CHEVROLET LUMINA 1993 1.G Owners Manual

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine As you go over the top of a hill, be
alert. There could be something in
your lane, like a stalled car or an
accident.
You may see highway signs on
mountains that warn
of special
problems. Examples are long grades,
passing or no passing zones, a falling
rocks area,
or winding roads. Be alert
to these and take appropriate action.
problems. See the
Index under Winter
Driving.
. ..
Winter driving can present special
,, “$“
Parking on Hills
Hills and mountains mean spectacular
scenery. But please be careful where
you stop if you decide to look at the
view or take pictures.
Look for pull-offs
or parking areas provided for scenic
viewing.
Another part
of this manual tells how to
use your parking brake (see the
Index
under Parking Brake). But on a
mountain or steep hill, you can do one
more thing. You can turn your front
wheels to keep your vehicle from rolling
downhill or out into traffic.
Here’s how:
Parking Downhill
Turn your wheels to the right.
You don’t have to jam your tires against
the curb, if there is a curb.
A gentle
contact is all you need.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine ..I
Your Driving and the Road
Parking on Hills (CONT.)
Parking Uphill
If there is a curb, turn your wheels to
the left
if the curb is at the right side of
your vehicle.
I50
If you’re going uphill on a one-way
street and you’re parking on the left
side, your wheels should point to the
right. If there is no curb when you’re parking I
uphill, turn the wheels to the right.
If there
is no curb when you’re parking
uphill on the left side of
a one-way
street, your wheels would be turned to
the left.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Torque Lock
If you are parking on a hill and you
don’t shift your transaxle into
P (Park)
properly, the weight of the vehicle may
put too much force on the parking pawl
in the transaxle. You may find it
difficult
to pull the shift lever out of
P (Park). This is called “torque lock.”
To prevent torque lock, always be sure
to shift into
P (Park) properly before
you leave the driver’s seat. To find out
how, see the
Index under Shifting Into
P (Park).
When you are ready to drive, move the
shift lever out of
P (Park) before you
release the parking brake.
If torque lock does occur, you may need
to have another vehicle push yours a
little uphill to take some
of the pressure
from the transaxle, so you can pull the
shift lever out of
P (Park).
Winter Driving
Here are some tips for winter driving:
Have your Chevrolet in good shape
for winter. Be sure your engine
coolant mix
is correct.
Snow tires can help in loose snow,
but they may give you less traction on
ice than regular tires.
If you do not
expect to be driving in deep snow, but
may have to travel over ice, you may
not want to switch to snow tires at all.
You may want to put winter
emergency supplies in your trunk.
Include an ice scraper, a small brush
or broom, a supply of windshield
washer fluid, a rag, some winter outer
clothing, a small shovel, a flashlight,
a
red cloth, and a couple of reflective
warning triangles. And, if you will
be
driving under severe conditions,
include a small bag of sand, a piece
of
old carpet or a couple of burlap bags
to help provide traction. Be sure you
properly secure these items in your
vehicle.
151

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Your Driving and the Road
Driving on Snow or Ice
Most of the time, those places where
your tires meet the road probably have
good traction.
However, if there is snow or ice
between your tires and the road, you
can have a very slippery situation.
You’ll have a lot less traction or “grip”
and you will need to be very careful.
What’s 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’s 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. Accelerate gently. Try not
to break the fragile traction. If you
accelerate too fast, the drive wheels will
spin and polish the surface under the
tires even more.
Unless you have the anti-lock braking
system, you’ll want to brake very gently,
too. (If you do have anti-lock, see the
Index under Anti-Lock Brake System.
This system improves your vehicle’s
ability to make a hard stop on a slippery
road.)
Whether you have the anti-lock braking
system or not, you’ll want to begin
stopping sooner than you would on dry
pavement. Without anti-lock brakes,
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. Remember, unless you have anti-lock,
if
you brake
so hard that your wheels stop
rolling, you’ll 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 fine until you hit a spot
that’s covered with ice. On an
otherwise clear road, ice patches may
appear in shaded areas where the sun
can’t reach: 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’re actually on the ice, and
avoid sudden steering maneuvers.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine If You’re 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 flashers.
Tie a red cloth to your vehicle to alert
police that you’ve been stopped by the
snow.
Put on extra clothing or wrap a
blanket around you.
If you have no
blankets or extra clothing, make body
insulators from newspapers, burlap
bags, rags, floor mats-anything you can wrap around yourself
or tuck
under your clothing to keep warm.
but be careful.
You can run the engine to keep warr~,
111 CAUT’olv Snow can trap exhaust gases
under your vehicle. This can
cause deadly
CO (carbon
monoxide) gas to get inside. CO
could overcome you and kill you.
You can’t see it or smell it,
so you
might not know it was in your
vehicle. Clear away snow
from
around the base of your vehicle,
especially any that is blocking your
exhaust pipe. And check around
again from time to time to be sure
snow doesn’t collect there.
Open a window just a little on the
side
of the vehicle that’s away from
the wind. This will help keep
CO
out.
153

