ENGINE (IGNITI ON) SWITCH, TRANSMISSI ON AND PARKING BRAKE
235
(b) Normal dr iving
1. Star t the engi ne as ins truc ted i n “How
to st art t he engine” on page 410 i n
Secti on 3. The tr ansmis sion must be in
“P”or“N”.
2. Wi th your foot holdi ng down t he br ake
pedal, shif t the shif t lever to “D” .
When t he l ever is in the “D” pos ition, t he
automatic transmission system will select
a s uitabl e gear f or running condit ions such
as normal c ruis ing, hill cl imbing, har d tow-
ing, etc .
Always use the “D” posit ion f or bett er fuel
economy and quieter dri ving. I f t he engi ne
coolant temper ature is low, the tr ansmis-
sion wi ll not shif t into the ov erdri ve gear
even in the “D” posit ion.
CAUTION
Never put your foot on the accelera-
tor pedal while shif ting.
3. Releas e the par king brak e and brake
pedal. Depres s t he acceler ator pedal
slowl y for smooth st arting.
(c) Usi ng engine braking
To use engine br aking, y ou can downs hift
the transmi ssion as fol lows:
D Shift into the “ 3” posi tion. The trans-
miss ion will downshift t o thir d gear and
engine braki ng will be enabled.
D Shift into the “ 2” posi tion. The trans-
miss ion wil l downs hift to second gear
when the v ehicl e speed drops down to
or lower than 102 km/ h ( 63 mph), and
str onger engine brak ing wil l be en-
abled.
D Shift into the “ L” posi tion. The trans-
miss ion wi ll downs hift to fir st gear
when the v ehicl e speed drops down to
or l ower than 48 km/h ( 30 mph), and
maximum engine braki ng wil l be en-
abled.
Vehicles with cr uise c ontrol —When t he
crui se c ontrol i s being used, ev en i f you
downshif t from “D” t o “3” , engine br aking
will not be enabled becaus e the crui se
contr ol is not canc elled.
For ways to dec rease the v ehicl e s peed,
see “Cr uise cont rol” on page 277 in this
Secti on.
CAUTION
Be careful when downshift ing on a
slippery surface. Abrupt shifti ng
could cause the vehicle to skid or
spin.
Finish
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