545
Driving your vehicle
The onset of winter conditions subject
motor vehicles to greater operating
demands. Therefore, the following sug-
gestions will assist in maintaining peak
performance and reliability during these
periods:
Snowy or Icy conditions
To drive your vehicle in deep snow, it may
be necessary to use snow tyres or to
install tyre chains on your tyres. If snow
tyres are needed, it is necessary to
select tyres equivalent in size and type of
the original equipment tyres. Failure to do
so may adversely affect the safety and
handling of your car. Furthermore,
speeding, rapid acceleration, sudden
brake applications, and sharp turns are
potentially very hazardous practices.
During deceleration, use engine braking
to the fullest extent. Sudden brake appli-
cations on snowy or icy roads may cause
skids to occur. You need to keep suffi-
cient distance between the vehicle in
operation in front and your vehicle. Also,
apply the brake gently. It should be noted
that installing tyre chains on the tyre will
provide a greater driving force, but will
not prevent side skids.
✽NOTICE
Tyre chains are not legal in all states.
Check state laws before fitting tyre
chains.
Snow tyres
If you mount snow tyres on your vehicle,
make sure they are radial tyres of the
same size and load range as the original
tyres. Mount snow tyres on all four
wheels to balance your vehicle’s han-
dling in all weather conditions. Keep in
mind that the traction provided by snow
tyres on dry roads may not be as high as
your vehicle's original equipment tyres.
You should drive cautiously even when
the roads are clear. Check with the tyre
dealer for maximum speed recommen-
dations.
Do not install studded tyres without first
checking local, state and municipal regu-
lations for possible restrictions against
their use.
WINTER MOTORING
WARNING- Snow tyre size
Snow tyres should be equivalent in
size and type to the vehicle's stan-
dard tyres. Otherwise, the safety
and handling of your vehicle may
be adversely affected.
OTQ065023
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Tie-down hook
(for flatbed towing)
WARNING
Do not use the hooks under the
front (or rear) of the vehicle for tow-
ing purposes. These hooks are
designed ONLY for transport tie-
down. If the tie-down hooks are
used for towing, the tie-down hooks
or front bumper will be damaged
and this could lead to serious
injury.
CAUTION - Automatic
transmission
• 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 ignition
switch in the ACC position. A
driver must be in the towed vehi-
cle to operate the steering and
brakes.
• To avoid serious damage to the
automatic transmission, limit the
vehicle speed to 10 mph (15 km/h)
and drive less than 1 mile (1.5
km) when towing.
• Before towing, check the auto-
matic transmission fluid leak
under your vehicle. If the auto-
matic transmission fluid is leak-
ing, a flatbed equipment or tow-
ing dolly must be used.
626
What to do in an emergency
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