
5-87
Driving your vehicle
5
Smooth cornering
Avoid braking or gear changing in
corners, especially when roads are
wet. Ideally, corners should always
be taken under gentle acceleration.
Driving at night
Night driving presents more hazards
than driving in the daylight. Here are
some important tips to remember:
Slow down and keep more dis-tance between you and other vehi-
cles, as it may be more difficult to
see at night, especially in areas
where there may not be any street
lights.
Adjust your mirrors to reduce the glare from other driver's head-
lamps.
Keep your headlamps clean and properly aimed. Dirty or improperly
aimed headlamps will make it
much more difficult to see at night.
Avoid staring directly at the head- lamps of oncoming vehicles. You
could be temporarily blinded, and it
will take several seconds for your
eyes to readjust to the darkness.
If you are still stuck after rock-
ing the vehicle a few times, have
the vehicle pulled out by a tow
vehicle to avoid engine over-
heating, possible damage to the
transmission, and tire damage.
See “Towing” in chapter 6.
To prevent damage to the trans-
mission, turn OFF the ESC prior
to rocking the vehicle.CAUTION

5-88
Driving your vehicle
Driving in the rain
Rain and wet roads can make driving
dangerous. Here are a few things to
consider when driving in the rain or
on slick pavement:
Slow down and allow extra follow-ing distance. A heavy rainfall
makes it harder to see and increas-
es the distance needed to stop
your vehicle.
Turn OFF your Cruise Control. (if equipped)
Replace your windshield wiper blades when they show signs of
streaking or missing areas on the
windshield.
Be sure your tires have enough tread. If your tires do not have
enough tread, making a quick stop
on wet pavement can cause a skid
and possibly lead to an accident.
Refer to "Tire Tread" in chapter 7.
Turn on your headlamps to make it easier for others to see you.
Driving too fast through large pud- dles can affect your brakes. If you
must go through puddles, try to
drive through them slowly. If you believe your brakes may be
wet, apply them lightly while driv-
ing until normal braking operation
returns.
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 no
higher than the bottom of the wheel
hub. Drive through any water slowly.
Allow adequate stopping distance
because brake performance may be
reduced.
After driving through water, dry the
brakes by gently applying them sev-
eral times while the vehicle is moving
slowly.

5-89
Driving your vehicle
5
Snow or icy conditions
You need to keep sufficient distance
between your vehicle and the vehicle
in front of you.
Apply the brakes gently. 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 applications on snowy or icy
roads may cause skids to occur.
To drive your vehicle in deep snow, it
may be necessary to use snow tires
or to install tire chains on your tires.
Always carry emergency equipment.
Some of the items you may want to
carry include tire chains, tow straps
or chains, a flashlight, emergency
flares, sand, a shovel, jumper cables,
a window scraper, gloves, ground
cloth, coveralls, a blanket, etc.
Snow tires
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Standard tire Recommended snow tire
Front Rear Front Rear
Tire size Wheel
size Tire size Wheel
size Tire size
Wheel
size Tire size Wheel
size
245/45R18 8.0Jx18 245/45R18 8.0Jx18 245/45R18
8.0Jx18 245/45R18 8.0Jx18
245/40R19
8.5Jx19 245/40R19
or
275/35R19 8.5Jx19
or
9.0Jx19
245/40R19 8.5Jx19 275/35R19 9.0Jx19 245/40R19
8.5Jx19 245/40R19
or
275/35R19 8.5Jx19
or
9.0Jx19
We recommend you use snow tires when road temperature is below 45°F
(7°C). Refer to the below chart, and mount the recommended snow tire for
your vehicle.

5-90
Driving your vehicle
If you mount snow tires on your vehi-
cle, make sure to use the same infla-
tion pressure as the original tires.
However, if you mount 245/40R19
size tire on the rear, the tire inflation
pressure should maintain 35psi.
Mount snow tires on all four wheels
to balance your vehicle's handling in
all weather conditions. The traction
provided by snow tires on dry road
may not be as high as your vehicle's
original equipment tires. Check with
the tire dealer for maximum speed
recommendations.
✽ ✽ NOTICE
Do not install studded tires without
first checking local, state and munic-
ipal regulations for possible restric-
tions against their use.
Tire chains
Since the sidewalls on some radial
tires are thinner than other types of
tires, they may be damaged by
mounting certain types of tire chains
on them. Therefore, the use of snow
tires is recommended instead of tire
chains. Do not mount tire chains on
vehicles equipped with aluminum
wheels; if unavoidable use
AutoSock
®(fabric snow chain).
Install the tire chain after reviewing
the instructions provided with the tire
chains. Damage to your vehicle
caused by improper tire chain use is
not covered by your vehicle manu-
facturer’s warranty. AutoSock
®is a Registered trade-
mark of AutoSock. The use of AutoSock
®(fabric
snow chain) may adversely
affect vehicle handling:
Drive less than 20 mph (30
km/h) or the chain manufac-
turer’s recommended speed
limit, whichever is lower.
Drive carefully and avoid
bumps, holes, sharp turns,
and other road hazards, which
may cause the vehicle to
bounce.
Avoid sharp turns or locked
wheel braking.
WARNING
ODH053135

