2008 Mazda RX-8 Owner's Manual - Page 132

Driving Your Mazda Starting and Driving WARNING Do not coast with the engine stalled or turned off, find a safe place to stop: Coasting with the engine stalled or turned off is dangerous. Braking will require more effort, and the brake's power-assist could be depleted if you pump the brake. This will cause longer stopping distances or even an accident. Shift to a lower gear when going down steep hills: Driving with your foot continuously on the brake pedal or steadily applying the brakes for long distances is dangerous. This causes overheated brakes, resulting in longer stopping distances or even total brake failure. This could cause loss of vehicle control and a serious accident. Avoid continuous application of the brakes. Dry brakes that have become wet by driving very slowly and applying the brakes lightly until brake performance is normal: Driving with wet brakes is dangerous. Increased stopping distance or the vehicle pulling to one side when braking could result in a serious accident. Light braking will indicate whether the brakes have been affected. qParking Brake WARNING Before leaving the driver's seat, always put the key or start knob to LOCK position, set the parking brake and make sure the shift lever is in P with an automatic transmission or in 1 or R with a manual transmission: Intentionally placing the key or start knob into LOCK position is much more important where you will not be removing the key to leave the vehicle and because leaving it in other positions will disable some of the vehicle security systems and run the battery down. Leaving the driver's seat without putting the ignition switch in LOCK position, setting the parking brake and the shift lever is in P with an automatic transmission or in 1 or R with a manual transmission is dangerous. Unexpected vehicle movement could occur. This could cause an accident. CAUTION Driving with the parking brake on will cause excessive wear of the brake linings or pads. NOTE For parking in snow, refer to Winter Driving (page 4-8) regarding parking brake use. 5-6