ESP CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO 1995 5.G Owners Manual

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Here Are Questions Many People Ask
About Safety Belts -- and the Answers
Q: Won’t I be trapped in the vehicle after an
accident if
I’m wearing a safety belt?
A: You could be -- whether you’re wearing a safety
belt or not. But you can unbuckle a safety belt,
even if you’re upside down. And your chance of
being conscious during and after an accident,
so
you can unbuckle and get out, is much greater if
you are belted.
Why don’t they just put in air bags so people
won’t have to wear safety belts?
A: Air bags are in many vehicles today and will be
in more of them in the future. But they are
supplemental systems only;
so they work with
safety belts -- not instead of them. Every air bag
system ever offered for sale has required the use
of
safety belts. Even if you’re in a vehicle that has air
bags, you still have to buckle up to get the most
protection. That’s true not only in frontal collisions,
but especially in side and other collisions.
If I’m a good driver, and I never drive far from
home, why should I wear safety belts?
A: You may be an excellent driver, but if you’re in an
accident
-- even one that isn’t your fault -- you and
your passengers can be hurt. Being a good driver
doesn’t protect you from things beyond your
control, such as bad drivers.
Most accidents occur within
25 miles (40 km) of
home. And the greatest number
of serious injuries
and deaths occur at speeds of less than
40 mph
(65 kdh).
Safety belts are for everyone.
1-10

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Glove Box
Use the door key to lock and unlock the glove box. To
open, lift the latch.
Theft
Vehicle theft is big business, especially in some cities.
Although your Chevrolet has a number of theft deterrent
features, we know that nothing we put on it
can make it
impossible to steal. However, there are ways you can help.
Key in the Ignition
If you walk away from your vehicle with the keys
inside, it’s
an easy target for joy riders or professional
thieves
-- so don’t do it. When you
park your Chevrolet and open the driver’s
door, you’ll hear a chime reminding you
to remove your
key from the ignition and take it with you. Always do
this. Your steering wheel will be locked, and
so will
your ignition and transaxle. And remember to lock the
doors.
Parking at Night
Park in a lighted spot, close all windows and lock your
vehicle. Remember to keep your valuables out
of sight.
Put them in
a storage area, or take them with you.
Parking Lots
If you park in a lot wheresomeone will be watching
your vehicle, it’s best
to lock it up and take your keys.
But what
if you have to leave your ignition key? What if
you have to leave something valuable in your vehicle?
0 Put your valuables in a storage area, like your trunk
or glove box.
0 Lock the glove box.
0 Lock all the doors except the driver’s.
0 Then take the door key with you.
2-8

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Understanding Radio Reception
FM Stereo
FM Stereo will give you the best sound, but FM signals
will reach only about
10 to 40 miles (16 to 65 km). Tall
buildings or hills can interfere with
FM signals, causing
the sound
to come and go.
AM
The range for most AM stations is greater than for FM,
especially at night. The longer range, however, can
cause stations to interfere with each other.
AM can also
pick up noise from things like storms and power lines.
To lower this noise, try reducing the treble level.
Tips About Your Audio System
Hearing damage from loud noise is almost undetectable
until it is too late. Your hearing can adapt to higher
volumes of sound. Sound that seems normal can be
loud and harmful to your hearing. Take precautions by
adjusting the volume control on your radio
to a safe
sound level before your hearing adapts to it. To
help avoid hearing loss or damage:
Adjust the volume control to the lowest setting.
Increase volume slowly until you hear Comfortably
and clearly.
NOTICE:
Before you add any sound equipment to your
vehicle
-- like a tape player, CB radio, mobile
telephone or two-way radio
-- be sure you,
can add what you want.
If you can, it’s very
important to do
it properly. Added sound
equipment may interfere with the operation
of your vehicle’s engine, Delco@ radio or other
systems, and even damage them. And, your
vehicle’s systems may interfere with the
operation of sound equipment that has been
added improperly.
So, before adding sound equipment, check with
your dealer and be sure to check Federal rules
covering mobile radio and telephone units.
3-15

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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. “I’ll be careful” 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.
4-4

