
Before entering vehicle
• Be sure that all windows, outside mir-ror(s), and outside lights are clean.
Check the condition of the tires.
Check under the vehicle for any sign of leaks.
Be sure there are no obstacles behind you if you intend to back up. Necessary inspections
Fluid levels, such as engine oil, engine
coolant, brake fluid, and washer fluid
should be checked on a regular basis,
with the exact interval depending on the
fluid. Further details are provided in sec-
tion 7, “Maintenance”.
Before starting
Close and lock all doors.
Position the seat so that all controls are
easily reached.
Adjust the inside and outside rearview mirrors.
Be sure that all lights work.
Check all gauges.
Check the operation of warning lights when the ignition switch is turned to the ON position.
Release the parking brake and make sure the brake warning light goes out.
For safe operation, be sure you are famil-
iar with your vehicle and its equipment.
53
Driving your vehicle
BEFORE DRIVING
WARNING
All passengers must be properly
belted whenever the vehicle is mov-
ing. Refer to “Seat belts” in section
3 for more information on their
proper use.
WARNING
Always check the surrounding
areas near your vehicle for people,
especially children, before putting a
car into D (Drive) or R (Reverse).
WARNING
Driving while distracted can result
in a loss of vehicle control, that
may lead to an accident, severe
personal injury, and death. The dri-
ver’s primary responsibility is in
the safe and legal operation of a
vehicle, and use of any handheld
devices, other equipment, or vehi-
cle systems which take the driver’s
eyes, attention and focus away
from the safe operation of a vehicle
or which are not permissible by law
should never be used during oper-
ation of the vehicle.
procarmanuals.com

Driving your vehicle
6
5
Starting the engine✽✽
NOTICE - Kick down mecha- nism (if equipped)
If your vehicle is equipped with a kick
down mechanism in the accelerator
pedal, it prevents you from driving at
full throttle unintentionally by making
the driver require increased effort to
depress the accelerator pedal. However,
if you depress the pedal more than
approximately 80%, the vehicle can be
at full throttle and the accelerator pedal
will be easier to depress. This is not a
malfunction but a normal condition. WARNING - Ignition switch
Never turn the ignition switch to LOCK or ACC while the vehicle is
moving. This would result in loss
of directional control and braking
function, which could cause anaccident.
The anti-theft steering column lock is not a substitute for the parking
brake. Before leaving the driver’s
seat, always make sure the shift
lever is engaged in 1 st
gear for the
manual transaxle or P (Park) for
the automatic transaxle, set the
parking brake fully and shut the
engine off. Unexpected and sud-
den vehicle movement may occurif these precautions are not taken.
Never reach for the ignition switch, or any other controls through the
steering wheel while the vehicle is
in motion. The presence of yourhand or arm in this area could
cause a loss of vehicle control, an
accident and serious bodily injuryor death.
Do not place any movable objects around the driver’s seat as they
may move while driving, interferewith the driver and lead to an acci-dent.
WARNING
Always wear appropriate shoes when operating your vehicle.
Unsuitable shoes (high heels, ski
boots,etc.) may interfere with
your ability to use the brake and
accelerator pedal, and the clutch(if equipped).
Do not start the vehicle with the accelerator pedal depressed. The
vehicle can move and lead to anaccident.
Wait until the engine rpm is nor- mal. The vehicle may suddenly
move if the brake pedal isreleased when the rpm is high.
procarmanuals.com

57
Driving your vehicle
Starting the gasoline engine
1. Make sure the parking brake isapplied.
2. Manual Transaxle - Depress the
clutch pedal fully and leave the shift
lever at Neutral. Keep the clutch pedal
and brake pedal depressed while turn-
ing the ignition switch to the start posi-tion.
Automatic Transaxle - Place the
transaxle shift lever in P (Park).
Depress the brake pedal fully.
You can also start the engine when
the shift lever is in the N (Neutral)position.
3. Turn the ignition switch to START and hold it there until the engine starts (a
maximum of 10 seconds), then
release the key.
It should be started without depressing
the accelerator.
4. Do not wait for the engine to warm up while the vehicle remains stationary.
Start driving at moderate engine speeds.
(Steep accelerating and decelerating
should be avoided.)
Starting the diesel engine
To start the diesel engine when the engine is cold, it has to be pre-heated
before starting the engine and then have
to be warmed up before starting to drive.
1. Make sure the parking brake is applied.
2. Manual Transaxle - Depress the
clutch pedal fully and leave the shift
lever at Neutral. Keep the clutch pedal
and brake pedal depressed while turn-
ing the ignition switch to the start posi-tion.
Automatic Transaxle - Place the
transaxle shift lever in P(park).
Depress the brake pedal fully.
You can also start the engine when the
shift lever is in the N(neutral) position.
CAUTION
If the engine stalls while you are inmotion, do not attempt to move theshift lever to the P (Park) position. If
traffic and road conditions permit, you may put the shift lever in the N(Neutral) position while the vehicle
is still moving and turn the ignition switch to the START position in an
attempt to restart the engine.
CAUTION
Do not engage the starter for more than 10 seconds. If the enginestalls or fails to start, wait 5 to 10seconds before re-engaging the
starter. Improper use of the starter may damage it.
Do not turn the ignition switch to the START position with theengine running. It may damage
the starter.
procarmanuals.com

