
3-29OPERATING YOUR VEHICLE
75RM4-01E
possible. However, if downshifting more
than 3 steps, gear shifting will take more
time.
• When the gear is shifting, a noise can be heard in some case. This is not malfunc-
tion. 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 malfunction.
• The “N” indicator will flush, 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.
WA R N I N G
• Be careful when accelerating, upshifting, downshifting or braking
on a slippery surface. Sudden
acceleration or engine braking
could cause the vehicle to spin or
skid.
• To drive down a long or steep hill,
reduce your speed and downshift.
Remember, if you ride the brakes
excessively, they may overheat and
fail.
• While driving the vehicle, do not shift the gearshift lever to “N” posi-
tion. The engine brake may not
work and you may get involved in
an unexpected accident. If you
return the gearshift lever from “N”
to “M” because of unintended shift-
ing, the gear position will be shifted
according to the current vehicle
speed.
• Do not apply the parking brake
while driving. Otherwise, it could
cause a skid and you may get
involved in an unexpected acci-
dent.
NOTICE
• If the gearshift lever cannot shiftinto any position, or the gear is
changed to “N” position automati-
cally when the vehicle speed
becomes less than 10 km/h (6
mph), there may be a systematic
malfunction. In this case, ask your
SUZUKI dealer to inspect the Auto
Gear Shift system as soon as pos-
sible.
• 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-revving.
• If frequently driving at low speed using a high gear position, the life
cycle of the clutch may be reduced.
• Frequent downshif ting (more than
3 positions consecutively) causes
the reduction of transaxle life.

3-30
OPERATING YOUR VEHICLE
75RM4-01E
3) Release the parking brake and brakepedal. 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 no t roll backwards.
2) Shift the gearshift lever to the “M” posi-
tion while depressing the brake pedal.
Make sure that the ge ar 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,
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, make
sure that reverse gear is selected by
checking the gear position indicator.
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 malfunction.
• The “N” indicator will flush, 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.
WA R N I N G
Always keep your foot on the brake
pedal while stopped with the engine
running. 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” po sition 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.
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.

3-31OPERATING YOUR VEHICLE
75RM4-01E
• 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 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.
WA R N I N G
• When stopping, for example, at a
traffic light, be sure to depress the
brake pedal firmly. For your safety,
apply the parking brake, too, when
stopping on a hill.
• When racing the engine, make sure that the gear is in the “N” position
by checking the gear position indi-
cator. If the accelerator is operated
with the gear in any other position,
the vehicle may move resulting in
an unexpected accident.
• Do not leave your vehicle unat-
tended while the engine is running. (Continued)
WA R N I N G
(Continued)
• When leaving the vehicle, stop the
engine and park the vehicle with a
gear engaged. If you need to leave
the vehicle with the engine running,
apply the parking brakes firmly,
and shift the gearshift lever to the
“N” position. Otherwise, the vehi-
cle may move unexpectedly and
may cause an accident.
NOTICE
• On a slope, never hold the vehicleat a stop using only the accelerator
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.
• If the gearshift lever is operated
more than necessary, the system
may not allow operation of the
gearshift lever for a certain period
of time, and the gear may not be
shifted appropriately. Therefore, do
not operate the gearshift lever if not
necessary.

3-32
OPERATING YOUR VEHICLE
75RM4-01E
Parking
Unlike an automatic transaxle, Auto Gear
Shift does not have a parking position.
Park the vehicle with a gear engaged.
1) Apply the parking brake firmly.
2) While depressing the brake pedal, shift
the gearshift lever to the “R” position on
a downhill slope, and to the 1st position
in the drive (D) mode or the “M” position
in the manual (M) mode on an uphill
slope and confirm the gear position by
checking the gear position indicator.
3) Stop the engine.
NOTE:
• After the engine is stopped, the gear in the transaxle does not change even if
you shift the gearshift lever in any posi-
tion. Always shift the gearshift lever
before stop the engine.
• Check the transaxle gear position by looking at the gear position indicator,
then turn the ignition switch to “LOCK”
position or press the engine switch to
change the ignition mode to LOCK
(OFF), to stop the engine. Release the
brake pedal after a few seconds. Parking cancel
Depress the brake pedal, turn the ignition
switch to “ON” position or press the engine
switch to change the ignition mode to ON,
and shift the gearshift lever to the “N” posi-
tion. The gear will be disengaged. Warning functions
A warning buzzer will sound or the indica-
tor will blink under the f
ollowing conditions.
Warning buzzer
• The clutch is heated due to excessive load.
• The creeping function is being activated for a long period of time.
• The ignition switch is turned to the “LOCK” position or the engine switch is
pressed to change the ignition mode to
LOCK (OFF) with the gear in 2nd, 3rd,
4th or 5th. In this case, turn the ignition
switch to “ON” position or press the
engine switch to change the ignition
mode to ON, and shift the gearshift lever
in the “N” position, shift it to the “D” or
“M” or “R” position, t hen turn the ignition
switch to “LOCK” position or press the
engine switch to change the ignition
mode to LOCK (OFF).
• During a stop, the driver’s door is opened with the gearshift lever in the
“R”, “D” or “M” positi on while the engine
is running.
WA R N I N G
• If the gear is not engaged properly and completely before the ignition
switch is turned to “LOCK” posi-
tion or the engine switch is pressed
to change the ignition mode to
LOCK (OFF), the vehicle may not
be parked with the gear engaged.
Always confirm the gear position
by checking the gear position indi-
cator when parking.
• On a downhill slope, the gear
should be put in reverse, and in 1st
gear on an uphill slope. Otherwise,
the vehicle may move, and cause
an unexpected accident. If the gear
is left in the “N” position, the vehi-
cle cannot be parked with a gear
engaged.
NOTICE
In the above cases, pull over to the
side of the road and stop the engine,
and then ask your SUZUKI dealer to
inspect your vehicle. Otherwise, the
clutch disc may be damaged.