5-91
Driving your vehicle
5
✽
✽NOTICE
• Install AutoSock®(fabric snow
chain) on the rear tires for 2WD
vehicles or on all four tires for
AWD vehicles. It should be noted
that installing AutoSock
®(fabric
snow chain) on the tires will pro-
vide a greater driving force, but
will not prevent side skids.
• Do not install studded tires with- out first checking local, state and
municipal regulations for possible
restrictions against their use. Chain Installation
When installing AutoSock®(fabric
snow chain), follow the manufactur-
er's instructions and mount them as
tightly possible. Drive slowly (less
than 20 mph (30 km/h)) with chains
installed. If you hear the chains con-
tacting the body or chassis, stop and
tighten them. If they still make con-
tact, slow down until the noise stops.
Remove the AutoSock
®(fabric snow
chain) as soon as you begin driving
on cleared roads.
When mounting AutoSock
®(fabric
snow chain), park the vehicle on
level ground away from traffic. Turn
on the vehicle Hazard Warning
Flasher and place a triangular emer-
gency warning device behind the
vehicle (if available).
Always place the vehicle in P (Park),
apply the parking brake and turn off
the engine before installing tire
chains. AutoSock
®is a Registered trade-
mark of AutoSock. When using AutoSock
®(fabric
snow chain):
Wrong size chains or improp-
erly installed chains can dam-
age your vehicle's brake lines,
suspension, body and wheels.
If you hear noise caused by
chains contacting the body,
retighten the chain to prevent
contact with the vehicle body.
To prevent body damage,
retighten the chains after driv-
ing 0.3~0.6 miles (0.5~1.0 km).
CAUTION

5-92
Driving your vehicle
Two labels on your driver’s door sill
show how much weight your vehicle
was designed to carry: the Tire and
Loading Information Label and the
Certification Label.
Before loading your vehicle, familiar-
ize yourself with the following terms
for determining your vehicle's weight
ratings, from the vehicle's specifica-
tions and the Certification Label:
Base Curb Weight
This is the weight of the vehicle
including a full tank of fuel and all
standard equipment. It does not
include passengers, cargo, or option-
al equipment.
Vehicle Curb Weight
This is the weight of your new vehicle
when you picked it up from your deal-
er plus any aftermarket equipment. Cargo Weight
This figure includes all weight added
to the Base Curb Weight, including
cargo and optional equipment.
GAW (Gross Axle Weight)
This is the total weight placed on
each axle (front and rear) - including
vehicle curb weight and all payload.
GAWR (Gross Axle Weight Rating)
This is the maximum allowable
weight that can be carried by a single
axle (front or rear). These numbers
are shown on the Certification Label.
The total load on each axle must
never exceed its GAWR.
GVW (Gross Vehicle Weight)
This is the Base Curb Weight plus
actual Cargo Weight plus passen-
gers.
GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight
Rating)
This is the maximum allowable
weight of the fully loaded vehicle
(including all options, equipment,
passengers and cargo). The GVWR
is shown on the Certification Label
located on the driver’s door sill.
V V
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5-93
Driving your vehicle
5
Tire loading information label
Vehicle capacity weight
904 lbs. (410 kg)
Vehicle capacity weight is the maxi-
mum combined weight of occupants
and cargo. If your vehicle is equipped
with a trailer, the combined weight
includes the tongue load.
Seating capacity
Total : 5 persons (Front seat : 2 persons,
Rear seat : 3 persons)
Seating capacity is the maximum
number of occupants including a
driver, your vehicle may carry.
However, the seating capacity may
be reduced based upon the weight of
all of the occupants, and the weight
of the cargo being carried or towed.
Do not overload the vehicle as there
is a limit to the total weight, or load
limit including occupants and cargo,
the vehicle can carry.ODH054201N
ODH054202N
ODH054203N
The label located on the driver's
door sill gives the original tire size,
cold tire pressures recommended
for your vehicle, the number of peo-
ple that can be in your vehicle and
vehicle capacity weight.

5-96
Driving your vehicle
Certification label
The certification label is located on
the driver's door sill at the center pil-
lar and shows the maximum allow-
able weight of the fully loaded vehi-
cle. This is called the GVWR (Gross
Vehicle Weight Rating). The GVWR
includes the weight of the vehicle, all
occupants, fuel and cargo.
This label also tells you the maxi-
mum weight that can be supported
by the front and rear axles, called
Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR).The total weight of the vehicle,
including all occupants, accessories,
cargo, and trailer tongue load must
not exceed the Gross Vehicle Weight
Rating (GVWR) or the Gross Axle
Weight Rating (GAWR). To find out
the actual loads on your front and
rear axles, you need to go to a weigh
station and weigh your vehicle. Be
sure to spread out your load equally
on both sides of the centerline.
OBH059070
Overloading
Never exceed the GVWR for
your vehicle, the GAWR for
either the front or rear axle
and vehicle capacity weight.
Exceeding these ratings can
affect your vehicle’s handling
and braking ability, and cause
an accident.
Do not overload your vehicle.
Overloading your vehicle can
cause heat buildup in your
vehicle's tires and possible
tire failure, increased stop-
ping distances and poor vehi-
cle handling-all of which may
result in a crash.
WARNING