ABS CHEVROLET IMPALA 2006 9.G Owners Manual

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 does
not release fully. If it stays on after your parking brake is
fully released, it means you have a brake 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
oor. It may take longer to stop. If the light is still on,
have the vehicle towed for service. SeeTowing
Your Vehicle on page 4-34.
{CAUTION:
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 have pulled off the road and
stopped carefully, have the vehicle towed
for service.
Anti-Lock Brake System
Warning Light
Your vehicle may have an
Anti-Lock Brake System
(ABS) warning light.
It should come on for a few seconds when you turn the
ignition key to RUN.
If the ABS warning light stays on longer than normal
after you have started your engine, turn the ignition off
or, if the light comes on and stays on when you are
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 are
driving, the ABS needs service and you do not have
anti-lock brakes.
The ABS warning light should come on briey when you
turn the ignition key to RUN. This is normal. If the
light does not come on then, have it xed so it will be
ready to warn you if there is a problem.
3-31

Your Driving, the Road, and Your Vehicle..........4-2
Defensive Driving...........................................4-2
Drunken Driving.............................................4-3
Control of a Vehicle........................................4-6
Braking.........................................................4-6
Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS).........................4-7
Braking in Emergencies...................................4-9
Traction Control System (TCS).........................4-9
Steering......................................................4-11
Off-Road Recovery.......................................4-13
Passing.......................................................4-13
Loss of Control.............................................4-15
Driving at Night............................................4-16
Driving in Rain and on Wet Roads..................4-17City Driving..................................................4-19
Freeway Driving...........................................4-20
Before Leaving on a Long Trip.......................4-21
Highway Hypnosis........................................4-21
Hill and Mountain Roads................................4-22
Winter Driving..............................................4-24
If Your Vehicle is Stuck in Sand, Mud,
Ice, or Snow.............................................4-28
Rocking Your Vehicle to Get It Out.................4-29
Loading Your Vehicle....................................4-29
Towing..........................................................4-34
Towing Your Vehicle.....................................4-34
Recreational Vehicle Towing...........................4-34
Towing a Trailer...........................................4-36
Section 4 Driving Your Vehicle
4-1

Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS)
Your vehicle may have the Anti-Lock Brake System
(ABS), an advanced electronic braking system that will
help prevent a braking skid.
If your vehicle has ABS,
this warning light on the
instrument panel
cluster will come on briey
when you start your
vehicle.
When you start your engine, or when you begin to drive
away, ABS 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.Let us say the road is wet and you are driving safely.
Suddenly, an animal jumps out in front of you. You slam
on the brakes and continue braking. Here is 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 both rear wheels.
4-7

ABS can change the brake pressure faster than any
driver could. The computer is programmed to make the
most of available tire and road conditions. This can
help you steer around the obstacle while braking hard.
As you brake, your computer keeps receiving updates
on wheel speed and controls braking pressure
accordingly.Remember: ABS does not change the time you need to
get your foot up to the brake pedal or always decrease
stopping distance. If you get too close to the vehicle
in front of you, you will not have time to apply your
brakes if that vehicle suddenly slows or stops. Always
leave enough room up ahead to stop, even though
you have ABS.
Using ABS
Do not pump the brakes. Just hold the brake pedal
down rmly and let anti-lock work for you. You may feel
a slight brake pedal pulsation or notice some noise,
but this is normal.
4-8

Braking in Emergencies
At some time, nearly every driver gets into a situation
that requires hard braking.
If you have ABS, you can steer and brake at the same
time. However, if you do not have ABS, your rst
reaction — to hit the brake pedal hard and hold it
down — may be the wrong thing to do. Your wheels can
stop rolling. Once they do, the vehicle cannot respond
to your steering. Momentum will carry it in whatever
direction it was headed when the wheels stopped rolling.
That could be off the road, into the very thing you
were trying to avoid, or into traffic.
If you do not have ABS, use a “squeeze” braking
technique. This will give you maximum braking while
maintaining steering control. You can do this by pushing
on the brake pedal with steadily increasing pressure.
In an emergency, you will probably want to squeeze
the brakes hard without locking the wheels. If you hear
or feel the wheels sliding, ease off the brake pedal.
This will help you retain steering control. If you do have
ABS, it is different. SeeAnti-Lock Brake System (ABS)
on page 4-7.
In many emergencies, steering can help you more than
even the very best braking.
Traction Control System (TCS)
Your vehicle may have a traction control system that
limits wheel spin. This is especially useful in slippery road
conditions. The system operates only if it senses that one
or both of the front wheels are spinning or beginning to
lose traction. When this happens, the system reduces
engine power and may also upshift the transaxle and
apply the front brakes to limit wheel spin.
This light will ash when
your traction control system
is limiting wheel spin.
You may feel or hear the system working, but this is
normal.
If your vehicle is in cruise control when the traction
control system begins to limit wheel spin, the cruise
control will automatically disengage. When road
conditions allow you to safely use it again, you may
re-engage the cruise control. SeeCruise Control
on page 3-10.
4-9

Loss of Control
Let us review what driving experts say about what
happens when the three control systems — brakes,
steering, and acceleration — do not have enough
friction where the tires meet the road to do what the
driver has asked.
In any emergency, do not 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 vehicle’s
three control systems. In the braking skid, your wheels
are not 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, 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 will 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 reducing vehicle speed 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.
If you have the Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS),
remember: It helps avoid only the braking skid. If you
do not have ABS, then in a braking skid, where the
wheels are no longer rolling, release enough pressure
on the brakes to get the wheels rolling again. This
restores steering control. Push the brake pedal down
steadily when you have to stop suddenly. As long as
the wheels are rolling, you will have steering control.
4-15

