brake GMC SAVANA 2003 User Guide

Instrument Panel Overview...............................3-2
Hazard Warning Flashers................................3-4
Other Warning Devices...................................3-5
Horn .............................................................3-5
Tilt Wheel.....................................................3-5
Turn Signal/Multifunction Lever.........................3-6
Exterior Lamps.............................................3-12
Interior Lamps..............................................3-14
Accessory Power Outlets...............................3-16
Ashtrays and Cigarette Lighter........................3-16
Climate Controls............................................3-17
Climate Control System.................................3-17
Rear Heating System....................................3-18
Rear Air Conditioning and Heating System.......3-19
Warning Lights, Gages and Indicators.............3-23
Instrument Panel Cluster................................3-24
Speedometer...............................................3-25
Safety Belt Reminder Light.............................3-26
Air Bag Readiness Light................................3-27
Air Bag Off Light..........................................3-28
Charging System Light..................................3-29
Voltmeter Gage............................................3-30
Brake System Warning Light..........................3-31
Anti-Lock Brake System Warning Light.............3-32
Engine Coolant Temperature Gage..................3-32
Low Coolant Warning Light............................3-33
Malfunction Indicator Lamp
.............................3-33Oil Pressure Gage........................................3-36
Change Engine Oil Light................................3-37
Security Light...............................................3-38
Cruise Control Light......................................3-38
Daytime Running Lamps Indicator Light...........3-39
Tow/Haul Mode Light....................................3-39
Check Gages Warning Light...........................3-39
Fuel Gage...................................................3-40
Audio System(s).............................................3-41
Setting the Time for Radios without Radio
Data Systems (RDS)..................................3-41
Setting the Time for Radios with Radio
Data Systems (RDS)..................................3-41
AM-FM Radio...............................................3-42
Radio with CD..............................................3-45
Radio with Cassette and CD..........................3-49
Radio with Six-Disc CD.................................3-60
Rear Seat Audio (RSA).................................3-71
Theft-Deterrent Feature (Non-RDS Radios).......3-73
Theft-Deterrent Feature (RDS Radios).............3-73
Understanding Radio Reception......................3-74
Care of Your Cassette Tape Player.................3-74
Care of Your CDs.........................................3-76
Care of Your CD Player................................3-76
Fixed Mast Antenna......................................3-76
Chime Level Adjustment................................3-76
Section 3 Instrument Panel
3-1
2003 - Savana OM

Cruise Control
Your vehicle may have cruise control.
9(Off)This position
turns the system off.
R(On):This position activates the system.
S(Resume/Accelerate):Push the lever to this symbol
to make the vehicle accelerate or resume to a
previously set speed.
T(Set):Press this button to set the speed.With cruise control, you can maintain a speed of about
25 mph (40 km/h) or more without keeping your foot
on the accelerator. This can really help on long
trips. Cruise control does not work at speeds below
about 25 mph (40 km/h).
If you apply your brakes, the cruise control will
disengage.
{CAUTION:
•Cruise control can be dangerous where
you can’t drive safely at a steady speed.
So, don’t use your cruise control on
winding roads or in heavy traffic.
•Cruise control can be dangerous on
slippery roads. On such roads, fast
changes in tire traction can cause
needless wheel spinning, and you could
lose control. Don’t use cruise control on
slippery roads.
3-9
2003 - Savana OM

