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Driving your vehicle
Special Driving
Conditions
Hazardous driving conditions
When hazardous driving elements are
encountered such as water, snow, ice,
mud and sand, take the following
precautions:
• Drive cautiously and maintain a longer
braking distance.
• Avoid abrupt braking or steering.
• When your vehicle is stuck in snow,
mud, or sand, use second gear.
Accelerate slowly to avoid unnecessary
wheel spin.
• Put sand, rock salt, tire chains or other
non-slip materials under the wheels to
provide additional traction while the
vehicle becomes stuck in ice, snow, or
mud.
Using the paddle shifters to downshift to
a lower gear while driving on slippery
surfaces can cause an accident. The
sudden change in tire speed could cause
the tires to skid. Be careful when
downshifting on slippery surfaces.
Rocking the vehicle
If it is necessary to rock the vehicle to free
it from snow, sand, or mud, first turn the
steering wheel right and left to clear the
area around your front wheels. Then, shift
back and forth between R (Reverse) and a
forward gear.
Try to avoid spinning the wheels, and do
not race the engine.
To prevent transmission wear, wait until
the wheels stop spinning before shifting
gears. Release the accelerator pedal
while shifting, and press lightly on the
accelerator pedal while the transmission
is in gear. Slowly spinning the wheels in
forward and reverse directions causes a
rocking motion that may free the vehicle.
If the vehicle is stuck and excessive wheel
spin occurs, the temperature in the tires
can increase very quickly. If the tires
become damaged, a tire blow out or tire
explosion can occur. This condition is
dangerous - you and others may be
injured. Do not attempt this procedure if
people or objects are anywhere near the
vehicle.
If you attempt to free the vehicle, the
vehicle can overheat quickly, possibly
causing an engine compartment fire or
other damage. Try to avoid spinning the
wheels as much as possible to prevent
overheating of either the tires or the
engine. DO NOT allow the vehicle to spin
the wheels above 35 mph (56 km/h).
The ESC system must be turned OFF
before rocking the vehicle.
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