DO's and DON'T's with Jimnys

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Introduction

This article contains some important practical tips, notes and warnings when using and operating a Jimny.

They can ease your life, improve your experience or comfort, or save you from damaging the vehicle or even getting in a dangerous situation.

Some notes are common, i.e. non-vehicle specific, but are so important that they are still mentioned here.

Some notes are common for 4WD vehicles, while some notes are Jimny-specific.

Engaging and disengaging 4WD-H and 4WD-L

The tips in this chapter might not be entirely valid for Jimnys with automatic transmission

You probably know that you can (dis)engage between 2WD and 4WD-H on the move (and with the steering wheel pointing straight).

You might have also witnessed a loud "bang" from the front wheel vacuum locking hubs when disengaging, or even from a transfer case (that's already a serious bang!). A bang can be so strong that it is felt as a shock wave through the vehicle. A bang occurs when the transmission is disengaging under tension and this certainly wears it excessively.

Therefore, to minimize the risk of any mechanical damage or excessive wear, the best practice is to shift between 2WD and 4WD-H (and vice versa) while stationery.

Especially when you want to disengage from 4WD-H to 2WD, the best practice is to stop, then reverse a few meters back in a straight line. This releases any accumulated tension or wind-up in the transmission, which can occur often when part-time 4WD systems are active. Then disengage. You should rarely if ever get a "bang" this way.

If you have to shift between 2WD and 4WD-H (and vice versa) while the vehicle is in motion, take these additional precautions:

• First of all the steering wheel needs to be pointing straight;
• Be in neutral gear until the process successfully completes;
• If you have to be in gear, the throttle pedal should be depressed or just slightly pressed;

Beware: If you shift while applying a significant throttle, a wheel slippage might occur during the shifting phase, and this is very bad for the transmission system (written in Jimny's Owner's manual).

When shifting from high range to low range and vice versa, make sure that the vehicle is completely stationary first! While it is technically possible for a skilled driver to shift while the vehicle is going rather slowly (you might have discovered that by a chance), you are taking a big gamble while doing so!

Using 4WD-H or 4WD-L on hard surfaces

Jimny has a part-time 4WD transmission system without a center differential.

This means that you must not use any of Jimny's 4WD modes on any of the following:

• Dry tarmac roads;
• Wet tarmac roads (this is where many people make a mistake!);
• Well-packed gravel or dirt roads (no part or layer of the surface is significantly loose);
• Dry grass;

Many people make a mistake of thinking that wet tarmac roads are slippery and turn on 4WD. Well they are slippery, but not nearly enough for Jimny's 4WD system.

4WD mode can actually be used on any of the surfaces mentioned above, but for very short distances (a few dozen meters at most) and strictly going dead straight!

Also see the chapter on (dis)engaging 4WD modes for more tips.

Negotiating hairpin bends in 4WD modes

When you are going through a "hairpin" bend (common on forest roads and mountain roads), and the transmission is in 4WD-H or 4WD-L mode, the transmission wind-up will be extreme. The reason is a small turning radius which hairpin bends have.

This is not so prominent if the surface is very slippery (boggy mud, icy snow, etc.). But if the surface is only slightly or "normally" slippery, it might not be enough to relieve the transmission wind-up which rapidly accumulates in such a tight turn.

However, there is a simple method of negotiating hairpin bends while minimizing the risk of transmission wind-up.

Just imagine that you are a long truck which can not steer through the bend in one go. Do as a truck driver would do. Steer into the bend half-way through. Then reverse back a bit with the steering wheel turned all the way to the opposite direction. Then turn the steering wheel back to the final direction, and go through the bend all the way.

This "reversing" method releases a significant part (but not all) of the transmission wind-up of the hairpin bend. This is a well-known technique for all part-time 4WD vehicles.

Using 2WD / 4WD-H / 4WD-L buttons

The tips in this chapter might not be entirely valid for Jimnys with automatic transmission

There is an annoying and potentially dangerous issue with all Jimnys which have electrically ("push-button") controlled transmission.

