Shifting Into Park (P) - Suzuki 2008 XL7 Owner's Manual

FEATURES AND CONTROLS
CAUTION
Driving with the parking brake on can
overheat the brake system and cause
premature wear or damage to brake
system parts. Make sure that the
parking brake is fully released and
the brake warning light is off before
driving.

Shifting Into PARK (P)

WARNING
It can be dangerous to get out of your
vehicle if the shift lever is not fully in
PARK (P) with the parking brake
firmly set. Your vehicle can roll. If
you have left the engine running, the
vehicle can move suddenly. You or
others could be injured. To be sure
your vehicle will not move, even
when you are on fairly level ground,
use the steps that follow. If you are
pulling a trailer, refer to "Towing a
Trailer" in "Towing" in the "Driving
Your Vehicle" section.
1) Hold the brake pedal down with your
foot and set the parking brake. Refer to
"Parking Brake" in this section for more
information.
2) Move the shift lever into the PARK (P)
by pressing in the button on the shift
2-17
lever and pushing the lever all the way
toward the front of the vehicle.
3) Turn the ignition key to LOCK/OFF.
4) Remove the key and take it with you. If
you can leave your vehicle with the key,
your vehicle is in PARK (P).
Leaving Your Vehicle With the Engine
Running
WARNING
It can be dangerous to leave your
vehicle with the engine running. Your
vehicle could move suddenly if the
shift lever is not fully in PARK (P)
with the parking brake firmly set.
And, if you leave the vehicle with the
engine running, it could overheat and
even catch fire. You or others could
be injured. Do not leave your vehicle
with the engine running.
If you have to leave your vehicle with the
engine running, be sure your vehicle is in
PARK (P) and your parking brake is firmly
set before you leave it. After you have
moved the shift lever into PARK (P), hold
the regular brake pedal down. Then, see if
you can move the shift lever away from
PARK (P) without first pressing the button
on the console shift lever. If you can, it
means that the shift lever was not fully
locked into PARK (P).
Torque Lock
If you are parking on a hill and you do not
shift your transmission into PARK (P) prop-
erly, the weight of the vehicle may put too
much force on the parking pawl in the
transmission. You may find it difficult to pull
the shift lever out of PARK (P). This is
called "torque lock." To prevent torque lock,
set the parking brake and then shift into
PARK (P) properly before you leave the
driver's seat. To find out how, refer to
"Shifting Into PARK (P)" in this section.
When you are ready to drive, move the
shift lever out of PARK (P) before you
release the parking brake.
If torque lock does occur, you may need to
have another vehicle push yours a little
uphill to take some of the pressure from
the parking pawl in the transmission, so
you can pull the shift lever out of PARK (P).
Shifting Out of PARK (P)
This vehicle is equipped with an electronic
shift lock release system. The shift lock
release is designed to:
• Prevent ignition key removal unless the
shift lever is in PARK (P) with the shift
lever button fully released, and
• Prevent movement of the shift lever out
of PARK (P), unless the ignition is in ON/
RUN or ACC/ACCESSORY and the reg-
ular brake pedal is applied.