Driving your vehicle
445
E140406AFD-EA
Driving on grades
Reduce speed and shift to a lower gear
before you start down a long or steep
downgrade. If you don’t shift down, you
might have to use your brakes so much
that they would get hot and no longer
operate efficiently.
On a long uphill grade, shift down and
reduce your speed to around 70 km/h (45
mph) to reduce the possibility of engine
and transaxle overheating.
If your trailer weighs more than the max-
imum trailer weight without trailer brakes
and you have an automatic transaxle,
you should drive in D (Drive) when tow-
ing a trailer.
Operating your vehicle in D (Drive) when
towing a trailer will minimise heat build up
and extend the life of your transaxle.
✽✽
NOTICE - For petrol engine
(2.0l) and diesel engine (1.6l) with
Automatic Transaxle
If you tow a trailer on steep grades(in
excess of 12%) at a speed over 30 km/h
with the maximum gross vehicle weight
and the maximum trailer weight, it can
cause the engine or transaxle to over-
heat. When driving in such conditions,
allow the engine to idle until it cools
down. You may proceed once when the
engine or transaxle has cooled suffi-
ciently.
E140407AUN-EA
Parking on hills
Generally, if you have a trailer attached to
your vehicle, you should not park your
vehicle on a hill. People can be seriously
or fatally injured, and both your vehicle
and the trailer can be damaged if unex-
pectedly roll down hill.
However, if you ever have to park your
trailer on a hill, here's how to do it:
1. Pull the vehicle into the parking space.
Turn the steering wheel in the direction
of the kerb (right if headed down hill,
left if headed up hill).
2. If the vehicle has a manual transaxle,
place the car in neutral. If the vehicle
has an automatic transaxle, place the
car in P (Park).
3. Set the hand brake and shut off the
vehicle.
4. Place chocks under the trailer wheels
on the down hill side of the wheels.
CAUTION
• When towing a trailer on steep
grades (in excess of 6%) pay
close attention to the engine
coolant temperature gauge to
ensure the engine does not over-
heat.
(Continued)
(Continued)
If the needle of the coolant tem-
perature gauge moves across the
dial towards “H” or “130°C” (HOT),
pull over and stop as soon as it is
safe to do so, and allow the
engine to idle until it cools down.
You may proceed once the engine
has cooled sufficiently.
• You must decide driving speed
depending on trailer weight and
uphill grade to reduce the possi-
bility of engine and transaxle
overheating.
WARNING - Parking on a
hill
Parking your vehicle on a hill with a
trailer attached could cause seri-
ous injury or death, should the trail-
er break loose.
