brake GMC SIERRA 1996 Owner's Manual

ANTI -
LOCK
Qnti-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 part.
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.
Engine Coolant Temperature Gage
I This gage shows the engine
~ coolant temperature.
It also provides an indicator of how hard your vehicle is
working. During a majority of the operation, the gage
will read 210°F
(100°C) or less. If you are pulling a
load or going up hills, it is normal for the temperature to
fluctuate and approach the 260°F ( 125 “C) mark. If the
gage reaches the 260°F
(I 25 “C) mark, it indicates that
the cooling system is working beyond its capacity.
In “Problems
on the Road,” this manual shows what to
do. See “Engine Overheating” in the Index.
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Section 4 Your Driving and the Road
Here you‘ll find information about driving on different
kinds
of roads and in varying weather conditions. We’ve
also included many other useful tips on driving.
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. (See “Safety Belts”
in the Index.)
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.
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Control of a Vehicle Braking
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 action involves
perception time and
reaction time.
First, you have
to decide to push on the brake pedal.
That’s
perception time. Then you have to bring up your
foot and do
it. That’s reaction rime.
Average reaction time is 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
noving at
60 mph (1 00 kmh) 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; and the condition
of your brakes.
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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.
Anti-Lock Brakes
Your 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 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.
See “Anti-Lock Brake
System Warning Light’‘
in
ANTI -
LOCK
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Here’s how anti-lock works. Let’s say the road is wet.
You’re driving
safely. Suddenly an animal jumps out in
front of you.
You slam on the brakes. 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 the
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.
You can steer around the obstacle while braking hard.
As you brake, your computer keeps receiving updates on
wheel speed and controls braking pressure accordingly.
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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
and
let anti-lock work for you. You may feel the brakes
vibrate, or you may notice some noise, but this
is
normal. On vehicles with four-wheel drive, your
anti-lock brakes work at all times
-- whether you are in
two-wheel drive
or four-wheel drive.
Braking in Emergencies
Use your anti-lock braking system when you need to.
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.
Steering
Power Steering
If you lose power steering assist because the engine
stops or the system is not functioning, you can steer but
it will take much more effort.
Steering Tips
Driving on Curves
It’s important to take curves at a reasonable speed.
A lot of the “driver lost control” accidents mentioned on
the news happen on curves. Here’s why:
Experienced driver or beginner, each
of us is subject to
the same laws
of physics when driving on curves. The
traction
of the tires against the road surface makes it
possible for the vehicle to change its path when you turn
the front wheels. If there’s no traction, inertia will keep
the vehicle going
in the same direction. If you’ve ever
tried to steer a vehicle on wet ice, you’ll understand
this.
The traction you can get in a curve depends on the
condition of your tires and
the road surface, the angle at
which
the curve is banked, and your speed. While you’re
in a curve, speed is the one factor you can control.
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Suppose you’re steering through a sharp curve. Then you
suddenly accelerate. Both control systems
-- steering and
acceleration
-- have to do their work where the tires meet
the road. Adding
the sudden acceleration can demand too
much
of those places. You can lose control.
What should
you do if this ever happens? Ease up on the
accelerator pedal, steer the vehicle the way
you want it
to go, and slow down.
Speed limit signs
near curves warn that you should
adjust your speed. Of course,
the posted speeds are
based
on good weather and road conditions. Under less
favorable conditions you’ll want to
go slower.
If you need to reduce your speed as you approach a
curve, do it before you enter the curve, while your front
wheels are straight ahead.
Try
to adjust your speed so you can “drive” through the
curve. Maintain
a reasonable. steady speed. Wait to
accelerate
until you are out of the curve, and then
acce.lerate gently into
the straightaway.
Steering in Emergencies
There are times when steering can be more effective
than braking. For example, you come over a
hill and
find
a truck stopped in your lane, or a car suddenly
pulls
out from nowhere, or a child darts out from
between parked cars and stops right
in front of you.
You can avoid these problems by braking -- if you
can stop in time. But sometimes you can’t; there isn’t
roam. That’s the time
for evasive action -- steering
around the problem.
Your vehicle can perform very well
in emergencies
like these. First apply
your brakes. (See “Braking in
Emergencies” earlier in this section.) It is better to
remove as much speed as you can from a possible
collision. Then steer around the problem,
to the left
or right depending on the space available.
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@ 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 if
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.
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.
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 right.
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 t.he 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.
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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.
Driving Guidelines
Off-Road Driving with Your
Four-Wheel-Drive Vehicle
This off-road guide is for vehicles that have
four-wheel drive.
Also, see “Anti-Lock Brakes” in the Index.
If your vehicle doesn’t have four-wheel drive, you
shouldn’t drive off-road unless you’re on a level,
solid surface.
Off-road driving can be great
fun. But it does have
some definite hazards.
The greatest of these is the
terrain itself.
“Off-roading” means you’ve left
the great North
American road system behind. Traffic lanes aren’t
marked. Curves aren’t banked. There are
no road signs.
Surfxes can
be slippery, rough, uphill or downhill. In
short, you’ve gone right back to nature.
Off-road driving involves some new skills. And that’s
why it’s very important that
you read this guide. You’ll
find many driving tips and suggestions. These
will help
make your off-road driving safer and more enjoyable.
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What should I do if my vehicle stalls, or is about
to stall, and
I can’t make it up the hill?
A: If this happens, there are some things you should
do, and these are some things you
must not do.
First, here’s what you shalrlcl do:
Push the brake pedal to stop the vehicle and
keep it from rolling backwards. Also, apply the
parking brake.
If your engine is still running, shift the transmission
to REVERSE
(R), release the parking brake, and
slowly back down the
hill in REVERSE (R).
If your engine has stopped running, you’ll need to
restart
it. With the brake pedal depressed and the
parking brake still applied, shift the transmission to
PARK (P) (or, shift to NEUTRAL (N) if your
vehicle has
a manual transmission) and restart the
engine. Then,
shift to REVERSE (R), release the
parking brake, and slowly back down the
hill as
straight as possible
in REVERSE (R).
As you are backing down the hill, put your left hand
on the steering wheel at the 12 o’clock position. This
way, you’ll be able to tell
if your wheels are straight
and maneuver as you back down.
It’s best that you
back down the
hill with your wheels straight rather
than
in the left or right direction. Turning the wheel
too far to the left or right will increase the possibility
of a rollover.
Here are sonie things you
rnusf not do if you stall, or are
about to stall, when going
up a hill.
Never attempt to prevent a stall by shifting into
NEUTRAL
(N) (or depressing the clutch, if you
have a manual transmission) to “rev-up” the engine
and regain forward momentum. This won’t work.
Your vehicle will roll backwards very quickly and
you could go out
of control.
Instead, apply the regular brake to stop the vehicle. Then
apply the parking brake. Shift to REVERSE
(R), release
the parking brake, and slowly back straight down.
Never attempt to turn around if you are about to stall
when going
up a hill. If the hill is steep enough to
stall your vehicle, it’s steep enough to cause you to
roll over if you turn around. If you can’t make it up
the
hill, you must back straight down the hill.
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