N. The brakes are
released when the throttle is applied.
Set up
1.Press the AUTO HOLD switch. TheAUTO HOLD indicator will illumi-
nate in white and the system will
be in the standby status.
2.When you completely stop the vehicle by depressing the brake
pedal, the AUTO HOLD maintains
the brake pressure in order to firm-
ly stop the vehicle. The indicator
color changes from white to green. 3.The vehicle will remain to be stand-
still even when you release the
brake pedal.
4.When setting the EPB, the Auto Hold will be released.
Leaving
When you depress the accelerator
pedal with the shift lever in
R(Reverse)/D(Drive) or in sports
mode, the AUTO HOLD will be auto-
matically released automatically.
Then, the vehicle will start to move.
The indicator color changes from
green to white.
Cancel
If you want to manually release or
cancel the AUTO HOLD, release the
Auto Hold switch while depressing
the brake pedal. The Auto Hold indi-
cator will go OFF. For your safety,
manually release the Auto Hold,
when the distance from the vehicle
ahead is too close or during downhill
driving.
5-23
Driving your vehicle05
OVI055123N
OVI055113N
When driving off from the AUTO
HOLD by depressing the accel-
erator, always take a look
around your vehicle. Slowly
press the accelerator for a
smooth starting.
WARNING
Anti-lock brake system (ABS)
The ABS continuously monitors the
wheel speed. When the wheels are
about to be locked, the ABS system
repeatedly modulates the hydraulic
brake pressure to the wheels.When you depress brake pedals in
conditions, which may lock the
wheels, you may hear a snapping
sound or feel like that from the
brakes. This is normal and indicates
your ABS is active.
In order to obtain the maximum ben-
efit from your ABS in an emergency
situation, do not attempt to modulate
your brake pressure or to pump your
brakes. Press your brake pedal as
hard, as possible, or as the situation
allows, in order for the ABS to control
the power delivery to the brakes.
Information
A clicking sound may be heard in the
engine compartment, when the engine
is started, and the vehicle begins to
move. These conditions are normal
and indicate that the anti-lock brake
system properly operates.
Even with the anti-lock brake sys-
tem, your vehicle still requires a
safe braking distance. Always
maintain a safe distance from the
vehicle in front of you.
Always slow down the speed when cornering. The anti-lock brake sys-
tem cannot prevent accidents
resulted from an excessively high
speed.
On loose or uneven road surfaces, operation of the anti-lock brake
system may result in a longer brak-
ing distance than the one of a vehi-
cle equipped with a conventional
brake system.
i
5-26
Driving your vehicle
ABS (or ESC, Electronic
Stability Control system) can-
not prevent accidents caused
by improper or dangerous driv-
ing maneuvers. Even though
you have more control over the
vehicle with emergency brak-
ing, always maintain a safe dis-
tance between you and objects
ahead. Vehicle speeds should
always be reduced in extreme
rough road conditions. The
braking distance of an ABS(or
ESC)-equipped vehicle may be
longer than the one of a ABS-
unequipped vehicle in the fol-
lowing road conditions. In these
conditions the vehicle should
be driven at a reduced speed:
A road surface is rough, or it is covered with gravel or
snow
Tire chains are installed
The road surface is pitted or uneven.
The safety performance of an
ABS(or ESC)-equipped vehicle
should not be tested by driving
at a high speed or cornering.
This may put you and others in
danger.
WARNING
When the ABS warning light illu-minates and remains ON, your
vehicle may have a problem with
the ABS. In this case, however,
your brake system is normally
operable.
The ABS warning light will stay ON for approximately 3 seconds
after the ignition switch is ON.
Then, the ABS will perform self-
diagnosis, and if everything is
normal, the light will go OFF. If
the light stays ON, your vehicle
may have a problem with the
ABS. Immediately contact an
authorized EQUUS dealer. When continuously depressing
brakes, while driving on a road
of poor traction, such as an icy
road, the ABS will be continu-
ously active, and the ABS warn-
ing light will illuminate. Pull over
the vehicle in a safe place and
stop the engine.
When restart the engine, and then the ABS warning light goes OFF,
your ABS system is normal.
