brake HUMMER H3 2010 User Guide

Lighting 6-7
Notice:Turning on the off-road
lamps before removing the lamp
covers could damage the off-road
lamps and the covers. Always
remove the covers before turning
on the off-road lamps.
The off-road lamps remain on even
after the ignition is turned off. The
off-road lamp button must be
pressed to turn them off.Interior Lighting
Instrument Panel
Illumination Control
The instrument panel brightness
thumbwheel is next to the exterior
lamp control.
D (Instrument Panel
Brightness): Turn the thumbwheel
up or down to brighten or dim the
instrument panel lights and the radio
display. The instrument panel lights,
cluster, and radio display do not dim
to complete darkness. Turn the
thumbwheel all the way up to turn
the dome lamps on.
Dome Lamps
The dome lamps are located in the
front area of the vehicle. There is
also a dome lamp in the cargo area
of the H3 model only.
Turn the thumbwheel, located next
to the exterior lamps control, all
the way up to turn the dome and
footwell lamps on.
The dome lamp in the cargo area
automatically turns off when:
.The shift lever is shifted
out of P (Park) (automatic
transmissions).
.The parking brake is released
(manual transmissions).

Driving and Operating 9-1
Driving and
Operating
Driving Information
Defensive Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
Drunk Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
Control of a Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-4
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
Off-Road Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-7
Driving on Wet Roads . . . . . . . 9-22
Highway Hypnosis . . . . . . . . . . . 9-22
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . 9-23
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-24
If the Vehicle is Stuck . . . . . . . . 9-26
Vehicle Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . 9-27
Truck-Camper LoadingInformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-33
Starting and Operating
New Vehicle Break-In . . . . . . . . 9-33
Ignition Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-34
Retained AccessoryPower (RAP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-35
Starting the Engine . . . . . . . . . . 9-35
Engine Coolant Heater . . . . . . . 9-36
Shifting Into Park . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-37
Shifting Out of Park . . . . . . . . . . 9-38
Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-39
Parking Over Things
That Burn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-40
Engine Exhaust
Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-40
Running the Vehicle WhileParked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-41
Automatic Transmission
Automatic Transmission . . . . . 9-41
Manual Transmission
Manual Transmission . . . . . . . . 9-44
Drive Systems
Four-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-46
Brakes
Antilock BrakeSystem (ABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-50
Parking Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-51
Brake Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-51
Hill Start Assist (HSA) . . . . . . . 9-52
Ride Control Systems
Traction Control System (TCS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-52
StabiliTrak System . . . . . . . . . . . 9-53
Locking Rear Axle . . . . . . . . . . . 9-54
Locking Front Axle . . . . . . . . . . . 9-55
Cruise Control
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-57
Object Detection Systems
Rear Vision Camera (RVC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-60
Fuel
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-64
Recommended Fuel . . . . . . . . . 9-64
Gasoline Specifications . . . . . . 9-65
California FuelRequirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-65

Driving and Operating 9-3
Death and injury associated with
drinking and driving is a global
tragedy.
Alcohol affects four things that
anyone needs to drive a vehicle:
judgment, muscular coordination,
vision, and attentiveness.
Police records show that
almost 40 percent 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
17,000 annual motor vehicle-related
deaths have been associated with
the use of alcohol, with about
250,000 people injured.
For persons under 21, it is against
the law in every U.S. state to drink
alcohol. There are good medical,
psychological, and developmental
reasons for these laws.
The obvious way to eliminate the
leading highway safety problem is
for people never to drink alcohol
and then drive.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.
Control of a Vehicle
The following three systems
help to control the vehicle while
driving —brakes, steering, and
accelerator. At times, as when
driving on snow or ice, it is easy to
ask more of those control systems
than the tires and road can provide.
Meaning, you can lose control of
the vehicle. See Traction Control
System (TCS)
on page 9‑52and
StabiliTrak System on page 9‑53. Adding non‐dealer/non‐retailer
accessories can affect vehicle
performance. See
Accessories and
Modifications on page 10‑3.
Braking
See Brake System Warning Lighton page 5‑14.
Braking action involves perception
time and reaction time. Deciding to
push the brake pedal is perception
time. Actually doing it 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 100 km/h
(60 mph) travels 20 m (66 ft).

