power steering OPEL GT 2012 Owners Manual

1 1 0 D r iv in g an d o p e ra t io n
Driving and operationD r iv in g h in t s
The first 1000 km (600 miles)
D ri v e y o ur v eh i cl e a t va r i o u s sp e ed s.
Do not use full throttle. Nev er allow
the e ngine to labour at low re vs .
Make good use of all ge ars . De pres s the
accele rator ped al a ma ximum of around
thre e quarters of the available p edal trave l
in all gea rs .
Do not d riv e faster than three quarte rs of
maximum spe ed .
D o no t b r a k e un n ec es sa r i l y ha rd f o r t he
first 200 km (120 miles).
Never coast w ith engine not running
Many units w ill not function in this situation
(e .g. brake se rvo unit, powe r ste ering).
Driv ing in this ma nne r is a dange r to
yo u rs e lf and o the rs.
Brake servo unit
When the engine is not running, the brake
servo unit is no longer effective once the
brake peda l has bee n depre ss e d once or
twice. Braking effe ct is not re duced , but
significantly gre ater force is re quired for
braking. Power steering
If th e po wer ste er in g f ails o r wh en be in g
towe d with the e ngine switched off, the
ve hicle c an still be s tee red, but
consid erably more force is required.
D riv ing in m ount ainous te rrain
The cooling fan is e lectrically op erate d.
Its cooling powe r is the refore inde pende nt
o f t h e en g i n e s p e ed.
S ince a c onsiderab le am ount of heat is
ge nerate d at high e ngine s pee ds and les s
at lowe r s pee ds, do not s hift down whe n
climb ing hills while the ve hic le is s till coping
with the gradient in the hig he r ge ar.
D riv ing wi th a roof loa d
N ot permitte d.
Sw itching off the engi ne
When y ou switch off the e ngine , fans in
the engine com partment m ay continue
running for a while , to c ool the engine .
If the engine te mpe rature is very high, e.g.
afte r driving in mountainous terrain, allow
the e ngine to idle for ap prox . 2 minutes , in
orde r to preve nt heat accumulation.
V eh i cl es w i t h t u r bo ch a r g ed en g i n e:
After running at high eng ine speeds or high
e ng ine loads, op erate the engine brie fly at
a low load or run in neutral for approx.
3 0 se c o n d s b ef o r e sw i t c h i n g o f f , i n o r d er
to protec t the turbocharger. D rivin g h in ts .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... 11 0
Saving fuel, protecting the
en viro n men t . ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... 11 2
F ue ls, ref u ellin g .... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... 11 4
Ca ta lytic converter, exhaust g ases... 116
D rive co n tro l s ys tem s ... .... ..... .... .... ..... 11 8
Brake s ys te m ... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... 12 2
ABS u..... .... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... 12 4
W h ee ls , ty res ... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... 12 5

134 Self-help, vehicle care
zDo not c onnec t leads to negative
te rminal of discharged battery!
zRoute the le ads so that the y ca nnot
catch on rotating p arts in the engine
com partment.
zStart the e ngine of the ve hicle p rov id ing
th e j u m p s t a r t .
zAfte r 5 minute s, sta rt the other e ngine .
Start attem pts should be made for no
longe r than 15 s econds at an interva l of
1 m i nu t e .
zAfte r the start, allow b oth engines to idle
for 3 minutes with the leads connected.
zIn ord er to av oid ex ces s voltage in the
el ec tr i ca l sy st e m , be f o r e r e m o vi n g a
le ad, switch on an e lectrical cons umer
(e .g. lamps , h ea te d re ar win do w) in th e
vehicle rece iving the jump start.
zReverse above sequence exactly when
re m o v i n g l e a d s .
Towing
Tow ing the vehicl e
Screw the front towing ey e (stowed in a
bag in the lugga ge compartme nt) fully into
the front towing point.
Attac h a tow rope 3 - or b etter still, a tow
ro d 3 - to the towing ey e, neve r to the
bumper or front suspension units.
Plac e the gear s hift le ve r in ne utra l. Switch
on the ignition to re lease the stee ring
colum n lock and to p ermit operation of the
brake lamps , horn and winds cree n wipers . Drive off slowly and avoid jerky
mov eme nts . Impe rm iss ible trac tiv e force s
could da mage the ve hicles .
To prevent the entry of exha ust gases from
the tow ing vehicle , switch on the air re -
circulation sy stem and close the windows.
S ee k the a ss istance of a works hop.
Towi ng serv ice
E ntrust your ve hicle only to the towing
service of your choice and obtain an
e stimate on towing costs be fore e mploying
any tow ing se rvice. In this way y ou avoid
unnecessary c osts and possible insurance
proble ms during claim proce ss ing.
9 Warning
Ne ve r lift the ve hicle using the towing
eye!
9 Wa r nin g
More brake pedal pressure is necessary
w h en b ra ki n g s i n ce t he br a ke s er vo un i t i s
operative only when the engine is
running.
Conside rably greate r ste ering force is
necessary since the power steering unit is
operative only when the engine is
running.

