brake GMC ENVOY XL 2005 Owner's Manual

This light should come on briey when you turn the
ignition key to RUN. If it doesn’t come on then, have
it xed so it will be ready to warn you if there’s a
problem.
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 oor. It may take longer to stop. If the light is still
on, have the vehicle towed for service. SeeTowing
Your Vehicle on page 4-50.
{CAUTION:
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 after you have pulled off the road
and stopped carefully, have the vehicle towed
for service. United States
Canada
3-39

Anti-Lock Brake System
Warning Light
With the anti-lock brake
system, this light will come
on when you start your
engine and may stay on
for several seconds.
That’s normal. A chime
may also sound when
the light comes on.
If the light stays on, or comes on when you’re driving,
your vehicle needs service. If the regular brake
system warning light isn’t on, you still have brakes,
but you don’t have anti-lock brakes. If the regular
brake system warning light is also on, you don’t have
anti-lock brakes and there’s a problem with your regular
brakes. SeeBrake System Warning Light on page 3-38
earlier in this section.
The anti-lock brake system warning light should come
on briey when you turn the ignition key to RUN.
If the light doesn’t come on then, have it xed so it
will be ready to warn you if there is a problem.
Engine Coolant Temperature Gage
This gage shows the engine coolant temperature. If the
gage pointer moves into the red area, 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.
SeeEngine Overheating on page 5-26for more
information.
United StatesCanada
3-40

SERVICE BRAKE SYSTEM
If a problem occurs with the brake system this message
will appear on the DIC. If this message appears, stop
as soon as possible and turn off the vehicle. Restart the
vehicle and check for the message on the DIC display.
If the message is still displayed, or appears again when
you begin driving, the brake system needs service.
See your GM dealer.
TIGHTEN FUEL CAP
If the vehicle’s fuel cap is not tightened properly, this
message may appear on the DIC and a chime will
sound. Fully reinstall the fuel cap. SeeFilling the Tank
on page 5-8. The diagnostic system can determine
if the fuel cap has been left off or improperly installed.
A loose or missing fuel cap will allow fuel to evaporate
into the atmosphere. The DIC message will remain
on until the message is cancelled with the return button
on the steering wheel. The DIC message will also be
cancelled if the ignition is turned off.
The DIC message and the Service Engine Soon light
may come on again during a second trip if the fuel cap
is still not tightened properly. SeeMalfunction Indicator
Lamp on page 3-41for more information.
TURN SIGNAL ON
If a turn signal is left on for 3/4 of a mile (1.2 km), this
message will appear on the display and you will hear a
chime. Move the turn signal/multifunction lever to the
off position. Press the select button to acknowledge this
message and clear it from the DIC display.
DIC Vehicle Customization
Your vehicle may have customization capabilities that
allow you to program some features to one setting
based on your preference. All of the customizable
options listed may not be available on your vehicle.
Only the options available will be displayed on
your Driver Information Center (DIC).
The default settings for the customization features were
set when your vehicle left the factory, but may have
been changed from their default state since then.
To change feature preferences, make sure the ignition
is on and the vehicle is in PARK (P).
Press the customization button to scroll through the
available customizable options.
After pressing the customization button, VEHICLE
SETTINGS will momentarily display before going to
a customization option.
3-56

