brake CHEVROLET EXPRESS 1996 1.G User Guide

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Setting Cruise Control
I
~ A CAUTION:
I
If you 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.
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 kmh) or more,
you
can move the cruise control switch from ON to
R/A (Resume/Accelerate) for about half a second.
You’ll go right back up
to your chosen speed and
stay there.
Remember, if you hold
the switch at R/A longer than
half a second, the vehicle will keep going faster until
you release the switch or apply the brake. You could be
startled and even lose control.
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 Increasing Speed While Using Cruise Control
There are two ways to go to a higher speed:
Use the accelerator pedal to get to the higher speed.
Push 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 R/A. 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 half
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:
Push in 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, push the
button for less than half a second. Each time
you do
this, you’ll go
1 mph (1.6 kdh) 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 have to step on
the accelerator pedal to maintain your speed.
If the
steepness
of the hill causes the vehicle speed to drop
more than 15 mph
(9.4 km/h) below the set speed, your
cruise control
will automatically disengage. 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; or
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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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Rotate the switch knob clockwise again to the master
lighting symbol
to turn on all the lamps listed as well as
the headlamps.
Rotate the switch counterclockwise to
OFF to turn off
your lamps.
Rotate the thumb wheel next
to the switch knob up to
adjust instrument panel lights. Rotate the thumb wheel up
to the first notch to return the radio display and gearshift
indicator display
to full intensity when the headlamps or
parking lamps are
on.
Rotate the thumb wheel up to the second notch to
activate the interior dome lamps.
You can switch your headlamps from high to low beam
by pulling
on the turn signalhigh beam lever.
A circuit breaker protects your headlamps. If you have
an electrical overload, your headlamps will flicker on
and off. Have your headlamp wiring checked right away
if this happens.
Headlamps On Reminder
A buzzer will sound when your headlamps are turned on
and your ignition is in OFF, LOCK or ACCESSORY.
If
you need to use your headlamps when the ignition
switch is in
OFF, LOCK or ACCESSORY, the buzzer
can be turned off by turning the thumb wheel next to the
parking lampheadlamp switch all the way down.
Daytime Running Lamps (If Equipped)
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) can make it easier for
others
to see the front of your vehicle during the day.
DRL can be helpful in many different driving
conditions, but they can be especially helpful in the
short periods after dawn and before sunset.
The DRL system will make your headlamps come
on at
a reduced brightness when:
0 The ignition is on,
The headlamp switch is off and
0 The parking brake is released.
If your vehicle was first sold, when new, in Canada,
your headlamps will come
on at reduced brightness.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine If your vehicle was first sold, when new, in the United
States, your vehicle may be equipped with DRL. If your
vehicle has DRL,
you will see the the DRL indicator
light
on your instrument panel and your low-beam
headlamps will come
on at reduced brightness.
When the DRL are on, only your headlamps will be on.
The taillamps, sidemarker and other lamps won’t be on.
Your instrument panel won’t be lit up either,
When it begins to get dark, your DRL indicator light
is a reminder
to turn your headlamp switch on. The
other lamps that come on with your headlamps will also
come on.
When-you turn off the headlamp switch, the regular
lamps will go
off, and your headlamps will change to
the reduced brightness of DRL.
To idle your vehicle with the engine on and the DRL
off,
set the parking brake. The DRL will stay off until you
release the parking brake.
As with any vehicle, you should turn on the regular
headlamp system when you need it.
Dome Lamps
The dome lamps will come on when you open the doors.
You can also turn the dome lamps on by rotating the
thumb wheel, located next
to the headlamp knob, all
the way up
to the second notch. In this position, the
dome lamps will remain on whether the doors are
opened or closed.
You can use the dome
lamp button, located
below the headlamp knob,
to set the dome lamps to
automatically come
on
when the doors are open,
or to remain off.
To turn
the lamps off, push the button once. With the
button in this position, the dome lamps will remain off
when the doors are open. To return the lamps
to
automatic operation, push the button again and return it
to the out position. With the button in this position, the
dome lamps will come
on when you open the doors.
The delayed entry will allow you
to enter or exit your
vehicle with the lamps staying
on for about 20 seconds,
after the door is closed
or ignition is cycled.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Brake System Warning Light
Your vehicle’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.
BRAKE
United States
Canada
This light should come on briefly when you turn the
ignition key
to RUN. If it doesn’t come on then,
have it fixed
so it will be ready to warn you if there’s
a 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 coke 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.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Anti-Lock Brake System Warning Light
ANTI -
LOCK
United States
Canada
With the anti-lock brake system, this light will come on
when you start your engine and may stay
on for several
seconds. That’s normal.
If the light stays on, or comes on when you’re driving,
your vehicle needs service.
If the regular brake system
warning light isn’t
on, y0~1’still have brakes, but YOLI
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.
Daytime Running Lamps Indicator Light
You may have this light on
the instrument panel. It will
light whenever the DRL are
on.
It is also a reminder to
turn on your headlamps
when driving at night. For
more details about
DRL, see
“Headlamps and Vehicle
Lighting”
in this section.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Section 4 Your Driving and the Road
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”
in the Index.)
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.
Here
you’ll find information about driving on different
kinds
of roads and in varying weather conditions. We’ve
also included many other useful tips
on driving. 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.
1 4-1

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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.
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.
Braking
Braking action involves perwption 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; and the condition
of your brakes.
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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 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. This is normal.
If there’s
a problem. with
the anti-lock brake system,
this warning light will stay
on. See “Anti-Lock Brake
ANTI -
LOCK
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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 conditions.
Here’s how anti-lock works. Let‘s say the road
is wet.
You’re driving safely. Suddenly
an animal -jumps out in
front of you.
You slam on the brakes. 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 the
rear wheels.
You can steer around the obstacle while braking hard.
As you brake, your computer keeps receiving updates on
wheel speed and controls braking pressure accordingly.
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