Setting Cruise Control
{CAUTION:
If you leave your cruise control on when you’re
not using cruise, you might hit a button and go
into cruise when you don’t want to. You could
be startled and even lose control. Keep the
cruise control switch off until you want to use
cruise control.
1. Move the cruise control switch to on.
2. Get up to the speed you want.
3. Press in the set button at the end of the lever and
release it.
4. Take your foot off the accelerator pedal.
The CRUISE light on the instrument panel will illuminate
when the cruise control is engaged.
Resuming a Set Speed
Suppose you set your cruise control at a desired
speed and then you apply the brake. This, of course,
disengages the cruise control. But you don’t need
to reset it.Once you’re going about 25 mph (40 km/h) or more,
you can move the cruise control switch from on to
resume/accelerate briefly.
You’ll go right back up to your chosen speed and
stay there.
If you hold the switch at resume/accelerate briefly, the
vehicle will keep going faster until you release the switch
or apply the brake. So unless you want to go faster,
don’t hold the switch at resume/accelerate.
Increasing Speed While Using Cruise
Control
There are two ways to go to a higher speed:
•Use the accelerator pedal to get to the higher
speed. Press the set button at the end of the lever,
then release the button and the accelerator
pedal. You’ll now cruise at the higher speed.
•Move the cruise switch from on to
resume/accelerate. Hold it there until you get
up to the speed you want, and then release the
switch. To increase your speed in very small
amounts, move the switch to resume/accelerate
briefly. Each time you do this, your vehicle
will go about 1 mph (1.6 km/h) faster.
3-10
2003 - Savana OM

Reducing Speed While Using Cruise
Control
•
Press and hold the set button at the end of the
lever until you reach the lower speed you want,
then release it.
•To slow down in very small amounts, press the
set button briefly. Each time you do this, you’ll
go about 1 mph (1.6 km/h) slower.
Passing Another Vehicle While Using
Cruise Control
Use the accelerator pedal to increase your speed.
When you take your foot off the pedal, your vehicle will
slow down to the cruise control speed you set earlier.
Using Cruise Control on Hills
How well your cruise control will work on hills depends
upon your speed, load and the steepness of the
hills. When going up steep hills, you may want to
step on the accelerator pedal to maintain your speed.
When going downhill, you may have to brake or shift
to a lower gear to keep your speed down. Of course,
applying the brake takes you out of cruise control.
Many driversfind this to be too much trouble and
don’t use cruise control on steep hills.
Ending Cruise Control
There are two ways to turn off the cruise control:
•Step lightly on the brake pedal,
•or move the cruise control switch to off.
Erasing Speed Memory
When you turn off the cruise control or the ignition,
your cruise control set speed memory is erased.
3-11
2003 - Savana OM

Brake System Warning Light
With the ignition on, the brake system warning light will
come on when you set your parking brake. The light
will stay on if your parking brake doesn’t release fully.
If it stays on after your parking brake is fully released, it
means you have a brake problem.
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.
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.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,
have the vehicle towed for service. SeeTowing
Your Vehicle on page 4-29.
{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’ve pulled off the road and stopped
carefully, have the vehicle towed for service.
United States
Canada
3-31
2003 - Savana OM

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.
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. See
“Brake System Warning Light”earlier in this section.
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 itfixed 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 your engine is
too hot!
It means that your engine coolant has overheated.
If you have been operating your vehicle under normal
operating conditions, you should pull off the road,
stop your vehicle, and turn off the engine as soon
as possible.
SeeEngine Overheating on page 5-26.
United StatesCanada
3-32
2003 - Savana OM

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 1-9.
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’s 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 — makes proper 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.
4-2
2003 - Savana OM

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’re driving on snow or ice,
it’s 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 involvesperception timeand
reaction time.
First, you have to decide to push on the brake pedal.
That’sperception time.Then you have to bring up your
foot and do it. That’sreaction time.
Averagereaction timeis about 3/4 of a second.
But that’s 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 3/4 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’s pavement
or gravel); the condition of the road (wet, dry, icy); tire
tread; the condition of your brakes; the weight of
the vehicle and the amount of brake force applied.
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2003 - Savana OM

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.Anti-lock Brake System
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’s a problem with
the anti-lock brake system,
this warning light will
stay on. SeeAnti-Lock
Brake System Warning
Light on page 3-32.
4-7
2003 - Savana OM

Let’s say the road is wet and you’re driving safely.
Suddenly, an animal jumps out in front of you.
You slam on the brakes and continue braking.
Here’s 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.
4-8
2003 - Savana OM