Before Driving; Ascending a hill; Descending a hill- Page 135

To turn the trailer, place your hand at the bottom of the steering wheel and turn it in the
direction you want the trailer to go. Make only slight movements to prevent sharp or
prolonged turning.

Ascending a hill

Shift into a lower gear to reduce the possibility of overloading or overheating the engine, or
both.

Descending a hill

Shift into a lower gear and use engine compression as a braking effect.

WARNING

Always use lower gears to reduce speed:

Holding the brake pedal down too long or too frequently is dangerous as it could cause the
brakes to overheat and lose power, resulting in loss of control and a serious accident. Use
lower gears to help reduce speed. Pull off the road and allow brakes to cool down whenever
braking performance feels reduced.

Overheated engine

The extra weight of the trailer may strain the engine on hot days and on long or steep
upgrades.
If the temperature gauge indicates overheating, turn off the air conditioner, drive safely to
the side of the road, park off the right-of-way and wait for engine to cool. Refer to
Overheating on page 7-17.

Parking

Always make sure the tires of the trailer and the tow vehicle are blocked while parked.
Apply the parking brake firmly and put the transaxle in P.

Avoid parking on an incline, but if you must, follow these instructions:

1. Depress and hold down the brake pedal.
2. Have a helper put wheel blocks against the downhill side of all vehicle and trailer tires.
3. Then release the brake pedal slowly until the blocks bear the load.



If the grade is downhill, turn the steering wheel so that the front of the front tires face
the curb.



If it is uphill, face the rear of the front tires against the curb.

4. Firmly apply the parking brake.
5. Shift the transaxle into P, and stop the engine.

Before Driving

Towing

3-59

CX-5_8FN1-EA-16L_Edition2

2017-2-9 12:40:26