CHEVROLET VENTURE 2004 1.G Owners Manual

If you drive regularly in steep country, or if you are
planning to visit there, here are some tips that can make
your trips safer and more enjoyable.
Keep your vehicle in good shape. Check all uid
levels and also the brakes, tires, cooling system
and transaxle. These parts can work hard on
mountain roads.
Know how to go down hills. The most important
thing to know is this: let your engine do some of
the slowing down. Shift to a lower gear when you go
down a steep or long hill.
{CAUTION:
If you do not shift down, your brakes could get
so hot that they would not work well. You
would then have poor braking or even none
going down a hill. You could crash. Shift down
to let your engine assist your brakes on a
steep downhill slope.
{CAUTION:
Coasting downhill in NEUTRAL (N) or with the
ignition off is dangerous. Your brakes will have
to do all the work of slowing down. They could
get so hot that they would not work well. You
would then have poor braking or even none
going down a hill. You could crash. Always have
your engine running and your vehicle in gear
when you go downhill.
Know how to go uphill. You may want to shift down to
a lower gear. The lower gears help cool your engine
and transaxle, and you can climb the hill better.
Stay in your own lane when driving on two-lane
roads in hills or mountains. Do not swing wide or cut
across the center of the road. Drive at speeds that let
you stay in your own lane.
As you go over the top of a hill, be alert. There could
be something in your lane, like a stalled car or an
accident.
You may see highway signs on mountains that warn
of special problems. Examples are long grades,
passing or no-passing zones, a falling rocks area or
winding roads. Be alert to these and take appropriate
action.
4-27

Winter DrivingHere are some tips for winter driving:
Have your vehicle in good shape for winter.
You may want to put winter emergency supplies in
your vehicle.
Also seeTires on page 5-53.
Include an ice scraper, a small brush or broom, a
supply of windshield washer uid, a rag, some winter
outer clothing, a small shovel, a ashlight, a red
cloth and a couple of reective warning triangles. And, if
you will be driving under severe conditions, include a
small bag of sand, a piece of old carpet or a couple of
burlap bags to help provide traction. Be sure you
properly secure these items in your vehicle.
4-28

Driving on Snow or Ice
Most of the time, those places where your tires meet
the road probably have good traction.
However, if there is snow or ice between your tires and
the road, you can have a very slippery situation. You
will have a lot less traction or “grip” and will need to be
very careful.What is the worst time for this? “Wet ice.” Very cold
snow or ice can be slick and hard to drive on. But wet
ice can be even more trouble because it may offer
the least traction of all. You can get wet ice when it is
about freezing (32°F; 0°C) and freezing rain begins
to fall. Try to avoid driving on wet ice until salt and sand
crews can get there.
Whatever the condition — smooth ice, packed, blowing
or loose snow — drive with caution.
If you have traction control, keep the system on. It will
improve your ability to accelerate when driving on a
slippery road. But you can turn the traction system off if
you ever need to. You should turn the system off if your
vehicle ever gets stuck in sand, mud, ice, or snow. SeeIf
You Are Stuck: In Sand, Mud, Ice or Snow on page 4-32.
Even though your vehicle has a traction system you will
want to slow down and adjust your driving to the road
conditions. SeeTraction Control System (TCS) on
page 4-10.
If you do not have a traction system, accelerate gently.
Try not to break the fragile traction. If you accelerate
too fast, the drive wheels will spin and polish the surface
under the tires even more.
4-29

