Alwayswearas eatb elt, eve nwhend riving off-
road.
GWARNING
If yo udrive ove robstacle sorinr uts, the steer-
ing whee lmayjerk outofy ourg rip, causing
injury to your hands.
Alway sholdt he steering whee lfirmly with
both hands. Whe ndriving ove robstacles, you
must expect steering forces to increase
briefl yand suddenly.
GWARNING
Flammabl ematerial such as leaves, grass or
twigs mayi gnite if they come into contact with
hot parts of the exhaus tsystem .There is arisk
of fire.
Whe ndriving off roa doronunpaved roads,
check the vehicle's undersid eregularly .In
particular, remove parts of plants or other
flammabl ematerial swhich have become
trapped. In the cas eofdamage, contact a
qualified specialist workshop.
!Whe ndriving off-roadoronu npaved surfa-
ces ,check the undersid eofthe vehicl eand
the wheels and tire satregular intervals .In
particular, remove any trappe dforeign
objects, e.g .stone sand branches.
Such foreig nobjects may:
Rdamage the chassis, the fuel tank or the
brake system
Rcause imbalance sand thusv ibrations
Rbe flung outw heny ou continue driving
If ther eisany damage, inform aquali fied spe-
cialist workshop.
Whe ndriving off-roada nd on construction sites,
sand, muda nd water mixe dwitho il,f or exam-
ple, mayg et into the brakes. Thi smaylead to a
reduction in braking performance or totalb rake
failure, also as aresul tofi ncreased wear .The
braking characteristics will vary depending on
the material thath asgot into the system .Clean
the brakes afte rdriving o
ff-road. If yo uth
en
notice reduce dbraking performance or hear
scraping noises ,hav et he brake system checked
at aq uali fied specialist workshop.A djust your
driving style to the changedb raking character-
istics. Driving off-roadoronc
onstruction sites increa-
ses the possibility of vehicl edamag ewhich may
in turn lead to the failure of certain assemblies
and systems. Adapt your driving style to the off- roa ddriving conditions. Driv ecarefully. Have
any vehicl edamag erectifie dataq ualified spe-
cialist workshop as soo naspossible.
Whe nloadin gyourvehicl efor driving off-roado r
on aconstruction site, kee pthe vehicle's center
of gravity as lo waspossible.
Rule sfor drivin goff-road
!Alway sbearthe vehicle's ground clearance
in mind and avoido bstacles, e.g .deepr uts.
Obstacles mayd amagethe following parts of
the vehicle:
Rthe chassis
Rthe drive train
Rthe fuel and supply tanks
For thisr eason, yo ushoul dalway sdrive
slowly when driving off-road. If yo uhavet o
drive ove robstacles, have the front
passengerd irect you.
iWe recommend thaty ouadditionally carry a
shovel and arecover yrop ew iths hackle in the
vehicle.
REnsure thatl oadsand items of luggage are
securel ystowed or lashe ddown
(
Ypage 232).
RBefore driving off-road, stop the vehicl eand
shift to alow gear.
RIf the surface requires ,temporaril ydeactivate
ESP®when pulling away (Ypage 64).
ROnlyd rive off-roadw itht he engine running
and ageare ngaged.
RDriv eslowly and smoothly. Walking pace is
necessary in many situations.
RAvoi dspinning the drive wheels.
RMake sure thatt he wheels always remai nin
contact with the ground.
RDriv ewithe xtreme car eoveru nknown terrain
where yo ucan onlys ee forashort distance.
As aprecaution, get outoft he vehicletotake
al oo katt he route to be take ninadvance.
RCheck the water depth before fording.
RWatch outf or obstacles(e.g. rocks ,holes,
tree stumps and ruts).
RAvoi dedges where the surface could crumble
or break away.
Driving tips139
Driving an dparking
Z
