ESP CHEVROLET VENTURE 1998 Owners Manual

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.
e.@ If my vehicle has air bags, why should I have to
wear safety belts?
A: Air bags are in many vehicles today and will be in
most 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 km/h).
Safety belts are for everyone.
1-40
ProCarManuals.com

Door Locks
I A CAUTION:
Unlocked doors can be dangerous.
Passengers
-- especially children -- can easily
open the doors and fall out. When
a door is
locked, the inside handle won’t open it.
Outsiders can easily enter through an unlocked
door when you slow down or stop your vehicle.
This may not be
so obvious: You increase the
chance of being thrown out
of the vehicle in a
crash if the doors aren’t locked. Wear safety belts
properly, lock your doors, and you will be far
better
off whenever you drive your vehicle. There are several ways
to lock and unlock your vehicle.
From the outside,
use your key or the remote keyless
entry transmitter (if your vehicle has this option).
To unlock either front door from the outside with
the key, insert the key and turn
it toward the front of
the vehicle.
You can lock either front door from the outside with
your key by inserting and turning
it toward the rear of
the vehicle.
2-4
ProCarManuals.com

Theft Parking at Night
Vehicle theft is big business, especially in some cities.
Although your vehicle 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 leave 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. 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 where someone will be watching
your vehicle, it’s best to lock it up and take your key.
But what if you have to leave your key? What if you
have to leave something valuable in your vehcle?
Put your valuables in a storage area, like your
glove box.
0 Lock all the doors except the driver’s.
2-22
ProCarManuals.com

Daytime Running Lamps
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) can make it easier
for others to see the front of your vehicle during the
day. DRL can be helpful in many different driving
conditions, but they can be especially helpful in the
short periods after dawn and before sunset.
A light sensor on top of the instrument panel makes the
DRL work,
so be sure it isn’t covered. The DRL system
will make front parking and turn signal lamps come on
in daylight when:
The ignition is on,
0 the headlamp switch is off and
0 the parking brake is released.
When the DRL are on, only your front parking and turn
signal lamps will be on. Your instrument panel won’t be
lit up.
When it’s dark enough outside, the exterior lamps will
come on automatically. When
it’s bright enough outside,
the exterior lamps will go out and the DRL will turn
on.
Of course, you may still turn on the headlamps any time
you need to.
To idle your vehicle with the DRL or exterior lamps
off, set the parking brake while the ignition is in
OFF
or LOCK. Then start the vehicle. The DRL will stay off
until you release the parking brake.
As with any vehicle, you should turn on the regular
headlamp system when
you need it.
Interior Lamps
Instrument Panel Intensity Control
Turn the control, located below the headlamps switch,
to the right to increase the brightness of the instrument
panel lights, and
to the left to decrease the brightness.
Turn the control all the way to the left to turn them
off.
Interior Lamps Control
Turn the dial all the way to the right to turn on the
interior lamps, if the interior lamps override switch is
off. Turn the dial to
the left to turn the lamps off.
2-61
ProCarManuals.com

Understanding Radio Reception
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 pick
up noise from things like storms and power lines. Try
reducing the treble to reduce this noise if you ever get
it.
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.
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:
0 Adjust the volume control to the lowest setting.
0 Increase volume slowly until you hear comfortably
and clearly.
NOTICE:
I
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 Electronics radio or
other systems, and even damage them. 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.
3-29
ProCarManuals.com

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.
I
Drinking and then driving is very dangerous.
Your reflexes, perceptions, attentiveness and
judgment can be affected by even
a small amount
of alcohol. You can have
a serious -- or even
fatal
-- collision if you drive after drinking.
Please don’t drink and drive or ride with a driver
who has been drinking. Ride home in
a cab; or if
you’re with
a group, designate a driver who will
not drink.
4-5
ProCarManuals.com

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.)
4-9
ProCarManuals.com

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.
4-10
ProCarManuals.com

Do not get too close to the vehicle you want to
pass whde 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.
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.
0 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.
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.
0 Don’t overtake a slowly moving vehicle too rapidly.
Even though the brake lamps 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 rieht.
4-14
ProCarManuals.com

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 vehicle’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.
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’ll\

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 engine braking 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.
Remember: Any anti-lock brake system
(ABS) helps
avoid only the braking skid.
ProCarManuals.com