In practice, it is very easy to accidentally touch a 2WD or 4WD-H button when fiddling with the other nearby controls on the dashboard (primarily the lever for controlling if the air circulates inside the cabin or is drawn from the outside).

The result is that the vehicle will shift in/out of 4WD-H mode, without you even noticing it immediately in many situations. If it shifts into 4WD on a tarmac road, you might easily end with damaged transmission. This issue is particularly nasty on highways and on winding roads. If it shifts out of 4WD while going fast on a slippery dirt/snow road, you might end up in a ditch or in a canyon floor.

There is no known remedy for this issue, except that both the driver and the co-driver be very careful and aware of this.

The only consolation is that at least 4WD-L mode can not be engaged accidentally - the 4WD controller will refuse the command if the clutch pedal is not pressed.

Driving properly on-road

Do not drive the Jimny on the road as you would an ordinary passenger car. Many people are disappointed by Jimny's "bad" on road manners as opposed to the majority of modern cars. That is mostly because they have wrong expectations.

Drive the Jimny correctly and it might even be more entertaining than driving an ordinary vehicle.

In fact, many motoring journalists commented that Jimny is very entertaining and joyful to drive when they test-drove the Jimny in the early 2000s! Now the new generation X of journalists spit on the same vehicle, just because they don't know how to drive it.

Driving Jimny properly means that you should drive defensively, especially in bends. Drive smoothly and observe ahead, so you can timely adjust for changing conditions.

• Don't enter a bend too fast and then brake in the middle of a bend.
• Ease off the throttle before a bend so the vehicle naturally slows down.
• If you have to brake to negotiate a bend, do it on a straight portion of the road just before the bend.
• Don't stomp on the throttle in a bend or when exiting it. Otherwise, you might get a free rollercoaster ride.
• Watch out for road undulations and slow down when you approach them. Otherwise, brace yourself.
• When reversing uphill, be easy on the throttle to avoid wheel spin. This is common with any Mercedes or BMW vehicle for example.
• If you see that you are driving too fast (the vehicle wobbles or wants to fly off), then slow down damn it!

If you drive the Jimny like an ordinary modern vehicle, the best case scenario is that your passengers will feel insecure and sick. The mid-case scenario is that you will spin out on a hairpin bend or in a roundabout. The worst case scenario is a rollover.

Remember, any dynamics experienced by the driver, are experienced more prominently by the co-driver, and much more prominently by the rear passengers! (this is valid for any vehicle)

Lending the vehicle

It is very dangerous to lend a Jimny to someone who is not trained to drive it. Read the chapter on proper driving for details why.

There are three risks:

• They will spin out in a junction, roundabout or in a hairpin bend, and someone will ram into them.
• They will rollover in a bend.
• They will intentionally or accidentally operate the 4WD controls and damage the transmission by driving it improperly.

The issue of lending is often overlooked. But the statistics are merciless.

For example, go to mobile.de German used car marketplace and search for all damaged Jimnys (there is a parameter "damaged vehicle" to select). You will see that about 70% of them have suffered a rollover.

Now, if you think about it, most of their owners have probably quickly learned how not to drive so stupidly to get even near to a rollover situation. So, most of those vehicles rolled over because someone else apart from the owner drove them!

Overloading the vehicle

Jimnys have unusually small weight carrying ability for a proper all-terrain vehicle. It is just around 300 kg in total. (someone needs to verify this)

The front axle can carry an additional X kg of load, while the rear axle can carry an additional Y kg of load.

This means that, with four adult passengers, you are already near the vehicle's maximum carrying load. And then come the bags, bicycles, tools and stuff!

So' beware when carrying heavy cargo like bricks, tiles, metal, gold bullions, stolen safes, etc.

Forum user Bosanek once transported four male adult passengers in his Jimny in an emergency situation for 80 kms, all on fine tarmac roads. Three adults sat in the back. How? Ever seen sardines in a can? That's how. However, the right rear spring sagged after that.

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Page last edited on 26/01/2017 by user Bosanek