warning CHEVROLET CAVALIER 1996 3.G User Guide

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Brake System Warning Light
Your Chevrolet’s hydraulic brake system is divided into
two parts. If one part isn’t working, the other part can
still work and stop you. For good braking, though, you
need both parts working well.
If the warning light comes on, there could be a brake
problem. Have your brake system inspected right away.
This light should come on
briefly when
you turn the
ignition key to
RUN. If it
doesn’t come on then, have
BRAKE
(@) (a)
warn you if there’s a
it fixed
so it will
be ready to
problem.
If the light comes on while you are driving, pull off the
road and stop carefully.
You may notice that the pedal is
harder to push. Or, the pedal may go closer to the floor.
It may take longer to stop. If the light is still on, have the
vehicle towed for service. (See “Towing Your Vehicle”
in the Index.)
Your brake system may not be working properly
if the brake system warning light is on. Driving
with the brake system warning light on can lead
to an accident. If the light is still on after you’ve
pulled off the road and stopped carefully, have
the vehicle towed for service.
When the ignition is on, the brake system warning light
will also come on when you set your parking brake. The
light will stay on if your parking brake doesn’t release
fully. If it stays on after your parking brake is fully
released, it means you have a brake problem.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Anti-Lock Brake System Warning Light
With the anti-lock brake
system, this light will come
on when you start your
engine and
it will stay on
for three seconds. That’s
normal.
If the light stays on, turn the ignition off. Or, if the light
comes
on when you’re driving, stop as soon as possible
and turn the ignition off. Then start the engine again to
reset the system. If the light still stays on, or comes on
again while you’re driving, your Chevrolet needs
service.
If the regular brake system warning light isn’t
on, you still have brakes, but you don’t have anti-lock
brakes.
If the regular brake system warning light is also
on, you don’t have anti-lock brakes and there’s a
problem with your regular brakes. See “Brake System
Warning Light” earlier in this part. The
anti-lock brake system warning light should come
on briefly when you turn the ignition key to
RUN. If the
light doesn’t come
on then, have it fixed so it will be
ready to warn you if there is a problem.
Enhanced lkaction System Warning Light
(Option)
ETS
OFF
With the Enhanced Traction
System (ETS), this warning
light should come
on briefly
as you start the engine.
If
the warning light doesn’t
come
on then, have it fixed
so it will be ready to warn
you if there’s a problem.
If
it stays on, or comes on when you’re driving, there
may be a problem with your Enhanced Traction System
and your vehicle may need service. When this warning
light is on, the system will not limit wheel spin. Adjust
your driving accordingly.
2-68

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine The Enhanced Traction System warning light may come
on for the following reasons:
0 If you turn the system off by moving the shift lever to
a position other than THIRD
(3) or OVERDRIVE (a)?
the warning light will come on and stay on. To turn
the system back on, move the shift lever back to the
THIRD (3) or OVERDRIVE (a) position again. The
warning light should go
off. (See “Enhanced Traction
System”
in the Index for more information.)
The warning light will come on when you set your
parking brake with the engine running, and
it will
stay on if your parking brake doesn’t release fully.
If the transaxle shift lever is in the THIRD
(3) or
OVERDRIVE
(@) position and the warning light
stays on after your parking brake is fully released, it
means there’s
a problem with the system.
If the Enhanced Traction System warning light comes
on and stays on for an extended period
of time when
the transaxle shift lever is in the THIRD
(3) or
OVERDRIVE
(0) position and the parking brake is
fully released, your vehicle needs service.
Enhanced Traction System Active Light
LOW
TRAC
When your Enhanced
Traction System is limiting wheel spin, this light will
come on. Slippery road
conditions may exist if the
Enhanced Traction System
active light comes on,
so
adjust your driving
accordingly.
The light will stay on for a few seconds after the
Enhanced Traction System stops limiting wheel spin.
The Enhanced Traction System active light also comes
on’briefly when you turn the ignition key
to RUN. If the
light doesn’t come on then, have it fixed so it will be
there to tell you when the system is active.
2-69

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Engine Coolant Temperature Gage

