brake OLDSMOBILE AURORA 2003 Owner's Manual

DIC Warnings and Messages
Other messages or warnings may appear in the DIC
display.
For Canadian drivers, in addition to the
DIC message your DIC will display EXP with
a number
after it which reflects the following messages:
EXP
(Export ID)
Warning Message
1 AIR BAG PROBLEM
3 CHECK CHARGE SYSTEM
4
CHANGE OIL SOON
I 5 I CHECK OIL LEVEL I I
6 I TRANS HOT ... IDLE ENG
I 7 I CONFIRM TIME & DATE I
8
ENGINE HOT
... A/C OFF
9 DRIVERS DOOR AJAR
10 HOT
... STOP ENGINE * 11 HOT
... REDUCE ENG RPM
I 12 I THEFT SYSTEM
FAULT I I
13 I LEFT REAR DOOR AJAR
I (ExE% ID) I Warning Message
18
LOW WASHER FLUID
19 LOW TIRE PRESSURE
20 PASSENGER DOOR AJAR
21 PARK BRAKE SET*
RIGHT REAR DOOR AJAR
22
23
TURN SIGNAL
ON? 24 SERVICE VEHICLE
SOON
I 25 I THEFT ATTEMPTED I I
26 [ SERV STABILITY SYS
I 27 I HEADLAMPS SUGGESTED I
28
BATTERY SAVER ACTIVE
29 TRUNK AJAR
32 STARTING DISABLED*
33 HOT
... IDLE ENGINE
36
42 CHECKGASCAP
STABILITY ACTIVE
The EXP codes are used to make translation from English to other languages easier.
Pressing the RESET button will remove the above
messages or warnings from the DIC display, unless
noted by an asterisk
(*).
I 17 I LOW OIL PRESSURE * I
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CHECK OIL LEVEL - 5: If you ever see the CHECK
OIL LEVEL message, it indicates that the engine oil level
is
1 to 1 1/2 quarts (0.9 L to 1.4 L) low. The message
will appear only
if the engine is running and it has been
at least eight minutes since the engine was last
running. If the message appears, check the oil dipstick
level.
If it reads low, your oil level should be brought
up
to the proper level. See Engine Oil on page 5-15.
After bringing the oil to the proper level, the ignition must
be
off for eight minutes to allow the majority of oil to
drain into the oil pan.
SERV STABILITY SYS
- 26: If you ever see the SERV
STABILITY SYS message, it means there may be a
problem with your stability enhancement system.
If you
see this message,
try to reset the system (stop; turn
off the engine; then start the engine again). If the SERV
STABILITY SYS message still comes on, it means
there is a problem. You should see your dealer
for service. Reduce your speed and drive accordingly. STABILITY ACTIVE
- 25: You may
see the STABILITY
ACTIVE message on the Driver Information Center
(DIC). It means that an advanced, computer-controlled
system has come on to help your vehicle continue
to go in the direction in which you’re steering. This
stability enhancement system activates when the
computer senses that your vehicle is just starting to
spin, as
it might if you hit a patch of ice or other slippery
spot on the road. When the system is on, you may
hear a noise or feel a vibration in the brake pedal. This is normal.
When the STABILITY ACTIVE message is on, you
should continue to steer in the direction you want to
The system is designed to help you in bad weather
or other difficult driving situations by making the most of
whatever road conditions will permit.
If the STABILITY
ACTIVE message comes
on, you’ll know that something
has caused your vehicle to start to spin,
so you should
consider slowing down.
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Your Driving, the Road, and
Your Vehicle
Defensive Driving
The best advice anyone can give about driving is: Drive
defensively.
Please start with a very important safety device in your
vehicle: Buckle up. See
Safety Belts: They Are for
Everyone on page
1-8.
Defensive driving really means “be ready for anything.”
On city streets, rural roads or freeways, it means
“always expect the unexpected.”
Assume that pedestrians or other drivers are going to
be careless and make mistakes. Anticipate what
they might do. Be ready for their mistakes.
Rear-end collisions are about the most preventable of
accidents. Yet they are common. Allow enough following
distance. It’s the best defensive driving maneuver, in
both city and rural driving. You never know when
the vehicle in front of you is going to brake or turn
suddenly.
Defensive driving requires that a driver concentrate on
the driving task. Anything that distracts from the
driving task
- such as concentrating on a cellular
telephone call, reading, or reaching for something on the
floor
- makes proper defensive driving more
difficult and can even cause a collision, with resulting
injury. Ask a passenger to help do things like this, or pull
off the road in a safe place to do them yourself. These
simple defensive driving techniques could save
your life.
