1993 PONTIAC GRAND-PRIX Owners Manual

your Driving and the Road
-1
HM and Mountain Roads
Driving on steep hills or mountains is
different fiom driving in flat or rolling
terrain.
If you drive regularly in step
country, or if you’re planning to visit
there, here are some tips that can make
your trips safer and more enjoyable.
* Keep your vehicle in go’od shape.
Check all fluid levels and also the
brakes, tires, co’oling system and
transaxle. These
parts can work hard
~n mountain roads.
. K~QW how to go, down hills. The most
important thing
to how is this: let
your engine do some of the slowing
down. Don’t make your brakes do it
an.. Shift to a lower gear when YQU go
down a steep or long hill. That way,
you will slow down without excessive
use of your brakes.
168
If you don’t shift down, your
brakes could get
so hot that
they wouldn’t work well. You
would then have poor braking or
even none going down a hill.
You
could crash. Shift down to let your
engine assist your brakes on a steep
downhill slope.
I
A Coasting downhill in
- N (Neutral) or with the
* ignition off is dangerous. Your
akes will have
to do all the work
slowing down. They could get
so
riot that they wouldn’t work well.
You could crash. Always have your
Pngine running and your vehicle in
a-ar when you
go downhill.
Know how to go uphill. You may
want to shift down to a lower gear.
The lower gears help
cool your engine
and transaxle, and you can climb the
hill better.
Stay in your own lane when driving
on two-lane roads in hills or
mountains. Don’t swing wide or cut
across the center
of the road. Drive at
speeds that let you stay in your own
lane. That way, you won’t be ’ surprised by a vehicle coming toward
you in the same lane.
It takes longer to pass another vehicle
when you’re going uphill. You’ll want
to leave extra room to pass. If a
vehicle is passing you and doesn’t
have enough room, slow down to
make it easier for the other vehicle to
get by.
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As you go over the top of a hill, be
alert. There could be something in
your lane, like a stalled car or an
accident.
You may see highway signs on
mountains that warn
of special
problems. Examples are long grades,
passing or no passing zones, a falling
rocks area, or winding roads. Be alert
to these and take appropriate action.
problems. See the
Index under Winter
Driving.
Winter driving can present special
Parking on M//s
Hills and mountains mean spectacular
scenery. But please be careful where
you
stop if you decide to look at the
view or take pictures.
Look for pull-offs
or parking areas provided for scenic
viewing.
Another part of this manual tells how to
use your parking brake (see the
Index
under Parking Brake). But on a
mountain or steep hill, you can do one
more thing. You can turn your front
wheels to keep your vehicle
from rolling
downhill
or out into traffic.
Here’s how:
Parking Downhill
Turn your wheels to the right.
You don’t have to jam your tires against
the curb, if there
is a curb. A gentle
contact is all you need.
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Your Driving and the Road
I‘
Parking on Hills (CONT.)
Parking Uphill
If there is a curb, turn your wheels to
the
left if the curb is at the right side of
your vehicle. If
you’re going uphill on
a one-way
street and you’re parking on the left
side, your wheels should point to the
right. If
there is no curb when you’re parking
uphill, turn the wheels to the right.
If there is no curb when you’re parking
uphill on the left side of a one-way
street, your wheels would be turned to
the left.
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Torque Lock
If you are parking on a hill and you
don’t shift your transaxle into P (Park)
properly, the weight of the vehicle may
put too much force on the parking pawl
in the transaxle.
You may find it
difficult to pull the shift lever out of
P (Park). This is called “torque lock.”
To prevent torque lock, always be sure
to shift into
P (Park) properly before
you leave the driver’s seat. To find out
how, see the
lndex under Shifting Into
P (Park).
When you are ready to drive, move the
shift lever out
of P (Park) 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 P (Park).
Winter Driving
Here are some tips for winter driving:
Have your Pontiac in good shape for
winter. Be sure your engine coolant
mix is correct.
Snow tires can help in loose snow,
but they may give
you less traction on
ice than regular tires. If you do not
expect to be driving in deep snow, but
may have to travel over ice,
you may
not want to switch to snow tires at all.
.. “I
. ..
You may want to put winter
emergency supplies
in your trunk.
Include an ice scraper, a small brush
or broom, a supply of windshield
washer fluid, a rag,
some winter outer
clothing, a small shovel,
a flashlight, a
red cloth, and a couple of reflective
warning triangles.
And, if you will be
driving under severe conditions,
include
a small bag of sand, a piece of
old carpet or a couple of burlap bags
to help provide traction. Be sure you
properly secure these items in your
vehicle.
171
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Your Driving and the Road
c
I
Drivjng on Snow or Ice
Most ‘of the time, those places where
your tires meet the road probably have
good traction.
However,
if there is snow or ice
betw,een your tires and the road, you
can have a very slippery situation.
You’ll have a lot less traction or “grip’’
an’d will need to be very careful.
What’s the worst time for this? “Wet
ice.” Very cold snow or ice can be slick
and hard to drive on. But wet ice can be
even more trouble because it may offer
the least traction of all. You can get
“wet ice” when it’s about freezing
(32”F, 0.C) and freezing rain begins to
fall. Try to avoid driving
on wet ice until
salt and sand crews can get there.
172
Whatever the condition-smooth ice,
packed, blowing or loose snow-drive
with caution. Accelerate gently. Try not
to break the fragile traction. If you
accelerate too fast, the drive wheels will
spin and polish the surface under the
tires even more.
