mirror CHEVROLET BLAZER 1993 Owners Manual

Features & Controls
Locking Rear Axle ........................................................................\
....................... 2-22
Parking Brake
........................................................................\
.............................. 2-23
Parking Over Things That Burn
........................................................................\
. 2-27
Engine Exhaust
........................................................................\
........................... 2-28
Running Your Engine While You’re Parked
...................................................... 2-29
Four-wheel Drive
........................................................................\
........................ 2-30
Transfer Case
........................................................................\
.......................... 2-30
Front Axle Locking Feature
........................................................................\
.... 2-32
Windows
........................................................................\
....................................... 2-33
Horn
........................................................................\
.............................................. 2-35
Tilt Wheel
........................................................................\
..................................... 2-35
Multifunction Lever
........................................................................\
...................... 2-36
Turn Signal and Lane Change Indicator
....................................................... 2-37
Headlight High-Low Beam
........................................................................\
...... 2-38
Windshield Wipers
........................................................................\
................... 2-39
Windshield Washer
........................................................................\
.................. 2-40
Cruise Control
........................................................................\
.......................... 2-41
Headlights and Vehicle Lighting
........................................................................\
. 2-46
Mirrors
........................................................................\
.......................................... 2-51
Sun Visors ........................................................................\
................................... 2-53
Rear Window Wiper and Washer
...................................................................... 2-54
Cigarette LightedAshtrays
........................................................................\
........... 2-55
Storage Compartments ........................................................................\
............... 2-55
Warning Lights, Gages and Indicators
.......................................................... 2-68
Instrument Cluster
........................................................................\
....................... 2-62
Gages
........................................................................\
....................................... 2-76
Luggage Carrier
........................................................................\
........................... 2-80
Trailer Wiring Harness
........................................................................\
................ 2-82
2-2

Mirrors
I
K2256
inside Mirror
Push or pull the tab under the mirror to reduce glare from headlights behin\
d
you after dark.
Outside Mirrors
K2295
Adjust your outside mirrors so you can just see the side of your vehicle, and
have a clear view of objects behind you. Some mirrors can
be folded in to
enter narrow doorways.
2-5 1

Features & Controls
Convex Outside Mirror
Your right side mirror may be convex. A convex mirror’s surface is curved so
you can see more from the driver’s seat. ~ ~~
~rn 1 CAUTION
If you aren’t used to a convex mirror, you can hit another vehicle. A
convex mirror can make things (like other vehicles) look farther away
than they really are. If you cut too sharply into the right lane, you
could
hit a vehicle on your right. Check your inside mirror or glance
ov0r your shoulder before chanaine lanes.
-
Electric Outside Mirrors
m I
If you have electric mirrors, they can be adjusted to point where\
you want
from inside the vehicle. Select the mirror by moving the cente\
r
of the switch,
located on the driver’s door armrest,
to R right or L left. Then, adjust the
mirror angle
by pressing the outer arrows on the switch until the mirror is
adjusted where you want it.
2-52

.. .
%.> ’_
Sun Visors
To block out glare, you can swing down the visors. You can also swing them
out to help block glare from the side.
- .~ : .. =,? , ~ ~.
K2465
Your visor may have a strap to hold small items, such as maps. Some visors
have mirrors on them.
- ~ i
PO284
Some visors have an extender on the inside edge. When the vis\
or is down,
pull the extender out for extra glare coverage at the front or side.
Some visors have mirrors with lights. The mirror lights will c\
ome
on when you
lift the mirror cover.
2-53