Unless you have the anti-lock braking system, you will
want to brake very gently, too. (If you do have anti-lock,
seeBraking on page 4-6. This system improves your
vehicle’s stability when you make a hard stop on a
slippery road.) Whether you have the anti-lock braking
system or not, you will want to begin stopping sooner
than you would on dry pavement. Without anti-lock
brakes, if you feel your vehicle begin to slide, let up on
the brakes a little. Push the brake pedal down steadily
to get the most traction you can.
Remember, unless you have anti-lock, if you brake so
hard that your wheels stop rolling, you will just slide.
Brake so your wheels always keep rolling and you can
still steer.
Whatever your braking system, allow greater
following distance on any slippery road.
Watch for slippery spots. The road might be ne
until you hit a spot that is covered with ice. On
an otherwise clear road, ice patches may appear in
shaded areas where the sun can not reach:
around clumps of trees, behind buildings or under
bridges. Sometimes the surface of a curve or
an overpass may remain icy when the surrounding
roads are clear. If you see a patch of ice ahead
of you, brake before you are on it. Try not to brake
while you are actually on the ice, and avoid
sudden steering maneuvers.
If You Are Caught in a Blizzard
If you are stopped by heavy snow, you could be in a
serious situation. You should probably stay with your
vehicle unless you know for sure that you are near help
and you can hike through the snow. Here are some things
to do to summon help and keep yourself and your
passengers safe:
Turn on your hazard ashers.
Tie a red cloth to your vehicle to alert police that you
have been stopped by the snow.
4-30

Put on extra clothing or wrap a blanket around you. If
you have no blankets or extra clothing, make body
insulators from newspapers, burlap bags, rags, oor
mats — anything you can wrap around yourself or
tuck under your clothing to keep warm.
You can run the engine to keep warm, but be careful.
{CAUTION:
Snow can trap exhaust gases under your
vehicle. This can cause deadly CO (carbon
monoxide) gas to get inside. CO could
overcome you and kill you. You can not see it
or smell it, so you might not know it is in your
vehicle. Clear away snow from around the
base of your vehicle, especially any that is
blocking your exhaust pipe. And check around
again from time to time to be sure snow does
not collect there.
Open a window just a little on the side of the
vehicle that is away from the wind. This will
help keep CO out.
4-31

Run your engine only as long as you must. This saves
fuel. When you run the engine, make it go a little
faster than just idle. That is, push the accelerator
slightly. This uses less fuel for the heat that you get and
it keeps the battery charged. You will need a
well-charged battery to restart the vehicle, and possibly
for signaling later on with your headlamps. Let the
heater run for a while.
Then, shut the engine off and close the window almost
all the way to preserve the heat. Start the engine
again and repeat this only when you feel really
uncomfortable from the cold. But do it as little as
possible. Preserve the fuel as long as you can. To help
keep warm, you can get out of the vehicle and do
some fairly vigorous exercises every half hour or so until
help comes.
If You Are Stuck: In Sand, Mud, Ice
or Snow
In order to free your vehicle when it is stuck, you will need
to spin the wheels, but you do not want to spin your
wheels too fast. The method known as “rocking” can help
you get out when you are stuck, but you must use
caution.
{CAUTION:
If you let your tires spin at high speed, they can
explode, and you or others could be injured.
And, the transaxle or other parts of the vehicle
can overheat. That could cause an engine
compartment re or other damage. When you
are stuck, spin the wheels as little as possible.
Do not spin the wheels above 35 mph (55 km/h)
as shown on the speedometer.
Notice:Spinning your wheels can destroy parts of
your vehicle as well as the tires. If you spin the
wheels too fast while shifting your transaxle back
and forth, you can destroy your transaxle. See
“Rocking Your Vehicle To Get It Out.”
For information about using tire chains on your vehicle,
seeTire Chains on page 5-68.
4-32

Rocking Your Vehicle To Get It Out
First, turn your steering wheel left and right. That will
clear the area around your front wheels. If your vehicle
has traction control, you should turn your traction
control system off. SeeTraction Control System (TCS)
on page 4-10. Then shift back and forth between
REVERSE (R) and a forward gear, spinning the wheels
as little as possible. Release the accelerator pedal
while you shift, and press lightly on the accelerator pedal
when the transaxle is in gear. By slowly spinning your
wheels in the forward and reverse directions, you
will cause a rocking motion that may free your vehicle. If
that does not get you out after a few tries, you may
need to be towed out. If you do need to be towed out,
seeTowing Your Vehicle on page 4-33.
Towing
Towing Your Vehicle
Consult your dealer or a professional towing service if
you need to have your disabled vehicle towed. See
Roadside Assistance Program on page 7-6.
If you want to tow your vehicle behind another vehicle
for recreational purposes (such as behind a motorhome),
see “Recreational Vehicle Towing” following.
4-33