3-38
OPERATING YOUR VEHICLE
75RM4-01E
2) Depress the brake pedal to deceleratewhile the gearshift lever is in the “D”
position will automatically stop the
engine before the vehicle is stopped
(approximately 13 km/h or less). At the
same time, the ENG A-STOP indicator
light (green) will remain on.
• The engine is not stopped automati-cally if all of the c onditions to stop the
engine automatically are not met,
even if the brake pedal is pressed
down to decelerate while the ENG A-
STOP indicator light (green) is on.
For details on the conditions for auto-
matically stopping the engine, refer to
“Conditions to stop the engine auto-
matically” in this section.
• To ensure safety when the engine is stopped automatically, the interior
buzzer may sound and the engine
will stall, or the engine may be
restarted.
75RM234
NOTE:
• The engine is not stopped automatically when decelerating without depressing
the brake pedal, for example, by using
engine braking.
• The engine may be stopped automati-
cally when the vehicle is stopped, even if
the engine is not stopped automatically
before stopping the vehicle (approxi-
mately 13 km/h or less).
• Electrical components, such as the navi- gation system or audio system, can be
used while the engine has been stopped
automatically, however, the air condi-
tioner switches to the ventilation posi-
tion.
• For the automatic heating and air condi-
tioning system, airflow is limited (only
under automatic operation) when the
engine is stopped aut omatically, in order
to improve the cooling and heating per-
formance.
3) When you remove your foot from the brake pedal, regardless of whether it is
before or after stopping the vehicle, the
engine is restarted and the ENG A-STOP
indicator light (green) goes off.
• The engine is restarted automatically
if the conditions to restart the engine
automatically are met, even if the
brake pedal is depressed.
For details on the conditions for auto-
matically restarting the engine, refer
to “Conditions to restart the engine
automatically” in this section.
75RM235
NOTE:
The hill hold control system is activated
when the engine is restarted automatically.
4) After driving for a while after the engine is restarted automatically, the ENG A-
STOP indicator light (green) comes on
if the conditions allowing the engine to
be stopped automatically (standby con-
ditions) are met.

3-42
OPERATING YOUR VEHICLE
75RM4-01E
Conditions to stop the engine automatically
If all of the following conditions are met while the standby conditions are met, the engine is stopped automatically when the vehicle is
decelerating before stopping or when the vehicle is stopped.
#: The engine may not be stopped automatically if the brake peda l was depressed lightly or strongly.
When decelerating
before stopping
Common
• The ABS or ESP
® system has not been activated.
• Brake booster vacuum pressure is normal.
Manual
transaxle • The clutch pedal is depressed, the gearshift lever is shifted
into “N” position, and then the
clutch pedal is released when the vehicle speed is approximately 15 km/h (9 mph) or less.
CVT • The brake pedal is sufficiently depressed. (#)
• The vehicle is decelerating to a speed of approximately 13 km/
h (8 mph) or less.
• The steering wheel is not being operated.
• The accelerator pedal is not depressed.
• The vehicle is not being driven on a steep hill.
• The brake is not applied abruptly.
When the vehicle is
stopped Common
• The ABS or ESP® system has not been activated.
• Brake booster vacuum pressure is normal.
Manual
transaxle • The gearshift lever is in “N” position.
• The clutch pedal is released.
CVT • The steering wheel is not being operated.
• The brake was not app
lied abruptly before the vehicle was stop ped.
• The brake pedal is sufficiently depressed. (#)
• The accelerator pedal is not depressed.
• The vehicle is not s topped on a steep hill.

