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OPERATING YOUR VEHICLE
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Exhaust Gas Warning
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Daily Inspection Checklist
Before Driving
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1) Make sure that windows, mirrors, lights, and reflectors are clean and unob-structed. 2) Visually check the tires for the following points:– the depth of the tread groove – abnormal wear, cracks and damage – loose wheel nuts– existence of foreign material such as nails, stones, etc. Refer to “Tires” in “INSPECTION ANDMAINTENANCE” section for details. 3) Look for fluid and oil leaks.
WA R N I N G
Avoid breathing exhaust gases. Exhaust gases contain carbon mon- oxide, a potentially lethal gas that is colorless and odorless. Since carbonmonoxide is difficult to detect by itself, be sure to take the following precautions to help prevent carbonmonoxide from entering your vehicle. • Do not leave the engine running in garages or other confined areas.(Continued)
WA R N I N G
(Continued)• Do not park with the engine run- ning for a long period of time, even in an open area. If it is necessary to sit for a short time in a parked vehi- cle with the engine running, make sure the air intake selector is set to “FRESH AIR” and the fan is at highspeed. • Avoid operating the vehicle with the tailgate or trunk open. If it isnecessary to operate the vehicle with the tailgate or trunk open, make sure the sunroof (if equipped)and all windows are closed, and the blower is at high speed with the air intake selector set to “FRESH AIR”.• To allow proper operation of your vehicle’s ventilation system, keep the air inlet grille in front of thewindshield clear of snow, leaves, or other obstructions at all times. • Keep the exhaust tailpipe area clearof snow and other material to help reduce the buildup of exhaust gases under the vehicle. This isparticularly important when parked in blizzard conditions. • Have the exhaust system inspectedperiodically for damage and leaks. Any damage or leaks should be repaired immediately.
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OPERATING YOUR VEHICLE
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NOTE: It is normal for water to drip from the air conditioning system after use.
4) Make sure the hood is fully closed and latched.5) Check the headlights, turn signal lights, brake lights and horn for proper opera- tion.6) Adjust the seat and head restraint (if equipped). 7) Check the brake pedal and the parkingbrake lever. 8) Adjust the mirrors. 9) Make sure that you and all passengershave properly fastened your seat belts. 10)Make sure that all warning lights come on as the key is turned to the “ON” posi-tion. 11)Check all gauges. 12)Make sure that the BRAKE SYSTEMWARNING light turns off when the parking brake is released.
Once a week, or each time you fill your fuel tank, perform the following under-hood checks:
1) Engine oil level 2) Coolant level3) Brake fluid level 4) Windshield washer fluid level 5) Battery solution level6) Hood latch operation Pull the hood release handle inside the vehicle. Make sure that you cannotopen the hood all the way without
releasing the secondary latch. Be sure to close the hood securely after check- ing for proper latch operation. See “Alllatches, hinges & locks” of “CHASSIS AND BODY” in the “Periodic Mainte- nance Schedule” in the “INSPECTIONAND MAINTENANCE” section for lubri- cation schedule.
Once a month, or each time you fill your fuel tank, check the tire pressure using a tire pressure gauge. Also check the tirepressure of the spare tire.
Engine Oil Consumption
It is normal for the engine to consume some engine oil during normal vehicle operation.
The amount of engine oil consumed depends on the viscosity of the oil, thequality of the oil and the conditions the vehicle is driven under. More oil is consumed during high-speeddriving and when there is frequent acceler- ation and deceleration. Under high loads, your engine also will consume more oil.A new engine also consumes more oil, since its pistons, piston rings and cylinder
walls have not yet become conditioned. New engines reach the normal level of oil consumption only after approximately 5000km (3000 miles) driving.