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Passing
The driver of a vehicle about to pass another on a
two-lane highway waits for just the right moment,
accelerates, moves around the vehicle ahead,
then goes
back into the right lane again. A simple maneuver?
Not necessarily! Passing another vehicle on a two-lane
highway is a potentially dangerous move, since the
passing vehicle occupies the same lane
as oncoming
traffic for several seconds. A miscalculation, an error in
judgment, or a brief surrender to frustration or anger can
suddenly put the passing driver face to face with the
worst of all traffic accidents
-- the head-on collision.
So here are some tips for passing:
0 “Drive ahead.” Look down the road, to the sides, and
to crossroads for situations that might affect your
passing patterns.
If you have any doubt whatsoever
about making a successful pass, wait for a better time.
0 Watch for traffic signs, pavement markings, and lines.
If
you can see a sign up ahead that might indicate a
turn or an intersection, delay your pass. A broken
center
line usually indicates it’s all right to pass
(providing the road ahead is clear). Never cross a solid
line on your side of the lane or a double solid line,
even if the road seems empty
of approaching traffic.
0 Do not get too close to the vehicle you want to pass
while you’re awaiting an opportunity. For one thing,
following too closely reduces your area
of vision,
especially if you’re following a larger vehicle. Also,
you won’t have adequate space if the vehicle ahead
suddenly slows or stops. Keep back a reasonable
distance.
0 When it looks like a chance to pass is coming up,
start to accelerate but stay
in the right lane and
don’t get too close. Time your move
so you will be
increasing speed
as the time comes to move into the
other lane. If the way
is clear to pass, you will have a
“running start” that more than makes up for the
distance you would lose by dropping back. And if
something happens to cause you to cancel your pass,
you need only slow down and drop back again and
wait for another opportunity.
If other cars are lined up to pass a slow vehicle, wait
your turn.
But take care that someone isn’t trying to
pass
you as you pull out to pass the slow vehicle.
Remember to glance over your shoulder and check
the blind spot.
4-11

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Check your mirrors, glance over your shoulder, and
start your left lane change signal before moving out
of the right lane to pass. When you are far enough
ahead of the passed vehicle
to see its front in your
inside mirror, activate your right lane change signal
and move back into the right lane. (Remember that
your right outside mirror is convex. The vehicle you
just passed may seem to be farther away from you
than it really
is.)
Try not to pass more than one vehicle at a time on
two-lane roads. Reconsider before passing the next
vehicle.
Don’t overtake a slowly moving vehicle too rapidly.
Even though the brake lights are not flashing, it may
be slowing down or starting to turn.
0 If you’re being passed, make it easy for the
following driver
to get ahead of you. Perhaps you
can ease a little to the right.
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.
4-12

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Here are some tips on night driving.
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Drive defensively.
Don’t drink and drive.
Adjust your inside rearview mirror to reduce the
glare from headlamps behind you.
Since
you can’t see as well, you may need to slow
down and keep more space between you and other
vehicles.
Slow down, especially on higher speed roads. Your
headlamps can light up only
so much road ahead.
In remote areas, watch for animals.
If you’re tired, pull off the road in a safe place and
rest.
Night Vision
No one can see as well at night as in the daytime. But as
we get older these differences increase. A 50-year-old
driver may require at least twice
as much light to see the
same thing at night
as a 20-year-old.
What you do in the daytime can also affect your night
vision. For example,
if you spend the day in bright
sunshine you are wise to wear sunglasses. Your eyes will have less trouble adjusting to night.
But if
you’re
driving, don’t wear sunglasses at night. They may cut
down on glare from headlamps, but they also make a lot
of things invisible.
You can be temporarily blinded by approaching
headlamps. It can take
a second or two, or even several
seconds, for your eyes to readjust to
the dark. When you
are faced
with severe glare (as from a driver who
doesn’t lower the high beams, or
a vehicle with
misaimed headlamps), slow down
a little. Avoid staring
directly into the approaching headlamps.
Keep your windshield and all the glass on your vehicle
clean
-- inside and out. Glare at night is made much
worse by dirt on the glass. Even the inside
of the glass
can build up
a film caused by dust. Dirty glass makes
lights dazzle and flash more than clean glass would,
making
the pupils of your eyes contract repeatedly.
Remember that your headlamps light up far less of a
roadway when you are in
a turn or curve. Keep your
eyes moving; that way, it’s easier
to pick out dimly
lighted objects. Just
as your headlamps should be
checked regularly for proper aim,
so should your eyes
be examined regularly. Some drivers suffer from night
blindness
-- the inability to see in dim light -- and
aren’t even aware of
it.
4-14

