parking brake PONTIAC PONTIAC 1995 Owners Manual

Parking Brake
The parking brake uses the brakes on the rear wheels.
To set the parking brake,
hold the regular brake pedal
down with
your right foot.
Push
down the parking
brake
pedal with your left
foot.
To release the parking brake, hold the regular brake
pedal down with
your right foot and push the parking
brake pedal with
your left foot. When you lift your left
foot, the parking brake pedal will follow it to the
released position.
NOTICE:
Driving with the parking brake on can cause
your rear brakes to overheat. You may have to
replace them, and you could also damage other
parts of your vehicle.
If you are towing a trailer and are parking on any hill,
see “Towing
a Trailer” in the Index. That section shows
what to do first to keep the trailer from moving.
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Shifting Into PARK (P)
Column Shift
1, Hold the brake pedal down with your right foot and set the parking brake.
?. Move the shift lever into PARK (P) position
like this:
Pull the lever toward
you.
Move the lever up as far
as it will go.
3. Move the ignition key to LOCK.
4. Remove the key and take it with you. If you can
walk away from your vehicle with the ignition key
in your hand, your vehicle
is in PARK (P).
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Console Shift
1. Hold the brake pedal down with your right foot and
2. Move the shift lever into PARK (P) position like
set the
parking brake.
this:
Hold in the button on the
lever, and push the
lever all
the way toward the front of
your vehicle.
3. Move the ignition key to LOCK.
4. Remove the key and take it with you. If you can
walk away from your vehicle with the ignition key
in your hand, your vehicle is in PARK (P).
Leaving Your Vehicle With the Engine
Running
If you have to leave your vehicle with the engine
running, be sure your vehicle is in PARK (P) and your
parking brake is firmly set before you leave it. After
you’ve moved the shift lever into the PARK (P)
position, hold the regular brake pedal down. Then, see
if you can move the shift lever away from PARK (P)
without first pulling it toward you (or, if you have. a
console shift lever, without first pushing the button). If
you can, it means that the shift lever wasn’t fully locked
into PARK (P).
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Torque Lock
If you are parking on a hill and you don’t shift your
transaxle into PARK (P) properly, the weight of the
vehicle may put to@ much force on the parking pawl in
the transaxle. You may find it difficult to pull the shift
lever out of PARK (P). This is called “torque lock.” To
prevent torque lock, set the parking brake and then
shift
into PARK (P) properly before you leave the driver’s
seat.
To find out how, see “Shifting Into PARK (P)” in
the Index.
When you are ready to drive, move the shift lever out of
PARK
(P) before you release the parking brake.
If “torque lock” does occur, you may need to have
another vehicle push yours a little uphill to take some of
the pressure from the transaxle,
so you can pull the shift
lever out
of PARK (P).
Shifting Out of PARK (P)
Your Pontiac has a brake-transaxle shift interlock. You
must fully apply your regular brakes before you can shift from
PARK (P) when the ignition is in RUN. See
“Automatic Transaxle” in the Index.
lr you cannot shift out of PARK (P), ease pressure on
the shift lever by pushing it all the way into PARK (P)
while keeping the brake pedal pushed down. Release the
shift lever button
if you have a console shift. Then move
the
shift lever out of PARK (P), being sure to press the
shift lever button if you have a console shift.
If you ever hold the brake pedal down but still can’t
shift out
of PARK (P), try this:
1. Turn the key to OFF.
2. Apply and hold the brake until the end of Step 4.
3. Shift to NEUTRAL (N).
4. Start the vehicle and shift to the drive gear you want.
5. Have the vehicle fixed as soon as you can.
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To Get Out of Cruise Control
There are two ways to turn off the cruise control:
Step lightly on the brake pedal; OR
Move the cruise switch
to
OFF.
To Erase Cruise Speed Memory
When you turn off the cruise control or the ignition, or
shift into PARK (P) or NEUTRAL (N), your cruise
control set speed memory is erased.
