Driving your vehicle
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Engine power can be delivered to the
front and rear wheels for maximum
traction. AWD is useful when extra
traction is required, such as, when
driving on slippery, muddy, wet, or
snow-covered roads. Occasional off-
road use such as established
unpaved roads and trails are OK. It is
always important when traveling off-
highway that the driver carefully
reduces the speed to a level that
does not exceed the safe operating
speed for those conditions. In gener-
al, off-road conditions provide less
traction and braking effectiveness
than normal road conditions. The
driver must be especially alert to
avoid driving on slopes which tilt the
vehicle to either side.
These factors must be carefully con-
sidered when driving off-road.
Keeping the vehicle in contact with
the driving surface and under control
in these conditions is always the dri-
ver's responsibility for the safety of
him/herself and passengers.Tight corner brake effect
Tight corner brake effect is a unique
characteristic of all-wheel drive vehi-
cles caused by the difference in tire
rotation at the four wheels.
Sharp turns at low speeds should be
carried out with caution.
ALL WHEEL DRIVE (AWD) (IF EQUIPPED)
WARNING - Off road
driving
This vehicle is designed prima-
rily for on road use although it
can operate effectively off road.
It was not designed to drive in
challenging off-road conditions.
Driving in conditions that
exceed the vehicle's intended
design or the driver's experi-
ence level may result in severe
injury or death.
CAUTION - AW D
When turning sharply on a paved road at low speed whilein all wheel drive, steering con-trol will be difficult.
523
Driving your vehicle
✽
✽NOTICE
• When driving on normal roads, deactivate the AWD LOCK mode by pushing the AWD LOCK button (the indi-
cator light goes off). Driving on normal roads with AWD LOCK mode(especially, when cornering) may cause
mechanical noise or vibration. The noise and vibration will disappear when the AWD LOCK mode is deactivat-
ed. Some parts of the power train may be damaged by prolonged driving with the noise and vibration.
• When the AWD LOCK mode is deactivated, a shock may be felt as the drive power is delivered entirely to the front wheels. This shock is not a mechanical failure.
ALL Wheel Drive (AWD) transfer mode selection
This mode is used for climbing or descending sharp
grades, off-road driving, driving on sandy and muddy
roads, etc., to maximize traction.
This mode automatically begins to deactivate at speeds above 30 km/h (19 mph) and is shifted to AWD
AUTO mode at speed above 40 km/h (25 mph). If the
vehicle decelerates to speeds below 30 km/h (19 mph),
however, the transfer mode is shifted into AWD LOCK
mode again.
AWD AUTO
(AWD LOCK is deactivated)
(Indicator light isnot illuminated)
Transfer mode Selection button Indicator light Description
When driving in AWD AUTO mode, the vehicle oper-
ates similar to conventional 2WD vehicles under nor-
mal operating conditions. However, if the system deter-
mines that there is a need for the AWD mode, the
engine’s driving power is distributed to all four wheels
automatically without driver intervention.
When driving on normal roads and pavement, the vehi- cle moves similar to conventional 2WD vehicles.
AWD LOCK
(Indicator light is illuminated)
Driving your vehicle
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5
For safe all wheel drive opera-
tion
Do not try to drive in deep standing
water or mud since such conditions
can stall your engine and clog your
exhaust pipes. Do not drive down
steep hills since it requires extreme
skill to maintain control of the vehi-
cle. When you are driving up or down
hills drive as straight as possible.
Use extreme caution in going up or
down steep hills, since you may flip
your vehicle over depending on the
grade, terrain and water/mud con-
ditions.
WARNING - All wheel
driving
When conditions demand the
use of four-wheel drive, all func-
tions of your vehicle are
exposed to extreme stress.
Slow down and be ready for
changes in the composition and
traction of the surface under
your tires. If you have any
doubt about the safety of the
conditions you are facing, stop
and consider the best way to
proceed. Do not exceed the abil-
ity of yourself or your vehicle to
operate safely.
WARNING - Hills
Driving across the contour of
steep hills can be extremely
dangerous. This danger can
come from slight changes in the
wheel angle which can destabi-
lize the vehicle or, even if the
vehicle is maintaining stability
under power, it can lose that
stability if the vehicle stops its
forward motion. Your vehicle
may roll over without warning
and without time for you to cor-
rect a mistake that could cause
serious injury or death.
HILL1HILL2
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Driving your vehicle
You must consciously take theeffort to learn how to corner in an
AWD vehicle. Do not rely on your
experience in conventional 2WD
vehicles in choosing safe cornering
speed in AWD mode. You must
drive more slowly in AWD.
Drive carefully off-road because your vehicle may be damaged by
rocks or roots of trees. Become
familiar with the off-road conditions
where you are going to be before
you begin driving. Always hold the steering wheel firm-
ly when you are driving off-road.
Make sure all passengers are wearing seat belts.
If you need to drive through water, stop your vehicle, set your transfer
to the AWD LOCK mode and drive
at less than 5 mph (8 km/h).
WARNING - Steering
wheel
Do not grab the inside of the
steering wheel when you are
driving off-road. You may hurt
your arm by a sudden steering
maneuver or from steering
wheel rebound due to impact
with objects on the ground. You
could lose control of the steer-
ing wheel.
WARNING - Wind danger
If you are driving in heavy wind,
the vehicle's higher center of
gravity decreases your steering
control capacity and requires
you to drive more slowly.
WARNING - Driving
through water
Drive slowly. If you are driving
too fast in water, the water can
get into the engine compartment
and wet the ignition system,
causing your vehicle to sudden-
ly stop. If this happens and your
vehicle is in a tilted position,
your vehicle may roll over.