Unless you have the anti-lock braking
system, you’ll want to brake very gently,
too.
(If you do have anti-lock, see the
Index under Anti-Lock Brake System.
This system improves your vehicle’s
ability to make a hard stop on a slippery
road.) Whether you have the anti-lock
braking system
or not, you’ll want to
begin stopping sooner than you would
on dry pavement. Without anti-lock
brakes, if you feel your vehicle begin to
slide, let
up on the brakes a little. Push
the brake pedal down steadily to get the
most traction you can. Remember, unless you have anti-lock,
if
you
brake so hard that your wheels stop
rolling, you’ll just slide. Brake
so your
wheels always keep rolling and you can still steer.
Whatever your braking system, allow greater following distance on any
slippery road.
Watch for slippery spots. The road might be fine until you hit a spot
that’s covered with ice. On an
otherwise clear road, ice patches may
appear in shaded areas where the sun
can’t reach: around clumps
of trees,
behind buildings, or under bridges.
Sometimes the surface
of a curve or
an overpass may remain icy when the
surrounding roads are clear. If you see
a patch of ice ahead
of you, brake
before you are on it. Try not to brake
while you’re actually
on the ice, and
avoid sudden steering maneuvers.
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If You’re Caught in a Blizzard
If you are stopped by heavy snow, you
could be in a serious situation. You
should probably stay with your vehicle
unless you
how for sure that you are
near help and you can hike through the
snow. Here are some things
to do to
summon help and keep yourself and
your passengers safe:
Turn on your hazard warning flashers.
Tie a red cloth to your vehicle to alert
police that you’ve been stopped by the
snow.
* Put on extra clothing or wrap a
blanket
around you, If you have no
blankets or extra clothing, make body
insulators
from newspapers, burlap
bags, rags,
floor mats-anything you
can
wrap around yourself or tuck
under
your clothing to keep warm.
but be
careful.
You can run the engine to keep warm,
A Snow can trap exhaust gases
under your vehicle. This can
cause deadly CO (carbon
monoxide) gas to get inside.
CO
could overcome you and kill you.
You can’t see it or smell
it, so you
might not know
it was in your
vehicle. Clear away snow from
around the base of your vehicle,
especially any that
is blocking your
exhaust pipe. And check around
again from time to time to be
sure
snow doesn’t collect there.
Open a window just a little on the
side of the vehicle that’s away from
the wind. This will help keep CO
out.
(17=3.=.
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Your Driving and the Road
If You’re Caught in a Blizzard
(COW.)
Run your engine only as long as you
must. This saves fuel. When you run
the engine, make it go a little faster
than just idle. That is, push the
accelerator slightly. This uses less fuel
for the heat that you get and it keeps
the battery charged.
You will need a
well-charged battery to restart the
vehicle and possibly for signaling later
on with your headlights. Let the
heater run for
a while.
Then, shut the engine
off and close
the window almost all the way to
preserve the heat. Start the engine
again and repeat this only when you
feel really uncomfortable from the
cold. But do it as little as possible.
Preserve the fuel as long as you can.
To help keep warm, you can get out of
the vehicle and do some fairly
vigorous exercises every half-hour or
so until help comes.
..a 174
If You’re Stuck h Deep Snow
This manual explains how to get the
vehicle out
of deep snow without
damaging it. See the index under
Rocking Your Vehicle.
Towing a Trailer
CAUTlON
f
A
If you don’t use the correct
equipment and drive
properly, you can lose control whf
you pull a trailer. For example, if
the trailer is too heavy, the brakes
may not work well-or even at all
You and your passengers could be
seriously injured. Pull a trailer only
if you have followed all the steps in
this section.
Pulling a trailer improperly can
damage your vehicle and result
in
costly repairs not covered by your
warranty.
To pull a trailer
correctly, follow the advice
in this
section.
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Do not tow a trailer if your vehicle is
equipped with a 3.4L (VIN Code X)
engine and a manual transaxle.
Your Pontiac can tow a trailer if it is
equipped with a
3.1L (VIN Code T)
engine or a 3.4L (VIN Code X) engine
and an automatic transaxle, and proper
trailer towing equipment.
To identify
what the vehicle trailering capacity is
for your vehicle, you should read the
information in
Weight of the Trailer
that appears later in this section. But
trailering is different than just driving
your vehicle by itself. Trailering means
changes in handling, durability, and fuel
economy. Successful, safe trailering
takes correct equipment, and it has to
be used properly.
That’s the reason for this section. In it
are many time-tested, important
trailering tips and safety rules. Many of these
are important
for your safety and
that of your passengers.
So please read
this section carefully before you pull a
trailer. Load-pulling components such
as the engine, transaxle, wheel
assemblies, and tires are forced to work
harder against the drag of the added
weight. The engine is required to
operate at relatively higher speeds and
under greater loads, generating extra
heat. What’s more, the trailer adds
considerably to wind resistance,
increasing the pulling requirements.
All of that means changes in:
Handling
Durability
Fuel economy
If You Do Decide to Pull a Trailer
If you do, here are some important
points.
There are many different laws having
to do with trailering. Make
sure your
rig will be legal, not
only where you
live but also where you’ll be driving. A
good source for this information can
be state or provincial police.
Consider using a sway control. You
can ask a hitch dealer about sway
control.
Don’t tow a trailer at all during the
first
500 miles (800 km) your new
vehicle is driven. Your engine, axle or
other parts could be damaged.
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