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Driving too fast through large water puddles or even
going through some car washes can cause problems, too.
The water may affect your brakes. Try to avoid puddles.
But if
you can’t, try to slow down before YOU hit them.
Hydroplaning
Hydroplaning is dangerous. So much water can build up
under your tires that they can actually ride on the water.
This can happen
if the road is wet enough and you’re
going fast enough. When your vehicle is hydroplaning,
it has little or no contact with the road. Hydroplaning
doesn’t happen often. But it
can if your
tires haven’t much tread or if the pressure
in one or
more is low. It can happen
if a lot of water is standing on
the road. If
you can see reflections from trees, telephone
poles, or other vehicles, and raindrops “dimple” the
water’s surface, there could be hydroplaning.
Hydroplaning usually happens at higher speeds. There
just isn’t a hard and fast rule about hydroplaning. The
best advice is to slow down when
it is raining.
Some Other Rainy Weather Tips
Turn on your low-beam headlamps -- not just your
parking lamps
-- to help make you more visible to
others.
Besides slowing down, allow some extra following
distance. And be especially careful when you pass
another vehicle. Allow yourself more clear room
ahead, and be prepared to have your view restricted
by road spray.
Have good tires with proper tread depth. (See
“Tires”
in the Index.)
4-16

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Driving with a Trailer
Towing a trailer requires a certain amount of experience.
Before setting out for the open road, you’ll want to get
to know your rig. Acquaint yourself with the feel of
handling and braking with the added weight of the
trailer. And always keep in mind that the vehicle
you are
driving is now
a good deal longer and not nearly as
responsive
as your vehicle is by itself.
Before you start, check the trailer hitch and platform
(and attachments), safety chains, electrical connector,
lamps, tires and mirror adjustment. If the trailer has
electric brakes, start your vehicle and trailer moving and
then apply the trailer brake controller by hand to be sure
the brakes are working. This lets you check your
electrical connection at the same time.
During your trip, check occasionally to be sure that the
load
is secure, and that the lamps and any trailer brakes
are still working.
Following Distance
Stay at least twice as far behind the vehicle ahead as you
would when driving your vehicle without a trailer. This
can
help you avoid situations that require heavy braking
and sudden turns.
Passing
You’ll need more passing distance up ahead when
you’re towing a trailer. And, because you’re a good deal
longer, you’ll need to go much farther beyond the
passed vehicle before you can return
to your lane.
Backing Up
Hold the bottom of the steering wheel with one hand.
Then, to move the trailer to the left, just move that hand
to
the left. To move the trailer to the right, move your
hand to the right. Always back up slowly and, if
possible, have someone guide you.
Making Turns
I NOTICE:
Making very sharp turns while trailering could
cause the trailer to come in contact with the
vehicle.
Your vehicle could be damaged. Avoid
making very sharp turns while trailering.
When you’re turning with a trailer, make wider turns than
normal.
Do this so your trailer won’t strike soft shoulders,
curbs, road signs, trees, or other objects. Avoid jerky or
sudden maneuvers. Signal well
in advance.
4-32

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine When You Are Ready to Leave After
Parking on a Hill
1. Apply your regular brakes and hold the pedal down
while you:
Start your engine;
Shift into a gear; and
Release the parking brake.
2. Let up on the brake pedal.
3. Drive slowly until the trailer is clear of the chocks.
4. Stop and have someone pick up and store the chocks.
Maintenance When Trailer Towing
Your vehicle will need service more often when you’re
pulling a trailer. See the Maintenance Schedule for more
on this. Things that are especially important in trailer
operation are automatic transaxle fluid (don’t overfill),
engine
oil, belts, cooling system, and brake adjustment.
Each
of these is covered in this manual, and the Index
will help you find them quickly. If you’re trailering, it’s
a good idea to review these sections before you start
your trip.
Check periodically
to see that all hitch nuts and bolts are
tight.