Oil consumption: Max. 1.0 L per 1000 km (1 Qt. per 600 miles)
When judging the amount of oil consump- tion, note that the oil may become diluted and make it difficult to accurately judge thetrue oil level. As an example, if a vehicle is used for repeated short trips, and consumes a nor-mal amount of oil, the dipstick may not show any drop in the oil level at all, even after 1000 km (600 miles) or more of driv-ing. This is because the oil is gradually becoming diluted with fuel or moisture, making it appear that the oil level has notchanged. You should also be aware that the diluting ingredients evaporate out when the vehicleis subsequently driven at high speeds, such as on an expressway, making it appear that oil is excessively consumedafter high-speed driving.
WA R N I N G
Make sure the hood is fully closed and latched before driv ing. If it is not, it can fly up unexpectedly duringdriving, obstructing your view and resulting in an accident.
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3-5
OPERATING YOUR VEHICLE
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76MH1-74E
NOTE: (For Auto Gear Shift Model)For details on how to use the gearshift lever to park the vehicle, refer to “Parking” in “Auto Gear Shift” in this section.
Parking Brake Reminder Buzzer (if
equipped)A buzzer sounds intermittently to remind you to release the parking brake if youstart the vehicle without releasing the park- ing brake. Make sure that the parking brake is fully released and the brake sys-tem warning light turns off.
Pedal
Manual transaxle
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Auto Gear Shift
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Clutch Pedal (1)
(For manual transaxle)The clutch pedal is used to disengage the drive to the wheels when starting theengine, stopping, or shifting the gearshift lever. Depressing the pedal disengages the clutch.
Brake Pedal (2)Your MARUTI SUZUKI vehicle is equipped with front disc brakes and rear drum brakes. Depressing the brake pedalapplies both sets of brakes.
You may hear occasional brake squeal when you apply the brakes. This is a nor- mal condition caused by environmental factors such as co ld, wet, snow, etc.
WA R N I N G
When parking the vehicle in extremely cold weather, the followingprocedure should be used: 1) Set the parking brake. 2) Manual transaxl e - turn off the engine, then shift into reverse or first gear. Auto Gear Shift – shift into reverseor first gear and check the gear position indicato r in the instru- ment cluster to ma ke sure that the transaxle is engaged in 1st or reverse, then turn off the engine. 3) Get out of the vehicle and putchocks under the wheels. 4) Release the parking brake. When you return to your vehicle,you must remember to first set the parking brake, then remove the wheel chocks.
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(3)
EXAMPLE
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(2)
EXAMPLE
WA R N I N G
Do not drive with your foot resting onthe clutch pedal. It could result inexcessive clutch wear, clutch dam- age, or unexpected loss of engine braking.
WA R N I N G
If brake squeal is excessive andoccurs each time the brakes areapplied, you should have the brakes checked by your MARUTI SUZUKI dealer.
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3-10
OPERATING YOUR VEHICLE
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Starting off on an uphill/downhill:
Uphill1) Apply the parking brake firmly so that the vehicle does not roll backwards.2) Shift the gearshift lever to the “D” posi-tion while depressing the brake pedal.Make sure that the gear position indica-tor in the instrumental cluster displays1st gear. 3) Release the brake pedal and depress the accelerator pedal gradually, andwhen the vehicle starts to move, releasethe parking brake and depress the accel-erator pedal to start off.
Downhill 1) Depress the brake pedal and shift the gearshift lever to the “D” position. Make sure that the gear is in 1st by checkingthe gear position indicator. 2) Release the brake pedal and depress the accelerator pedal slowly. Even if theaccelerator pedal is not depressed, the clutch will be engaged when the vehicle speed increases.
Using engine braking: When driving on a downhill slope, down- shifting is recommended. So you can useengine braking. By placing the gearshift lever in the “M” position, the Manual (M) mode is selected,and you can shift to a lower gear manually. For details of downshift operation, refer to “Upshift and downshift” in the “Manual (M)mode”.
Manual (M) mode The gears are not shifted automatically. To shift the transaxle, the driver must operate the gearshift lever to the “+” or “–” direc-tion. As for conventional manual transaxle vehicles, releasing the accelerator pedal a little may help the transaxle to shift smoothly.
