Mazda 3 Owners Manual: Driving Tips
| WARNING Do not let the vehicle move in a direction opposite to the direction selected by the selector lever: Do not let the vehicle move backward with the selector lever in a forward position, or do not let the vehicle move forward with the selector lever in the reverse position. Otherwise, the engine may stop, causing the loss of the power brake and power steering functions, and make it diffi cult to control the vehicle which could result in an accident. |
Passing For extra power when passing another vehicle or climbing steep grades, depress the accelerator fully. The transaxle will shift to a lower gear, depending on vehicle speed.
NOTE (Some models) The accelerator pedal may initially feel heavy as it is being depressed, then feel lighter as it is depressed further. This change in pedal force aids the engine control system in determining how much the accelerator pedal has been depressed for performing kickdown, and functions to control whether or not kickdown should be performed.
Climbing steep grades from a stop To climb a steep grade from a stopped position:
- Depress the brake pedal.
- Shift to D or M1, depending on the load weight and grade steepness.
- Release the brake pedal while gradually accelerating.
Descending steep grades
When descending a steep grade, shift to lower gears, depending on load weight and grade steepness. Descend slowly, using the brakes only occasionally to prevent them from overheating.
Direct Mode
Direct mode can be used for temporarily
switching gears by operating the steering
shift switch while the vehicle is being
driven with the selector lever in the D
range.
While in direct mode, th ...
Other materials:
Seat Belt Precautions
Seat belts help to decrease the possibility of severe injury during accidents
and sudden
stops. Mazda recommends that the driver and all passengers always wear seat
belts.
(U.S.A. and Canada)
All of the seat belt retractors are designed to keep the lap/shoulder belts
out of the way when
no ...
Tire Rotation
WARNING
Rotate tires periodically:
Irregular tire wear is dangerous. To
equalize tread wear for maintaining
good performance in handling and
braking, rotate the tires every 12,000
km (7,500 miles). However Mazda
recommends to rotate every 8,000 km
(5,000 miles) to help ...
Audio Set (Type B)
NOTE
The explanation of functions described in this manual may differ from the actual
operation, and the shapes of screens and buttons and the letters and characters
displayed
may also differ from the actual appearance.
Additionally, depending on future software updates, the content may succ ...