15 7Self-help, vehicle care
Brak e/clut ch fluid c ha nge
Brake /clutch fluid is hygroscopic, i.e . it
absorbs water. If the brak es be come hot,
s uc h as whe n driving on long downhill
stretches, va pour bubbles can occur in the
water, which can have an extrem ely
adv ers e e ffe ct on braking power
( dep en di n g o n t h e p ro p o r t i o n o f w a t e r) .
The fluid change intervals s pecifie d in the
chapter "Service, Maintenance" on
page 1 65 m us t there fore be obs erve d.
Power steering fluid
The power steering fluid does not require
any additional ma inte na nce than that
detaile d in the c hap te r "S ervice ,
Mainte nance" on page 16 5 .
If the fluid in the re s ervoir falls below the
HOT mark on the dipstick, consult a
work shop.
Windscreen wipers
C lear v is ion is es se ntial for safe driving.
Pe rform re gular check s on the windsc re en
wipe rs to ens ure they are ope rating
correc tly . W e recomme nd wipe r blade
re placem ent at le ast once a year.
If t h e w i n dsc re en i s di r t y, o p er a t e t h e
windscreen washer system b efore
s witching on the winds cree n wipers . This
will av oid wipe r blade wea r.
Do not switch on the windscree n wipers if
the wind scre en is ice d up, as this could
dam age the wipe r blade s or the wipe r
system.
If the wipers b ecome froze n on to the glass,
w e r e c om m e n d th a t th e y b e r e l e a s e d w i t h
t h e a i d o f O p el D e - i cer S p r a y.
S mearing wiper blades c an be cle ane d with
a soft cloth a nd Opel C leaning Solvent and
Antifreez e.
W iper blades whos e lips have be come
harde ne d, crack ed or covere d with s ilicone
mus t be replac ed. This may be nece ss ary
as a re sult of the e ffe cts of ic e, thawing s alt
or hea t, or the incorrect use of cleaning
age nts.
S witc h off the windsc re en w ip ers in
car washe s – s ee page s 15 , 1 6 1.
W indscre en w ip er care – se e p age 163.
9 Wa r ning
We r ec o m m en d t h a t y o u ha v e b r a k e/
clutch fluid change d by a works hop who
is familiar with the req uire ments of the
la w as rega rd s d ispos al of brake /clutch
fluid a nd can thus he lp to protect the
en vi r o n m en t a n d y o ur he a l t h .

168 Service, maintenanc e
International service schedule
(Opel GT - Z 20 NHH)
⊕Add it iona l o per at ions.
o Und er extreme o peratin g cond itions a nd if req uired by country-sp ecific co nditio ns, the in terva ls are red uced.
S ervice operations
by year 1)
k m ( x 1000)1)
miles ( x 10 0 0)1)
1)Wh ic h e v e r o cc u r s fi rs t.
15
101
30
2045
302
60
4075
503
90
60
C ontrols , lighting , s igna lling equipme nt and airbags : v isual che ck
s tee ring lock and ignition lock: che ckxx xx xx
Re mote control batte ries: re place E very 2 ye ars
Windsc reen w ipers, windscreen washer system: check, correct x x x x x x
C oolant le ve l and antifree ze: check, correct
Hoses: check for tightness and secure seatingAnnually
Brak e fluid le vel: check, correct x x
Battery termina ls: check for sec ure connections a nd battery ey e Annually
Pollen filter: replace Eve ry 2 y ears /6 0 00 0 km/ 4 0 0 0 0 miles
oMore often for when dust, sand or pollen is in the air Annually/15 000 km/10 000 m iles
Air cleaner element: replace Every 4 years/60 000 km/40 000 miles
oMore often for when dust or sand is in the air Annually/15 000 km/10 000 m iles
⊕S park plugs : re place Eve ry 4 y ears /6 0 00 0 km/ 4 0 0 0 0 miles
R i bb ed V - be l t : vi s u a l ch eck Eve r y 2 y ea r s /6 0 00 0 km / 4 0 0 0 0 m i l es
⊕Re place Every 10 years/150 000 km /100 000 miles
Power steering system: check for leaks. Fluid level: check, correct Annually
E ngine oil and oil filter: replac e
2)
2)En gine oil life monitor may indica te a n earlier engine o il an d oil filter ch ang e is neces sary. See p ag es 63, 69, 15 1.
xx xx xx
Parking b ra ke: check and adjus t
W hee l mounting and s us pe ns ion front and re ar, b rake line s, brake pres s ure
hoses, fuel lines a nd exhaust system: visual checkEvery 2 years/60 000 km/40 000 miles