CHEVROLET IMPALA 2000 8.G Owners Manual

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3-38 Care of Your Cassette Tape Player
A tape player that is not cleaned regularly can cause
reduced sound quality, ruined cassettes or a damaged
mechanism. Cassette tapes should be stored in their
cases away from contaminants, direct sunlight and
extreme heat. If they aren't, they may not operate
properly or may cause failure of the tape player.
Your tape player should be cleaned regularly after every
50 hours of use. Your radio may display CLN or CLEAN
to indicate that you have used your tape player for
50 hours without resetting the tape clean timer. If this
message appears on the display, your cassette tape player
needs to be cleaned. It will still play tapes, but you should
clean it as soon as possible to prevent damage to your
tapes and player. If you notice a reduction in sound quality,
try a known good cassette to see if it is the tape or the tape
player at fault. If this other cassette has no improvement in
sound quality, clean the tape player.
The recommended cleaning method for your cassette tape
player is the use of a scrubbing action, non
-abrasive
cleaning cassette with pads which scrub the tape head as
the hubs of the cleaner cassette turn. The recommended
cleaning cassette is available through your dealership
(GM Part No. 12344789).When using a scrubbing action, non
-abrasive cleaning
cassette, it is normal for the cassette to eject because
your unit is equipped with a cut tape detection feature
and a cleaning cassette may appear as a broken tape.
To prevent the cleaning cassette from being ejected, use
the following steps.
If your vehicle is equipped with the AM
-FM Stereo with
Cassette Tape Player:
1. Turn the ignition to ON or ACC.
1. Turn the radio off.
2. Press and hold the TAPE button for five
seconds. CAS will flash on the display will flash
for five seconds.
3. Insert the scrubbing action cleaning cassette.
4. Eject the cleaning cassette after the manufacturer's
recommended cleaning time.

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3-39
If your vehicle is equipped with the AM-FM Stereo with
Cassette Tape Player with Radio Data System and
Automatic Tone Control or the AM
-FM Stereo with
Cassette Tape and Compact Disc Player with Radio Data
System and Automatic Tone Control:

Turn the ignition to ON or ACC.

Turn the radio off.

Press and hold the TAPE AUX or TAPE CD button
for five seconds. READY will appear on the display
for five seconds.

Insert the scrubbing action cleaning cassette.

Eject the cleaning cassette after the manufacturer's
recommended cleaning time.
When the cleaning cassette has been ejected, the cut tape
detection feature is active again.
You may also choose a non
-scrubbing action, wet-type
cleaner which uses a cassette with a fabric belt to clean
the tape head. This type of cleaning cassette will not
eject on its own. A non
-scrubbing action cleaner may
not clean as thoroughly as the scrubbing type cleaner.
The use of a non
-scrubbing action, dry-type cleaning
cassette is not recommended.After you clean the player, press and hold the eject or
EJT button for five seconds to reset the CLN or CLEAN
indicator. The radio will display
--- to show the
indicator was reset.
Cassettes are subject to wear and the sound quality may
degrade over time. Always make sure the cassette tape is in
good condition before you have your tape player serviced.
Care of Your Compact Discs
Handle discs carefully. Store them in their original cases
or other protective cases and away from direct sunlight
and dust. If the surface of a disc is soiled, dampen a
clean, soft cloth in a mild, neutral detergent solution and
clean it, wiping from the center to the edge.
Be sure never to touch the signal surface when handling
discs. Pick up discs by grasping the outer edges or the
edge of the hole and the outer edge.
Care of Your Compact Disc Player
The use of CD lens cleaner discs is not advised, due to
the risk of contaminating the lens of the CD optics with
lubricants internal to the CD mechanism.

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3-40 Backglass Antenna
Your AM-FM antenna is integrated with your rear
window defogger, located in the rear window. Be sure
that the inside surface of the rear window is not
scratched and that the lines on the glass are not
damaged. If the inside surface is damaged, it could
interfere with radio reception.
NOTICE:
Do not try to clear frost or other material from
the inside of the rear window with a razor blade
or anything else that is sharp. This may damage
the rear defogger grid and affect your radio's
ability to pick up stations clearly. The repairs
wouldn't be covered by your warranty.
Because this antenna is built into your rear window,
there is a reduced risk of damage caused by car washes
and vandals.
If you choose to add a cellular telephone to your vehicle,
and the antenna needs to be attached to the glass, be sure
that you do not damage the grid lines for the AM
-FM
antenna. There is enough space between the lines to
attach a cellular telephone antenna without interfering
with radio reception.
Vehicle Customization Settings
Your audio system can be used to control vehicle
customization settings using the DISP button when
the radio is off. See ªVehicle Customization Settingsº
in the Index.

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4-1
Section 4 Your Driving and the Road
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.
4
-2 Defensive Driving
4
-3 Drunken Driving
4
-6 Control of a Vehicle
4
-6 Braking
4
-11 Steering
4
-13 Off-Road Recovery
4
-14 Passing
4
-15 Loss of Control
4
-16 Driving at Night
4
-18 Driving in Rain and on Wet Roads4
-21 City Driving
4
-22 Freeway Driving
4
-23 Before Leaving on a Long Trip
4
-24 Highway Hypnosis
4
-24 Hill and Mountain Roads
4
-26 Winter Driving
4
-30 Recreational Vehicle Towing
4
-30 Loading Your Vehicle
4
-32 Towing a Trailer

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4-2
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 ªSafety Beltsº in the Index.)Defensive driving really means ªbe ready for anything.º
On city streets, rural roads or freeways, it means
ªalways expect the unexpected.º
Assume that pedestrians or other drivers are going to be
careless and make mistakes. Anticipate what they might
do. Be ready for their mistakes.
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.
Defensive driving requires that a driver concentrate on the
driving task. Anything that distracts from the driving
task
-- such as concentrating on a cellular telephone call,
reading, or reaching for something on the floor
-- makes
proper defensive driving more difficult and can even cause
a collision, with resulting injury. Ask a passenger to help
do things like this, or pull off the road in a safe place to do
them yourself. These simple defensive driving techniques
could save your life.

