Driving On Grades; Parking On Hills - Chevrolet 2002 Prizm Owner's Manual

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 work well.
On a long uphill grade, shift down and reduce your
speed to 45 mph (70 km/h) to reduce the possibility of
engine and transaxle overheating.
If you are towing a trailer that weighs more than
1,000 lbs. (450 kg), and you have an automatic transaxle
with overdrive, you may prefer to drive in DRIVE (D)
rather than OVERDRIVE (or, as you need to, a
lower gear). Or, if you have a manual transaxle with
FIFTH (5), it's better not to use FIFTH (5). Just drive
in FOURTH (4) (or, as you need to, a lower gear).
4-36

Parking on Hills

CAUTION:
You really should not park your vehicle, with a
trailer attached, on a hill. If something goes
wrong, your rig could start to move. People can
be injured, and both your vehicle and the trailer
can be damaged.
But if you ever have to park your rig on a hill, here's
how to do it:
1. Apply your regular brakes, but don't shift into
PARK (P) yet, or into gear for a manual transaxle.
2. Have someone place chocks under the trailer wheels.
3. When the wheel chocks are in place, release the
regular brakes until the chocks absorb the load.
4. Reapply your regular brakes. Then apply your
parking brake, and then shift to PARK (P), or
REVERSE (R) for a manual transaxle.
5. Release the regular brakes.