Audio System(s)
Notice:Before adding any sound equipment to
your vehicle, such as an audio system, CD player,
CB radio, mobile telephone, or two-way radio,
make sure that it can be added by checking with
your dealer. Also, check federal rules covering
mobile radio and telephone units. If sound
equipment can be added, it is very important to do
it properly. Added sound equipment may interfere
with the operation of your vehicle’s engine, radio,
or other systems, and even damage them. Your
vehicle’s systems may interfere with the operation
of sound equipment that has been added.
Notice:The chime signals related to seat belts,
parking brake, and other functions of your vehicle
operate through the GM radio/entertainment
system. If that equipment is replaced or additional
equipment is added to your vehicle, the chimes may
not work. Make sure that replacement or additional
equipment is compatible with your vehicle before
installing it.
Figure out which audio system is in your vehicle, nd
out what your audio system can do, and how to operate
all of its controls.Your vehicle has a feature called Retained Accessory
Power (RAP). With RAP, the audio system can be
played even after the ignition is turned off. SeeRetained
Accessory Power (RAP) on page 2-21for more
information.
Setting the Time
The radio may have a button marked with an H or HR to
represent hours and an M or MN to represent minutes.
Press and hold the hour button until the correct hour
appears on the display. AM or PM will appear on
the display for morning or evening hours. Press and
hold the minute button until the correct minute appears
on the display. The time can be set with the ignition
on or off.
To synchronize the time with an FM station broadcasting
Radio Data System (RDS) information, press and
hold the hour and minute buttons at the same time for
two seconds until UPDATED and the clock symbol
appear on the display. If the time is not available from
the station, NO UPDAT will appear on the display.
RDS time is broadcast once a minute. After tuning to an
RDS broadcast station, it may take a few minutes for
the time to update.
3-62

Your Driving, the Road, and Your Vehicle..........4-2
Defensive Driving...........................................4-2
Drunken Driving.............................................4-2
Control of a Vehicle........................................4-5
Braking.........................................................4-5
Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS).........................4-6
Braking in Emergencies...................................4-8
Traction Assist System (TAS)...........................4-8
Locking Rear Axle........................................4-10
Steering......................................................4-10
Off-Road Recovery.......................................4-12
Passing.......................................................4-12
Loss of Control.............................................4-13
Off-Road Driving with Your Four-Wheel-Drive
Vehicle....................................................4-15
Driving at Night............................................4-28
Driving in Rain and on Wet Roads..................4-29City Driving..................................................4-32
Freeway Driving...........................................4-33
Before Leaving on a Long Trip.......................4-34
Highway Hypnosis........................................4-35
Hill and Mountain Roads................................4-36
Winter Driving..............................................4-38
If Your Vehicle is Stuck in Sand, Mud,
Ice or Snow..............................................4-42
Rocking Your Vehicle to Get It Out.................4-43
Loading Your Vehicle....................................4-43
Adding a Snow Plow or Similar Equipment.......4-50
Towing..........................................................4-50
Towing Your Vehicle.....................................4-50
Recreational Vehicle Towing...........................4-50
Towing a Trailer...........................................4-55
Section 4 Driving Your Vehicle
4-1

Your Driving, the Road, and
Your Vehicle
Defensive Driving
The best advice anyone can give about driving is:
Drive defensively.
Please start with a very important safety device in your
vehicle: Buckle up. SeeSafety Belts: They Are for
Everyone on page 1-12.
Defensive driving really means “be ready for anything.”
On city streets, rural roads, or freeways, it means
“always expect the unexpected.”
Assume that pedestrians or other drivers are going to
be careless and make mistakes. Anticipate what
they might do. Be ready for their mistakes.
Rear-end collisions are about the most preventable of
accidents. Yet they are common. Allow enough following
distance. It is the best defensive driving maneuver, in
both city and rural driving. You never know when
the vehicle in front of you is going to brake or
turn suddenly.
Defensive driving requires that a driver concentrate on
the driving task. Anything that distracts from the driving
task — such as concentrating on a cellular telephone call,
reading, or reaching for something on the oor — makesproper defensive driving more difficult and can even
cause a collision, with resulting injury. Ask a passenger to
help do things like this, or pull off the road in a safe place
to do them yourself. These simple defensive driving
techniques could save your life.Drunken Driving
Death and injury associated with drinking and driving is
a national tragedy. It is the number one contributor
to the highway death toll, claiming thousands of victims
every year.
Alcohol affects four things that anyone needs to drive
a vehicle:
Judgment
Muscular Coordination
Vision
Attentiveness
Police records show that almost half of all motor
vehicle-related deaths involve alcohol. In most cases,
these deaths are the result of someone who was
drinking and driving. In recent years, more than
16,000 annual motor vehicle-related deaths have been
associated with the use of alcohol, with more than
300,000 people injured.
4-2

