cidents resulting from careless or dan-
gerous driving techniques. It can help
maintain vehicle control during braking
on slippery surfaces, but remember that
the stopping distance on slippery sur-
faces will be longer than on normal
surfaces, even with the anti-lock sys-
tem. Stopping distances may also be
longer on rough, gravel or snow covered
roads, or if you are using tire chains.
Always maintain a safe distance from
the vehicle in front of you. Ultimately,
the responsibility for safety of self and
others rests in the hands of the driver.
Tire type and condition of tires may also
affect braking effectiveness.
쐌 When replacing tires, install the
specified size of tires on all four
wheels.
쐌 When installing a spare tire, make
sure it is the proper size and type as
specified on the tire placard. See
“Vehicle identification” in the “9.
Technical and consumer informa-
tion” section for tire placard location.
When driving on slippery surfaces or suddenly
avoiding obstacles on roads, the vehicle might
swerve or slip. With the vehicle dynamic control
(VDC) system, sensors detect these movements
and control the braking and engine output to
help improve vehicle stability while driving.
쐌 When the VDC system is operating, the slip
indicator in the instrument panel blinks.
쐌 When only the traction control system portion
of the VDC system is operating, the slip
indicator in the instrument panel blinks.
쐌 If the slip indicator blinks, the vehicle is under
slippery conditions. Be sure to drive carefully.
See “Slip indicator light”, and “VDC off indi-
cator light” in the “2. Instruments and con-
trols” section.
쐌 Indicator light — If a malfunction occurs in the
system, the
and indicator lights
illuminate in the instrument panel. As long as
these warning lights are illuminated, the ve-
hicle dynamic control is cancelled.
The VDC system uses an Active Brake Limited
Slip (ABLS) system to improve vehicle traction.
The ABLS system works when one of the driving
wheels is spinning on a slippery surface. The
ABLS system brakes the spinning wheel which
distributed the driving power to the other drive
wheel. If the vehicle is operated with the vehicle
dynamic control system turned off, all VDC and
TCS functions will be turned off. The ABLS
system and ABS will still operate with the ABS
activated, the slip indicator light will blink and
you may hear a “clunk” noise and/or feel a
pulsation in the brake pedal. This is normal and is
not an indication of a malfunction.
While the VDC system is operating, you may feel
a pulsation in the brake pedal and hear a noise or
vibration from under the hood. This is normal and
indicates that the VDC system is working prop-
erly.
The VDC system computer has a built-in diag-
nostic feature that tests the system each time
you start the engine and move the vehicle at a
low speed forward or backward. When the
self-test occurs, you may hear a “clunk” noise
and/or feel a pulsation in the brake pedal. This is
normal and is not an indication of a malfunction.
WARNING
쐌 The vehicle dynamic control system
is designed to help improve driving
stability but does not prevent acci-
dents due to abrupt steering opera-
tion at high speeds or by careless or
dangerous driving techniques. Re-
VEHICLE DYNAMIC CONTROL
(VDC) SYSTEM (if so equipped)
5-26 Starting and driving
墌 04.6.10/T30-J/V5.0 墍
English 