Lamps
The lamp controls are on the instrument panel. They
control these systems:
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Headlamps
Taillamps
Parking Lamps
License Lamps
Sidemarker Lamps
Instrument Panel Lamps
Courtesy Lamps
Fog Lamps
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The DlU system will make your low-beam headlamps
come on at a reduced brightness when:
0 The ignition is on,
The headlamp switch is off, and
The parking brake is released.
When the
DRL are on, only your low-beam headlamps
will be on. The taillamps, sidemarker and other lamps
won’t be on. Your instrument
I .-- won’t be lit up
either.
When it’s dark enough outside, your low-beam
headlamps will change to full brightness. The other
lamps that come on with your headlamps will also come
on.
When it’s bright enough outside, the regular lamps will go out, and your low-beam headlamps change to the
reduced brightness of DRL.
To idle your vehicle with the
DlU off, set the parking
brake while the ignition is in
OFF or LOCK. Then start
your vehicle. The
DRL will stay off until you release the
parking brake.
As with any vehicle, you should turn on the regular
headlamp system any time you need it.
Interior Lamps
When any door is opened, several lamps come on. These
lamps are courtesy lamps. They make it easy for you
to
enter and leave your vehicle. You can also turn these
larnps on by moving the PANEL dial all the way up.
Some of the lamps have switches
so you can turn them
on, even when the doors are closed. These lamps are
reading lamps. To avoid draining your battery, be sure to
turn
off all reading lamps when leaving your vehxle.
Battery Saver
Your vehicle has a feature to help prevent you from
draining the battery,
in case you accidentally leave the
courtesy lamps
on. If you leave the PANEL dial turned
all the way up, or
if you leave a door open, the lamps
will automatically turn
off after 10 minutes if the
ignition is
off.
This feature will not turn off the reading lamps, only the
lamps controlled by the
PANEL dial. Be sure to turn off
any reading lamps using the switch before you leave the
vehicle.
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Brake System Warning Light
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Your Pontiac’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 as you start the
vehicle. 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, or if the
anti-lock brake system warning light
is flashing, have
the vehicle towed for service. (See “Anti-Lock Brake System Warning Light” and “Towing Your Vehicle” in
the Index
.)
The brake system warning light will also come on when
you set your parking brake, and it 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.
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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
i€ you can’t, try to slow down before you hit them.
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.
Some Other Rainy Weather Tips
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Turn 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.
Have good tires with proper tread depth. (See
“Tires” in the Index.)
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Driving OR Grades
Reduce speed and shift to a lower gear before you start
down a long
or steep downgrade. If you don’t shift
down,
you might have to use your brakes so much that
they would get hot and no longer work well.
On a long uphill grade, shift down and reduce your
speed to around
45 mph (70 km/h) to reduce the
possibility
of engine and transaxle overheating.
If you have Overdrive,
you may want to drive in
THIRD (3), instead of DRIVE (D).
But if you ever have to park your rig on a hill, here’s
how to
do it:
1. Apply your regular brakes, but don’t shift into
PARK (P) yet.
2. Have someone place chocks under the trailer wheels.
3. When the wheel chocks are in place, release the
regular brakes until the chocks absorb the load.
4. Reapply the regular brakes. Then apply your parking
brake, and then shift to PARK (P).
5. Release the regular brakes.
Parking on Hills
You really should not park your vehicle, with a trailer
attached, on a hill.
If something goes wrong, your rig
could start to move. People can be injured, and both
your vehicle
and the trailer can be damaged.
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When You Are Ready to Leave After
Parking on a Hill
1. Apply your regular brakes and hold the pedal down
while you:
Start your engine;
0 Shift into a gear; and
0 Release the parking brake.
2. Let up on the brake pedal.
3. Drive slowly until the trailer is clear of the chocks.
4. Stop and have someone pick up and store the chocks.
Maintenance When Trailer Towing
Your vehicle will need service more often when you’re
pulling
a trailer. See the Maintenance Schedule for more
on this. Things that are especially important in trailer
operation are automatic transaxle fluid (don’t overfill),
engine oil, belt, cooling system, and brake adjustment.
Each
of these is covered in this manual, and the Index
will help you find them quickly.
If you’re trailering, it’s
a good idea to review these sections before
you start
your trip.
Check periodically to see that all hitch nuts and bolts are
tight.
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