Freeing a stuck vehicle
If your vehicle becomes stuck in mud, sand or snow, it can often be moved using a rocking motion. Turn the steering wheel right and left to clear the area around the front wheels. Then, shift back and forth between DRIVE and REVERSE (with automatic transmission) or SECOND GEAR and REVERSE (with manual transmission), while gently pressing the accelerator. Use the least amount of accelerator pedal pressure that will maintain the rocking motion, without spinning the wheels or racing the engine.
CAUTION! Racing the engine or spinning the wheels may lead to transmission overheating and failure. Allow the en- gine to idle with the transmission in NEUTRAL for at least one minute after every five rocking-motion cycles. This will minimize overheating and reduce the risk of clutch or transmission failure during prolonged efforts to free a stuck vehicle.
NOTE: Push the ESC Off switch to place the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) system in Partial Off mode before rocking the vehicle. Refer to “Electronic Brake Control System” in “Safety” for further information. Once the vehicle has been freed, push the ESC Off switch again to restore ESC On mode.
WARNING! Fast spinning tires can be dangerous. Forces generated by excessive wheel speeds may cause damage, or even failure, of the axle and tires. A tire could explode and injure someone. Do not spin your vehicle’s wheels faster than 30 mph (48 km/h) or for longer than 30 seconds continuously without stopping when you are stuck and do not let anyone near a spinning wheel, no matter what the speed.
CAUTION! • When “rocking” a stuck vehicle by shifting between DRIVE/SECOND GEAR and REVERSE, do not spin the wheels faster than 15 mph (24 km/h), or drive- train damage may result.
• Revving the engine or spinning the wheels too fast may lead to transmission overheating and failure. It can also damage the tires. Do not spin the wheels above 30 mph (48 km/h) while in gear (no transmis- sion shifting occurring).
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