Towing Your Vehicle; Recreational Towing - Ford 2001 Mercury Cougar Owner's Manual

Roadside emergencies

TOWING YOUR VEHICLE

BEHIND ANOTHER VEHICLE
At times you may want to tow your
vehicle behind another vehicle.
Before you have your vehicle
towed:
• Release the parking brake.
• Move the gearshift to
N (Neutral).
• Turn the key in the ignition to off.
• Unlock the steering wheel.

Recreational towing

Follow these guidelines for your
specific powertrain combination to
tow your vehicle with all four
wheels on the ground (such as
behind a recreational vehicle).
These guidelines are designed to
ensure that your transmission is
not damaged due to insufficient
lubrication.
All Front Wheel Drive (FWD)
vehicles
An example of recreational towing
is towing your vehicle behind a
Motorhome. The following
recreational towing guidelines are
designed to ensure that your
transmission is not damaged. It is
not recommended to tow front
wheel drive vehicles with the front
drive wheels on the ground. It is
recommended to tow your vehicle
with the drive wheels on a dolly or
two wheel car hauling trailer.
In case of a roadside emergency
with a disabled vehicle (without
access to wheel dollies, car hauling
trailer or flatbed transport vehicle)
your vehicle can be flat towed (all
wheels on the ground) under the
following conditions:
• Transmission is placed in N
(Neutral).
• Maximum speed is 50 km/h
(30 mph).
• Maximum distance is 50 km
(30 miles).
For vehicles with manual transaxle,
see section Manual transaxle.