2017 MAZDA MODEL MX-5 RF Owners Manual (in English)

4–75
When Driving
Switches and Controls
CAUTION
  Do not shade the rain sensor by
adhering a sticker or a label on the
windscreen. Otherwise the rain
sensor will not operate correctly.
 
 When the wiper lever is in the
position and the ignition is switched
ON, the wipers may move
automatically in the following cases:
 


 If the windscreen above the rain
sensor is touched or wiped with a
cloth.
 


 If the windscreen is struck with a
hand or other object from either
outside or inside the vehicle.
  Keep hands and scrapers clear of the
windscreen when the wiper lever is
in the
position and the ignition
is switched ON as ¿ ngers could be
pinched or the wipers and wiper
blades damaged when the wipers
activate automatically.
 If you are going to clean the
windscreen, be sure the wipers are
turned off completely (when it is
most likely that the engine is left
running) this is particularly important
when clearing ice and snow.
NOTE
  Switching the auto-wiper lever from
the
to the position while
driving activates the windscreen
wipers once, after which they operate
according to the rainfall amount.
  The auto-wiper control may not
operate when the rain sensor
temperature is about –10 °C (14 °F)
or lower, or about 85 °C (185 °F) or
higher.
  If the windscreen is coated with
water repellent, the rain sensor may
not be able to sense the amount of
rainfall correctly and auto-wiper
control may not operate properly.
  If dirt or foreign matter (Such as
ice or matter containing salt water)
adheres to the windscreen above
the rain sensor or if the windscreen
is iced, it could cause the wipers to
move automatically. However, if the
wipers cannot remove this ice, dirt
or foreign matter, the auto-wiper
control will stop operation. In this
case, set the wiper lever to the low
speed position or high speed position
for manual operation, or remove the
ice, dirt or foreign matter by hand to
restore the auto-wiper operation.
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4–76
When Driving
Switches and Controls
NOTE
  If the auto-wiper lever is left in the
position, the wipers could
operate automatically from the effect
of strong light sources,
electromagnetic waves, or infrared
light because the rain sensor uses an
optical sensor. It is recommended
that the auto-wiper lever be switched
to the
position other than when
driving the vehicle under rainy
conditions.
  The auto-wiper control functions can
be turned off.
 Refer to Personalisation Features on
page 9-10 .
Windscreen Washer
Pull the lever toward you and hold it to
spray washer À uid.
Washer OFF
NOTE
If the windscreen washer is turned
on when the windscreen wipers are
not operating, the windscreen wipers
operate a few times.
If the washer does not work, inspect the
À uid level (page 6-23 ). If the À uid level
is normal, consult an expert repairer,
we recommend an Authorised Mazda
Repairer.
NOTE
(With headlight washers)
When the headlights are on, the
headlight washers operate automatically
once every ¿ fth time the windscreen
washer operates.
Refer to Headlight Washer on page
4-77 .
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4–77
When Driving
Switches and Controls
*Some models.
Headlight Washer *
The ignition must be switched ON and the
headlights must be turned on.
The headlight washers operate
automatically once every ¿ fth time the
windscreen washer operates.
If you want to operate headlight washers,
doubleÀ ick the wiper lever.
Washer OFF
NOTE
If air enters the headlight washer À uid
pipe under conditions such as when
the vehicle is brand-new or after an
empty washer tank is replenished with
washerÀ uid, washer À uid will not spray
even when the wiper lever is operated.
If this occurs, perform the following
procedure:
1. Start the engine.
2. Turn on the headlights.
3. Double À ick the wiper lever several
times until the washer À uid sprays.
Rear Window Defogger
The rear window defogger clears fog from
the rear window.
The ignition must be switched ON to use
the defogger.
Press the switch to turn on the rear
window defogger. The rear window
defogger operates for about 15 minutes
and then turns off automatically.
The indicator light illuminates when the
defogger is operating.
To turn off the rear window defogger
before the 15 minutes has elapsed, press
the switch again.
Manual Air-Conditioning
Indicator light
Fully Automatic Air-Conditioning
Indicator light
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4–78
When Driving
Switches and Controls
*Some models.
CAUTION
  Do not use sharp instruments or
window cleaners with abrasives to
clean the inside of the rear window
surface. They may damage the