Driving on Snow or Ice
Most of the time, those places where the tires meet the
road probably have good traction.
However, if there is snow or ice between the tires
and the road, you can have a very slippery situation.
You will have a lot less traction, or grip, and will need
to be very careful.
What is the worst time for this? Wet ice. Very cold
snow or ice can be slick and hard to drive on.But wet ice can be even more trouble because it may
offer the least traction of all. You can get wet ice when it
is about freezing, 32°F (0°C), and freezing rain begins
to fall. Try to avoid driving on wet ice until salt and sand
crews can get there.
Whatever the condition — smooth ice, packed, blowing,
or loose snow — drive with caution.
Traction control improves your ability to accelerate when
driving on a slippery road. Even though your vehicle
has the Traction Control System (TCS), you will want
to slow down and adjust your driving to the road
conditions. Under certain conditions, you may want to
turn the traction control system off, such as when driving
through deep snow and loose gravel, to help maintain
vehicle motion at lower speeds. SeeTraction Control
System (TCS) on page 4-9.
Unless you have the Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS),
you will want to brake very gently, too. If you do
have ABS, seeAnti-Lock Brake System (ABS) on
page 4-7. ABS improves your vehicle’s stability when
you make a hard stop on a slippery road. Whether you
have ABS or not, you will want to begin stopping
sooner than you would on dry pavement. Without ABS,
if you feel your vehicle begin to slide, let up on the
brakes a little. Push the brake pedal down steadily to
get the most traction you can.
4-25

Remember, unless you have ABS, if you brake so
hard that your wheels stop rolling, you will just slide.
Brake so your wheels always keep rolling and you
can still steer.
Whatever your braking system, allow greater
following distance on any slippery road.
Watch for slippery spots. The road might be
ne until you hit a spot that is covered with ice.
On an otherwise clear road, ice patches may
appear in shaded areas where the sun cannot
reach, such as around clumps of trees, behind
buildings, or under bridges. Sometimes the surface
of a curve or an overpass may remain icy when
the surrounding roads are clear. If you see a patch
of ice ahead of you, brake before you are on it.
Try not to brake while you are actually on the ice,
and avoid sudden steering maneuvers.
If You Are Caught in a Blizzard
If you are stopped by heavy snow, you could be in
a serious situation. You should probably stay with your
vehicle unless you know for sure that you are near
help and you can hike through the snow. Here are some
things to do to summon help and keep yourself and
your passengers safe:
Turn on your hazard ashers.
Tie a red cloth to your vehicle to alert police that
you have been stopped by the snow.
Put on extra clothing or wrap a blanket around you.
If you do not have blankets or extra clothing, make
body insulators from newspapers, burlap bags,
rags, oor mats — anything you can wrap around
yourself or tuck under your clothing to keep warm.
4-26

Turn Signals When Towing a Trailer
When you tow a trailer, your vehicle may need additional
wiring. Check with your dealer. The arrows on your
instrument panel will ash whenever you signal a turn or
lane change. Properly hooked up, the trailer lamps
will also ash, telling other drivers you’re about to turn,
change lanes or stop.
When towing a trailer, the arrows on your instrument
panel will ash for turns even if the bulbs on the trailer
are burned out. Thus, you may think drivers behind
you are seeing your signal when they are not. It’s
important to check occasionally to be sure the trailer
bulbs are still working.
Driving On Grades
Reduce speed and shift to a lower gearbeforeyou start
down a long or steep downgrade. If you don’t shift
down, you might have to use your brakes so much that
they would get hot and no longer work well.
On a long uphill grade, shift down and reduce your
speed to around 45 mph (70 km/h) to reduce the
possibility of engine and transaxle overheating.
If you have overdrive, you may want to drive in
THIRD (3) instead of AUTOMATIC OVERDRIVE (D).
Parking on Hills
{CAUTION:
You really should not park your vehicle, with a
trailer attached, on a hill. If something goes
wrong, your rig could start to move. People
can be injured, and both your vehicle and the
trailer can be damaged.
But if you ever have to park your rig on a hill, here’s
how to do it:
1. Apply your regular brakes, but don’t shift into
PARK (P) yet.
2. Have someone place chocks under the trailer
wheels.
3. When the wheel chocks are in place, release the
regular brakes until the chocks absorb the load.
4. Reapply the regular brakes. Then apply your
parking brake, and then shift to PARK (P).
5. Release the regular brakes.
4-41

Engine Air Cleaner/Filter
The engine air cleaner/lter is located in the engine
compartment on the driver’s side of the vehicle.
SeeEngine Compartment Overview on page 5-12
for more information on location.
When to Inspect the Engine
Air Cleaner/Filter
Inspect the air cleaner/lter at the MaintenanceII
intervals and replace it at the rst oil change after
each 50,000 mile (83 000 km) interval. SeeScheduled
Maintenance on page 6-4for more information.
If you are driving in dusty/dirty conditions, inspect the
lter at each engine oil change.
How to Inspect the Engine
Air Cleaner/Filter
To inspect the air cleaner/lter, remove the lter from
the vehicle and lightly shake the lter to release
loose dust and dirt. If the lter remains caked with dirt,
a new lter is required.To inspect or replace the engine air cleaner/lter do the
following:
1. Lift the lter cover tabs on top of the engine air
cleaner/lter housing.
2. Push the lter cover housing toward the engine.
3. Pull out the lter.
4. Inspect or replace the engine air cleaner/lter.
5. To reinstall the cover, position the tabs through the
hinges on the housing.
6. Push the cover tabs on top of the housing to lock
the cover in place.
5-22