Special Driving Conditions; Hazardous Driving Conditions; Rocking The Vehicle - Hyundai Santa Fe Owner's Manual

Driving your vehicle

SPECIAL DRIVING CONDITIONS

Hazardous driving conditions

When hazardous driving elements
are encountered such as water,
snow, ice, mud and sand, take the
following precautions:
• Drive cautiously and maintain a
longer braking distance.
• Avoid abrupt braking or steering.
• When your vehicle is stuck in snow,
mud, or sand, use the second
gear. Accelerate slowly to avoid
unnecessary wheel spinning.
• Put sand, rock salt, tyre chains or
other non-slip materials under the
wheels to provide additional trac-
tion whilst being stuck in ice, snow,
or mud.
WARNING
Downshifting with an a auto-
matic transmission whilst driv-
ing on slippery surfaces can
cause an accident. The sudden
change in tyre speed could
cause the tyres to skid. Be care-
ful when downshifting on slip-
pery surfaces.
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Rocking the vehicle

If it is necessary to rock the vehicle
to free it from snow, sand, or mud,
first turn the steering wheel right and
left to clear the area around your
front wheels. Then, shift back and
forth between R (Reverse) and a for-
ward gear.
Try to avoid spinning the wheels, and
do not race the engine.
To prevent transmission wear, wait
until the wheels stop spinning before
shifting gears. Release the accelera-
tor pedal whilst shifting, and press
lightly on the accelerator pedal whilst
the transmission is in gear. Slowly
spinning the wheels in forward and
reverse directions causes a rocking
motion that may free the vehicle.
WARNING
If the vehicle is stuck and
excessive wheel spin occurs,
the temperature in the tyres can
increase very quickly. If the
tyres become damaged, a tyre
blow out or tyre explosion can
occur. This condition is danger-
ous - you and others may be
injured. Do not attempt this pro-
cedure if people or objects are
anywhere near the vehicle.
If you attempt to free the vehi-
cle, the vehicle can overheat
quickly, possibly causing an
engine compartment fire or
other damage. Try to avoid spin-
ning the wheels as much as
possible to prevent overheating
of either the tyres or the engine.
DO NOT allow the vehicle to
spin the wheels above 35 mph
(56 km/h).