1994 PONTIAC GRAND-AM brakes

Features & Controls
Shifting the Automatic
Transaxle
(3 or 4 Speeds) (CONT.)
I NOTICE: I
Damage to your transaxle caused by
shifting out of
“P’ (Park) or “N”
(Neutral) with the engine racing
isn’t covered by your warranty.
Forward Gears
(Three Speed)
D (Drive): This position is for normal
driving with the three speed automatic
transaxle.
2 (Second Gear): This position gives you
more power but lower fuel economy.
You
can use “2” on hills. It can help control
your speed as
you go down steep
mountain roads, but then you would also
want to use your brakes off and on.
NOTICE:
Don’t drive in “ 2” (Second Gear)
for more than
5 miles (8 km), or at
speeds over
55 mph (88 km/h), or
you can damage your transaxle. Use
“D” as much as possible.
Don’t shift into “2” unless you are
going slower than
65 mph (105 km/h),
or damage to your engine may result.
I
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FIRST (1): This position gives you even
more power
(but lower fuel economy)
than
SECOND. You can use it on very
steep
hills, or in deep snow or mud. If the
selector lever
is put in FIRST, the
transaxle won’t downshift into
first gear
until the vehicle is going slowly enough.
NOTICE:
If your front wheels can’t rotate,
don’t try
to drive. This might
happen
if you were stuck in very
deep sand or mud or were up
against a solid object. You could
damage your transaxle.
Also, if you stop when going uphill,
don’t hold your vehicle there
with
only the accelerator pedal. This
could overheat and damage the
transaxle. Use your brakes to hold
your vehicle
in position on a hill.
Forward Gears
(Four Speed)
AUTOMATIC OVERDRIVE (D): This
position is for normal driving
with the
four speed automatic transaxle.
If you
need more power for passing, and you’re:
Going less than about 35 mph
(55 kmh), push your accelerator pedal
about halfway down.
Going about 35 mph (55 km/h) or
more, push the accelerator all the way
down.
The transaxle will automatically shift
down to the next gear and provide more
power.
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Features & Controls
Forward Gears
(Four Speed) (CONK)
3 (Third Gear): This is like D, but you
never
go into Overdrive. Here are some
times you might choose
3 instead of D:
0 When driving on hilly, winding roads.
When towing a trailer, so there is less
shifting between gears.
When going down a steep hill.
2 (Second and First Gear): This
position provides second and first gear
performance. When in the
“2” position,
the transaxle will operate in second gear
at vehicle speeds greater than
20 mph and
in first gear at vehicle speeds less than
20 mph.
You can use “2” on hills. It can help
control your speed as you go down steep
mountain roads, but then you would also
want to use your brakes
off and on.
Shifting the Five-Speed
Manual Transaxle
There are seven different positions:
N Neutral
1 First Gear
2 Second Gear
3 Third Gear
4 Fourth Gear
5 Fifth Gear
R Reverse
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To Release the Parking Brake:
Hold the regular brake pedal down. Pull
the “BRAKE RELEASE” lever.
1 NOTICE:
Driving with the parking brake on
overheat. You may have to replace
them, and
you could also damage
other parts of
your vehicle. ~
can cause your rear brakes to
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.
Shifting Into “P”
(Park)
(Automatic Transaxle
Models
Only)
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Features & Controls
When you apply your brakes, or push the
:lutch pedal,
if you have a manual
:ramaxle, the Cruise Control shuts off.
I Cruise Control (OPTION)
Vith Cruise Control, you can maintain a
peed of about
25 mph (40 km/h) or mort
vithout keeping your foot on the
ccelerator. This can really help on long
rips. Cruise Control does not work at
peeds below about
25 mph (40 km/h).
To Set Cruise Control
Move the Cruise Control switch to
ON.
0 Get up to the speed you want.
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anti-Lock Brake System
Naming Light
Vith anti-lock, this light will come on
{hen you start your engine and it will
tay on for three seconds. That’s normal.
F the light doesn’t come on, have it fixed
D it will be ready to warn you if there is 2
roblem.
1 the light flashes when you’re driving,
ou don’t have anti-lock brakes and
lere’s a problem with your regular
rakes. Pull off the road and stop arefully. You may notice that the pedal
is
arder to push. Or, the pedal may go
loser to the floor. It may take longer to
:op. Have the vehicle towed for service.
See “Towing Your Car”
in the Index.)
If the anti-lock brake system warning
light stays on longer than normal after
you’ve started your engine, turn the
ignition
off. Or, if the light comes on and
stays on when you’re driving, stop as
soon as possible and turn the ignition off.
Then start the engine again to reset the
system.
If the light still stays on, or comes
3n again while you’re driving, your
Pontiac needs service.
If the light is on
but not flashing and the regular brake
system warning light isn’t on, you still
nave brakes, but you don’t have anti-lock
xakes.
Shift Light
(MANUAL TRA NSAXL E)
This light comes on when you need to
shift to the next higher gear. See “Manual
Transaxle”
in the Index.
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Your Driving and the Road
Drunken Driving (CONTI
people are impaired at a BAC
approaching
0.05 percent, and that the
effects are worse at night. All drivers are
impaired at BAC levels above
0.05
percent. Statistics show that the chance of
being in an accident increases sharply for
drivers who have a BAC of
0.05 percent
or above. A driver with a BAC level of
0.06 percent (three beers in one hour for a
180-pound or
82 kg person) has doubled
his or her chance of having an accident.
At a BAC level of
0.10 percent, the
chance of that driver having an accident is
six times greater; at a level of 0.15
percent, the chances are twenty-five times
greater! And, the body takes about an
hour to rid itself of the alcohol in on@
drink.
No amount of coffee or number of
cold showers will speed that up.
“I’ll be careful” isn’t the right answer.
What if there’s an emergency, a need to
take sudden action, as when a child darts
into the street? A person with a higher
BAC might not be able to react quickly
enough to avoid the collision.
There’s something else about drinking
and driving that many people don’t know.
Medical research shows that alcohol in a
person’s system can make crash injuries
worse. That’s especially true for brain,
spinal cord and heart injuries. That means
that if anyone who has been drinking
--
driver or passenger -- is in a crash, the
chance of being killed or permanently
disabled
is higher than if that person had
not. been drinking. And we’ve already
seen that the chance of a crash itself is
higher for drinking drivers.
Control of a Vehicle
You have three systems that make your
vehicle
go where you want it to go. They
are the brakes, the steering and the
accelerator. All three systems have to do
their work at the places where the tires meet the road.
Sometimes, as when you’re driving on
snow or ice, it’s easy
to ask more of those
control systems than the tires and road
a
can provide. That means you can lose
control of your vehicle.
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Your Driving and the Road
anti-Lock Brakes (ABS)
‘CONT.)
’his light on the instrument panel will go
In when you start your vehicle.
Nhen you start your vehicle, or when yo^
begin to drive away, you may hear a
nomentary motor or clicking noise. And
‘ou may even notice that your brake
edal moves a little while this
is going on
rhis is the ABS system testing itself.
If
here’s a problem with the anti-lock brakc
ystem, the anti-lock brake system
Yarning light will stay on or flash.
iee “Anti-lock Brake System Warning
ight” in the Index.
Here’s how anti-lock works. Let’s say the
road is wet. You’re driving safely.
Suddenly an animal jumps out in front of
you.
You slam on the brakes. Here’s 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 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.
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.
Remember: Anti-lock doesn’t change the
time you need to get your 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.
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