2005 Dodge Neon Owner Manual SRT-4 - Page 99

STARTING AND OPERATING 99 For most city driving you will find it easier to use only the lower gears. For steady highway driving with light accelerations, 5th gear is recommended. Never drive with your foot resting on the clutch pedal, or try to hold the vehicle on a hill with the clutch pedal partially engaged. This will cause abnormal wear on the clutch. Never shift into REVERSE until the vehicle has come to a complete stop. NOTE: During cold weather, until the transaxle lubricant has warmed, you may have difficulty shifting. This is normal and not harmful to the transaxle. Recommended Shift Speeds To use your manual transaxle for optimal fuel economy, it should be upshifted as listed in tables 1 and 2. TABLE 1-MANUAL TRANSAXLE RECOMMENDED SHIFT SPEEDS IN MPH (KM/H) ENGINE NORMAL ACCELERATION SHIFT SPEEDS 1 to 2 2 to 3 3 to 4 4 to 5 15 25 33 44 2.4L TURBO (24) (40) (53) (71) TABLE 2-MANUAL TRANSAXLE RECOMMENDED SHIFT SPEEDS IN MPH (KM/H) ENGINE CRUISE SHIFT SPEEDS 1 to 2 2 to 3 3 to 4 4 to 5 16 20 28 38 2.4L TURBO (26) (32) (45) (61) For improved performance, your manual transaxle may be upshifted up to the maximum speeds listed in table 3 (within legal speed limits). 5