defogger grid inside the window.
  Before opening the convertible top,
make sure the rear window defogger
switch is turned off. Otherwise the
heat generated from the defogger
could damage the convertible top and
the internal material.
NOTE
This defogger is not designed
for melting snow. If there is an
accumulation of snow on the rear
window, remove it before using the
defogger.
Mirror Defogger *
The mirror defoggers defrost the outside
mirrors.
The mirror defoggers operate in
conjunction with the rear window
defogger.
To turn on the mirror defoggers, switch
the ignition ON and press the rear window
defogger switch (page 4-77 ).
Manual Air-Conditioning
Indicator light
Fully Automatic Air-Conditioning
Indicator light
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4–79
When Driving
Switches and Controls
Horn
To sound the horn, press the mark on
the steering wheel.
Hazard Warning Flasher
The hazard warning lights should always
be used when you stop on or near a
roadway in an emergency.
The hazard warning lights warn other
drivers that your vehicle is a traf¿ c hazard
and that they must take extreme caution
when near it.
Depress the hazard warning À asher and
all the direction indicators will À ash. The
hazard warning indicator lights in the
instrument cluster À ash simultaneously.
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4–80
When Driving
Switches and Controls
NOTE
  The direction indicators do not work
when the hazard warning lights are
on.
  Check local regulations about the use
of hazard warning lights while the
vehicle is being towed to verify that
it is not in violation of the law.
  If the brake pedal is depressed
while driving on slippery roads, the
emergency stop signal system could
operate causing all the turn and lane
change signals to À ash. Refer to
Emergency Stop Signal System on
page 4-84 .
  While the emergency stop signal
system is operating, all the direction
indicators automatically À ash rapidly
to caution the driver of a vehicle
following behind your vehicle of a
sudden braking situation. Refer to
Emergency Stop Signal System on
page 4-84 .
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4–81
When Driving
Brake
B r a k e S y s t e m
Foot Brake
This vehicle has power-assisted brakes
that adjust automatically through normal
use.
Should power-assist fail, you can stop by
applying greater force than normal to the
brake pedal. But the distance required to
stop will be greater than usual.
WARNING
Do not coast with the engine stalled or
turned off, ¿ nd a safe place to stop:
Coasting with the engine stalled or
turned off is dangerous. Braking will
require more effort, and the brake's
power-assist could be depleted if you
pump the brake. This will cause longer
stopping distances or even an accident.
Shift to a lower gear when going down
steep hills:
Driving with your foot continuously on
the brake pedal or steadily applying the
brakes for long distances is dangerous.
This causes overheated brakes,
resulting in longer stopping distances
or even total brake failure. This could
cause loss of vehicle control and a
serious accident. Avoid continuous
application of the brakes.
Dry off brakes that have become
wet by driving slowly, releasing the
accelerator pedal and lightly applying
the brakes several times until the brake
performance returns to normal:
Driving with wet brakes is dangerous.
Increased stopping distance or the
vehicle pulling to one side when
braking could result in a serious
accident. Light braking will indicate
whether the brakes have been affected.
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4–82
When Driving
Brake
CAUTION
  Do not drive with your foot held
on the clutch pedal or brake pedal,
or hold the clutch pedal depressed
halfway unnecessarily. Doing so
could result in the following:
 


 The clutch and brake parts will
wear out more quickly.
 


 The brakes can overheat
and adversely affect brake
performance.
 
 Always depress the brake pedal with
the right foot. Applying the brakes
with the unaccustomed left foot
could slow your reaction time to
an emergency situation resulting in
insuf¿ cient braking operation.


 Wear shoes appropriate for driving in
order to avoid your shoe contacting
the brake pedal when depressing the
accelerator pedal.
Parking Brake
CAUTION
Driving with the parking brake on will
cause excessive wear of the brake parts.
NOTE
For parking in snow, refer to Winter
Driving (page 3-62 ) regarding parking
brake use.
Setting the parking brake
Depress the brake pedal and then ¿ rmly
pull the parking brake lever fully upwards
with suf¿ cient force to hold the vehicle in
a stationary position.
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