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621
Driving your vehicle
Good driving practices
Never move the gear shift leverfrom P (Park) to any other position
with the accelerator pedal
depressed.
Never move the gear shift lever into P (Park) when the vehicle is in
motion.
Be sure the vehicle is completely stopped before you attempt to shift
into R (Reverse) or D (Drive).
Never take the vehicle out of gear and coast down a hill. This may be
extremely hazardous. Always leave
the vehicle in gear when moving.
Do not "ride" the brakes. This can cause them to overheat and mal-
function. Instead, when you are
driving down a long hill, slow down
and shift to a lower gear. When you
do this, engine braking will help
slow down the vehicle.
Slow down before shifting to a lower gear. Otherwise, the lower
gear may not be engaged. Always use the parking brake. Do
not depend on placing the
transaxle in P (Park) to keep the
vehicle from moving.
Exercise extreme caution when driving on a slippery surface. Be
especially careful when braking,
accelerating or shifting gears. On a
slippery surface, an abrupt change
in vehicle speed can cause the
drive wheels to lose traction and
the vehicle to go out of control.
Optimum vehicle performance and economy is obtained by smoothly
depressing and releasing the
accelerator pedal.WARNING
Always buckle-up! In a colli-sion, an unbelted occupant is
significantly more likely to be
seriously injured or killed
than a properly belted occu-
pant.
Avoid high speeds when cor- nering or turning.
Do not make quick steering wheel movements, such as
sharp lane changes or fast,
sharp turns.
The risk of rollover is greatly increased if you lose control
of your vehicle at highway
speeds.
(Continued)
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Driving your vehicle
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6
Moving up a steep grade from a
standing start
To move up a steep grade from a
standing start, depress the brake
pedal, shift the shift lever to D
(Drive). Select the appropriate gear
depending on load weight and steep-
ness of the grade, and release the
parking brake. Depress the accelera-
tor gradually while releasing the
service brakes.
When accelerating from a stop on
a steep hill, the vehicle may have a
tendency to roll backwards.
Shifting the shift lever into 2
(Second Gear) will help prevent
the vehicle from rolling back-
wards.
(Continued)
Loss of control often occurs if two or more wheels drop off
the roadway and the driver
oversteers to reenter the road-
way.
In the event your vehicle leaves the roadway, do not
steer sharply. Instead, slow
down before pulling back into
the travel lanes.
Never exceed posted speed limits.WARNING
If your vehicle becomes stuck in
snow, mud, sand, etc., then you
may attempt to rock the vehicle
free by moving it forward and
backward. Do not attempt this
procedure if people or objects
are anywhere near the vehicle.
During the rocking operation
the vehicle may suddenly move
forward or backward as it
becomes unstuck, causing
injury or damage to nearby peo-
ple or objects.
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623
Driving your vehicle
Power brakes
Your vehicle has power-assisted
brakes that adjust automatically
through normal usage.
In the event that the power-assisted
brakes lose power because of a
stalled engine or some other reason,
you can still stop your vehicle by
applying greater force to the brake
pedal than you normally would. The
stopping distance, however, will be
longer.
When the engine is not running, the
reserve brake power is partially
depleted each time the brake pedal
is applied. Do not pump the brake
pedal when the power assist has
been interrupted.
Pump the brake pedal only when
necessary to maintain steering con-
trol on slippery surfaces.
BRAKE SYSTEM
(Continued)
Wet brakes may impair thevehicle’s ability to safely slow
down; the vehicle may also
pull to one side when the
brakes are applied. Applying
the brakes lightly will indicate
whether they have been affect-
ed in this way. Always test your
brakes in this fashion after
driving through deep water. To
dry the brakes, apply them
lightly while maintaining a safe
forward speed until brake per-
formance returns to normal.
Always, confirm the position of the brake and accelerator
pedal before driving. If you
don’t check the position of the
accelerator and brake pedal
before driving, you may
depress the accelerator
instead of the brake pedal. It
may cause a serious accident.WARNING - Brakes
Do not drive with your footresting on the brake pedal.
This will create abnormal high
brake temperatures, exces-
sive brake lining and pad
wear, and increased stopping
distances.
When descending a long or steep hill, shift to a lower gear
and avoid continuous applica-
tion of the brakes. Continuous
brake application will cause
the brakes to overheat and
could result in a temporary
loss of braking performance.
(Continued)
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Driving your vehicle
24
6
In the event of brake failure
If service brakes fail to operate while
the vehicle is in motion, you can
make an emergency stop with the
parking brake. The stopping dis-
tance, however, will be much greater
than normal.
