traction control BUICK LESABRE 2005 User Guide

A cornering skid is best handled by easing your foot off
the accelerator pedal.
If you have the traction control system, remember:
It helps avoid only the acceleration skid. If you do not
have traction control, or if the 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.
If you have StabiliTrak
®, you may see the STABILITY
SYSTEM ACTIVE message on the Driver Information
Center. See “Stability System Active Message”
underDIC 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
will 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.
4-15

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, it will improve your ability to
accelerate when driving on a slippery road. Even
though your vehicle has a traction control system you
will want to slow down and adjust your driving to
the road conditions. Under certain conditions, you may
want to turn the traction control system off, such as
when driving through deep snow and loose gravel, to
help maintain vehicle motion at lower speeds. See
Traction Control System (TCS) on page 4-9.
If you do not have a traction control 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.Your anti-lock brakes improve your vehicle’s stability
when you make a hard stop on a slippery road.
Even though you have the anti-lock braking system, you
will want to begin stopping sooner than you would on
dry pavement. SeeAnti-Lock Brake System (ABS)
on page 4-7.
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 cannot 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.
4-27

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 on page 4-30.
For information about using tire chains on your vehicle,
seeTire Chains on page 5-68.
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 4-9. 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 4-36.
4-30

Buying New Tires
To nd out what kind and size of tires your vehicle
needs, look at the tire and loading information label. For
more information about this label and its location on
your vehicle, seeLoading Your Vehicle on page 4-31.
The tires installed on your vehicle when it was new had
a Tire Performance Criteria Specication (TPC Spec)
number on each tire’s sidewall. When you get new tires,
GM recommends that you get tires with that same
TPC Spec number. That way your vehicle will continue
to have tires that are designed to give proper
endurance, handling, speed rating, load range, traction,
ride and other things during normal service on your
vehicle. If your tires have an all-season tread design,
the TPC number will be followed by an “MS” (for mud
and snow).
If you ever replace your tires with those not having a
TPC Spec number, make sure they are the same size,
load range, speed rating and construction type (bias,
bias-belted or radial) as your original tires.{CAUTION:
Mixing tires could cause you to lose control
while driving. If you mix tires of different sizes
or types (radial and bias-belted tires), the
vehicle may not handle properly, and you
could have a crash. Using tires of different
sizes may also cause damage to your vehicle.
Be sure to use the same size and type tires on
all wheels. It’s all right to drive with your
compact spare temporarily, it was developed
for use on your vehicle. SeeCompact Spare
Tire on page 5-78.
{CAUTION:
If you use bias-ply tires on your vehicle, the
wheel rim anges could develop cracks after
many miles of driving. A tire and/or wheel
could fail suddenly, causing a crash. Use only
radial-ply tires with the wheels on your vehicle.
5-65

Uniform Tire Quality Grading
Quality grades can be found where applicable on the
tire sidewall between tread shoulder and maximum
section width. For example:
Treadwear 200 Traction AA Temperature A
The following information relates to the system
developed by the United States National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration, which grades tires by
treadwear, traction and temperature performance. (This
applies only to vehicles sold in the United States.)
The grades are molded on the sidewalls of most
passenger car tires. The Uniform Tire Quality Grading
system does not apply to deep tread, winter-type
snow tires, space-saver or temporary use spare tires,
tires with nominal rim diameters of 10 to 12 inches
(25 to 30 cm), or to some limited-production tires.
While the tires available on General Motors passenger
cars and light trucks may vary with respect to these
grades, they must also conform to federal safety
requirements and additional General Motors Tire
Performance Criteria (TPC) standards.
Treadwear
The treadwear grade is a comparative rating based on
the wear rate of the tire when tested under controlled
conditions on a specied government test course.
For example, a tire graded 150 would wear one and
a half (1.5) times as well on the government course as
a tire graded 100. The relative performance of tires
depends upon the actual conditions of their use,
however, and may depart signicantly from the norm
due to variations in driving habits, service practices and
differences in road characteristics and climate.
Traction – AA, A, B, C
The traction grades, from highest to lowest, are AA, A,
B, and C. Those grades represent the tire’s ability
to stop on wet pavement as measured under controlled
conditions on specied government test surfaces of
asphalt and concrete. A tire marked C may have poor
traction performance. Warning: The traction grade
assigned to this tire is based on straight-ahead braking
traction tests, and does not include acceleration,
cornering, hydroplaning, or peak traction characteristics.
5-66

Instrument Panel
Brightness..................................................3-17
Cluster.......................................................3-33
Overview..................................................... 3-4
J
Jump Starting.................................................5-40
K
Keyless Entry System....................................... 2-5
Keys............................................................... 2-3
L
Labelling, Tire Sidewall....................................5-55
Lamps
Battery Load Management............................3-20
Cornering...................................................3-15
Courtesy....................................................3-17
Exterior......................................................3-14
Exterior Lighting Battery Saver......................3-17
Front Reading.............................................3-19
Inadvertent Power Battery Saver....................3-20
Twilight Sentinel
®........................................3-16LATCH System
Child Restraints...........................................1-40
Securing a Child Restraint Designed for the
LATCH System........................................1-42
Light
Airbag Readiness........................................3-37
Anti-Lock Brake System Warning...................3-39
Battery Warning..........................................3-38
Brake System Warning.................................3-38
Cruise Control.............................................3-45
Highbeam On.............................................3-45
Malfunction Indicator....................................3-41
Oil Pressure...............................................3-44
Safety Belt Reminder...................................3-36
Security.....................................................3-45
Service Vehicle Soon...................................3-46
TCS Warning Light......................................3-40
Traction Control System (TCS) Warning..........3-40
Lighting
Delayed Entry.............................................3-18
Delayed Exit...............................................3-18
Entry.........................................................3-18
Perimeter...................................................3-18
Theater Dimming.........................................3-18
Lockout Protection..........................................2-14
7

Tires (cont.)
Wheel Alignment and Tire Balance.................5-67
Wheel Replacement.....................................5-67
When It Is Time for New Tires......................5-64
Top Strap......................................................1-38
Top Strap Anchor Location...............................1-39
Towing
Recreational Vehicle.....................................4-36
Towing a Trailer..........................................4-38
Your Vehicle...............................................4-36
Traction
Control System (TCS).................................... 4-9
Control System Warning Light.......................3-40
Transaxle
Fluid, Automatic...........................................5-21
Transaxle Operation, Automatic.........................2-25
Trip Odometer................................................3-36
Trunk............................................................2-14
Trunk-Mounted CD Changer.............................3-77
Turn and Lane-Change Signals.......................... 3-7
Turn Signal/Multifunction Lever........................... 3-7
Twilight Sentinel
®............................................3-16
U
Understanding Radio Reception........................3-82
Uniform Tire Quality Grading............................5-66
V
Vehicle
Control........................................................ 4-5
Damage Warnings........................................... iv
Service Soon Light......................................3-46
Symbols......................................................... iv
Vehicle Data Collection and Event Data
Recorders.................................................... 7-9
Vehicle Identication
Number (VIN).............................................5-87
Service Parts Identication Label...................5-87
Vehicle Personalization
DIC ...........................................................3-51
Memory Seat and Mirrors.............................2-45
Ventilation Adjustment......................................3-31
Visors...........................................................2-17
W
Warning Lights, Gages and Indicators................3-33
Warnings
DIC Warnings and Messages........................3-50
Hazard Warning Flashers............................... 3-6
Other Warning Devices.................................. 3-6
Safety and Symbols......................................... iii
Vehicle Damage.............................................. iv
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