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Your Driving and the Road
I
If You’re Caught in a Blizzard
(CONT.)
Run your engine only as long as you
must. This saves fuel. When you run
the engine, make it go a little faster
than just idle. That is, push the
accelerator slightly. This uses less fuel
for the heat that you get and it keeps
the battery charged.
You will need a
well-charged battery to restart the
vehicle and possibly for signaling later
on with your headlights. Let the
heater run for a while.
Then, shut the engine
off and close
the window almost all the way to
preserve the heat. Start the engine
again and repeat this only when you
feel really uncomfortable from the
cold. But do it as little as possible.
Preserve the fuel as long as you can.
To help keep warm, you can get out of
the vehicle and do some fairly
vigorous exercises every half-hour or
so until help comes.
I54
If You’re Stuck in Deep Snow
This manual explains how to get the
vehicle out of deep snow without
damaging it. See the
Index under
Rocking Your Vehicle.
Towing a Trailer
II
CAUTION I
L
p.,gerly, you can lose control when
you pull a trailer. For example, if
the trailer is too heavy, the brakes
may not work well-or even at
all.
You and your passengers could be
seriously injured. Pull a trailer only
if you have followed all the steps in
this section.
L
railer improperly car
amage your vehicle and result in
costly repairs not covered by your
--
warranty. To pull a trailer
correctly, follow the advice
in this
__

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Do not tow a trailer if your vehicle is
equipped with a 2.2L (VIN Code 4)
engine or a manual transaxle.
Your Chevrolet can tow a trailer if it is
equipped with an automatic transaxle
and proper trailer towing equipment. To
identify what the vehicle trailering
capacity is for your vehicle, you should
read the information in
Weight of the
Trailer
that appears later in this section.
But trailering is different than just
driving your vehicle by itself. Trailering
means changes
in handling, durability,
and fuel economy. Successful, safe
trailering takes correct equipment, and
it has to be used properly.
That’s the reason for this section. In it
are many time-tested, important
trailering tips and safety rules. Many of these are important
for your safety and
that of your passengers.
So please read
this section carefully before you pull a
trailer.
Load-pulling components such as the
engine, transaxle, wheel assemblies, and
tires are forced to work harder against
the drag of the added weight. The
engine is required to operate at
relatively higher speeds and under
greater loads, generating extra heat.
What’s more, the trailer adds
considerably to wind resistance,
increasing the pulling requirements.
All of that means changes in:
Handling
Durability
Fuel economy
If You Do Decide to Pull a Trailer
If you do, here are some important
points.
There are many different laws having
to do with trailering. Make sure your
rig will be legal, not only where you
live but also where you’ll be driving.
A
good source for this information can
be state or provincial police.
Consider using a sway control. You
can ask a hitch dealer about sway
controls.
Don’t tow a trailer at all during the
first
500 miles (800 lun) your new
vehicle is driven. Your engine, axle or
other parts could be damaged.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Your Driving and the Road
..I I
If You Do Decide fo Pull a Trailer
(CONT.)
Then, during the first 500 miles
(800 km) that you tow a trailer, don’t
drive over
50 mph (80 ldh) and
don’t make starts at full throttle. This
helps your engine and other parts of
your vehicle wear in at the heavier
loads.
Three important considerations have
to do with weight:
I56
Weight of the Trailer
How heavy can a trailer safely be? It
should never weigh more than
1,000
pounds (450 kg). But even that can be
too heavy. It depends on how you
plan to use your rig. For example,
speed, altitude, road grades, outside
temperature and how much your
vehicle is used to pull a trailer are all
important. And, it can also depend on
any special equipment that you have
on your vehicle.
You can ask your
dealer for our trailering information or
advice, or
you can write us at: Chevrolet Customer Assistance
Department
P.O. Box 7047
Troy,
MI 48007-7047
In Canada, write to: General Motors of Canada Limited
Customer Assistance Center
1908 Colonel Sam Drive
Oshawa, Ontario,
L1H 8P7