9-4 Driving and Operating
That could be a lot of distance in
an emergency, so keeping enough
space between the 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 the
brakes; the weight of the vehicle;
and the amount of brake force
applied.
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. The brakes might not
have time to cool between hard
stops. The brakes will wear out
much faster with a lot of heavy
braking. Keeping pace with the
traffic and allowing realistic following
distances eliminates a lot of
unnecessary braking. That means
better braking and longer brake life. If the engine ever stops while the
vehicle is being driven, brake
normally but do not pump the
brakes. If the brakes are pumped,
the pedal could get harder to push
down. If the engine stops, there will
still be some power brake assist but
it will be used when the brake is
applied. Once the power assist is
used up, it can take longer to stop
and the brake pedal will be harder
to push.
Adding non‐dealer/non‐retailer
accessories can affect vehicle
performance. See
Accessories and
Modifications on page 10‑3.
Steering
Power Steering
If power steering assist is lost
because the engine stops or the
power steering system is not
functioning, the vehicle can be
steered but it will take more effort.
Steering Tips
It is important to take curves at a
reasonable speed.
Traction in a curve depends on the
condition of the tires and the road
surface, the angle at which the
curve is banked, and vehicle speed.
While in a curve, speed is the one
factor that can be controlled.
If there is a need to reduce speed,
do it before entering the curve, while
the front wheels are straight.
Try to adjust the speed so you can
drive through the curve. Maintain a
reasonable, steady speed. Wait to
accelerate until out of the curve, and
then accelerate gently into the
straightaway.

Driving and Operating 9-5
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. These problems can
be avoided by braking—if you can
stop in time. But sometimes you
cannot stop in time because there
is no room. That is the time for
evasive action —steering around
the problem.
The vehicle can perform very well
in emergencies like these. First
apply the brakes. See Braking
on
page 9‑3. It is better to remove
as much speed as possible from
a collision. Then steer around
the problem, to the left or right
depending on the space available.
An emergency like this requires
close attention and a quick decision.
If holding the steering wheel at the
recommended 9 and 3 o'clock
positions, it can be turned a full
180 degrees very quickly without
removing either hand. But you have
to act fast, steer quickly, and just as
quickly straighten the wheel once
you have avoided the object.
The fact that such emergency
situations are always possible is a
good reason to practice defensive
driving at all times and wear safety
belts properly.
Off-Road Recovery
The vehicle's right wheels can drop
off the edge of a road onto the
shoulder while driving.
If the level of the shoulder is
only slightly below the pavement,
recovery should be fairly easy.
Ease off the accelerator and
then, if there is nothing in the
way, steer so that the vehicle
straddles the edge of the pavement.

9-6 Driving and Operating
Turn the steering wheel 8 to 13 cm
(3 to 5 inches), about one-eighth
turn, until the right front tire contacts
the pavement edge. Then turn the
steering wheel to go straight down
the roadway.
Loss of Control
Let us review what driving experts
say about what happens when the
three control systems—brakes,
steering, and acceleration —do not
have enough friction where the tires
meet the road to do what the driver
has asked.
In any emergency, do not 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 the vehicle's three control
systems. In the braking skid, the
wheels are not 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.
If the 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, the 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,
slow down and adjust your driving to
these conditions. It is important to
slow down on slippery surfaces
because stopping distance is 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 reducing
vehicle speed by shifting to a lower
gear. Any sudden changes could
cause the tires to slide. You might
not realize the surface is slippery
until the 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: Antilock brakes help
avoid only the braking skid.

Driving and Operating 9-11
The vehicle can climb a 40.6 cm
(16 inch) vertical step. Step climbing
is best done by approaching the
step at an angle rather than
straight on.
Brake and Accelerator
Operation Techniques for
Off-Road Driving
For logs, walls, rocks, severe
ditches, hills, sand, etc.
1. Bring the vehicle to a completestop. Do not rev the engine.
2. Select the proper transmission and transfer case gear
range; usually 1 (First) gear,
Four‐Wheel‐Low Lock for
such obstacles.
3. If wheel spin is experienced, maintain steady throttle, with
your foot off the brake pedal,
to allow the Traction Control
System (TCS) to control the
wheel spin. TCS might not
operate if the brakes are
applied. 4. If wheel spin cannot be
controlled by the TCS system,
fully press the brake pedal with
your left foot so all wheel spin is
stopped.
5. Back away from the obstacle so that a new approach can be
tried.
6. As the first wheel crosses the obstacle, be prepared to
alternate the brake and
accelerator pedal to maintain
control and avoid tire drop-off
from obstacles. Repeat this
process for the other wheels.

