If You Do Decide To Pull A Trailer

If you do, here are some important points:

• There are many different laws, including speed limit restrictions, having to do with trailering.

Make sure your rig will be legal, not only where you live but also where you’ll be driving.

A good source for this information can be state or provincial police.
• Consider using a sway control. See “Hitches” later in this section.
• Don’t tow a trailer at all during the first 500 miles (800 km) your new vehicle is driven.

Your engine, axle or other parts could be damaged.
• Then, during the first 500 miles (800 km) that you tow a trailer, don’t drive over 50 mph (80 km/h) and don’t make starts at full throttle.

This helps your engine and other parts of your vehicle wear in at the heavier loads.
• You can tow in DRIVE (D). You may want to shift the transmission to THIRD (3) or, if necessary, a lower gear selection if the transmission shifts too often (e.g., under heavy loads and/or hilly conditions).

Three important considerations have to do with weight:

• the weight of the trailer,
• the weight of the trailer tongue
• and the weight on your vehicle’s tires.

    See also:

    Driving On Grades
    Reduce speed and shift to a lower gear before starting down a long or steep downgrade. If the transmission is not shifted down, the brakes might have to be used so much that they would get hot and ...

    DIC Warnings and Messages
    Messages are displayed on the DIC to notify the driver that the status of the vehicle has changed and that some action may be needed by the driver to correct the condition. Multiple messages may ...

    Window Messages
    OPEN, THEN CLOSE DRIVER WINDOW This message is displayed when the window needs to be reprogrammed. If the vehicle's battery has been recharged or disconnected, you will need to reprogram each f ...