Your Driving and the Road
Watch for traffic signs, pavement markings, and lines. If you can see a
sign up ahead that might indicate a turn
or an intersection, delay your
pass.
A broken center line usually indicates it’s all right to pass
(providing the road ahead is clear). Never cross a solid lin\
e on your side
of the lane
or a double solid line, even if the road seems empty of
approaching traffic.
If you suspect that the driver of the vehicle you want to pass isn’t aware
of your presence, tap the horn a couple of times before passi\
ng.
Do not get too close to the vehicle you want to pass while you’re
awaiting an opportunity.
For one thing, following too closely reduces your
area
of vision, especially if you’re following a larger vehicle. Also, you
won’t have adequate space
if the vehicle ahead suddenly slows or stops.
Keep back a reasonable distance.
When it looks like a chance
to pass is coming up, start to accelerate
but stay in the right lane and don’t get too close. Time your move
so
you will be increasing speed as the time comes to move into the other
lane.
If the way is clear to pass, you will have a “running start” that
more than makes up for the distance you would lose by dropping back.
And
if something happens to cause you to cancel your pass, you need
only slow down and drop back again and wait for another opportunity.
If other cars are lined up to pass a slow vehicle, wait your turn. But
take care that someone isn’t trying
to pass you as you pull out to pass
the
slow vehicle. Remember to glance over your shoulder and check the
blind spot.
Check your mirrors, glance over your shoulder, and start your
left lane
change signal before moving out of the right lane to pass. When you
are far enough ahead of the passed vehicle to see its front in your
inside mirror, activate your right lane change signal and move \
back into
the right lane. (Remember that your right outside mirror is convex. The
vehicle
you just passed may seem to be farther away from you than it
really is).
Try not to pass more than one vehicle at a time on two-lane roads.
Reconsider before passing the next vehicle.
Don’t overtake a slowly moving vehicle too rapidly. Even tho\
ugh the
brake lights 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.
4-22

Loss of Control
Let’s review what driving experts say about what happens whe\
n the three
control systems (brakes, steering and acceleration) don’t ha\
ve 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 d\
rivers avoid
most skids by taking reasonable care suited
to existing conditions, and by not
“overdriving” those conditions. But skids are always possib\
le.
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 and an acceleration skid are best handled by easing your
foot off the accelerator pedal. If your vehicle starts to slide (as when you turn
a corner on a wet, snow-
or ice-covered road), ease your foot off the
accelerator pedal as soon as you feel the vehicle start
to slide. Quickly steer
the way you want the vehicle
to go. If you start steering quickly enough, your
vehicle will straighten out. As it does, straighten the front wheels.
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 limit\
ed.
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 t\
o 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 braking system (ABS) helps avoid only the braking
skid. Steer the way you want
to go.
4-23

Driving at Night
me--===
AN450003
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. Remember, this is the most dangerous time.
Don’t drink and drive (See “Drunken Driving” in the Index for more on
this problem).
Adjust your inside rear view mirror to reduce the glare from \
headlights
behind you.
Since you can’t see as well, you may need to slow down and keep
more space between you and other vehicles. It’s hard to tell how fast
the vehicle ahead is going just by looking at its taillights.
Slow down, especially on higher speed roads. Your headlights can light
In remote areas, watch for animals.
up only
so much road ahead.
If you’re tired,
pull off the road in a safe place and rest.
Night Vision
No one can see as well at night as in the daytime. But as we get older
these differences increase.
A 50-year-old driver may require at least twice as
much light
to see the same thing at night as a 20-year-old.
4-35

Your Driving and the Road
What you do in the daytime can also affect your night vision. For example, if
you spend the day in bright sunshine you are wise to wear sunglasses. Your
eyes will have less trouble adjusting to night.
But
if you’re driving, don’t wear sunglasses at night. They may \
cut down on
glare from headlights, but they also make a lot of things invisible that should
remain visible-such as parked cars, obstacles, pedestrians, or e\
ven trains
blocking railway crossings. You may want
to put on your sunglasses after you
have pulled into a brightly-lighted service or refreshment area. Eyes shielded
from that glare may adjust more quickly
to darkness back on the road. But
be sure
to remove your sunglasses before you leave the service area.
You can be temporarily blinded by approaching lights. It can take a second or
two, or even several seconds, for your eyes to readjust
to the dark. When
you are faced with severe glare (as from a driver who doesn’\
t lower the high beams, or a vehicle with misaimed headlights), slow down a li\
ttle. Avoid
staring directly into the approaching lights.
If there is a line of opposing
traffic, make occasional glances over the line of headlights
to make certain
that one
of the vehicles isn’t starting to move into your lane. Once you are
past the bright lights, give your eyes time to readjust before resuming speed.
High Beams
If the vehicle approaching you has its high beams on, signal by \
flicking yours
to high and then back to low beam. This is the usual signal to lower the
headlight beams. If the other driver still doesn’t lower the beams, resist the
temptation
to put your high beams on. This only makes two half-blinded
drivers.
On a freeway, use your high beams only in remote areas where you w\
on’t
impair approaching drivers. In some places, like cities, using \
high beams is
illegal.
When you follow another vehicle on a freeway or highway, use \
low beams.
True, most vehicles now have day-night mirrors that enable the \
driver to reduce glare. But outside mirrors are not
of this type and high beams from
behind can bother the driver ahead.
A Few More Night Driving Suggesiions
Keep your windshield and all the glass on your vehicle clean-inside and out.
Glare at night is made much worse by dirt
on the glass. Even the inside of
the glass can build up a film caused by dust. Tobacco smoke also makes
inside
glass surfaces very filmy and can be a vision hazard if it’s left there.
Dirty glass makes lights dazzle and flash more than clean glas\
s would,
making the pupils of your eyes contract repeatedly. You might even want
to
4-36

