Page 107 of 336

3-22
OPERATING YOUR VEHICLE
74LH0-74E
Starting off:
1) Start the engine as instructed in “Start-
ing the engine” in this section.
2) With your foot on the brake pedal, shift
the gearshift lever to the “M” position.
When the gearshift lever is shifted to
the “M” position, the gear will be shifted
to 1st. Before starting off, always make
sure that the intended gear is engaged
by checking the gear position indicator,
then depress the accelerator pedal.NOTE:
If 1st gear cannot be engaged even
though the gearshift lever has been
shifted from the “N” to the “M” position,
the system will re-try shifting automati-
cally. This will take some time, noise
may be heard from the gears, and shift-
ing gear shock may occur. However,
they do not indicate a malfunction.
The “N” indicator will flash, the depress
brake pedal indicator will come on and a
warning buzzer (long pulse sound) will
sound if any of the following cases
occur;
– If you shift the gearshift lever from the
“N” to the “M” position without
depressing the brake pedal
– If the system is unable to re-try shifting
You should depress the brake pedal and
shift the gearshift lever to “N” position,
then shift to “M” position again a few
seconds later.
3) Release the parking brake and brake
pedal. Depress the accelerator pedal
slowly for smooth starting.Starting off on an uphill/downhill slope:
Uphill
1) Apply the parking brake firmly so that
the vehicle does not roll backwards.
2) Shift the gearshift lever to the “M” posi-
tion while depressing the brake pedal.
Make sure that the gear position indica-
tor in the instrumental cluster displays
1st gear.
3) Release the brake pedal and depress
the accelerator pedal gradually, and
when the vehicle starts to move,
NOTICE
If the gearshift lever cannot shift
into any position, or the gear is
changed to “N” position automati-
cally when the vehicle speed
becomes less than 10 km/h, there
may be a systematic malfunction. In
this case, ask your MARUTI SUZUKI
dealer to inspect the Auto Gear Shift
system as soon as possible.
The manual (M) mode does not
upshift even if the engine speed
reaches the rev-limit.
The system will not allow shifting up
or down to a gear that would cause
engine over-revving or under-rev-
ving.
If frequently driving at low speed
using a high gear position, the life
cycle of the clutch may be reduced.
Frequent downshifting (more than 3
positions consecutively) causes the
reduction of transaxle life.
WA R N I N G
Always keep your foot on the brake
pedal or pull up the parking lever
while stopped with the engine run-
ning. These operations prevent the
vehicle from starting due to unin-
tended activation of the creeping
function.
NOTICE
Do not operate the system as
described below. The life cycle of the
clutch may be reduced.
Using the accelerator pedal to hold
the vehicle on an uphill slope oper-
ation with the gearshift lever in the
“M” or “D” position. If you perform
this operation for a certain period
of time, a warning buzzer will
sound.
Shifting the gearshift lever to the
“M”, “D” or “R” position while rac-
ing the engine.
Driving at low speed using a high
gear.
Stopping on a slope using the
creeping function. If you perform
this operation for a certain period
of time, a warning buzzer will
sound.
Page 108 of 336

3-23OPERATING YOUR VEHICLE
74LH0-74E
release the parking brake and depress
the accelerator pedal to start off.
Downhill
1) Depress the brake pedal and shift the
gearshift lever to the “M” position.
Check the gear position indicator to
make sure that the gear is in 1st.
2) Release the brake pedal and depress
the accelerator pedal slowly. Even
though the accelerator pedal is not
depressed, the clutch will be engaged
when the vehicle speed increases.
Backing up
After the vehicle has stopped completely,
depress the brake pedal and shift the gear-
shift lever to the “R” position. Depress the
accelerator pedal slowly as when starting
off in 1st gear. Before backing up, makesure that reverse gear is selected by
checking the gear position indicator.
76MH0A062
NOTE:
If reverse gear cannot be engaged even
though the gearshift lever has been
shifted from the “N” to the “R” position,
the system will re-try shifting automati-
cally. This will take some time, noise
may be heard from the gears, and shift-
ing gear shock may occur. However,
they do not indicate a malfunction.
The “N” indicator will flash, the depress
brake pedal indicator will come on and a
warning buzzer (long pulse sound) will
sound if any of the following cases
occur;
– If you shift the gearshift lever from the
“N” to the “R” position without depress-
ing the brake pedal
– If the system is unable to re-try shifting
You should depress the brake pedal and
shift the gearshift lever to “N” position,
then shift to “R” position again a few sec-
onds later.
The system will not allow shifting to the
“R” position if the vehicle speed is over
about 3 km/h (2 mph). If the gearshift
lever is operated under this condition,the “N” indicator in the instrument cluster
will blink. However, when the vehicle
speed drops below about 3 km/h (2
mph), the gear will be shifted to reverse.
Make sure that the vehicle has stopped
completely before shifting to the “R”
position.
Stopping
The vehicle can be stopped by depressing
the brake pedal regardless of the gear
position. This is because the clutch is auto-
matically disengaged to prevent the engine
from stopping.
If the gearshift lever is in the “D” position,
the gear will be downshifted to 1st when
the vehicle stops.
If the gearshift lever is in the “M” posi-
tion, the gear will be downshifted to 1st
when the vehicle stops.
NOTICE
On an uphill slope, never hold the
vehicle at a stop using only the accel-
erator pedal or creeping function. If
you perform this operation for a cer-
tain period of time, a warning buzzer
will sound, and in some cases the
engine will stall. This can also cause
excessive damage to the clutch. In
case the warning buzzer is on, shift-
ing to 2nd gear will not be possible is
manual mode. Always use 1st gear
while starting off on an uphill slope,
otherwise you may damage the
clutch.
NOTICE
On a downhill slope, never hold the
vehicle at a stop using only the accel-
erator pedal or the creeping function.
If you perform this operation for a
certain period of time, a warning
buzzer will sound, and in some cases
the engine will stall. This can also
cause excessive damage to the
clutch.
Page 189 of 336
6-6
VEHICLE LOADING AND TOWING
74LH0-74E
NOTICE
After shifting the Auto Gear Shift
lever to the “N” position, always
check the gear position indicator in
the instrument cluster shows the “N”
position to make sure that the
transaxle is disengaged.
If the transaxle cannot be put in neu-
tral, turn the key from the “LOCK” to
the “ON” position, and move the
Auto Gear Shift lever from “N” to “D”,
“M” or “R”, then back to “N” again.
Then turn the key from the “ON” to
the “LOCK” position.
These procedures may help put the
transaxle in neutral. If the transaxle
still cannot be put in neutral, you can-
not tow the vehicle without using a
towing dolly.
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