9-12 Driving and Operating
For mounds, washouts, loose
up-hill slopes, ditches, etc.
When wheel spin occurs as the
vehicle is moving, the driver
may notice a slight shaking or
shuddering of the vehicle. This
should be stopped as soon as
possible to prevent damage to
vehicle components. This is the
indication that a loss of traction is
occurring on this terrain. The
operator should:
1. Reduce speed and apply thebrakes.
2. Assess the terrain properly and adjust vehicle speed and gear
ranges accordingly: Four‐Wheel
High position for higher speeds
and Four‐Wheel‐Low Lock for
more torque and lower speeds.
Transmission 1 (First) gear is
generally recommended. 3. Apply slight pressure to the
brake when the shaking or
shuddering sensation is felt,
keeping the vehicle moving in
a controlled manner.
4. Be prepared to alternate between braking and
accelerating through the
adverse terrain.
Getting Familiar with Off-Road
Driving
It is a good idea to practice in an
area that is safe and close to home
before you go into the wilderness.
Off-roading requires some new and
different skills.
Tune your senses to different kinds
of signals. Your eyes need to
constantly sweep the terrain for
unexpected obstacles. Your ears
need to listen for unusual tire or
engine sounds. Use your arms,
hands, feet, and body to respond to
vibrations and vehicle bounce. Controlling the vehicle is the key to
successful off-road driving. One of
the best ways to control the vehicle
is to control the speed. At higher
speeds:
.You approach things faster and
have less time to react.
.There is less time to scan the
terrain for obstacles.
.The vehicle has more bounce
when driving over obstacles.
.More braking distance is
needed, especially on an
unpaved surface.
{WARNING
When you are driving off-road,
bouncing and quick changes in
direction can easily throw you
out of position. This could cause
you to lose control and crash.
So, whether you are driving on
or off the road, you and your
passengers should wear safety
belts.

9-14 Driving and Operating
Crossing Obstacles
Approach Angle—a Key to
Mobility
If you encounter a large dip in the
terrain, do not enter straight on;
enter at an angle —15° minimum
approach (A), 75° maximum
approach angle (B). For very large
dips, ditches or small washes, coast
in, using the engine as a brake
(transmission and transfer case
lowest gears). Then, use the low
ranges in the transmission and
transfer case to power out. Roll The Tires Over Large Rocks
Do not straddle large rocks; drive
over them, letting the tire cover the
rock. The tread of the tire is thicker
and tougher than the sidewall of the
tire and is more resilient to impact
than underbody components.
Log Crossing
Using the proper technique,
the vehicle will cross logs up to
25.4 cm (10 inches) in diameter.
Approach the log at approximately a
15° angle (A) with the transmission
in 1 (First) and the transfer case in
Four‐Wheel‐Low Lock and
“walk”the vehicle over, one tire at a time.
It may be necessary to modulate
the brake pedal and accelerator to
avoid spin-out. Ease the vehicle
down from the log with the brake.
Driving on Hills
Off-road driving often takes you up,
down, or across a hill. Driving safely
on hills requires good judgment
and an understanding of what the
vehicle can and cannot do. There
are some hills that simply cannot be
driven, no matter how well built the
vehicle.

9-16 Driving and Operating
.Do not continue if the vehicle
shudders or exhibits suspension
hopping. This can cause
damage to the driveline or
suspension components.
Improper driving technique is not
covered by the vehicle warranty.
{WARNING
Turning or driving across steep
hills can be dangerous. You could
lose traction, slide sideways, and
possibly roll over. You could be
seriously injured or killed. When
driving up hills, always try to go
straight up.
.Try to drive straight up the hill if
at all possible. If the path twists
and turns, you might want to find
another route.
.Ease up on the speed as you
approach the top of the hill.
.Attach a flag to the vehicle to be
more visible to approaching
traffic on trails or hills.
.Sound the horn as you approach
the top of the hill to let opposing
traffic know you are there.
.Use headlamps even during the
day to make the vehicle more
visible to oncoming traffic.
{WARNING
Driving to the top (crest) of a
hill at full speed can cause an
accident. There could be a
drop-off, embankment, cliff,
or even another vehicle. You
could be seriously injured or
killed. As you near the top of a
hill, slow down and stay alert.If the vehicle stalls, or is about to
stall, and you cannot make it up
the hill:
.Push the brake pedal to stop
the vehicle and keep it from
rolling backwards and apply the
parking brake.
.If the engine is still running, shift
the transmission to R (Reverse),
release the parking brake, and
slowly back down the hill in
R (Reverse).
.If the engine has stopped
running, you need to restart it.
With the brake pedal pressed,
apply the parking brake. If the
vehicle has an automatic
transmission, shift the
transmission to P (Park).
Restart the engine. Then, shift
to R (Reverse), release the
parking brake, and slowly back
down the hill as straight as
possible in R (Reverse).