Driving Your Vehicle6-32
Parking
Always come to a complete stop and
continue to depress the brake pedal.
Move the shift lever into the P (Park)
position, apply the parking brake, and
place the ignition switch in the LOCK/
OFF position. Take the Key with you
when exiting the vehicle.
WARNING
When you stay in the vehicle with
the engine running, be careful not to
depress the accelerator pedal for a long
period of time. The engine or exhaust
system may overheat and start a fire.
The exhaust gas and the exhaust system
are very hot. Keep away from the
exhaust system components.
Do not stop or park over flammable
materials, such as dry grass, paper or
leaves. They may ignite and cause a fire.
Good Driving Practices
[ Never move the shift lever from P
(Park) or N (Neutral) to any other
position with the accelerator pedal
depressed.
[ Never move the shift lever into P
(Park) when the vehicle is in motion.
Be sure the vehicle is completely
stopped before you attempt to shift
into R (Reverse) or D (Drive).
[ Do not move the shift lever to N
(Neutral) when driving. Doing so
may result in an accident because
of a loss of engine braking and the
transmission could be damaged.
[ When driving uphill or downhill,
always shift to D (Drive) for driving
forward or shift to R (Reverse) for
driving rearwards. After selecting
D (Drive) or R (Reverse), check the
gear position indicated on the cluster
before driving. If the vehicle moves in
the opposite direction of the selected
gear, the engine may turn off and a
serious accident might occur due to
degraded brake performance.
[ Do not drive with your foot resting
on the brake pedal. Even light, but
consistent pedal pressure can result
in the brakes overheating, brake wear
and possibly even brake failure.
[ When driving in sports mode, slow
down before shifting to a lower gear.
Otherwise, the lower gear may not
be engaged if the engine rpms are
outside of the allowable range.
[ Always apply the parking brake when
leaving the vehicle. Do not depend on
placing the transmission in P (Park) to
keep the vehicle from moving.
[ Exercise extreme caution when
driving on a slippery surface. Be
especially careful when braking,
accelerating or shifting gears. On a
slippery surface, an abrupt change
in vehicle speed can cause the drive
wheels to lose traction and may cause
loss of vehicle control resulting in an
accident.
Driving Your Vehicle6-34
BRAKE SYSTEM
Power Brakes
Your vehicle has power-assisted brakes
that adjust automatically through normal
usage.
If the engine is not running or is turned
off while driving, the power assist for
the brakes will not work. You can still
stop your vehicle by applying greater
force to the brake pedal than typical.
The stopping distance, however, will be
longer than with power brakes.
When the engine is not running, the
reserve brake power is partially depleted
each time the brake pedal is applied.
Do not pump the brake pedal when the
power assist has been interrupted.
Only pump the brakes on slippery
surfaces if the power assist has been
interrupted to maintain steering control.
Do not pump the brakes on slippery
surfaces if the brakes are operating
normally.
Information
[ When the brake pedal is
depressed under certain
driving conditions or weather
conditions, you may temporarily hear
a noise. This is normal and does not
indicate a problem with your brakes.
[ While driving on a road with deicing
chemicals, brake noise or abnormal tire
wear may occur due to deicing
chemicals. In a safe traffic condition,
additionally apply the brakes to remove
deicing chemicals on the brake discs
and pads.
WARNING
Take the following precautions:
[ Do not drive with your foot resting
on the brake pedal. This will create
abnormal high brake temperatures,
excessive brake lining and pad wear,
and increased stopping distances.
[ When descending down a long or
steep hill, move the gear shift button
to Manual Shift Mode and manually
downshift to a lower gear in order
to control your speed without using
the brake pedal excessively. Applying
the brakes continuously will cause
the brakes to overheat and could
result in a temporary loss of braking
performance.
[ Wet brakes may impair the vehicle's
ability to safely slow down; the
vehicle may also pull to one side
when the brakes are applied.
Applying the brakes lightly will
indicate whether they have been
affected in this way. Always test your
brakes in this fashion after driving
through deep water. To dry the
brakes, lightly tap the brake pedal to
heat up the brakes while maintaining
a safe forward speed until brake
performance returns to normal.
Avoid driving at high speeds until the
brakes function correctly.
Disc Brakes Wear Indicator
When your brake pads are worn and new
pads are required, you will hear a high
pitched warning sound from your front
or rear brakes. You may hear this sound
come and go or it may occur whenever
you depress the brake pedal.
NOTICE
To avoid costly brake repairs, do not
continue to drive with worn brake pads.
Information
Always replace brake pads as complete
front or rear axle sets.
06
6-35
Parking Brake (if equipped)
Applying the parking brake
OCN7080008
Always set the parking brake before
leaving the vehicle, to apply:
Firmly depress the brake pedal.
Pull up the parking brake lever as far as
possible.
WARNING
To reduce the risk of SERIOUS INJURY
or DEATH, do not operate the parking
brake while the vehicle is moving
except in an emergency situation. It
could damage the brake system and
lead to an accident.
Releasing the parking brake
OCN7060010
To release:
Firmly depress the brake pedal.
While pressing the release button (1),
slightly pull up on the parking brake lever
then lower the parking brake lever (2).