CHEVROLET ASTRO 1998 2.G Owners Manual

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine I
I
Engine Exhaust
A CAUTION:
Engine exhaust can kill. It contains the gas
carbon monoxide
(CO), which you can’t see or
smell.
It can cause unconsciousness and death.
You might have exhaust coming in
if:
0 Your exhaust system sounds strange
0 Your vehicle gets rusty underneath.
0 Your vehicle was damaged in a collision.
0 Your vehicle was damaged when driving
over high points on the road or over
road debris. or different.
0 Repairs weren’t done correctly.
0 Your vehicle or exhaust system had been
If you ever suspect exhaust is coming into
your vehicle:
0 Drive it only with all the windows down to
Have your vehicle fixed immediately.
modified improperly.
blow out any CO; and
Running Your Engine While
You’re Parked
It’s better not to park with the engine running. But if
ever
you have to, here are some things tn knr)w.
~
/11 CAUTION:
Idling the engine with the air system control
off could allow dangerous exhaust into your
vehicle (see the earlier Caution under
“Engine Exhaust”).
Also, idling in
a closed-in place can let deadly
carbon monoxide
(CO) into your vehicle even if
the fan switch is
at the highest setting. One place
this can happen is
a garage. Exhaust -- with
CO -- can come in easily. NEVER park in a
garage with the engine running.
Another closed-in place can be a blizzard. (See
“Blizzard” in the Index.)
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine A CAUTION:
It can be dangerous to get out of your vehicle if
the shift lever is not fully in
PARK (P) with the
parking brake firmly set. Your vehicle can roll.
Don’t leave your vehicle when the engine is
running unless you have to. If you’ve left the
engine running, the vehicle can move suddenly.
You or others could be injured. To be sure your
vehicle won’t move, even when you’re on
fairly
level ground, always set your parking brake and
move the shift lever to
PARK (P).
Locking Rear Axle (Option)
If you have this feature, your locking rear axle can give
you additional traction on snow, mud, ice, sand or
gravel. It works like a standard axle most of the time,
but when one
of the rear wheels has no traction and the
other does, this feature will allow the wheel with
traction to move
the vehicle.
All-Wheel Drive (Option)
If your vehicle has
all-wheel drive, your
engine’s driving power
is sent to all four wheels
for extra traction.
Follow
the proper steps to be sure your vehicle won’t
move. See “Shifting Into
PARK (P)” in the Index.
If you’re pulling a trailer, see “Towing a Trailer’’ in
the Index.
This is like four-wheel drive, but there
is no separate
lever or switch
to engage or disengage the front axle.
It is fully automatic, and adjusts itself as needed for
road conditions.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Windows
Manual Windows
To open your manual windows, turn the hand crank on
each door to raise or lower your side door windows.
Power Windows (Option)
If you have the optional power windows, the controls
are on each of the front side doors. The driver’s door has
a switch for the front passenger window as well. Your
power windows will not move unless the ignition has
been turned to RUN or ACCESSORY.
Express-Down Window
The driver’s window switch also has an express-down
feature that allows you to lower it without holding the
window switch. Press and hold the side
of driver’s
window switch marked AUTO for one second to
activate the express-down feature. The express-down
feature can be interrupted at any time by pressing the up
arrow end of the switch. Lightly tap the switch to open
the window slightly.
Swing-Out Windows
To open your swing-out
windows, pull up on the
latch and push the
window out.
To close the window, pull the latch toward you and push
it down.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine ~r-
It can be dangerous to drive with the rear
swing-out windows, rear hatch or rear doors
open because carbon monoxide (CO) gas can come into your vehicle. You can’t see or smell
CO. It can cause unconsciousness and even death.
If you must drive with the rear swing-out
windows, rear hatch or rear doors open or if
electrical wiring or other cable connections must
pass through the
seal between the body and the
rear swing-out windows, rear hatch or
rear doors:
Make sure all windows are shut.
lbrn the fan on your heating or cooling
system to its highest speed with the setting
on anything but
MAX A/C. That will force
outside
air into your vehicle. See “Comfort
Controls” in the Index.
instrument panel, open them all the way.
If you have air outlets on or under the
See “Engine Exhaust” in the Index.
Horn
To sound the horn, press the horn symbols on the
steering wheel.
Tilt Wheel (If Fqllipped]
A tilt steering wheel allows you to adjust the steering
wheel before
you drive.
You can also raise it to the highest level to give your
legs more room when you exit and enter the vehicle.
To tilt the wheel, hold the steering wheel and pull the
lever. Move
the steering wheel to a comfortable level,
then release the lever
to lock the wheel in place.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Turn SignaVMultifunction Lever
The lever on the driver’s side of the steering column
includes your:
Turn and Lane Change Signals
Headlamp HighLow Beam Changer
0 Windshield Wipers
0 Windshield Washer
0 Cruise Control (Option)
Turn and Lane Change Signals
The turn signal has two upward (for right) and two
downward (for left) positions. These positions allow
you to signal a turn or a lane change.
To signal a turn, move the lever all the way up
or down. When the turn is finished, the lever will
return automatically.
An arrow on the instrument
panel will flash in the
direction
of the turn or
lane change.
To signal a lane change, just raise or lower the lever
until the arrow starts to flash. Hold it there until
you
complete your lane change. The lever will return by
itself when
you release it.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine As you signal a turn or a lane change, if the arrows don’t
flash but just stay on, a signal bulb may be burned out
and other drivers won’t see your turn signal.
If a bulb is burned
out, replace it to help avoid an
accident. If the arrows don’t go
on at all when you
signal a turn, check the fuse (see “Fuses and Circuit
Breakers” in the Index) and for burned-out bulbs.
