Before Driving Your Mazda; Driving Tips; Hazardous Driving- Page 110

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Before Driving Your Mazda

Driving Tips

Form No. 8R21-EA-02G

When driving on ice or in water, snow, 
mud, sand, or similar hazard:

•

Be cautious and allow extra distance 
for braking.

•

Avoid sudden braking and quick 
steering.

•

If your vehicle is not equipped with 
ABS, brake with the pedal by using a 
light up-down motion. Don’t hold the 
pedal down constantly.
If your vehicle is equipped with ABS, 
don’t pump the brakes. Continue to 
press down on the brake pedal.

•

If you get stuck, shift to 2 or 3 and 
accelerate slowly. Don’t spin the front 
wheels.

•

For more traction in starting, use sand, 
rock salt, chains, carpeting, or other 
nonslip material under the front 
wheels.

If you must rock the vehicle to free it from 
snow, sand, or mud, depress the 
accelerator slightly and slowly move the 
shift lever from D to R.

Hazardous Driving

Downshifting on Slippery Surfaces:
Downshifting into lower gear while 
driving on slippery surfaces is 
dangerous. The sudden change in tire 
speed could cause the tires to skid. 
This could lead to loss of vehicle 
control and an accident. If it is 
necessary to downshift on slippery 
surfaces, be very careful.

NOTE

Use snow chains only on the front 
wheels.

WARNING

Rocking the Vehicle

Spinning the Wheels:
When the vehicle is stuck, spinning 
the wheels at high speed is dangerous. 
The spinning tire could overheat and 
explode. This could cause serious 
injuries. Don’t spin the wheels at 
more than 56 km/h (35 mph), and 
don’t allow anyone to stand behind a 
wheel when pushing the vehicle.

Too much rocking may cause engine 
overheating, transaxle failure, and tire 
damage.

WARNING

CAUTION

J16L_8R21-EA-02G.book  Page 8  Saturday, June 8, 2002  11:16 AM