Upshift and downshift:
Upshifting
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NOTICE
If the gearshift lever cannot shift into any position, or the gear is changedto “N” position automatically when the vehicle speed becomes less than 10 km/h (6 mph), there may be a sys-tematic malfunction. In this case, ask your MARUTI SUZUKI dealer to inspect the Auto Gear Shift system assoon as possible.
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 with the gearshift lever in the “D” or “M”position. If you perform this opera- tion for a certain period of time, a warning buzzer will sound.• Shifting the gearsh ift lever to the “D”, “M” or “R” position while rac- ing the engine.• Driving at low speed using a high gear. • Holding the vehicle on an uphillslope using the creeping function. If you perform this operation for a certain period of time, a warningbuzzer will sound.
NOTICE
On an uphill slope, never hold thevehicle 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 warningbuzzer will sound, and in some cases the engine will stall. This can also cause excessive damage to theclutch.R
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3-13
OPERATING YOUR VEHICLE
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76MH1-74E
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 instrument al cluster displays 1st gear. 3) Release the brake pedal and depress the accelerator pedal gradually, andwhen 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 thegearshift 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 notdepressed, 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.
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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 depressbrake pedal indicator will come on and a warning buzzer (long pulse sound) will sound if any of the following casesoccur; – 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 andshift 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 (2mph), 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 gearposition. 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.
NOTICE
On an uphill slope, never hold thevehicle 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 buzzerwill sound, and in some cases the engine will stall. This can also cause excessive damage to the clutch.
NOTICE
On a downhill slope, never hold thevehicle at a stop using only the accel- erator pedal or the creeping function. If you perform this operation for acertain period of time, a warning buzzer will sound, and in some cases the engine will stall. This can alsocause excessive damage to the clutch.
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OPERATING YOUR VEHICLE
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If the gearshift lever is in the “M” posi- tion, the gear will be downshifted to 1st when the vehicle stops.
Parking Unlike an automatic transaxle, Auto GearShift does not have a parking position. The vehicle can be parked with the gearshift lever in any position.1) Apply the parking brake firmly. 2) While depressing the brake pedal, shift the gearshift lever to the “R” position ona downhill slope, and to the 1st position in the drive (D) mode or the “M(1)” posi- tion in the manual (M) mode on anuphill slope and confirm the gear posi- tion by checking the gear position indi- cator.3) Stop the engine.
NOTE: • After the engine is stopped, the gear in the transaxle does not change even ifyou 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 off to stopthe engine. Release the brake pedal after a few seconds. The gearshift lever will be locked in the position it was inwhen the ignition switch was turned off.
Parking cancel Depress the brake pedal, turn the ignition switch to the “ON” position, and shift thegearshift lever to the “N” position. The gear will be disengaged.
WA R N I N G
• When stopping, for example, at a traffic light, be su re 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 inan unexpected accident. • Do not leave your vehicle unat- tended while the engine is running.• When leaving the vehicle, stop the engine and park the vehicle with a gear engaged. If you need to leavethe 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 acceleratorpedal or the creeping function. If you perform this operation for a certain period of time, a warningbuzzer will sound, and in some cases the engine will stall. This can also cause excessive damage tothe clutch. • If the gearshift lever is operated more than necessary, the systemmay not allow operation of the gearshift lever for a certain period of time, and the gear may not beshifted appropriately. Therefore, do not operate the gearshift lever if not necessary.
WA R N I N G
• If the gear is not engaged properlyand completely be fore the ignition switch is turned off, the vehicle may not be parked with the gearengaged. Always confirm the gear position by checking the gear posi- tion indicator 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.
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OPERATING YOUR VEHICLE
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Warning functions A warning buzzer will sound or the indica- tor will blink under the following conditions.
Warning buzzer The clutch is heated due to excessiveload. The creeping function is being activated for a long period of time.
The ignition switch is turned to the “LOCK” position with the gear in 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th. In this case, turn the igni- tion switch to the “ON” position and shiftthe gearshift lever in the “N” position, shift it to the “D” or “M” or “R” position, then turn the ignition switch to “LOCK”. 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.
