User manual PONTIAC GRANDAM 2004

[. . . ] 2004 Pontiac Grand Am Owner Manual Seats and Restraint Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-32 Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-38 M Driving Your Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5 Checking Things Under the Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [. . . ] Age, physical condition, alertness, coordination and eyesight all play a part. But even in 3/4 of a second, a vehicle moving at 60 mph (100 km/h) 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. 4-6 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 (wet, dry, icy); tire tread; the condition of your brakes; the weight of the vehicle and the amount of brake force applied. Some people drive in spurts -- heavy acceleration followed by heavy braking -- rather than keeping pace with traffic. 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. If your engine ever stops while you are driving, brake normally but do not pump your brakes. Once the power assist is used up, it may take longer to stop and the brake pedal will be harder to push. Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) Your vehicle may have anti-lock brakes. ABS is an advanced electronic braking system that will help prevent a braking skid. If your vehicle has anti-lock brakes, this warning light on the instrument panel will come on briefly when you start your vehicle. 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 or pulses a little. This is normal. 4-7 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. This can help you steer around the obstacle while braking hard. Let us say the road is wet and you are driving safely. Here is 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 both rear wheels. As you brake, your computer keeps receiving updates on wheel speed and controls braking pressure accordingly. 4-8 Remember: Anti-lock does not 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 will not 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. If you do not have anti-lock, use a "squeeze" braking technique. This will give you maximum braking while maintaining steering control. You can do this by pushing on the brake pedal with steadily increasing pressure. In an emergency, you will probably want to squeeze the brakes hard without locking the wheels. [. . . ] 2-19 11 Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-11 4-12 4-11 3-69 2-37 2-37 2-37 5-75 5-76 4-31 2-16 2-38 1-54 1-58 1-60 1-58 1-59 1-57 1-56 T Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17 Passlock® . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17 Tilt Wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [. . . ]