Rocking The Vehicle; Winter Driving - Mazda 2008 MX-5 Miata Owner's Manual

MX-5_8X49-EA-07F_Edition2 Page144
Monday, June 25 2007 11:18 AM
Before Driving Your Mazda
Driving Tips

Rocking the Vehicle

WARNING
Do not spin the wheels at more than 56
km/h (35 mph), and do not allow
anyone to stand behind a wheel when
pushing the vehicle:
When the vehicle is stuck, spinning
the wheels at high speed is
dangerous. The spinning tire could
overheat and explode. This could
cause serious injuries.
CAUTION
Too much rocking may cause engine
overheating, transmission failure,
and tire damage.
If you must rock the vehicle to free it from
snow, sand or mud, depress the
accelerator slightly and slowly move the
shift lever from 1 (D) to R.
4-8
Form No.8X49-EA-07F
Black plate (144,1)

Winter Driving

Carry emergency gear, including tire
l
chains, window scraper, flares, a small
shovel, jumper cables, and a small bag
of sand or salt.
Ask an Authorized Mazda Dealer to
perform the following precautions:
Have the proper ratio of antifreeze in
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the radiator.
Refer to Engine Coolant on page 8-23.
Inspect the battery and its cables. Cold
l
reduces battery capacity.
Inspect the ignition system for damage
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and loose connections.
Use washer fluid made with
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antifreeze but don't use engine
coolant antifreeze for washer fluid
(page 8-26).
Don't use the parking brake in freezing
l
weather as the parking brake may
freeze. Instead, shift to P with an
automatic transmission and to 1 or R
with a manual transmission. Block the
rear wheels.
qSnow Tires
Use snow tires on all four wheels
Don't go faster than 120 km/h (75 mph)
while driving with snow tires. Inflate
snow tires 30 kPa (0.3 kgf/cm
more than recommended on the tire
pressure label (driver's door frame), but
never more than the maximum cold-tire
pressure shown on the tires.
Your vehicle is originally equipped with
summer tires designed for optimum
traction on wet and dry roads. If your
vehicle is to be used on snow and ice
covered roads, Mazda recommends that
you replace the tires originally equipped
on your vehicle with snow tires during the
winter months.
2
, 4.3 psi)