Off−Road Driving Precautions - Toyota land cruiser prado Owner's Manual

Off−road driving precautions
CAUTION
Always observe the following precau-
tions to minimize the risk of serious
personal injury or damage to your ve-
hicle:
Drive carefully when off the road.
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Do not take unnecessary risks by
driving in dangerous places.
Do not grip the steering wheel
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spokes when driving off−road. A
bad bump could jerk the wheel and
injure your hands. Keep both hands
and especially your thumbs on the
outside of the rim.
Always check your brakes for effec-
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tiveness immediately after driving in
sand, mud, water or snow.
After driving through tall grass,
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mud, rock, sand, rivers, etc., check
that there is no grass, bush, paper,
rags, stone, sand, etc. adhering or
trapped on the underbody. Clear off
any such matter from the under-
body. If the vehicle is used with
these materials trapped or adhering
to the underbody, a breakdown or
fire could occur.
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In a rollover crash, an unbelted per-
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son is significantly more likely to
die than a person wearing a seat
belt. Therefore, the driver and all
passengers should fasten their seat
belts whenever the vehicle is mov-
ing.
When driving off−road or in rugged
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terrain, do not drive at excessive
speeds, jump, make sharp turns,
strike objects, etc. This may cause
loss of control or vehicle rollover
causing death or serious injury. You
are also risking expensive damage
to your vehicle's suspension and
chassis.
NOTICE
z If driving through water, such as
when crossing shallow streams,first
check the depth of the water and
bottom of the river bed for firm-
ness. Drive slowly and avoid deep
water.
z Take all necessary safety measures
to ensure that water damage to the
engine or other components does
not occur.
z Water entering the automatic trans-
mission will cause deterioration in
shift quality, locking up of your
transmission accompanied by ribra-
tion, and ultimately damage.
z Water entering the engine air intake
will cause severe engine damage.
z Water can wash the grease from
wheel bearings, causing rusting and
premature failure, and may also en-
ter the differentials, transmission
and transfer case, reducing the gear
oil's lubricating qualities.