ODMEDR2146
WARNING - AW D
Reduce speed when you turn
corners. The center of gravity of
AWD vehicles is higher than
that of conventional 2WD vehi-
cles, making them more likely to
roll over when you turn corners
too fast.
Driving your vehicle
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5
✽
✽
NOTICE
• Do not drive through water if the
level is higher than the bottom of
the vehicle.
• Check your brake condition once you are out of mud or water. Press
the brake pedal several times as
you move slowly until you feel nor-
mal braking forces return.
• Shorten your scheduled mainte- nance interval if you drive in off-
road conditions such as sand, mud
or water (see "Maintenance under
severe usage conditions" in section
7). Always wash your vehicle thor-
oughly after off road use, especially
cleaning the bottom of the vehicle.
• Since the driving torque is always applied to the 4 wheels the per-
formance of the AWD vehicle is
greatly affected by the condition of
the tires. Be sure to equip the vehi-
cle with four tires of the same size
and type.
• A full time all wheel drive vehicle cannot be towed by an ordinary
tow truck. Make sure that the
vehicle is placed on a flat bed
truck for towing.CAUTION - Mud or snow
If one of the front or rear wheels
begins to spin in mud, snow,etc. the vehicle can sometimesbe driven out by depressing theaccelerator pedal further; how-ever avoid running the enginecontinuously at high rpmbecause doing so could dam-age the AWD system.
WARNING - AWD driving
Avoid high cornering speed.
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 high speed.
In a collision, an unbelted per- son is significantly more like-
ly to die compared to a person
wearing a seat belt.
Loss of control often occurs if two or more wheels drop off
the roadway and the driver
over steers to re-enter the
roadway. In the event your
vehicle leaves the roadway, do
not steer sharply. Instead,
slow down before pulling
back into the travel lanes.
Driving your vehicle
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5
Full-time AWD vehicles must be
tested on a special four wheel
chassis dynamometer.
✽ ✽ NOTICE
Never engage the parking brake
while performing these tests.
A full-time AWD vehicle should not
be tested on a 2WD roll tester. If a
2WD roll tester must be used, per-
form the following: 1. Check the tire pressures recom-
mended for your vehicle.
2. Place the front wheels on the roll tester for a speedometer test as
shown in the illustration.
3. Release the parking brake.
4. Place the rear wheels on the tem- porary free roller as shown in the
illustration.
WARNING - Jacked
vehicle
While a full-time AWD vehicle is
raised on a jack, never start the
engine or cause the tires to
rotate.
There is a danger that rotating
tires touching the ground could
cause the vehicle to fall off the
jack and to jump forward or
rearward.WARNING - Dynamometer
testing
Keep away from the front of the
vehicle while the vehicle is in
gear on the dynamometer. This
is very dangerous as the vehi-
cle can jump forward and cause
serious injury or death.
ONCEDR3147Roll tester (speedometer)
Temporary free roller
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Driving your vehicle
The mode changes whenever the
DRIVE MODE button is pressed.
When NORMAL mode is selected, it
is not displayed on the instrument
cluster.
✽ ✽NOTICE
If there is a problem with the instru-
ment cluster, the drive mode will be
in NORMAL mode and may not
change to ECO mode or SPORT
mode.
ECO mode
The ECO mode is a opti-
mizes vehicle perform-
ance for fuel efficient driv-
ing.
When the ECO mode is selected by pressing the DRIVE MODE but-
ton, the ECO indicator (green
color) will illuminate.
If the vehicle was in ECO mode when the engine was shut off, then
DRIVE mode will remain in ECO
mode upon engine restart.
✽ ✽ NOTICE
Fuel efficiency depends on the dri-
ver's driving habits and road condi-
tions.
DRIVE MODE INTEGRATED CONTROL SYSTEM (IF EQUIPPED)
NORMAL
SPORT ECO
ODM056104
Driving your vehicle
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5
When the ECO mode is activated:
The acceleration response may be
slightly reduced.
The air conditioner performance may be limited.
The shift pattern of the automatic transaxle may change.
The engine noise may get louder.
The above situations are normal
conditions when the ECO mode is
activated to improve fuel efficiency.
Limitation of the ECO mode oper- ation:
If the following conditions occur while
ECO mode is operating, fuel efficien-
cy may decrease even though there
is no change in the ECO indicator.
When the coolant temperature is low:
Fuel efficiency may decrease until
engine temperature reaches nor-
mal.
When driving up a hill: Fuel efficiency may decrease to
gain performance when driving
uphill because engine torque is
restricted.
When using the automatic transaxle manual shift mode:
Fuel efficiency may decrease
according to the shift location.
When the accelerator pedal is deeply depressed for a few sec-
onds:
Fuel efficiency may decrease,
judging that the driver wants to
speed up.
SPORT mode
SPORT mode managesthe driving dynamics by
automatically adjusting the
steering wheel, engine
and transaxle system to
optimize performance.
When the SPORT mode is select- ed by pressing the DRIVE MODE
button, the SPORT indicator (yel-
low color) will illuminate.
Restarting of the engine in the SPORT mode resets the DRIVE
mode to the NORMAL mode. Thus,
when necessary, reselect the
SPORT mode.
When the SPORT mode is activat- ed:
- The RPM (revolutions per min-utes) level is maintained over a
certain length of time, even after
releasing the accelerator pedal.
- When accelerating, up-shifting timing is delayed.
✽ ✽ NOTICE
In the SPORT mode, the fuel effi-
ciency may decrease.