511
Driving your vehicle
START/RUN
With manual transaxle
To start the engine, depress the clutch
pedal and brake pedal, then press the
ENGINE START/STOP with the shift
lever in the Neutral position.
With automatic transaxle
To start the engine, depress the brake
pedal and press the ENGINE START/
STOP button with the shift lever in the P
(Park) or the N (Neutral) position. For
your safety, start the engine with the shift
lever in the P (Park) position.
✽✽
NOTICE
If you press the ENGINE START/STOP
button without depressing the clutch
pedal for manual transaxle vehicles or
without depressing the brake pedal for
automatic transaxle vehicles, the engine
will not start and the ENGINE START/
STOP button changes as follow:
OFF ➔
➔
ACC ➔➔
ON ➔➔
OFF or ACC ✽
✽
NOTICE
If you leave the ENGINE START/ STOP
button in the ACC or ON position for a
long time, the battery will discharge.
WARNING
Never press the ENGINE START/ STOP button while the vehicle is
in motion. This would result in
loss of directional control and
braking function, which couldcause an accident.
The anti-theft steering column lock (if equipped) is not a substi-
tute for the parking brake. Before
leaving the driver's seat, always
make sure the shift lever is
engaged in P (Park), set the park-
ing brake fully and shut the
engine off. Unexpected and sud-
den vehicle movement may occurif these precautions are nottaken.
(Continued)
(Continued)
Never reach for the ENGINESTART/STOP button or any other
controls through the steering
wheel while the vehicle is in
motion. The presence of yourhand or arm in the area could
cause loss of vehicle control, an
accident and serious bodily
injury or death.
Do not place any movable objects around the driver's seat as they
may move while driving, interferewith the driver and lead to anaccident.
Not illuminated
procarmanuals.com

Driving your vehicle
12
5
Starting the engine
✽✽
NOTICE - Kick down mecha- nism (if equipped)
If your vehicle is equipped with a kick
down mechanism in the accelerator
pedal, it prevents you from driving at
full throttle unintentionally by making
the driver require increased effort to
depress the accelerator pedal. However,
if you depress the pedal more than
approximately 80%, the vehicle can be
at full throttle and the accelerator pedal
will be easier to depress. This is not a
malfunction but a normal condition.
Starting the gasoline engine (if equipped)
1. Carry the smart key or leave it inside the vehicle.
2. Make sure the parking brake is firmly applied
3. Manual Transaxle - Depress the
clutch pedal fully and shift the
transaxle into Neutral. Keep the clutch
pedal and brake pedal depressed
while starting the engine.
Automatic Transaxle - Place the
transaxle shift lever in P (Park).
Depress the brake pedal fully.
You can also start the engine when
the shift lever is in the N (Neutral)
position.
4. Press the ENGINE START/STOP but- ton.
It should be started without depressing
the accelerator.
5. Do not wait for the engine to warm up while the vehicle remains stationary.
Start driving at moderate engine speeds.
(Steep accelerating and decelerating
should be avoided.)
Starting the diesel engine (if equipped)
To start the diesel engine when the engine is cold, it has to be pre-heated
before starting the engine and then have
to be warmed up before starting to drive.
1. Make sure the parking brake is applied.
2. Manual Transaxle - Depress the
clutch pedal fully and shift the
transaxle into Neutral. Keep the clutch
pedal and brake pedal depressed
while pressing the ENGINE START/
STOP button to the START position.
Automatic Transaxle - Place the
transaxle shift lever in P (Park).
Depress the brake pedal fully.
You can also start the engine when the
shift lever is in the N (Neutral) position.
WARNING
Always wear appropriate shoes when operating your vehicle.
Unsuitable shoes (high heels, ski
boots,etc.) may interfere with
your ability to use the brake and
accelerator pedal, and the clutch(if equipped).
Do not start the vehicle with the accelerator pedal depressed. The
vehicle can move and lead to anaccident.
Wait until the engine rpm is nor- mal. The vehicle may suddenly
move if the brake pedal isreleased when the rpm is high.
procarmanuals.com

