Driving Your Mazda; Transmission Ranges; Automatic Transmission - Page 100

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Driving Your Mazda

Starting and Driving

Form No. 8R65-EA-03C

Various Lockouts:

▼

Transmission Ranges

The shift lever must be in P or N to 
operate the starter.

P (Park)

P locks the transmission and prevents the 
rear wheels from rotating.

R (Reverse)

In position R, the vehicle moves only 
backward. You must be at a complete stop 
before shifting to or from R, except under 
rare circumstances as explained in 
Rocking the Vehicle (page 4-8).

N (Neutral)

In N, the wheels and transmission are not 
locked. The vehicle will roll freely even 
on the slightest incline unless the parking 
brake or brakes are on.

Automatic Transmission 
Controls

Indicates that you must depress the 
brake pedal to shift (The ignition 
switch must be in the ACC or ON 
position).
Indicates the shift lever can be 
shifted freely into any position.

Holding the Vehicle with P:
Only setting the shift lever to the P 
position without using the parking 
brake to hold the vehicle is dangerous. 
If P fails to hold, the vehicle could 
move and cause an accident. To hold 
the vehicle, set the shift lever to P 
AND set the parking brake.

•

Shifting into P, N or R while the 
vehicle is moving can damage your 
transmission.

•

Shifting into a driving gear or 
reverse when the engine is running 
faster than idle can damage the 
transmission.

WARNING

CAUTION

J60E_8R65-EA-03C_Edition6.book  Page 10  Wednesday, December 10, 2003  4:24 PM

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