Freeway Driving
Mile for mile, freeways (also called thruways, parkways, expres\
sways,
turnpikes, or superhighways) are the safest of all roads. But \
they have their
own special rules.
The most important advice on freeway driving is: Keep up with \
traffic and keep to the right. Drive at the same speed most of the other drivers are
driving. Too-fast or too-slow driving breaks a smooth traffic f\
low. Treat the left
lane on a freeway as a passing lane.
Entering the Freeway
At the entrance there is usually a ramp that leads to the freeway. If you have
a clear view of the freeway as you drive along the entrance ramp, you
should begin to check traffic. Try to determine where you expect to blend
with the flow.
If traffic is light, you may have no problem. But if it is heavy,
find a gap as you move along the entering lane and time your approach. Try
to merge into the gap at close to the prevailing speed. Switch on your turn
signal, check your rearview mirrors as you move along, and gla\
nce over your
shoulder as often as necessary. Try to blend smoothly with the traffic flow.
Driving on the Freeway
Once you are on the freeway, adjust your speed to the posted limit or to the
prevailing rate
if it’s slower. Stay in the right lane unless you want to pass. If
you are on a two-lane freeway, treat the right lane as the slow lane and the
left lane as the passing lane.
If you are on a three-lane freeway, treat the
right lane as the slower-speed through lane, the middle lane as the
higher-speed through lane, and the left lane as the passing la\
ne.
4-43

Your Driving and the Road
Before changing lanes, check your rearview mirrors. Then use yo\
ur turn
signal. Just before you leave the lane, glance quickly over yo\
ur shoulder to
make sure there isn’t another vehicle in your “blind” spot.
If you are moving from an outside to a center lane on a freeway\
having
more than two lanes, make sure another vehicle isn’t about to move into the
same spot. Look at the vehicles two lanes over and watch for \
telltale signs:
turn signals flashing, an increase in speed, or moving toward \
the edge of the
lane. Be prepared to delay your move.
Once you are moving on the freeway, make certain you allow a \
reasonable
following distance. Expect to move slightly slower at night.
Leaving the Freeway
When you want to leave the freeway, move to the proper lane \
well in
advance. Dashing across lanes at the last minute is dangerous. \
If you miss
your exit do not, under any circumstances, stop and back up. \
Drive
on to the
next exit.
At each exit point is a deceleration lane. Ideally it should be long enough for
you to enter it at freeway speed (after signaling, of course) and then do your
braking before moving onto the exit ramp. Unfortunately, not al\
l deceleration
lanes are long enough-some are too short for
all the braking. Decide when
to start braking.
If you must brake on the through lane, and if there is traffic
close behind you, you can allow a little extra time and flash\
your brake lights
(in addition to your turn signal) as extra warning that you are about to slow
down and exit.
The exit ramp can be curved, sometimes quite sharply. The exit\
speed
is
usually posted. Reduce your speed according to your speedometer, not to
your sense of motion. After driving for any distance at higher speeds, you
may tend to think you are going slower than you actually are. For example,
40 mph (65 km/h) might seem like only 20 mph (30 kmlh). Obviously, this
could lead to serious trouble on a ramp designed for
20 mph (30 km/h)!
Driving a Long Distance
Although most long trips today are made on freeways, there are\
still many
made on regular highways.
Long-distance driving on freeways and regular highways is the same in some
ways. The trip has to be planned and the vehicle prepared, yo\
u drive at higher-than-city speeds, and there are longer turns behind the wheel. You’ll
enjoy your trip more
if you and your vehicle are in good shape. Here are
some tips for
a successful long trip.
4-44