Disc brakes wear indicator
When your brake pads are worn and
new pads are required, you will hear
a high-pitched warning sound from
your front brakes or rear brakes. You
may hear this sound come and go or
it may occur whenever you depress
the brake pedal.
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.WARNING- Parking
brake
Applying the parking brake
while the vehicle is moving at
normal speeds can cause a
sudden loss of control of the
vehicle. If you must use the
parking brake to stop the vehi-
cle, use great caution in apply-
ing the brake.
WARNING
Do not operate the parking
brake while the vehicle is mov-
ing except in an emergency sit-
uation. It could damage the
vehicle system and endanger
driving safety.
Page 413 of 625
625
Driving your vehicle
Parking brake - Hand type
Applying the parking brake
To engage the parking brake, first
apply the foot brake and then without
pressing the release button in, pull
the parking brake lever up as far as
possible.
In addition it is recommended that
when parking the vehicle on a gradi-
ent, the shift lever should be posi-
tioned in the appropriate low gear on
manual transaxle vehicles or in the P
(Park) position for automatic
transaxle vehicles.
WARNING - Brake wear
This brake wear warning sound
means your vehicle needs serv-
ice. If you ignore this audible
warning, you will eventually lose
braking performance, which
could lead to a serious accident.
CAUTION
To avoid costly brake repairs,do not continue to drive withworn brake pads.
Always replace the front or rear brake pads as pairs.
ORP052024
CAUTION
Driving with the parking brakeapplied will cause excessivebrake pad and brake rotor wear.
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Driving your vehicle
26
6
Releasing the parking brake
To release the parking brake, first
apply the foot brake and pull up the
parking brake lever slightly. Secondly
press the release button (1) and
lower the parking brake lever (2)
while holding the button. Check the brake warning light by
turning the ignition switch ON (do not
start the engine). This light will be
illuminated when the parking brake is
applied with the ignition switch in the
START or ON position.
Before driving, be sure the parking
brake is fully released and the brake
warning light is off.
If the brake warning light remains on
after the parking brake is released
while the engine is running, there may
be a malfunction in the brake system.
Immediate attention is necessary.
ORP052025
WARNING
To prevent unintentional
movement when stopped and
leaving the vehicle, do not use
the shift lever instead of the
parking brake. Set the parking
brake AND make sure the shift
lever is securely positioned in
1st (First) gear or R (Reverse)
for manual transaxle
equipped vehicles and in P
(Park) for automatic transaxle
equipped vehicles.
Never allow anyone who is unfamiliar with the vehicle to
touch the parking brake. If the
parking brake is released
unintentionally, serious injury
may occur.
All vehicles should always have the parking brake fully
engaged when parking to
avoid inadvertent movement
of the vehicle which can injure
occupants or pedestrians.
W-75
Page 415 of 625
627
Driving your vehicle
If at all possible, cease driving the
vehicle immediately. If that is not pos-
sible, use extreme caution while
operating the vehicle and only con-
tinue to drive the vehicle until you
can reach a safe location or repair
shop.Electronic parking brake (EPB)
(if equipped)
Applying the parking brake
To apply the EPB (electronic parking
brake):
Pull up the EPB switch.
Make sure the warning light comes
on.
✽ ✽NOTICE
On a steep incline or when pulling a
trailer if the vehicle does not stand
still, do as follows:
1. Apply the EPB.
2. Pull up the EPB switch for more
than 3 seconds.
ORP052026N
CAUTION
Do not operate the parking
brake while the vehicle is mov-ing except in an emergency sit-uation. It could damage thevehicle system and endangerdriving safety.
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Driving your vehicle
28
6
Releasing the parking brake
To release the EPB (electronic parking
brake), press the EPB switch in the
following condition:
Have the ignition switch or engine
start/stop button in the ON posi-
tion.
Depress the brake pedal.
Make sure the brake warning light
goes off. To release EPB (electronic parking
brake) automatically:
Automatic transaxle vehicle
1. Start the engine.
2. Fasten the driver's seat belt.
3. Close the driver's door, engine hood and liftgate.
4. Depress the accelerator pedal while the shift lever is in R
(Rear), D (Drive).
Shift lever in P (Park) With the engine running depress
the brake pedal and shift out of P
(Park) to R (Rear) or D (Drive).
Shift lever in N (Neutral) With the engine running depress
the brake pedal and shift out of N
(Neutral) to R (Rear) or D (Drive).
Make sure the brake warning light
goes off.
✽ ✽ NOTICE
• For your safety, you can engage
the EPB even though the ignition
switch or engine stop/start button
is in the OFF position, but you
cannot release it.
• For your safety, depress the brake pedal and release the parking
brake manually with the EPB
switch when you drive downhill or
when backing up the vehicle.
ORP052027