515
Driving your vehicle
Your vehicle may be equipped with the ISG system, which reduces fuel con-
sumption by automatically shutting down
the engine, when the vehicle is at a
standstill. (For example : red light, stop
sign and traffic jam)
The engine starts automatically as soon
as the starting conditions are met.
The ISG system is ON whenever the
engine is running.
✽✽NOTICE
When the engine automatically starts by
the ISG system, some warning lights
(ABS, ESC, ESC OFF, EPS or Parking
brake warning light) may turn on for a
few seconds.
This happens because of low battery
voltage. It does not mean the system is
malfunctioning.
Auto stop
To stop the engine in idle stop mode
1. Decrease the vehicle speed to less than 5 km/h.
2. Shift into N (Neutral) position.
3. Release the clutch pedal.
The engine will stop and the green AUTO
STOP indicator ( ) on the instrument
cluster will illuminate. If your vehicle is
equipped with a supervision cluster, the
notice will illuminate on the LCD display.
✽✽ NOTICE
You must reach a speed of at least 10 km/h since last idle stop.
If you unfasten the seat belt or open the driver’s door (engine hood) in
auto stop mode, the light on the ISG
OFF button will illuminate and ISG
system is deactivated. If your vehicle
is equipped with a supervision cluster,
the notice will illuminate on the LCD
display.
Turn the ignition switch to the START
position to start the engine manually.
ISG (IDLE STOP AND GO) SYSTEM (IF EQUIPPED)
OJC050032OJC050038
procarmanuals.com

Driving your vehicle
20
5
During cold weather, shifting may be
difficult until the transaxle lubricant has
warmed up. This is normal and not
harmful to the transaxle.
If you've come to a complete stop and it's hard to shift into 1st (First) or R
(Reverse), leave the shift lever at
Neutral position and release the clutch.
Depress the clutch pedal back down,and then shift into 1st (First) or R
(Reverse) gear position.CAUTION
To avoid premature clutch wear
and damage, do not drive withyour foot resting on the clutch
pedal. Also, don’t use the clutch to hold the vehicle stopped on anuphill grade, while waiting for a
traffic light, etc.
Do not use the shift lever as a handrest during driving, as thiscan result in premature wear ofthe transaxle shift forks.
When operating the clutch pedal, press the clutch pedal down fully.If you don't press the clutch pedal
fully, the clutch may be damagedor noise may occur.
To prevent possible damage to the clutch system, do not startwith the 2nd (second) gear
engaged except when you start on a slippery road.WARNING
Before leaving the driver’s seat, always set the parking brake fully
and shut the engine off. Thenmake sure the transaxle is shifted
into 1st (First) gear when the
vehicle is parked on a level or
uphill grade, and shifted into R
(Reverse) on a downhill grade.
Unexpected and sudden vehicle
movement can occur if these pre-
cautions are not followed in the
order identified.
If your vehicle has a manual transaxle not equipped with a
ignition lock switch, it may moveand cause a serious accident
when starting the engine without
depressing the clutch pedal whilethe parking brake is released and
the shift lever not in the Neutralposition.
Do not use the engine brake (shifting from a high gear to
lower gear) rapidly on slippery
roads. The vehicle may slip caus-ing an accident.
procarmanuals.com

523
Driving your vehicle
Automatic transaxle operation
The automatic transaxle has 6 forward
speeds and one reverse speed. The indi-
vidual speeds are selected automatically,depending on the position of the shift
lever.
✽✽NOTICE
The first few shifts on a new vehicle, if
the battery has been disconnected, may
be somewhat abrupt. This is a normal
condition, and the shifting sequence will
adjust after shifts are cycled a few times
by the TCM (Transaxle Control Module)
or PCM (Powertrain Control Module).
For smooth operation, depress the brake pedal when shifting from N (Neutral) to a
forward or reverse gear.
WARNING - Automatic
transaxle
Always check the surrounding areas near your vehicle for peo-
ple, especially children, beforeshifting a car into D (Drive) or R
(Reverse).
Before leaving the driver’s seat, always make sure the shift lever
is in the P (Park) position; then
set the parking brake fully and
shut the engine off. Unexpected
and sudden vehicle movementcan occur if these precautions
are not followed in the order iden-tified.
Do not use the engine brake (shifting from a high gear to
lower gear) rapidly on slippery
roads. The vehicle may slip caus-ing an accident.
CAUTION
To avoid damage to your
transaxle, do not accelerate theengine in R (Reverse) or any for-
ward gear position with the brakes on.
When stopped on an upgrade, do not hold the vehicle with enginepower. Use the service brake or
the parking brake.
Do not shift from N (Neutral) or P (Park) into D (Drive), or R
(Reverse) when the engine isabove idle speed.
procarmanuals.com