brake light CHEVROLET VENTURE 1998 User Guide

Low Traction Light (Option)
LOW
TRACTION
If your vehicle has the
traction control system,
there will be a LOW
TRACTION light on
the instrument panel.
When your anti-lock system
is adjusting brake pressure
to help avoid
a braking skid, or when your traction
control system is limiting wheel spin, the LOW
TRACTION light will come on. Slippery road
conditions may exist if this light comes
on, so adjust
your driving accordingly. The light will come on and
stay on for four seconds when your anti-lock system
adjusts brake pressure for less than four seconds or
when your traction control system limits wheel spin
for less than four seconds. Otherwise, the light will
go
out as soon as the anti-lock system stops adjusting
brake pressure or the traction control system stops
limiting wheel spin.
The
LOW TRACTION light also comes on briefly,
as a bulb check, when the engine is started. If the light
doesn’t come on then, have it fixed
so it will be there to
tell you when the system is active.
Engine Coolant Temperature Gage

C
%
125
%
United States
I
Canadian
This gage shows the engine coolant temperature. If
the gage pointer moves into the red area, your engine
is too hot!
It means that your engine coolant has overheated. If you
have been operating your vehicle under normal driving
conditions, you should pull off the road, stop your vehicle and turn
off the engine as soon as possible.
In “Problems on the Road,” this manual shows you what
to do. See “Engine Overheating” in the Index.
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Fr. __ Gage
E
EQ
United States Canadian
Your fuel
gage tells you about how much fuel you have
left, when the ignition is on. When the gage first
indicates
EMPTY (E), you still have a little fuel left, but
you should get more soon.
After filling the fuel tank, the gage will not read
FULL
(F) until the ignition is turned on.
Here
are four things that some owners ask about. None
of these show a problem with your fuel gage:
0 At the service station, the gas pump shuts off before
the gage reads FULL
(F).
0 It takes a little more or less fuel to fill up than the gage
indicated.
For example, the gage may have indicated
the
tank was half Eull, but it actually took a little more
or less than half the tank‘s capacity to fill the tank.
0 The gage moves a little when you turn a corner,
brake or speed up.
0 The gage doesn’t go back to EMPTY (E) when you
turn off the ignition.
Low Fuel Warning Light
If your fuel is low, the
warning light next to the
fuel gage will go on and stay on until you add fuel.
If the warning light is still on after adding fuel, you need
to reset the warning light.
To reset the warning light,
turn the ignition to OFF then to
ON. If the light stays on,
see your dealer for service.
This light will also come on when you turn on the
ignition, but the engine is not running, to show you
it is
working. If it doesn’t come on as you start your vehicle,
have it fixed right away.
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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.
I - .Lock P
rour 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, 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 a little. (You may
also hear a clicking
noise if you leave the ignition in the
RUN position for
about four seconds before starting the vehicle.) This
is normal.
‘;es (ABS)
If there’s a problem with the
anti-lock brake system, this
warning light will stay on or
flash. See “Anti-Lock
Brake System Warning
Light”
in the Index.
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Remember: Anti-lock doesn’t 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 won’t 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
anti-lock brakes.
Using Anti-Lock
Don’t pump the brakes. Just hold the brake pedal down
firmly and let anti-lock work for you. You may feel a
slight brake pedal pulsation or notice some noise, but
this is normal.
LOW
TRACTION
If your vehicle has the
traction control system, this
light will come on when
your anti-lock system is
adjusting brake pressure to
help avoid
a braking skid.
See
“Low Traction Light” in the Index.
Traction Control System (If Equipped)
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 works
the front brakes and reduces engine
power to limit wheel spin.
LOW
TRACTION
’ This light will come on
when the traction control
system is limiting wheel
spin. See “Low Traction
Light”
in the Index.
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
reengage the cruise control. (See “Cruise Control”
in the Index.)
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This light should come
on briefly when you start #- -
:TCS: 1 0
the engine. If it stays
on
or comes on while you
are driving, there’s a
problem with your traction
d control system.
See “Traction Control System Warning Light” in the
Index. When this warning light
is on, the system will not
limit wheel spin. Adjust your driving accordingly.
The traction control system automatically comes
on
whenever you start your vehicle. To limit wheel spin,
especially in slippery road conditions, you should
always leave the system on. But you can turn the
traction control system off if you ever need to. (You
should turn the system off if your vehicle ever gets stuck
in sand, mud, ice or snow. See “Rocking Your Vehicle”
in the Index.)
7
C
C
C
(
L
To turn the system off, press
the
TCS symbol on the
bottom
of the button in the
center console switchbank.
The indicator light on the
traction control button will
go
off.
If the system is limiting wheel spin when you press the
button,
the indicator light will go off, but the system will
not turn
off until there is no longer a current need to
limit wheel spin. You can turn the system back
on at any
time by pressing the button again. The traction control
system warning light should go
off.
Braking in Emergencies
With anti-lock, you can steer and brake at the same
time. In many emergencies, steering can help you more
than even the very best braking.
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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.
A CAUTION:
Wet brakes can cause accidents. They won’t work
as well in a quick stop and may cause pulling to
one side.
You could lose control of the vehicle.
After driving through a large puddle of water or
a car wash, apply your brake pedal lightly until
your brakes work normally.
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2. Get the vehicles close enough so the jumper cables
can reach, but be sure the vehicles aren’t touching
each other.
If they are, it could cause a ground
connection
you don’t want. You wouldn’t be able to
start your vehicle, and the bad grounding could
damage the electrical systems.
