1993 CHEVROLET LUMINA Owners Manual

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine “Riding” your brakes can
L cause them to overheat to the
point that they won’t work well.
You might not be able to stop your
vehicle in time to avoid an accident.
If you “ride” your brakes, they will
get
so hot they will require a lot of
pedal force to slow you down.
Avoid “riding” the brakes.
ostly brake replacement much 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 but 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 may take
longer to stop and the brake pedal will
be harder to push.
Anti-Lock Brakes (ABS) (OPTION)
If your Chevrolet has this system, it has
an advanced electronic braking system
that will help prevent skidding.
If you have an anti-lock brake system
(ABS), the brake pedal will say so.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine I
Your Driving and the Road
Anti-Lock Brakes (corvr.)
And this light on the instrument panel
will go on when you start your vehicle.
When you start your vehicle and begin
to drive away you may hear a
momentary motor or clicking noise and
you may even notice that your brake
pedal moves a little while this is going
on. This
is the ABS system testing itself.
If you have your foot on the brake
pedal, this check won’t happen until the
vehicle goes about
4 mph (6 km/h) or
until you take your foot off the brake
pedal. After
an
ABS stop, you may hear a
clicking noise the next time the vehicle
goes about
4 mph (6 Wh).
If there’s a problem with the anti-lock
brake system, the anti-lock brake
system warning light will stay on or
flash. See the
Index under Anti-Lock
Brake System Warning
Light.
.. .
Here’s how anti-lock works. Let’s say
the road is wet. You’re driving safely.
Suddenly an animal jumps out in front
You slam on the brakes. Here’s what
happens with
ABS.
of you.
A computer senses that wheels are
slowing down. The computer separately
works the brakes at each front wheel
and at the rear wheels.
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.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine You can steer around the obstacle while
braking hard.
As you brake, your
computer keeps receiving updates on
wheel speed and controls braking pressure accordingly.
inti-lock doesn’t change the
4 L time you need to get yoyr
foot up to the brake pedal. 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 have
anti-lock brakes.
To Use Anti-Lock: Don’t pump the
brakes. Just hold the brake pedal down
and let anti-lock work for you. You also
may hear a clicking noise as you
accelerate after a hard stop.
Disc Brake Wear Indicators
Your Chevrolet has four-wheel disc
brakes. Disc brake pads have built-in
wear indicators that make a high-
pitched warning sound when the brake
pads are worn and new pads are needed
The sound may come and go, or be
heard all the time your vehicle
is moving
(except when you are pushing
on the
brake pedal firmly).
A The brake wear warning
J sound means that sooner or
later your brakes won’t work well.
That could lead to an accident.
When you hear the brake wear
warning sound, have your vehicle
sewiced.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Your Driving and the Road
Disc Brake Wear lndicafors
(CONT.)
Some driving conditions or climates
may cause a brake squeal when the
brakes are first applied or lightly applied. This does not mean something
is wrong with your brakes.
Brake linings should always be replaced
as complete axle sets.
I30
Brake Pedal Travel
See your dealer if the brake pedal does
not return to
normal height, or if there
is a rapid increase in pedal travel. This
could be a sign
of brake trouble.
Brake Adjustment
Every time you make a moderate brake
stop, your disc brakes adjust for wear.
If
you rarely make a moderate or heavier stop, then your brakes might not adjust
correctly.
If you drive in that way,
then-very carefully-make a few
moderate brake stops about every
1,000
miles (1 600 h), so your brakes will
adjust properly.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Braking In Emergencies
At some time, nearly every driver gets into a situation that requires hard
braking.
If you have anti-lock, you can
steer and brake at the same time.
However, if you don’t have anti-lock,
your first reaction-to hit the brake
pedal hard and hold it down-may be
the wrong thing to do. Your wheels
can stop rolling. Once they
do, the
vehicle can’t respond to your steering.
Momentum will carry it in whatever
direction it was headed when the
wheels stopped rolling. That could be off the road, into the very thing you
were trying to avoid, or into traffic.
