Driving on Grades

Notice: Do not tow on steep continuous grades exceeding 6 miles (9.6 km). Extended, higher than normal engine and transmission temperatures may result and damage the vehicle. Frequent stops are very important to allow the engine and transmission to cool.

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 no longer work well.

On a long uphill grade, shift down and reduce the vehicle’s speed to around 45 mph (70 km/h) to reduce the possibility of the engine and the transmission overheating. If the engine does overheat, see Engine Overheating.

    See also:

    Exterior Lamp Controls
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    Lane Departure Warning (LDW) Light
    For vehicles with the lane departure warning system, this light briefly comes on green, while starting the vehicle, to indicate that it is working. If it does not, have the vehicle servic ...

    Approaching a Hill
    When you approach a hill, you need to decide if it is one of those hills that is just too steep to climb, descend, or cross. Steepness can be hard to judge. On a very small hill, for example, there ...