3-48
OPERATING YOUR VEHICLE
75RM4-01E
Eco-Cool (if equipped)When driving while using the air condi-
tioner, cold air is stored in the cooling stor-
age medium of the air conditioner unit.
Since stored cold air will be blown into the
vehicle when the engine has been stopped
automatically by the ENG A-STOP system,
the rise of the inside temperature can be
reduced when the air conditioner is not
running.
For the automatic heating and air condi-
tioning system, reducing the rise of the
inside temperature increases the length of
time that the engine is stopped automati-
cally, leading to improved fuel economy.
NOTE:
Sufficient cold air may not be stored if the
vehicle has not been running for very long
or in a traffic jam. The effect varies
depending on the outside temperature and
the air conditioner settings.
I/S AC Settings (if equipped)• When using the automatic heating andair conditioning system (if equipped),
you can select one of the following set-
tings via the setting mode of the informa-
tion display.
– Standard
– Economy
–Comfort
For details on how to use the information
display, refer to “Information display” in
the “BEFORE DRIVING” section.
• When “Economy” is selected, engine auto stop condition is eased, compared
with “Standard”. Engine auto stop condi-
tion will occur more f requently, the stop
time will be longer, leading to reduction
of fuel consumption.
• When “Comfort” is sel ected, engine auto
stop condition becomes severe, com-
pared with “Standard”. Engine auto stop
condition will occur less frequently, the
stop time will be shorter, leading to more
comfortable cabin condition by air condi-
tioner.
Cruise control (if equipped)The cruise control system allows you to
maintain a steady speed without keeping
your foot on the accelerator pedal. The
controls for operating the cruise control
system are on the steering wheel.
You can use the cruise control system
under the following conditions:
• For manual transaxle vehicle, the gear position is in 3rd, 4th or 5th.
• For CVT vehicle, the select lever is in “D” position, or the gear position is in 3rd,
4th, 5th, 6th or 7th in the manual mode
(if equipped).
• For Auto Gear Shift vehicle, the select lever is in “D” position, or the gear posi-
tion is in 3rd, 4th or 5th in the manual
mode.
• The vehicle speed is about 45 km/h (28
mph) or higher.
WA R N I N G
To help avoid loss of vehicle control,
do not use the cruise control system
when driving in heavy traffic, on slip-
pery or winding roads, or on steep
downhills.

3-52
OPERATING YOUR VEHICLE
75RM4-01E
Setting maximum speed1) Turn on the speed limiter system bypushing “LIMIT” switch (1). When the
limit indicator (4) comes on, you can set
the maximum speed.
2) Accelerate or decelerate to the desired
speed.
3) Push down the “RES +/SET –” switch (3) and turn on the set indicator (5). The
current vehicle speed is set as the max-
imum speed.
NOTE:If you push down the “RES +/SET –” switch
(3) when the vehicle speed is less than 30
km/h or 20 mph, the maximum speed will be
set to 30 km/h or 20 mph.Information display
75RM117
(4) Limit indicator
(5) Set indicator
(6) Speed indication
When you push “LIMIT” switch (1), the sys-
tem is on and the limit indicator (4) will come
on. When the vehicle’s maximum speed is
set, the set indicator (5) will come on.
Exceeding maximum speedYou can exceed the maximum speed tem-
porarily by quickly depressing the acceler-
ator pedal all the way down . While the
vehicle speed is exceeded, the speed indi-
cation (6) on the information display will
flash and the buzzer will sound briefly.
If the accelerator pedal is released to
return below the maximum speed, the
speed indication (6) will stop flashing and
then stay lit, and the function will restore.
NOTE:
• When you depress the accelerator pedal slowly, the vehicl e speed may not
exceed the maximum speed. If you wish
to exceed the maximum speed, depress
the accelerator pedal all the way down
quickly or push “CANCEL” switch (2) to
cancel the maximum speed temporarily.
• The speed indication (6) will also flash
and the buzzer will sound if the speed
limiter cannot prevent the vehicle from
exceeding the maximum speed in such
cases as when going down a steep hill,
or under excessive acceleration. In this
case, decelerate to return below the
maximum speed using the brake pedal.
Changing speed settingSetting to the current speed
1) Push “CANCEL” switch (2).
2) Accelerate or decelerate to the desired speed.
3) Push down the “RES +/SET –” switch (3) and turn on the se t indicator (5). The
current vehicle speed is set as the max-
imum speed.
Using “RES +/ SET –” switch
To change to a faster speed, press repeat-
edly or hold push up the “RES +/SET –”
switch (3).
To change to a slower speed, press
repeatedly or hold push down the “RES +/
SET –” switch (3).
NOTE:
• You can adjust the set speed by 1 km/h or 1 mph by pushing “RES +/SET –”
switch (3) quickly.
• You can adjust the set speed by 5 km/h or 5 mph by pushing and holding “RES +/
SET –” switch (3)
• If the current vehicle speed exceeds the maximum speed when changing to the
slower speed using “RES +/SET –”
switch (3), the speed indication (6) will
flash and the buzzer will sound.
(4) (5) (6)
EXAMPLE