2008 Mazda RX-8 Owner's Manual - Page 142

Driving Your Mazda Starting and Driving WARNING Keep your hands on the steering wheel rim when using fingers or thumbs on the steering shift switches: Putting your hands inside the rim of the steering wheel when using the steering shift switches is dangerous. If the driver air bag were to deploy in a collision, your hands could be impacted causing injury. NOTE l To shift down to a lower gear with the steering shift switches, press either of the DOWN switches away from you once with your thumb. DOWN switches l l When driving slowly, the gears may not shift up depending on vehicle speed. In manual shift mode, gears do not shift up automatically. Don't run the engine with the tachometer needle in the RED ZONE. If the tachometer needle enters the RED ZONE, you may feel engine-braking because the fuel delivery will be stopped to protect the engine. However, this does not indicate an abnormality. When depressing the accelerator fully, the transmission will shift to a lower gear, depending on vehicle speed. WARNING Do not use engine braking on slippery road surfaces or at high speeds: Shifting down while driving on wet, snowy, or frozen roads, or while driving at high speeds causes sudden engine braking, which is dangerous. The sudden change in tire speed could cause the tires to skid. This could lead to loss of vehicle control and an accident. Keep your hands on the steering wheel rim when using fingers or thumbs on the steering shift switches: Putting your hands inside the rim of the steering wheel when using the steering shift switches is dangerous. If the driver air bag were to deploy in a collision, your hands could be impacted causing injury. Manually Shifting down (M6→M5→M4→M3→M2→M1) To shift down to a lower gear, tap the shift lever forward ( ) once. 5-16