warning light CHEVROLET VENTURE 1998 User Guide

Your vehicle’s hydraulic brake system is divided into
two
parts. If one part isn’t working, the other part can
still work and stop you. For good braking, though, you
need both
parts working well.
If
the warning light comes on, there could be a brake
problem. Have your brake system inspected right away.
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 floor.
It may take longer to stop. If the light is still on, or if the
anti-lock brake system warning light is flashing, have
the vehicle towed for service. (See “Anti-Lock Brake
System Warning Light” and “Towing Your Vehicle” in
the Index.)
BRAKE A CAUTION:
United States Canadian
This light should come on briefly when you turn
the ignition key to
RUN. If it doesn’t come on then,
have it fixed
so it will be ready to warn you if there’s
a problem.
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 or if the
anti-lock brake system warning light
is flashing
after you’ve pulled
off the road and stopped
carefully, have the vehicle towed for service.
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Ani- ?ck Brake System Warning Light
With the anti-lock brake
system, this light will
come on when you start
your engine and it will
stay on for three seconds.
That’s normal.
If the light flashes when you’re driving, you don’t have
anti-lock brakes and there could be a problem with your
regular brakes. 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 floor. It may take longer to stop.
Have the vehicle towed for service. (See “Towing Your
Vehicle” in the Index.)
A CAUTION:
Your regular brake system may not be working
properly if the anti-lock brake system warning
light is flashing. Driving with the anti-lock
brake system warning light flashing can lead
to an accident. After you’ve pulled off the road
and stopped carefully, have the vehicle towed
for service.
If the anti-lock brake system warning light stays on
longer than normal after you’ve started your engine, turn
the ignition off. Or, if the light comes on and stays on
when you’re 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’re driving, your vehicle needs service. If the
light is on but not flashing and the regular brake system
warning light isn’t on,
you still have brakes, but you
don’t have anti-lock brakes.
The anti-lock brake system warning light should come
on briefly when you turn the ignition key to
RUN. If the
light doesn’t
come on then, have it fixed so it will be
ready to warn you if there is a problem.
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Traction Control System Warning
Light (Option)
This warning light should
come on briefly as you
start
the engine. If the warning
light doesn’t come on then,
have
it fixed so it will be
ready to warn you if there’s a problem.
If it stays on, or comes on when you’re driving, there
may be a problem with your traction control system and
your vehicle may need service. When this warning light
is on, the system will not limit wheel spin. Adjust your
driving accordingly. The
traction control system warning light may come on
for the following reasons:
If there’s a brake system problem that is specifically
related to traction control, the traction control system will turn
off and the warning light will come on. If
your brakes begin
to overheat, the traction control
system will
turn off and the warning light will come
on until your brakes cool down.
0 If the traction control system is affected by an
engine-related problem, the system will
turn off and
the warning light will come
on.
If the traction control system warning light comes on
and stays on for an extended period
of time when the
system
is turned on, your vehicle needs service.
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Engine Temperature Warning Light
This light will come on
when your engine gets
too hot.
Low Coolant Light
If this light comes on,
your system is low on
coolant and the engine
may overheat.
If this light comes on, 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. See
“Engine Coolant” in the Index and have your
vehicle serviced as soon as possible.
In “Problems on the Road,” this manual shows what to
do. See “Engine Overheating” in the Index.
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This will be detected by the system and cause the light
to turn on.
If you experience one or more of these conditions,
change the fuel brand you use. It
will require at least one
full tank of the proper fuel to turn the light off.
If none of the above steps have made the light turn off,
have your dealer or qualified service center check the
vehicle. Your dealer has the proper test equipment and
diagnostic tools to
fix any mechanical or electrical
problems that may have developed.
Oil Pressure Light
Your vehicle is equipped
with an oil pressure warning
light. Your oil pressure light
lets you know when you
may have a problem with
your engine
oil pressure.
When the engine is running and this light comes on, the
engine oil level may be too low. There may
also be
another problem causing low oil pressure. Don’t
keep driving if the
oil pressure is low. If
you do, your engine can become so hot that it
catches fire. You or others could be burned.
Check your
oil as soon as possible and have your
vehicle serviced.
NOTICE:
r
Damage to your engine from neglected oil
problems can be costly and
is not covered by
your warranty.
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Low Oil Level Light
r I If this light comes on, it
means your engine is low
on oil.
LWEL
You need to check the oil level right away. Have your
vehicle serviced immediately.
Door Ajar Light
- This light will come on if
any of the doors or the
liftgate are not completely
closed and the ignition is
turned
to RUN or START.
Power Sliding Door Warning Light
1 ' This light will come on if
the power sliding door is
not completely closed and
the ignition is turned
to
RUN or START. i ill
If you shift the transaxle out of PARK (P) while the
power sliding door is open
or in the process of closing,
and the power sliding door override feature is disabled,
a buzzer will sound. This is a warning that the power
sliding door is not completely closed.
1 A C. U [ON:
If you shift the transaxle out of PARK (P) and
accelerate before the power sliding door latches
closed, the door may reverse to the open position.
A child or others could fall out of the vehicle and
be injured. Always make sure the power sliding door
is closed and latched before you drive away.
I
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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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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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City Driving
One of the biggest problems with city streets is the
amount of traffic on them. You’ll want to watch out for
what the other drivers are doing
and pay attention to
traffic signals. Here
are ways
to increase your safety in city driving:
Know the best way to get to where you are
going. Get a city map and plan your trip into an
unknown part of the city just as you would for a
cross-country trip.
Try to use the freeways that rim and crisscross most
large cities. You’ll save time and energy.
(See the
next part, “Freeway Driving.”)
0 Treat a green light as a warning signal. A traffic
light is there because the corner
is busy enough to
need it. When a light turns green,
and just before you
start to move, check both ways for vehicles that have
not cleared the intersection or may be running the
red light.
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