light PONTIAC GRAND-AM 1996 Service Manual

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
hut 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 m’ay take longer to stop and the brake pedal
will be harder to push.
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AntbLsck 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, or when you 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, and you may even notice that your
brake pedal moves
a little. This is- normal.
(e)
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
the Index.
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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 hav’e
anti-lock
brakes.
Using AntkLock
Don’t pump the brakes. Just hold the brake pedal down
and let anti-lock work for you.
You may feel the system
working, or you may notice some noise, but this is
normal.
Enhanced Traction System
If your vehicle has the optional four-speed automatic
transaxle, it
also has an Enhanced Traction System
(ETS) that limits wheel spin. This is especially useful in
slippery road condittons. The system operates only if it
senses that one or both of the front wheels we spinning
or beginning to lose traction. When this happens, the
system reduces engine power and may also upshift the
transaxle to limit wheel spin.
I
LOW
TRAC
This light will come on
when your Enhanced
Traction System is limiting
wheel
spin. See “Enhanced
Traction System Active
Light”
in the Index. You
may feel or hear the system
working, but this
is normal.
The
Enhanced Traction System operates in all transaxle
shift lever positions. But the system can upshift the
transaxle only
as high as the shift lever position you’ve
chosen,
so you should use the lower gears only when
necessary.
See “Automatic Transaxle” in the Index.
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ETS
OFF
~~~
When this warning light is When the system
is on and
the
parking brake is fully
released, this warning light
will come
on to let you
know if there’s a problem
with the system. See
“Enhanced Traction System
on, the system will not limit
To turn the system on or off,
press the button on the shift
lever knob.
wheel spin. Adjust your driving accordingly. When you turn ‘the system off, the Enhanced Traction
To limit wheel spin, especially in slippery road System warning light will come on and stay on. If the
conditions, you should always leave the Enhanced Enhanced Traction System is limiting wheel spin when
Traction System
on. But YOU Can turn the system Off if . you press the button to turn the system off, the warning
you ever need to. (YOU should turn the system
Off if your
light will come on -_ but the system won’t turn off right
vehicle ever gets stuck in sand, mud, ice or snow. See
away. It will wait until there’s no longer a current need
“Rocking Your Vehicle”
in the Index.) to limit wheel spin.
You can turn the system back on at any time
by pressing
’ the button again. The Enhanced Traction System
warning light should go off.
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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. Tn many emergencies, steerirzg’cm help you more
thin 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.
Variable Effort Steering (Option)
This steering system provides lighter steering effort for
parlcitlg ad at low vehicle speeds. Steering effurt will
increase at higher speeds for improved road feel.
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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An emergency like this requires close attention and a
quick decision.
If you are holding the steering wheel at
the recommended 9 and' 3 o'clock positions, you can
turn it 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.
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Off-Road Recovwy ,. t
', %
You may find sometime that your right wheels have
dropped
off the edge of a road onto the shoulder while
you're
driving.
OFF-RUAD RECOVERY
/- / ,zl I I
-/// edge of paved surface
I
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 your vehicle straddles the edge of the pavement.
You can turn the steering wheel up to one-quarter turn
until the right front tire contacts the pavement edge. Then
turn your steering wheel to go straight down the roadway.
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Here are some tips on night driving.
Drive defensively.
Don't drink and drive.
Adjust yous inside rearview mirror to reduce the
. ,.* . - !:?<: -. ' ' ,- 1. /. . I .%d. .:,fi$;
,.
..
glare from headlamps behind you.
Since
you can't see as well, you may need to slow
down
and keep more space between you and other
vehicles.
Slow down, especially on higher speed roads. Your
headlamps can light up only
so much ro8ad ahead.
In remote areas, watch for animals.
If you're tired, pull off the road in a safe place and
Night Vision
No one can see as well at night as in the daytime. But as
we get older these differences increase. A 50-year-old
driver may require at least twice as much light to see the
same
thing at night as a 21)-year-old.
What you do in the daytime can also affect your night
vision.
For example, if you spend the day in bright,
sunshine
you are wise to wear sunglasses. YQU~ eyes will
rest, have less trouble adjusting
to night. But if
you're
driving, don't wear sunglasses at night. They may cat
down ol-i glare from headlamps, but they also make a lot
of things invisible.'
You can be temporarily blinded by approaching
headlamps.
It CZUI take a sec'ond or two, or even several
seconds,
for your eyes to readjust to the dark When you
are faced with severe glare (as
horn a driver who
doesn't lower the.high
beams, or a vehicle with
misaimed headlamps), slow down a little. Avoid staring
directly into the approaching headlamps.