Otherwise, your vehicle may have
a problem with the ABS.
Immediately contact an author-
ized EQUUS dealer.
Information
When you jump start your vehicle
because of a drained battery, the
engine may not run as smoothly, and
the ABS warning light may be turned
ON. This happens because of the low
battery voltage. It does not indicate
the ABS malfunction.
• Do not pump your brakes!
• Recharge the battery before drivingthe vehicle.
i
NOTICE
NOTICE
5-27
Driving your vehicle05
WKH-014
Hill-start assist control (HAC)
A vehicle has the tendency to slide
backwards on a steep slope, when the
driver begins to accelerate after a
stop. The HAC prevents the vehicle
from sliding backwards by automati-
cally operating the brake systems for
about 2 seconds. The brake systems
are automatically released, when the
accelerator pedal is depressed or after
about 2 seconds.
Information
• The HAC does not operate when theshift lever is in P(Park) or
N(Neutral).
• The HAC activates, even when the ESC is OFF. However, it does not
activate, when the ESC malfunc-
tions.
Good braking practices
Make sure the parking brake isreleased and that the parking
brake indicator goes OFF before
driving.
Driving through water may get the brakes wet. The brakes may also
get wet after washing the vehicle.
Wet brakes can be dangerous!
Your vehicle may not quickly stop,
when the brakes are wet. Wet
brakes may cause the vehicle to
slide to one side.
To dry the brake, lightly depress
the brake pedal until the braking
operation returns to normal, taking
care to keep the vehicle under con-
trol at all times. When the braking
operation does not return to nor-
mal, immediately and safely stop
the vehicle and call an authorized
EQUUS dealer for assistance.i
5-32
Driving your vehicle
The HAC is activated only for
about 2 seconds, so always
depress the accelerator pedal
to begin driving upwards after a
stop.
WARNING
Whenever parking or leaving the vehicle, always securely
set the parking brake and
locate the vehicle's shift lever
in P(Park). A vehicle, of which
the shift lever is not in P(Park)
with the parking brake set ON,
is at risk of inadvertently mov-
ing and injuring you or others.
All vehicles should always set the parking brake, when park-
ing, to avoid inadvertent
movement, which may injure
occupants or pedestrians.
WARNING
Do not slide down (or coast down)the vehicle on a slope out of gear.
This is extremely hazardous. Keep
the vehicle in gear at all times,
depress the brake pedal to slow
down, and then shift to a lower
gear so that engine braking will
help you maintain a safe speed.
Do not "ride" the brake pedal. Resting your foot on the brake
pedal, while driving, is dangerous
because it may result brake over-
heating or lose braking effects. It
also wears out the brake compo-
nents.
If a tire goes flat while driving, gen- tly depress the brake pedal. Keep
the driving direction straight ahead
while slowing down the speed.
When the speed is lowered
enough to be safe, pull off and stop
the vehicle in a safe place.
When your vehicle is equipped with an automatic transmission, do
not let your car creep forward. To
avoid creeping forward, firmly
depress the brake pedal when
stopping the vehicle.
Be careful when parking on a slope. Firmly set the parking brake
and place the shift lever in P(Park).
When parking the vehicle on a
downward slope, steer the front
wheels sideways (into the curbs) to
prevent the vehicle from rolling.
When parking the vehicle on an
upwards, turn the front wheels
sideways (away from the curb) to
prevent the vehicle from rolling.
If there is no curb, or if it is required
by other conditions, block the
wheels with obstacles to keep the
vehicle from rolling. Under some conditions, your park-
ing brake may freeze in the
engaged position. This is most like-
ly to happen, when there is an
accumulation of snow or ice
around or near the rear brakes, or
when the brake is wet. When there
is a risk that the parking brake may
freeze, temporarily depress the
brake pedal while locating the shift
lever(automatic transmission) in
P(Park) and block the rear wheels.
Thus, the vehicle may not roll.
Then, release the parking brake.
Do not hold the vehicle on a slope by depressing the accelerator. This
may overheat the transmission.
Always use the brake pedal or
parking brake.
5-33
Driving your vehicle05