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Weight of the Trailer Tongue
The tongue load (A) of any trailer is
an important weight to measure
because it affects the total capacity
weight
of your vehicle. The capacity
weight includes the curb weight
of the
vehicle, any cargo you
may carry in it,
and the people who will be riding in
the vehicle. And
if you will tow a
trailer, you must subtract the tongue
load from your vehicle’s capacity
weight because your vehicle will be
carrying that weight, too. See the
Index under Loading Your Vehicle for
more information about your vehicle’s
maximum load capacity. The trailer tongue
(A) should
weigh
10% of the total loaded trailer weight
(B) . After you’ve loaded your trailer,
weigh the trailer and then the tongue,
separately, to see if the weights are
proper. If they aren’t, you may be able
to get them right simply by moving
some items around in the trailer.
Total Weight on Your Vehicle’s
Tires
Be sure your vehicle’s tires are
inflated to the limit for cold tires.
You
will find these numbers on the
Certification label at the rear edge of
the driver’s door, or see the
Index
under Tire Loading. Then be sure you
don’t
go over the GVW limit for your
vehicle.
Hitches
It’s important to have the correct hitch
equipment. Crosswinds, large trucks
going by, and rough roads are a few
reasons why you’ll need the right hitch.
Here are some rules to follow:
Will you have to make any holes in
the body
of your vehicle when you
install
a trailer hitch? If you do, then
be sure to seal the holes later when
you remove the hitch. If
you don’t
seal them, deadly carbon monoxide
(CO) from your exhaust can get into
your vehicle. (See the
Index under
Carbon Monoxide in Exhaust.) Dirt
and water can, too.
The bumpers on your vehicle are not
intended for hitches.
Do not attach
rental hitches or other bumper-type
hitches to them. Use only a frame-
mounted hitch that does not attach
to
the bumper.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Your Driving and the Road
If You Do Decide to Pull a Trailer
(CONT.)
Safety Chains
You should always attach chains
between your vehicle and your trailer.
Cross the safety chains under the
tongue of the trailer
so that the tongue
will not drop to the road if it becomes
separated from the hitch. Instructions
about safety chains may be provided by
the hitch manufacturer or by the trailer
manufacturer. Follow the
manufacturer’s recommendation for
attaching safety chains. Always leave
just enough slack
so you can turn with
your rig. And, never allow safety chains to drag on the ground.
Trailer Brakes
Does your trailer have its own brakes?
Be sure to read and follow the
instructions for the trailer brakes
so
you’ll be able to install, adjust and
maintain them properly. And:
If your vehicle has anti-lock brakes,
do not
try to tap into your vehicle’s
brake system. If you do, both brake
systems won’t work well, or at all.
Even if your vehicle doesn’t have anti-
lock brakes, don’t tap into your
vehicle’s brake system
if the trailer’s
brake system will use more than
0.02
cubic inch (0.3 cc) of fluid from your
vehicle’s master cylinder. If it does,
both braking systems won’t work
well.
You could even lose your brakes.
Will the trailer brake parts take 3,000
psi (20 650 kPa) of pressure? If not,
the trailer brake system must not be
used with your vehicle.
If everything checks out this far, then
make the brake fluid tap at the upper
rear master cylinder port. But don’t
use copper tubing for this. If you do,
it will bend and finally break
off. Use
steel brake tubing.