Keep your windshield and all the glass on your vehicle ". ' ' ''
clean -- inside and out. Glare at night is'made much
worse by
dirt on the glass, Even the inside of the glass
can
build up a film caused by dust, Dirty glass makes
lights dazzle and flash more
than clean glass would,
making the pupils of your eyqs contract repeatedly.
Remember that your headlamps light up far less
of a
roadway
when you are in a turn or cur&. Keep your
eyes moving; that way, it's easier to pick out dimly
lighted objects. Just
as your headlamps- should be
checked regularly for proper aim, so should your eyes
be exmined regularly. Some drivers suffer from night
blindness
-- the inability to see in dim light -- and
aren't even aware of it.
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Driving too fast through large water puddles or even
going through some car washes can cause problems, too.
The water may affect your brakes. Try to avoid puddles.
But if you can’t, try to slow down before you hit them.
I I
Wet brakes .can cause accidents. They won’t work
well in a quick stop and may cause pulling to one
side. You could lose control of the vehicle.
After driving through alarge puddle of water or
a car wash, apply your brake pedal lightly until
your brakes work nurmally.
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Hydroplaning
Hydroplaning is dangerous. So much water can build up
under your tires that they can actually ride on the water.
This can happen if the road is wet enough and you’re
going fast enough. When your vehicle
is hydroplaning,
it has little or no contact with the road.
Hydroplaning doesn’t happen often. But
it can if your
tires haven’t much tread or if the pressure in one or
more
is low. It can happen if a lot of water is standing on
the road. If you can see reflections from trees, telephone
poles or
other vehicles, and raindrops “dimple” the
water’s surface, there could
be hydroplaning.
Hydroplaning usually happens at higher speeds. There
just isn’t a hard and fast rule about hydroplaning. The
best advice is to slow down when it is raining.
Driving Through Deep Standing Water
NOTICE:.
If you drive too quickly through deep puddles or
standing water, water can come in through your
engine’s air intake and badly damage
your
engine. Never drive through water that is slightly
lower than the underbody
of your vehicle. If you
can’t avoid deep puddles or standing water, drive
through them very slowly.
Some Other Rainy Weather Tips
TUm on your low-beam headlamps -- not just your
parking
lamps -- to help make you more visible to ‘’
others.
Besides slowing down, allow some extra following
distance.
And be especially careful when you pass
another vehicle. Allow yourself
more clear room
ahead, and be prepared to have your view restricted
by road spray.
“Tires”
in the Index.)
Have good tires with proper tread depth. (See
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City Driving Here are ways to increase your safety in city driving:
Know the best way to get to where you are going.
Get a city map and plan your trip into an unknown
part of the city just as you would for a cross-country
Try to use the freeways that rim and crisscross most
large cities. You’ll save
time and energy, (See the
next part, “Freeway
Driving.”) I.
Treat a green light as a warning signal. A traffic light
is there because the corner is busy enough to need it.
When a light turns green, and just before you start to
move, check both ways for vehicles that have not
cleared the intersection or may be running the red
light.
trip.
One of the biggest problems with city streets is the
amount of traffic on them. You’ll want tu watch out for
what the other drivers are doing and pay attention to
traffic signals,
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Freeway Driving
,
Mile for mile, freeways (also called thruways, parkways,
expressways, turnpikes or superhighways) are the safest
of all roads. But they have their own special rules.
The most important advice
on freeway driving is: Keep
up with traffic and keep to the right. Drive at the same
speed most of the other drivers are driving. Too-fast or
too-slow driving breaks a smooth traffic flow. Treat the
left lane on
a freeway as a passing lane. At
the entrance, there is usually a ramp that leads to the
freeway.
If you have a clear view of the freeway as you
drive along the entrance ramp, you should begin to
check traffic. Try to determine where you expect to
blend with the flow. Try to merge into the gap at close to
the prevailing speed. Switch on your
turn signal, check
your mirrors and glance over your shoulder as often as
necessary. Try to blend smoothly with the traffic flow.
Once you are on the freeway, adjust your speed to the
posted limit or to the prevailing rate
if it’s slower. Stay
in the right lane unless you want to
pass.
Before changing lanes, check your mirrors. Then use
your
turn signal.
Just before you leave the lane, glance quickly over your
shoulder to make sure there isn’t another vehicle in your
“blind” spot.
Once you,are moving on the freeway, make certain you
allow a reasonable following distance. Expect
to move
slightly slower at night.
When you want to leave the freeway, move to the proper
lane well
in advance. If you miss your exit, do not,
under any circumstances, stop and back up.
Drive on to
the next exit.
The exit ramp can be curved, sometimes quite sharply.
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