Drunken Driving
Death and injury associated with drinking and driving is
a national tragedy. It’s the number one contributor to
the highway death toll, claiming thousands of victims
every year.
Alcohol affects four things that anyone needs to drive a
vehicle:
Judgment
Muscular Coordination
Vision
Attentiveness.
Police records show that almost half of all motor
vehicle-related deaths involve alcohol. In most cases,
these deaths are the result of someone who was
drinking and driving. In recent years, more than
16,000 annual motor vehicle-related deaths have been
associated with the use of alcohol, with more than
300,000 people injured.
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Drinking and t n d ing is very dangerous.
Your reflexes, perceptions, attentiveness and
judgement can be affected by even a small
amount of alcohol. You can have a serious-or
even fatal-collision if you drive after drinking.
Please don’t drink and drive or ride with a
driver who has been drinking. Ride home
in a
cab; or if you’re with a group, designate a
driver who will not drink.
Control of a Vehicle
You have three systems that make your vehicle go
where you want it to
go. They are the brakes, the
steering and the accelerator. All three systems have to
do their work at the places where the tires meet
the road.
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Sometimes, as when you’re driving on snow or ice, it’s
easy to ask more of those control systems than the
tires and road can provide. That means you can lose
control of your vehicle. Also see
Traction Control System
(TCS) on page
4-8.
Braking
Braking action involves perception time and
reaction time.
First, you have to decide to push on the brake pedal.
That’s
perception time. Then you have to bring up your
foot and do it. That’s
reaction time.
Average reaction time is about 3/4 of a second. But
that’s only an average. It might be less with one driver
and as long as two or three seconds or more with
another. Age, physical condition, alertness, coordination
and eyesight all play a part.
So do alcohol, drugs and
frustration. But even in 3/4
of a second, a vehicle moving
at 60 mph
(100 km/h) travels 66 feet (20 m). That
could be a lot
of distance in an emergency, so keeping
enough space between your vehicle and others
is
important. And, of
course, actual stopping distances vary greatly
with the surface of the road (whether it’s pavement
or gravel); the condition
of the road (wet, dry, icy); tire
tread; the condition
of your brakes; the weight of
the vehicle and the amount of brake force applied.
Avoid needless heavy braking. Some people drive in
spurts
- heavy acceleration followed by heavy braking
- rather than keeping pace with traffic. This is a
mistake. Your brakes may not have time to cool between
hard stops. Your brakes will wear out much faster
if
you do a lot of heavy braking. If you keep pace with the
traffic and allow realistic following distances, you will
eliminate a lot
of unnecessary braking. That means
better braking and longer brake life.
If your engine ever stops while you’re driving, brake
normally but don’t pump your brakes. If you do,
the pedal may get harder to push down.
If your engine
stops, you will still have some power brake assist.
But you will use it when you brake. Once the power
assist is used up, it may take longer to stop and
the brake pedal will be harder to push.
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Anti-lock Brake System (ABS)
Your vehicle has anti-lock brakes. ABS is an advanced
electronic braking system that will help prevent a
braking skid.
When you start your engine and begin to drive away.
your anti-lock brake system will check itself. You
may hear a momentary motor or clicking noise while
this test is going on, and you may even notice that your
brake pedal moves a little. This is normal.
If there’s a problem with
the anti-lock brake system,
this warning light will
stay on. See
Anti-Lock
Brake System Warning
Light on page
3-36.
Let’s say the road is wet and you’re driving safely.
Suddenly, an animal jumps out in front of you. You slam
on the brakes and continue braking. Here’s what
happens with ABS:
A computer senses that wheels are slowing down. If
one of the wheels is about to stop rolling, the computer
will separately work the brakes at each front wheel
and at both rear wheels.
The anti-lock system can change the brake pressure
faster than any driver could. The computer is
programmed
to make the most of available tire and road
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conditions. This can help you steer around the obstacle
while braking hard.
As you brake, your computer keeps receiving updates
on wheel speed and controls braking pressure
accordingly.
Remember: Anti-lock doesn’t change the time you need
to get your foot up to the brake pedal or always
decrease stopping distance.
If you get too close to the
vehicle
in front of you, you won’t have time to apply your
brakes
if that vehicle suddenly slows or stops.
