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When leaving your vehicle unoccupied:
• Always take the key with you
-even when leav-
ing the vehicle in your own garage.
• Close all windows completely and lock all doors.
• Always park your vehicle where it can be seen.
Park in
awell lit area during the night.
• If the security system is equipped, use it
-even
for ashort period.
• Never leave children or pets in the vehicle unat-
tended.
• Never leave valuables inside the vehicle. Always
take valuables with you.
• Never leave the vehicle documents in the ve-
hicle.
• Never leave articles on
aroof rail. Remove them
from the rack and keep and lock them inside the
vehicle.
• Never leave the spare key in the vehicle. WARNING
If the engine is not running or is turned off while
driving, the power assist for the steering will not
work. The steering will be much harder to oper-
ate.
The power assisted steering is designed to use a
hydraulic pump driven by the engine, to assist steer-
ing.
If the engine stops or the drive belt breaks, you will
still have control of the vehicle. However, greater
steering effort is needed, especially in sharp turns
and at low speeds. The brake system has two separate hydraulic cir-
cuits. If one circuit malfunctions, you will still have
braking ability at two wheels.
BRAKE PRECAUTIONS
Vacuum assisted brakes
The brake booster aids braking by using engine
vacuum. If the engine stops, you can stop the ve-
hicle by depressing the footbrake pedal. However,
greater foot pressure on the footbrake pedal will be
required to stop the vehicle. The stopping distance
will be longer.
If the engine is not running or is turned off while driv-
ing, the power assisted brakes will not function.
Braking will be harder. WARNING
Do not coast with the engine stopped.
Using brakes
Avoid resting your foot on the footbrake pedal while
driving. This will overheat the brakes, wear out the
brake linings/pads faster, and increase fuel con-
sumption.
To help reduce brake wear and to prevent the brakes
from overheating, reduce speed and downshift to a
lower gear before going down aslope or long grade.
Overheated brakes may reduce braking perfor-
mance and could result in loss of vehicle control.
VEHICLE SECURITY
POWER STEERING SYSTEM BRAKE SYSTEM
Starting and driving5-49
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In order to maintain the appearance of your vehicle,
it is important to take proper care of it.
Whenever possible, park your vehicle inside aga-
rage or in acovered area to minimise the chances
of damaging the paint surface of your vehicle.
When it is necessary to park outside, park in ashady
area or protect the vehicle with abody cover. Be
careful not to scratch the paint surface when put-
ting on or removing the body cover.
WASHING
In the following instances, wash your vehicle as soon
as possible to protect the paint surface:
• After
arainfall, which may cause the paint sur-
face damage from acid rain.
• After driving on coastal roads, which may cause
rusting from the sea breeze.
• When contaminants such as soot, bird drop-
pings, tree sap, metal particles or bugs get on
the paint surface.
• When dust or mud builds up on the paint sur-
face.
1. Wash the vehicle surface with awet sponge and
plenty of water.
2. Clean the vehicle surface gently and thoroughly using amild soap, aspecial vehicle soap or a
general purpose dishwashing liquid mixed with
clean, lukewarm (never hot) water. CAUTION
• Do not wash the vehicle with strong house-
hold soap, strong chemical detergents,
petrol or solvents.
• Do not wash the vehicle in direct sunlight
or while the vehicle body is hot, as the
paint surface may become water-spotted.
• Avoid using tight-napped or rough cloths,
such as washing mitts. Care must be taken
when removing caked-on dirt or other for-
eign substances so the paint surface is not
scratched or damaged.
• Lock all doors before going through auto-
matic car wash. Locking doors helps pre-
vent fuel filler lid from opening and be-
coming damaged.
3. Rinse the vehicle thoroughly with plenty of clean water.
4. Use adampened chamois to dry the paint sur-
face and avoid leaving water spots.
When washing the vehicle, take care of the follow- ing:
• Inside flanges, joints and folds on the doors,
hatches and bonnet are particularly vulnerable to
the effects of road salt. Therefore, these areas
must be cleaned regularly.
• Be sure that the drain holes in the lower edge of
the doors are not clogged. •
Spray water on the underbody and in the wheel
wells to loosen the dirt and/or wash away road
salt.
REMOVING SPOTS
Remove tar and oil spots, industrial dust, insects,
and tree sap as quickly as possible from the paint
surface to avoid lasting damage or staining. Special
cleaning products are available at an approved
dealer or any automotive accessory store.
WAXING
Regular waxing protects the paint surface and helps
maintain anew vehicle appearance.
After waxing, polishing is recommended to remove
built-up residue and to avoid aweathered appear-
ance.
An approved dealer can assist you in choosing the
appropriate waxing products.
CAUTION
• Wash your vehicle thoroughly and completely
before applying wax to the paint surface.
• Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions
supplied with the wax.
• Do not use
awax containing any abrasives,
cutting compounds or cleaners that may dam-
age the vehicle finish.
Machine compounding or aggressive polishing on a
base coat/clear coat paint finish may dull the finish
or leave swirl marks.
CLEANING EXTERIOR
7-2
Appearance and care
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Some day-to-day and regular maintenance is essen-
tial to maintain your vehicle’s good mechanical con-
dition, as well as its emission and engine perfor-
mance.
It is the owner’s responsibility to make sure that the
specified maintenance, as well as general mainte-
nance, is performed.
As the vehicle owner, you are the only one who can
ensure that your vehicle receives the proper mainte-
nance care.
SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE
For your convenience, the required scheduled main-
tenance items are described and listed in aseparate
Warranty Information and Maintenance booklet. You
must refer to that booklet to ensure that necessary
maintenance is performed on your vehicle at regular
intervals.
GENERAL MAINTENANCE
General maintenance includes those items which should be checked during normal day-to-day opera-
tion of the vehicle. They are essential if your vehicle
is to continue to operate properly. It is your respon-
sibility to perform these procedures regularly as pre- scribed.
Performing general maintenance checks requires
minimal mechanical skill and only afew general au-
tomotive tools.
These checks or inspections can be done by your-
self, aqualified technician, or if you prefer, your
approved dealer or qualified workshop. WHERE TO GO FOR SERVICE
If maintenance service is required or your vehicle
appears to malfunction, have the systems checked
and tuned by an authorised approved dealer or
qualified workshop.
During normal day-to-day operation of the vehicle,
general maintenance should be performed regularly
as prescribed in this section. If you detect any un-
usual sounds, vibrations or smells, be sure to check
for the cause or have an approved dealer or quali-
fied workshop do it promptly. In addition, you should
notify an approved dealer or qualified workshop if
you think that repairs are required.
When performing any checks or maintenance work,
closely observe “Maintenance precautions” later in
this section.
EXPLANATION OF GENERAL
MAINTENANCE ITEMS
Additional information on the following items with
“*” is found later in this section.
Outside vehicle
The maintenance items listed here should be per-
formed from time to time, unless otherwise speci-
fied.
Doors and bonnet:
Check that all doors and the bonnet operate
smoothly as well as the tailgate. Also make sure that
all latches lock securely. Lubricate if necessary.
Make sure that the secondary latch keeps the bon-
net from opening when the primary latch is released.
When driving in areas using road salt or other cor-
rosive materials, check lubrication frequently.
MAINTENANCE REQUIREMENTS
GENERAL MAINTENANCE
8-2 Maintenance and do-it-yourself