JD eng 5.QXP 3/4/2015 2:51 PM Page 21
Driving your vehicle
• During cold weather, shifting may be
difficult until the transaxle lubricant has
warmed up. This is normal and not
harmful to the transaxle.
Using the clutch
WARNING
The clutch pedal should be depressed all
the way to the floor before shifting, then
released slowly. The clutch pedal should
always be fully released while driving. Do
not rest your foot on the clutch pedal
while driving. This can cause unneces-
sary wear. Do not partially engage the
clutch to hold the vehicle on an incline.
This causes unnecessary wear. Use the
foot brake or parking brake to hold the
vehicle on an incline. Do not operate the
clutch pedal rapidly and repeatedly.
• Before leaving the driver’s seat,
always set the parking brake fully
and shut the engine off. Then
make sure the transaxle is shifted
into 1 (First) gear when the vehi-
cle is parked on a level or uphill
• If you've come to a complete stop and
it's hard to shift into 1 (First) or R
(Reverse), put the shift lever in neutral
position and release the clutch. Press
the clutch pedal back down, and then
shift into 1 (First) or R (Reverse) gear
position.
grade, and shifted into
(Reverse) on a downhill grade.
R
Unexpected and sudden vehicle
movement can occur if these pre-
cautions are not followed in the
order identified.
CAUTION
• To avoid premature clutch wear
and damage, do not drive with
your foot resting on the clutch
pedal. Also, don’t use the clutch
to hold the vehicle stopped on an
uphill grade, while waiting for a
traffic light, etc.
• If your vehicle has a manual
transaxle not equipped with a
ignition lock switch, it may move
and cause a serious accident
when starting the engine without
depressing the clutch pedal while
the parking brake is released and
the shift lever not in the neutral
position.
CAUTION
When operating the clutch pedal,
depress the clutch pedal down fully.
If you don’t depress the clutch
pedal fully, the clutch may be dam-
aged or noise may occur.
• Do not use the shift lever as a
handrest during driving, as this
can result in premature wear of
the transaxle shift forks.
• To prevent possible damage to the
clutch system, do not start with the
2nd (second) gear engaged except
when you start on a slippery road.
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