Owner's Manual

Q: Am I likely to stall when going downhill?
A: It’s much more likely to happen going uphill. But if it
happens going downhill, here’s what to do.
Stop your vehicle by applying the regular brakes.
Apply the parking brake.
Shift to PARK (P) (or to neutral with the manual
transmission) and, while still braking, restart the
engine.
Shift back to a low gear, release the parking brake,
0 If the engine won’t start, get out and get help.
and drive straight down.
Driving Across an Incline
Sooner or later, an off-road trail will probably go across
the incline of a hill.
If this happens, you have to
decide whether to
try to drive across the incline. Here
are some things
to consider:
A hill that can be driven straight up or down may be
too steep to drive across. When you go straight up or
down a hill, the length of the wheel base (the
distance from the front wheels to the rear wheels)
reduces the likelihood the vehicle will tumble end
over end. But when you drive across an incline, the
much more narrow track width (the distance between
the left and right wheels) may
not prevent the vehicle
0
0
from tilting and rolling over. Also, driving across an
incline puts more weight on the downhill wheels. This
could cause a downhill slide or a rollover.
Surface conditions can be a problem when you drive
across a hill. Loose gravel, muddy spots, or even wet
grass can cause your tires to slip sideways, downhill.
If the vehicle slips sideways, it can hit something that
will trip
it (a rock, a rut, etc.) and roll over.
Hidden obstacles can make the steepness of the
incline even worse.
If you drive across a rock with the
uphill wheels, or
if the downhill wheels drop into a rut
or depression, your vehicle can tilt even more.
For reasons like these, you need
to decide carefully
whether to try to drive across an incline. Just because
the trail goes across the incline doesn’t mean you
have
to drive it. The last vehicle to try it might have
rolled over.
Driving across an incline that’s too steep
will
make your vehicle roll over. You could be
seriously injured or killed.
If you have any
doubt about the steepness
of the incline, don’t
drive across it. Find another route instead.
4-24