Recreational Vehicle Towing
Recreational vehicle towing means towing your vehicle
behind another vehicle – such as behind a motorhome.
The two most common types of recreational vehicle
towing are known as “dinghy towing” (towing your vehicle
with all four wheels on the ground) and “dolly towing”
(towing your vehicle with two wheels on the ground and
two wheels up on a device know as a “dolly”).
With the proper preparation and equipment, many
vehicles can be towed in these ways. See “Dinghy
Towing” and “Dolly Towing,” following.
Here are some important things to consider before you
do recreational vehicle towing:
What’s the towing capacity of the towing vehicle?
Be sure you read the tow vehicle manufacturer’s
recommendations.
How far will you tow? Some vehicles have
restrictions on how far and how long they can tow.
Do you have the proper towing equipment?
See your dealer or trailering professional for
additional advice and equipment recommendations.
Is your vehicle ready to be towed? Just as you would
prepare your vehicle for a long trip, you’ll want to
make sure your vehicle is prepared to be towed. See
Before Leaving on a Long Trip on page 4-25.
Dinghy Towing
Your vehicle was not designed to be towed with all of its
wheels on the ground. If you have a two-wheel-drive
vehicle, it can be towed with two of its wheels on
the ground. See “Dolly Towing” following. If you have an
all-wheel-drive vehicle, it cannot be towed with any of
its wheels on the ground. It can be towed with car carrier
equipment.
Notice:Towing an all-wheel-drive vehicle with all
four wheels on the ground, or even with only two of
its wheels on the ground, will damage drivetrain
components. Do not tow an all-wheel-drive vehicle if
any of its wheels will be on the ground.
4-34

Dolly Towing
If you have a two-wheel-drive vehicle, it can be towed
with two of its wheels on the ground. To dolly tow
your vehicle, do the following:
1. Put the front wheels on a dolly.
2. Put the vehicle in PARK (P).
3. Set the parking brake and then remove the key.
4. Clamp the steering wheel in a straight-ahead
position with a clamping device designed for towing.
5. Release the parking brake.
If you have an all-wheel-drive vehicle, it cannot be
towed with any of its wheels on the ground. It can be
towed with car carrier equipment.
Notice:Towing an all-wheel-drive vehicle with all
four wheels on the ground, or even with only two of
its wheels on the ground, will damage drivetrain
components. Do not tow an all-wheel-drive vehicle if
any of its wheels will be on the ground.
Loading Your Vehicle
It is very important to know how much weight your
vehicle can carry. This weight is called the vehicle
capacity weight and includes the weight of all occupants,
cargo, and all nonfactory-installed options. Two labels
on your vehicle show how much weight it may properly
carry, the Tire and Loading Information label and the
Certication/Tire label.
{CAUTION:
Do not load your vehicle any heavier than the
GVWR, or either the maximum front or rear
GAWR. If you do, parts on your vehicle can
break, and it can change the way your vehicle
handles. These could cause you to lose
control and crash. Also, overloading can
shorten the life of your vehicle.
4-35

Tire and Loading Information Label
A. Vehicle Capacity WeightThe Tire and Loading Information label is attached to
the center pillar, near the driver’s door latch. Vehicles
without a center pillar will have the Tire and Loading
Information label attached to the driver’s door edge. This
label lists the number of people that can be in your
vehicle and the total weight it can carry. This weight is
called the vehicle capacity weight.
The Tire and Loading Information label also tells you
the size and recommended ination pressure for
the original equipment tires on your vehicle. For more
information on tires and ination, seeTires on page 5-53
andInation - Tire Pressure on page 5-62.
If your vehicle does not have the Tire and Loading
Information label, the Certication/Tire label shows the
tire size and recommended ination pressures
needed to obtain the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
(GVWR) and the Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) for
the front and rear axles. See “Certication/Tire Label”
later in this section.
4-36