Advertisement
• During cold weather, shifting may be
difficult until the transaxle lubricant has
warmed up. This is normal and not
harmful to the transaxle.
• If you've come to a complete stop and
it's hard to shift into 1st (First) or R
(Reverse), leave the shift lever at
Neutral position and release the clutch.
Depress the clutch pedal back down,
and then shift into 1st (First) or R
(Reverse) gear position.
CAUTION
• To avoid premature clutch wear
and damage, do not drive with
your foot resting on the clutch
pedal. Also, don't use the clutch
to hold the vehicle stopped on an
uphill grade, whilst waiting for a
traffic light, etc.
• Do not use the shift lever as a
handrest during driving, as this
can result in premature wear of
the transaxle shift forks.
WARNING
• Before leaving the driver's seat,
always set the parking brake fully
and shut the engine off. Then
make sure the transaxle is shifted
into 1st (First) gear when the
vehicle is parked on a level or
uphill grade, and shifted into R
(Reverse) on a downhill grade.
Unexpected and sudden vehicle
movement can occur if these pre-
cautions are not followed in the
order identified.
• If your vehicle has a manual
transaxle not equipped with a
ignition lock switch, it may move
and cause a serious accident
when starting the engine without
depressing the clutch pedal
whilst the parking brake is
released and the shift lever not in
the Neutral position.
Driving your vehicle
Using the clutch
The clutch should be pressed all the way
to the floor before shifting, then released
slowly. The clutch pedal should always be
fully released whilst driving. Do not rest
your foot on the clutch pedal whilst driv-
ing. This can cause unnecessary wear.
Do not partially engage the clutch to hold
the car on an incline. This causes unnec-
essary wear. Use the foot brake or park-
ing brake to hold the car on an incline. Do
not operate the clutch pedal rapidly and
repeatedly.
Downshifting
When you must slow down in heavy traf-
fic or whilst driving up steep hills, down-
shift before the engine starts to labour.
Downshifting reduces the chance of
stalling and gives better acceleration
when you need to increase your speed
again. When the vehicle is travelling
down steep hills, downshifting helps
maintain safe speed and prolongs brake
life.
5 19
Advertisement