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4-3
Drunken Driving
Death and injury associated with drinking and driving is
a national tragedy. It's the number one contributor to
the highway death toll, claiming thousands of victims
every year.
Alcohol affects four things that anyone needs to
drive a vehicle:

Judgment

Muscular Coordination

Vision

Attentiveness.
Police records show that almost half of all motor
vehicle
-related deaths involve alcohol. In most cases,
these deaths are the result of someone who was drinking
and driving. In recent years, over 17,000 annual motor
vehicle
-related deaths have been associated with the use
of alcohol, with more than 300,000 people injured.
Many adults
-- by some estimates, nearly half the adult
population
-- choose never to drink alcohol, so they
never drive after drinking. For persons under 21, it's
against the law in every U.S. state to drink alcohol.
There are good medical, psychological and
developmental reasons for these laws.The obvious way to solve the leading highway safety
problem is for people never to drink alcohol and then
drive. But what if people do? How much is ªtoo muchº if
the driver plans to drive? It's a lot less than many might
think. Although it depends on each person and situation,
here is some general information on the problem.
The Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of someone
who is drinking depends upon four things:

The amount of alcohol consumed

The drinker's body weight

The amount of food that is consumed before and
during drinking

The length of time it has taken the drinker to
consume the alcohol.
According to the American Medical Association, a
180
-lb. (82 kg) person who drinks three 12-ounce
(355 ml) bottles of beer in an hour will end up with a
BAC of about 0.06 percent. The person would reach the
same BAC by drinking three 4
-ounce (120 ml) glasses
of wine or three mixed drinks if each had 1
-1/2 ounces
(45 ml) of a liquor like whiskey, gin or vodka.

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It's the amount of alcohol that counts. For example, if
the same person drank three double martinis (3 ounces
or 90 ml of liquor each) within an hour, the person's
BAC would be close to 0.12 percent. A person who
consumes food just before or during drinking will have a
somewhat lower BAC level.
There is a gender difference, too. Women generally have
a lower relative percentage of body water than men. Since alcohol is carried in body water, this means that a
woman generally will reach a higher BAC level than a
man of her same body weight when each has the same
number of drinks.
The law in many U.S. states sets the legal limit at a BAC
of 0.10 percent. In a growing number of U.S. states, and
throughout Canada, the limit is 0.08 percent. In some
other countries, it's even lower. The BAC limit for all
commercial drivers in the United States is 0.04 percent.
The BAC will be over 0.10 percent after three to six
drinks (in one hour). Of course, as we've seen, it
depends on how much alcohol is in the drinks, and how
quickly the person drinks them.
But the ability to drive is affected well below a BAC of
0.10 percent. Research shows that the driving skills of
many people are impaired at a BAC approaching
0.05 percent, and that the effects are worse at night.
All drivers are impaired at BAC levels above 0.05 percent.
Statistics show that the chance of being in a collision
increases sharply for drivers who have a BAC of
0.05 percent or above. A driver with a BAC level of
0.06 percent has doubled his or her chance of having a
collision. At a BAC level of 0.10 percent, the chance of
this driver having a collision is 12 times greater; at a level
of 0.15 percent, the chance is 25 times greater!

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4-5
The body takes about an hour to rid itself of the alcohol
in one drink. No amount of coffee or number of cold
showers will speed that up. ªI'll be carefulº isn't the
right answer. What if there's an emergency, a need to
take sudden action, as when a child darts into the street?
A person with even a moderate BAC might not be able
to react quickly enough to avoid the collision.
There's something else about drinking and driving that
many people don't know. Medical research shows that
alcohol in a person's system can make crash injuries
worse, especially injuries to the brain, spinal cord or
heart. This means that when anyone who has been
drinking
-- driver or passenger -- is in a crash, that
person's chance of being killed or permanently disabled
is higher than if the person had not been drinking.
CAUTION:
Drinking and then driving is very dangerous.
Your reflexes, perceptions, attentiveness and
judgment can be affected by even a small amount
of alcohol. You can have a serious
-- or even
fatal
-- collision if you drive after drinking.
Please don't drink and drive or ride with a driver
who has been drinking. Ride home in a cab; or if
you're with a group, designate a driver who will
not drink.

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4-6
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 perception 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; the condition of your brakes; the weight of the
vehicle and the amount of brake force applied.

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4-7
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 (Option)
Your vehicle may have anti-lock brakes (ABS). ABS is
an advanced electronic braking system that will help
prevent a braking skid.
If your vehicle has anti-lock
brakes, this warning light on
the instrument panel will
come on briefly when you
start your vehicle.
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 or pulses a little. This is normal.
If there's a problem with the anti
-lock brake system, the
anti
-lock brake system warning light will stay on. See
ªAnti
-Lock Brake System Warning Lightº in the Index.