Always leave enough room up ahead to stop, even
though you have anti-lock brakes.
Using Anti-Lock
Don’t pump the brakes. Just hold the brake pedal down
firmly and let anti-lock work for you. You may hear a
motor or clicking nosie during a hard stop, but this
is normal.
Braking in Emergencies
With anti-lock, you can steer and brake at the same
time. In many emergencies, steering can help you more
than even the very best braking.
Traction Control System (TCS)
Your vehicle may have a traction control system that
limits wheel spin. This is especially useful in slippery
road conditions. The system operates only
if it senses
that one or both of the front wheels are spinning
or
beginning to lose traction. When this happens,
the system works the front brakes and reduces engine
power to limit wheel spin.
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Steering in Emergencies
There are times when steering can be more effective
than braking. For example, you come over a hill and find
a truck stopped
in your lane, or a car suddenly pulls
out from nowhere, or a child darts out from between
parked cars and stops right in front of you.
You
can avoid these problems by braking - if you can stop
in time. But sometimes you can’t; there isn’t room.
That’s the time for evasive action
- steering around the
problem.
Your vehicle can perform very well in emergencies like
these. First apply your brakes.
See
Braking on page 4-6. It is better to remove as much
speed as you can from a possible collision. Then
steer around the problem, to the left or right depending
on the space available. An emergency
like this requires close attention and a
quick decision. If you are holding the steering wheel at
the recommended
9 and 3 o’clock positions, you
can turn it a full
180 degrees very quickly without
removing either hand. But you have
to act fast, steer
quickly, and just as quickly straighten the wheel
once you have avoided the object.
The fact that such emergency situations are always
possible is a good reason to practice defensive driving
at all times and wear safety belts properly.
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e e
e Try not to pass more than one vehicle at a time 011
two-lane roads. Reconsider before passing the
next vehicle.
Don’t overtake a slowly moving vehicle too rapidly.
Even though the brake lamps are not flashing, it
may be slowing down or starting to turn.
If you’re being passed, make it easy for the
following driver to get ahead of you. Perhaps you
can ease a little to the right.
LOSS of Control
Let’s review what driving experts say about what
happens when the three control systems (brakes,
steering and acceleration) don’t have enough friction
where the tires meet the road to do what the driver has
asked.
In any emergency, don’t give up. Keep trying to steer
and constantly seek an escape route or area of
less danger.
Skidding
In a skid, a driver can lose control of the vehicle.
Defensive drivers avoid most skids by taking reasonable
care suited
to existing conditions, and by not
“overdriving” those conditions. But skids are always
possible.
The three types of skids correspond
to your vehicle’s
three control systems. In the braking skid, your wheels
aren’t rolling. In the steering or cornering skid, too
much speed or steering in a curve causes tires to slip
and lose cornering force. And in the acceleration
skid, too much throttle causes the driving wheels
to spin.
A cornering skid is best handled by easing your foot off
the accelerator pedal.
Remember: Any traction control system helps avoid only
the acceleration skid. If your traction control system is
off, then an acceleration skid is also best handled
by easing your foot
off the accelerator pedal.
If your vehicle starts to slide, ease your foot
off the
accelerator pedal and quickly steer the way you want
the vehicle to go.
If you start steering quickly enough,
your vehicle may straighten out. Always be ready
for a second skid
if it occurs.
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If you have Stabilitrak@, you may see the STABILITY
ACTIVE message on the Driver Information Center. See
“Stability Active Message” under
DIC Warnings and
Messages on
page 3-50.
Of course, traction is reduced when water, snow, ice,
gravel or other material is on the road. For safety, you’ll
want to slow down and adjust your driving to these
conditions. It is important to slow down on slippery
surfaces because stopping distance will be longer and
vehicle control more limited.
While driving on a surface with reduced traction, try
your best to avoid sudden steering, acceleration
or braking (including engine braking by shifting to a
lower gear). Any sudden changes could cause the tires
to slide. You may not realize the surface is slippery
until your vehicle is skidding. Learn to recognize warning
clues
- such as enough water, ice or packed snow
on the road to make a “mirrored surface”
- and slow
down when you have any doubt.
Remember: Any anti-lock brake system (ABS) helps
avoid only the braking skid.
Driving at Night
Night driving is more dangerous than day driving. One
reason is that some drivers are likely
to be impaired
- by alcohol or drugs, with night vision problems, or by
fatigue.
Here are some tips on night driving.
Drive defensively.
Don’t drink and drive.
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