100
9
H
TEMP
Low Coolant Warning Light
1,1
If this light comes on and
stays on, your system is low
on coolant and the engine
may overheat.
Your vehicle
is equipped with one of these gages. With
the ignition in the
RUN position, this gage shows the
engine coolant temperature.
If the gage pointer moves into the red area, your engine
is too hot! It means that your engine coolant has
overheated.
If you have been operating your vehicle
under normal driving conditions,
you should pull off the
road, stop your vehicle and turn
off the engine as soon
as possible.
In “Problems on the Road,” this manual shows what
to
do. See “Engine Overheating” in the Index. See
the Index under “Engine Coolant” and have your
vehicle serviced
as soon as you can.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Have you recently changed brands of fuel?
If
so, be sure to fuel your vehicle with quality fuel (see
“Fuel” in the Index).
Poor fuel quality will cause your
engine not to run as efficiently as designed. You may
notice this as stalling after start-up, stalling when you
put the vehicle into gear, misfiring, hesitation on
acceleration or stumbling on acceleration. (These
conditions may go away once the engine is warmed up.)
This will be detected by the system and cause the light
to turn on.
If you experience this condition, change the fuel brand
you use. It will require at least one full tank of the
proper
fuel to turn the light off.
If none of the above steps have made the light turn
off,
have your dealer or qualified service center check the
vehicle. Your dealer has the proper test equipment and
diagnostic tools to fix any mechanical or electrical
problems that may have developed.
Oil Pressure Warning Light
If you have a low engine oil
pressure problem, this light
will stay on after you start
your engine, or come on
when you are driving. This
indicates that your engine is
not receiving enough oil.
The engine could be low on oil, or could have some
other oil problem. Have it fixed immediately.
The oil light could also come on in two other situations:
0 When the ignition is on but the engine is not running,
the light will come on as a test to show you it is
working, but the light will go out when you turn the
ignition to
START. If it doesn’t come on with the
ignition on, you may have a problem with the fuse or
bulb. Have it fixed right away.
2-73

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Passlock Warning Light
THEFT
SYSTEM
This light will come on
when you turn the key
towards the START
position.
If the light flashes, the Passlock system has entered a
tamper mode.
If the vehicle fails to start, see “Passlock”
in the Index.
If the light comes on continuously while driving and
stays on, there may be
a problem with the Passlock
system. Your vehicle will not be protected by Passlock,
and you should see your dealer.
Up-Shift Light (Manual Transaxle)
This light comes on when
you need
to shift to the next
higher gear. See “Manual
Transaxle” in the Index.
SHIFT
Check Gages Light
CHECK
GAGES
This light will come on
briefly when
you are
starting the engine. If the
light comes on and stays on
while you are driving, check
your various gages to see if
they are in the warning
zones.
2-75

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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,
Anti-Lock Brakes
Your vehicle has anti-lock brakes (ABS). ABS is an
advanced electronic braking system that will help
prevent a braking skid.
When you start your engine, or when you 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” in
the Index.
4-6

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine ETS
OFF
When the transaxle shift
lever
is in the THIRD (3) or
OVERDRIVE
(Q) position
and the parking brake is
fully released, this warning
light will come on to let you
know if there’s a problem
with the system.
See “Enhanced Traction System Warning Light” in the
Index. When this warning light is on, the system will not
limit wheel spin. Adjust your driving accordingly.
The Enhanced Traction System can operate only
when the transaxle shift lever is in the THIRD
(3) or
OVERDRIVE
(a) position. To limit wheel spin,
especially in slippery road conditions, you should use
the other shift lever positions only when necessary.
See
“Automatic Transaxle” in the Index. (If your vehicle
ever gets stuck in sand, mud, ice or snow, see “Rocking
Your Vehicle” in the Index.) When you move the shift lever
to a position other than
THIRD
(3) or OVERDRIVE (@), the system will turn
off. The Enhanced Traction System warning light will
come on and stay on. If the Enhanced Traction System is
limiting wheel spin when you move the shift lever to
another position, the system won’t turn off right away. It
will wait until there’s no longer a current need to limit
wheel spin.
You can turn the system back on at any time by
moving the shift lever back to the THIRD
(3) or
OVERDRIVE
(@) position again. The Enhanced
Traction System warning light should go off.
Braking in Emergencies
Use your anti-lock braking system when you need to.
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.
Steering
Power Steering
If you lose power steering assist because the engine
stops or the system is not functioning, you can steer but
it will take much more effort.
4-9

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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 Chevrolet’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.
If you have the Enhanced Traction System, remember: It
helps avoid only the acceleration skid. If you
do not have the Enhanced Traction System, or
if
the transaxle shift lever is not in the OVERDRIVE (@)
position, 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.
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.
4-14

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine City Driving
One of the biggest problems with city streets is the
amount
of traffic on them. You’ll want to watch out for
what the other drivers are doing and pay attention to
traffic signals. Here are ways
to increase your safety in city driving:
0
0
0
Know the best way to get to where you are going. Get
a city map and plan your
trip into an unknown part of
the city just as you would for a cross-country trip.
Try to use the freeways that rim and crisscross most large cities. You’ll save time and energy. (See the
next
part, “Freeway Driving.”)
Treat a green light
as a warning signal. A traffic light is
there because the corner is busy enough to need it.
When a light
turns green, and just before you start to
move, check both ways for vehicles that have not cleared the intersection or may
be running the red light.
4-20