{CAUTION:
Drinking and then driving is very dangerous.
Your reexes, 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 do not drink and drive or ride with a
driver who has been drinking. Ride home in a
cab; or if you are with a group, designate a
driver who will not drink.
Control of a Vehicle
You have three systems that make your vehicle go
where you want it to go. They are the brakes, the
steering, and the accelerator. All three systems have
to do their work at the places where the tires meet
the road.
Sometimes, as when you are driving on snow or ice, it
is easy to ask more of those control systems than
the tires and road can provide. That means you can
lose control of your vehicle.
Braking
Braking action involves perception time and
reaction time.
First, you have to decide to push on the brake pedal.
That is perception time. Then you have to bring up your
foot and do it. That is reaction time.
Average reaction time is about three-fourths of a
second. But that is only an average. It might be less
with one driver and as long as two or three seconds or
more with another. Age, physical condition, alertness,
coordination, and eyesight all play a part. So do alcohol,
drugs, and frustration. But even in three-fourths of a
second, a vehicle moving at 60 mph (100 km/h) travels
66 feet (20 m). That could be a lot of distance in an
emergency, so keeping enough space between
your vehicle and others is important.
And, of course, actual stopping distances vary greatly
with the surface of the road, whether it is pavement
or gravel; the condition of the road, whether it is
wet, dry, or icy; tire tread; the condition of your brakes;
the weight of the vehicle; and the amount of brake
force applied.
4-5

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 are driving, brake
normally but do not 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.Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS)
Your vehicle has anti-lock brakes. ABS is an advanced
electronic braking system that will help prevent a
braking skid.
When you start your engine and 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. This is normal.
If there is a problem with
the anti-lock brake system,
this warning light will
stay on. SeeAnti-Lock
Brake System Warning
Light on page 3-40.
Along with ABS, your vehicle has a Dynamic Rear
Proportioning (DRP) system. If there is a DRP problem,
both the brake and ABS warning lights will come on
accompanied by a 10-second chime. The lights
and chime will come on each time the ignition is
turned on until the problem is repaired. See your dealer
for service.
4-6

Let us say the road is wet and you are driving safely.
Suddenly, an animal jumps out in front of you. You slam
on the brakes and continue braking. Here is what
happens with ABS:
A computer senses that wheels are slowing down. If
one of the wheels is about to stop rolling, the computer
will separately work the brakes at each front wheel
and at both rear wheels.The anti-lock system can change the brake pressure
faster than any driver could. The computer is
programmed to make the most of available tire and road
conditions. This can help you steer around the obstacle
while braking hard.
As you brake, your computer keeps receiving updates
on wheel speed and controls braking pressure
accordingly.
4-7

Remember: Anti-lock does not 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 will not 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
Do not pump the brakes. Just hold the brake pedal
down rmly and let anti-lock work for you. You may feel
the brakes vibrate, or you may notice some noise,
but this is normal.
Braking in Emergencies
With anti-lock brakes, you can steer and brake at the
same time. In many emergencies, steering can help you
more than even the very best braking.
Traction Assist System (TAS)
Your two-wheel drive vehicle may have a Traction
Assist System (TAS) 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
rear wheels are spinning or beginning to lose traction.
When this happens, the system reduces engine
power to limit wheel spin.The low traction symbol next to the button will come on
when the TAS is limiting wheel spin. You may feel or
hear the system working, but this is normal.
The Traction Assist System may operate on dry roads
under some conditions. When this happens, you
may notice a reduction in acceleration. This is normal
and doesn’t mean there’s a problem with your vehicle.
Examples of these conditions include a hard
acceleration in a turn, an abrupt upshift or downshift of
the transmission or driving on rough roads.
If your vehicle is in cruise control when the TAS begins
to limit wheel spin, the cruise control will automatically
disengage. When road conditions allow you to safely
use it again, you may re-engage the cruise control. See
Cruise Control on page 3-11.
When the traction control
off symbol on the button is
on, the TAS is off and
will not limit wheel
spin. Adjust your
driving accordingly.
4-8