Operation Manual

Driving your vehicle
145
• During cold weather, shifting may be
difficult until the transaxle lubricant is
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 or R (Reverse),
leave the shift lever in the neutral posi-
tion and release the clutch. Depress the
clutch pedal back down, and then shift
into 1st or R (Reverse) gear position.
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 gear when the vehicle is
parked on a level or uphill, and
shifted into R (Reverse) on a
downhill. Unexpected and sud-
den vehicle movement can occur
if these precautions are not fol-
lowed in the order identified.
CAUTION
• To avoid premature clutch wear
and damage, do not drive with
your foot resting on the clutch
pedal. Also, do not use the clutch
to hold the vehicle stopped on a
hill, while 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.
• When operating the clutch pedal,
press the clutch pedal down fully.
If you don't press the clutch pedal
fully, the clutch may be damaged
or noise may occur.
CAUTION
• When downshifting from fifth
gear to fourth gear, caution
should be taken not to inadver-
tently press the shift lever side-
ways in such a manner that the
second gear is engaged. Such a
drastic downshift may cause the
engine speed to increase to the
point that the tachometer will
enter the red-zone. Such over-
revving of the engine and
transaxle may possibly cause
engine damage.
• Do not downshift more than 2
gears or downshift the gear when
the engine is running at high
speed (5,000 RPM or higher).
Such a downshifting may damage
engine, clutch and the transaxle.
• When shifting between 5
th
and 6
th
gear, you should always push the
gear level all the way to the right.
You could otherwise shift unin-
tentionally into 3
rd
or 4
th
gear and
damage the transaxle.