Windshield Wipers
You control the windshield
wipers by turning
the band
with the wiper symbol on it.
- .- .. For a single-wiping cycle,
a turn the band to MIST. Hold m
If you have a trailer towing option with added wiring for
the trailer lamps, a different turn signal flasher is used.
With this flasher installed, the signal indicator
will flash
even if
a turn signal bulb is burned out. Check the front
and rear turn signal lamps regularly
to make sure they it there
until the wipers
start, then let go. The wipers
will stop after
one wipe. If
you want more wipes, hold
the band on MIST longer.
are working.
Headlamp HighLow Beam Changer between wipes. This can be very useful in light rain or
To change the headlamps from low beam to high or high closer to Low, the shorter the delay,
to low,
pull the multifunction lever all the way toward You
can set the wiper speed for a long or short delay
snow. Turn the band
to choose the delay time. The
you. Then release it.
When the high beams are
on, this indicator light on
the instrument panel also
will be
on.
For steady wiping at low speed, turn the band away
from
you to LOW. For high-speed wiping, turn the band
further, to HIGH.
To stop the wipers, move the band
to OFF.
Be sure to clear ice and snow from the wiper blades
before using them. If they’re frozen
to the windshield,
carefully loosen or thaw them. If your blades do become
worn or damaged, get new blades or blade inserts.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Windshield Washer
At the top of the multifunction lever, there’s a paddle
marked with the windshield washer symbol and
PUSH. To spray washer fluid on the windshield,
press the paddle.
I / CAUTION:
In freezing weather, don’t use your washer until
the windshield
is warmed. Otherwise the washer
fluid can form ice on the windshield, blocking
your vision.
The wipers will clear the window and then either stop or
return to your preset speed.
Rear Window WasherNViper (Option)
You control your rear
window washedwiper
from
a switch on your
instrument panel, next
to the audio system.
To turn the wiper on, slide the switch all the way up.
For delay wiping, slide the switch even with the word
DELAY in the center position of the rear wiper control.
The wiper will cycle every nine seconds.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine To wash the window, push in on the switch. Window
washer fluid will continue to spray until the switch is
released. The wiper will continue with three more wipes
and then return to the setting that was chosen before the
lever was pushed.
The rear window washer uses the same fluid bottle as
the front windshield washer.
If the fluid level is low in
the washer bottle,
you may not be able to wash your rear
window.
If you can wash your windshield, but not your
rear window, check the fluid level.
Cruise Control (Option)
With cruise control, you can maintain a speed of about
25 mph (40 km/h) or more without keeping your foot on
the accelerator.
This can really help on long trips.
Cruise control does not work at speeds below about
25 mph (40 kmk).
When you apply your brakes, the cruise control
shuts off.
A CAUTION: I
-
Cruise control can be dan- rous where you
can’t drive safely
at a steady speed. So,
don’t use your cruise control on winding
roads or in heavy traffic.
slippery roads. On such roads, fast changes
in tire traction can cause needless wheel
spinning, and you could lose control. Don’t
use cruise control on slippery roads.
Cruise control can be dangerous on
Setting Cruise Control
1 A CAUTION:
If y - __ leave your cruise control switch on when
you’re not using cruise, you might hit
a button
and go into cruise when you don’t want to. You
could be startled and even lose control. Keep the
cruise control switch
off until you want to use it.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 1. Move the cruise control switch to ON.
2. Get up to the speed you want.
3. Press in the SET button
at the end of the lever
and release it.
4. Take your foot off the accelerator pedal.
Resuming a Set Speed
Suppose you set your cruise control at a desired speed
and then you apply the brake. This,
of course, shuts off
the cruise control. But you don’t need to reset it.
. . ...., Once you’re going about
25 mph (40 km/h) or more,
you can move the cruise
control switch from
ON
to R/A for about
You’ll go right back up to your chosen speed and
stay there.
Remember, if you hold the switch at R/A longer than
1
1/2 seconds, the vehicle will keep going faster until
you release the switch or apply the brake. So unless you
want to go faster, don’t hold
the switch at R/A.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Incr-- 19 Speed While Using Cruise Cont---t1
The two ways to go to a higher speed:
Use the accelerator pedal to get to the higher speed.
Press the button at the end
of the lever, then release
the button and the accelerator pedal. You’ll now
cruise at the higher speed.
Move the cruise switch from ON to WA. Hold it
there until you get up to the speed you want, and
then release the switch. (To increase your speed in
very small amounts, move the switch to
R/A for less
than
3/4 of a second. Each time you do this, your
vehicle will go about
1 mph (1.6 kdh) faster.)
Reducing Speed While Using Cruise Control
There are two ways to reduce your speed while using
cruise control:
Press the button at the end of the lever until you
reach the lower speed you want, then release it.
To slow down in very small amounts, press the
button for less than half
a second. Each time you do
this, you’ll go
1 mph (1.6 kmh) slower.
Passing Another Vehicle While Using Cruise Control
Use the accelerator pedal to increase your speed. When
you take your foot off the pedal, your vehicle will slow
down to the cruise control speed you set earlier.
Using Cruise Control on Hills
How well your cruise control will work on hills depends
upon your speed, load and the steepness
of the hills.
When going up steep hills, you may want to step on the
accelerator pedal to maintain your speed. When going
downhill,
you may have to brake or shift to a lower gear
to keep your speed down. Of course, applying the brake
takes
you out of cruise control. Many drivers find this to
be too much trouble and don’t
use cruise control on
steep hills.
Ending Cruise Control
There are two ways to turn off the cruise control:
Step lightly on the brake pedal.
0 Move the cruise switch to OFF.
Erasing Speed Memory
When you turn off the cruise control or the ignition,
your cruise control set speed memory is erased.
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