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 no longer work well.

The vehicle can tow in D (Drive).

Use a lower gear if the transmission shifts too often.

When towing at high altitude on steep uphill grades, engine coolant boils at a lower temperature than at normal altitudes. If the engine is turned off immediately after towing at high altitude on steep uphill grades, the vehicle could show signs similar to engine overheating.

To avoid this, let the engine run while parked, preferably on level ground, with the transmission in P (Park) for a few minutes before turning the engine off. If the overheat warning comes on, see Engine Overheating.

    See also:

    Weight of the Trailer
    How heavy can a trailer safely be? It depends on how you plan to use your rig. For example, speed, altitude, road grades, outside temperature and how much your vehicle is used to pull a trailer ...

    Engine Oil Life System
    The engine oil life system calculates engine oil life based on vehicle use and displays a DIC message when it is necessary to change the engine oil and filter. The oil life system should be rese ...

    Ignition Positions
    The ignition has four different positions: In order to shift out of P (Park), ignition must be in the ON/RUN and the regular brake pedal must be applied. Notice: Using a tool to force the key to ...