“N” indicato r blinking When the gear indicator lamp blinks “N”, you should depress the brake pedal and shift the gearshift lever to “N” position.
“1st” indicator blinking
When the gear indicator lamp blinks “1st”, you should depress the brake pedal and shift the gearshift lever to “N” position, thenshift to “D” or “M” position again a few sec- onds later.
“R” indicator blinking When the gear indicator lamp blinks “R”, you should depress the brake pedal andshift the gearshift lever to “N” position, then shift to “R” position again a few seconds later.
Braking
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The distance needed to bring any vehicleto a halt increases with the speed of the vehicle. The braking distance needed, for example, at 60 km/h (37 mph) will beapproximately 4 times greater than the braking distance needed at 30 km/h (19 mph). Start to brake the vehicle when thereis plenty of distance between your vehicle
and the stopping point, and slow down gradually.
Power-Assisted BrakesYour vehicle has power-assisted brakes. If power assistance is lost due to a stalledengine or other failur es, the system is still fully operational on reserve power and you can bring the vehicle to a complete stop bypressing the brake pedal once and holding it down. The reserve power is partly used up when you depress the brake pedal andreduces each time the pedal is pressed. Apply smooth and even pressure to the pedal. Do not pump the pedal.
NOTICE
In the above cases, pull over to theside of the road and stop the engine,and then ask your MARUTI SUZUKI dealer to inspect your vehicle. Other- wise, the clutch disc may be dam-aged.EXAMPLE
WA R N I N G
If water gets into the brake drums, brake performance may become poorand unpredictable. After driving through water or washingthe underside of the vehicle, test thebrakes while driving at a slow speedto see if they have maintained their normal effectiveness. If the brakes are less effective than normal, dry themby repeatedly applying the brakeswhile driving slowly until the brakeshave regained their normal effective-ness.
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OPERATING YOUR VEHICLE
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Brake Assist System (if equipped)When you slam the brakes on, the brake assist system judges as an emergencystop and provides more powerful braking for a driver who cannot hold down the brake pedal firmly.
NOTE: If you quickly and forcefully depress thebrakes, you may hear a clicking sound in the brake pedal. This is normal and indi- cates that the brake a ssist system is acti- vated properly.
Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS)
(if equipped)ABS will help you avoid skidding by elec- tronically controlling braking pressure. It will also help you maintain steering controlwhen braking on slippery surfaces or when braking hard. The ABS works automatically, so you donot need any special braking technique. Just push the brake pedal down without pumping. The ABS will operate whenever itsenses that the wheels are locking up. You
may feel the brake pedal moves a little while the ABS is operating.
NOTE: The ABS will not work if vehicle speed is under about 10 km/h (6 mph).
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(1) ABS warning light (2) Brake system warning light
WA R N I N G
Even without reserve power in the brake system, you can still stop thevehicle by pressing the brake pedal harder than normally required. How- ever, the stopping distance may belonger.WA R N I N G
• On some types of loose surfaces(such as gravel, snow-coveredroads, etc.) the stopping distance required for an ABS-equipped vehi- cle may be slightly greater than fora comparable vehicle with a con- ventional brake system. With a con- ventional brake system, skiddingtires are able to “plow” the gravel or snow layer, shortening the stop- ping distance, ABS minimizes thisresistance effect. Allow for extra stopping distance when driving on loose surfaces.• On regular paved roads, some driv- ers may be able to obtain slightly shorter stopping distances withconventional brake systems than with ABS. • In both of the above conditions,ABS will still offer the advantage of helping you maintain directional control. However, remember thatABS will not compensate for bad road or weather conditions or poor driver judgment. Use good judg-ment and do not drive faster than conditions will safely allow.
WA R N I N G
• If the ABS warning light (1) on the instrument panel comes on and stays on while driving, there maybe a problem with the ABS system. Ask your MARUTI SUZUKI dealer to inspect the ABS system immedi-ately. If the ABS system becomes inoperative, the brake system will function as an ordinary brake sys-tem that has no ABS. (Continued)
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