If you don’t have anti-lock, use a
“squeeze” braking technique. This will give you maximum braking while
maintaining steering control.
You 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. If you hear or feel
the wheels sliding, ease
off the brake
pedal. This will help you retain steering
control.
(If you do have anti-lock, it’s
different: see the
Index under Anti-Lock
Brake System.)
In many emergencies,
steering can help you more than even
the very best braking.
Power Steering
If you lose power steering assist
because the engine stops or the system
fails to function, you can steer but it
will take much more effort.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Your Driving and the Road
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. Suppose you’re steering through a
sharp curve. Then you suddenly apply
the brakes. Both control systems-
steering and braking-have to do their
work where the tires meet the road.
Unless you have four-wheel anti-lock
brakes, adding the hard braking can
demand too much at those places. You
can lose control.
The same thing can happen if you’re
steering through a sharp curve and you
suddenly accelerate. Those two control
systems-steering and acceleration-
can overwhelm those places where the
tires meet the road and make you lose
control.
What should you do if this ever
happens? Let up
on the brake or
accelerator pedal, steer the vehicle the
way you want it to go, and slow down. Speed limit signs near curves warn
that
you should adjust your speed. Of
course, the posted speeds are based
on
good weather and road conditions.
Under less favorable conditions you’ll
want to go slower.
If you need to reduce your speed’as you
approach a curve, do it before you enter
the curve, while your front wheels are
straight ahead.
Try to adjust your speed
so you can
“drive” through the curve. Maintain a
reasonable, steady speed. Wait to
accelerate until you are out of the curve,
and then accelerate gently into the
straightaway.
When you drive into a curve
at night,
it’s harder to see the road ahead of you
because it bends away from the straight
beams of your lights. This is one good
reason to drive slower.
132

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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. You
can avoid these problems by braking-if
you can stop in time. But sometimes
you can’t; there isn’t room. That’s the
time for evasive action-steering around the problem.
Your Chevrolet can perform very well in
emergencies like these. First apply your
brakes- but unless you have anti-lock,
not enough to lock your wheels. It is better
to remove as much speed as you
can from a possible 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 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. You
must then be prepared to steer back
to
your original lane and then brake to a
controlled stop. Depending
on your speed, this can be
rather violent for an unprepared driver.
This is one of the reasons driving
experts recommend that you use your
safety belts and keep both hands on the
steering wheel.
The fact that such emergency situations
are always possible is a good reason to
practice defensive driving at
all times.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 8.1
Your Driving and the Road
I
OH-Road Recovery
You may find sometime that your right
wheels have dropped off the edge of a
road onto the shoulder while you’re
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 your vehicle
straddles the edge of the pavement.
You
can turn the steering wheel up to ‘/4
turn until the right front tire contacts
the pavement edge. Then turn your
steering wheel to go straight down the
roadway.
If the shoulder appears to be about four
inches
(100 mm) or more below the
pavement, this difference can cause
I34
problems. If there is not enough room
to pull entirely onto the shoulder and
stop, then follow the same procedures.
But if the right front tire scrubs against
the side of the pavement, do
not steer
more sharply. With too much steering
angle, the vehicle may jump back onto
the road with
so much steering input
that it crosses over into the oncoming
traffic before you can bring it back
under control. Instead, ease
off again on
the accelerator and steering input,
straddle the pavement once more, then
try again.
Passing
The driver of a vehicle about to pass
another on a two-lane highway waits
for
just the right moment, accelerates,
moves around the vehicle ahead, then
I
goes back into the right lane again. A
simple maneuver?
Not necessarily! Passing another vehicle
on a two-lane highway is a potentially
dangerous move, since the passing
vehicle occupies the same lane as
oncoming traffic for several seconds.
A
miscalculation, an error in judgment, or
a brief surrender to frustration or anger
can suddenly put the passing driver
face
to face with the worst of all traffic
accidents-the head-on collision.
So here are some tips for passing:
“Drive ahead.’’ Look down the road,
to the sides, and to crossroads for
situations that might affect your
passing patterns.
If you have any
doubt whatsoever about malting
a
successful pass, wait for a better time. I