Driving Your Mazda- Page 167

Driving Your Mazda

5-31

When climbing a steep slope or hill, start
in a lower gear rather than downshifting
to a lower gear once the ascent has
started. This reduces strain on the engine
and the possibility of stalling.

If you do stall out, do not try to turn
around because you might roll over. It is
better to back down to a safe location.

Apply just enough power to the wheels
to climb the hill. Too much power will
cause the tires to slip, spin or lose trac-
tion, resulting in loss of vehicle control.

Descend a hill in the same gear you
would use to climb up the hill to avoid
excessive brake application and brake
overheating. Do not descend in neutral,
disengage overdrive or manually shift to
a lower gear.

When descending a steep hill, avoid sud-
den hard braking as you could lose con-
trol. When you brake hard, the front
wheels can’t turn and if they aren’t turn-
ing, you won’t be able to steer. The front
wheels have to be turning in order to
steer the vehicle. Rapid pumping of the
brake will help you slow the vehicle and
still maintain steering control.

If your vehicle has antilock brakes,
apply the brakes steadily. Do not
“pump” the brakes.

When cruise control is on and you are
driving uphill, your vehicle speed may
drop considerably, especially if you are
carrying a heavy load.

If vehicle speed drops more than 16 km/h
(10 mph), the cruise control will cancel
automatically. Resume speed with the
accelerator pedal.

If cruise control cancels after climbing
the hill, reset speed by pressing and hold-
ing the SET ACCEL button to resume
speeds over 30 mph (50 km/h).

The automatic transmission may shift
frequently while driving up steep grades.
Eliminate frequent shifting by shifting
out of 

f

D (Overdrive) into D (Drive).