I NOTICE:
To avoid the possibility of the vehicles rolling, set
the parking brake firmly on both vehicles
involved in the jump
start procedure. Put an
automatic transaxle in PARK
(P).
NOTICE:
If you leave your radio on, it could be badly
damaged. The repairs wouldn’t be covered by
your warranty.
3. Turn off the ignition on both vehicles. Unplug
unnecessary accessories plugged into the cigarette
lighter or the accessory power outlet. Turn
off all
lamps that aren’t needed as well as radios. This will
avoid sparks and help save both batteries. In
addition, it could save your radio!
4. Open the hoods and locate the batteries. Find
the positive
(+) and negative (-) terminals on
each battery.
I CAUTION:
An electric fan can start up even when the engine
is not running and can injure you. Keep hands,
clothing and tools
away from any underhood
electric fan.
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There are only two reasons why the brake fluid level
in the reservoir might
go down. The first is that the
brake fluid goes down to
an acceptable level during
normal brake lining wear. When new linings are put
in,
the fluid level goes back up. The other reason is that
fluid is leaking out of the brake system. If it is, you
should have your brake system fixed, since a leak means
that sooner or later your brakes won’t work well, or
won’t work at all.
So, it isn’t a good idea to “top off’ your brake fluid.
Adding brake fluid won’t correct a leak. If you add fluid
when your linings are worn, then you’ll have too much
fluid when you get new brake linings. You should add
(or remove) brake fluid, as necessary, only when work
is
done on the brake hydraulic system.
I A CAUTAN:
If you have too much brake fluid, it can spill
on the engine. The fluid will burn
if the engine
is hot enough.
You or others could be burned,
and your vehicle
could be damaged. Add brake
fluid only when work
is done on the brake
hydraulic system.
BRAKE
United States Canadian
When your brake fluid falls to a low level, your brake
warning light will come on. See “Brake System Warning
Light” in the Index.
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Brake Wear
Your vehicle has front disc brakes and rear drum brakes.
Disc brake pads have built-in wear indicators that
make a high-pitched warning sound when the brake
pads are
worn and new pads are needed. The sound
may come and
go or be heard all the time your vehicle
is moving (except when you are pushing on the brake
pedal firmly).
A CAUTION:
The brake wear warning sound means that soon
your brakes won’t work well. That could lead to
an accident. When you hear the brake wear
warning sound, have your vehicle serviced.
NOTICE:
Continuing to drive with worn-out brake pads
could result in costly brake repair.
Some driving conditions or climates may cause a
brake squeal when the brakes are first applied or lightly
applied. This does not mean something is wrong with
your brakes.
Properly torqued wheel nuts are necessary
to help
prevent brake pulsation. When tires are rotated, inspect
brake pads for wear and evenly torque wheel nuts
in the
proper sequence
to GM specifications.
Your rear drum brakes don’t have wear indicators, but
if you ever hear a rear brake rubbing noise, have the
rear brake linings inspected immediately. Also, the rear
brake drums should be removed and inspected each time
the tires are removed
for rotation or changing. When
you have the front brake pads replaced, have the rear
brakes inspected,
too.
Brake linings should always be replaced as complete
axle sets.
See “Brake System Inspection” in Section 7 of this
manual under
Part C “Periodic Maintenance
Inspections.”
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0 Section 9 Index
Accessory Inflator System ....................... 2-78
Accessory Power Outlet
.......................... 2-80
Adding Equipment to the Outside Of Your Vehicle
...... 6-3
Adjusting the Bucket Seats
....................... 1-27
Adjusting the Split Bench Seat
.................... 1- 19
Air Bag
....................................... 1-50
How Does it Restrain
.......................... 1-55
Howitworks
................................ 1-52
Location
.................................... 1-52
Readiness Light
......................... 1.52. 2.87
Servicing
................................... 1-58
System
..................................... 1-50
What Makes it Inflate
.......................... 1-55
What Will You See After
it Inflates ............... 1-56
When Should
it Inflate ......................... 1-54
Aircleaner
.................................... 6-15
Air Conditioning
................................ 3-3
Air Conditioning Refrigerants
..................... 6-66
Air Filter Replacement. Passenger Compartment ...... 6-16
AirInflator
.................................... 2-78
Alignment and Balance. Tire
...................... 6-46
Aluminum Wheels. Cleaning
...................... 6-53
Antenna. Integrated Windshield
.................... 3-32
Antifreeze
..................................... 6-21
Anti-Lock Brakes
...................................... 4-7
Brake System Warning Light
................ 2-89, 4-7 Appearance Care
............................... 6-48
Appearance Care Materials
....................... 6-55
Ashtray
....................................... 2-77
Audio Systems
.................................. 3-9
Automatic Door Locks
............................ 2-6
Automatic Overdrive
............................ 2-32
Automatic Transaxle Check
....................... 7-30
Automatic Transaxle Fluid
........................ 6-18
Howtocheck
............................... 6-18
When to Check and Change
..................... 6-18
Automatic Transaxle Operation
.................... 2-30
Shifting
..................................... 2-30
Automatic Transaxle Park Mechanism Check
......... 7-32
Battery
...................................... 6-30
Jump Starting
................................. 5-3
Warnings
................................ 5.3. 5.5
BatterySaver .................................. 2-65
BBB Auto Line
................................. 8-9
Before Leaving on a Long Trip
.................... 4-23
Better Business Bureau Mediation
................... 8-9
Blizzard
...................................... 4-28
HOW to
Add
................................. 6-20
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