1995 PONTIAC FIREBIRD light

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 fiont 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 may feel the system
working, or you may notice some noise, but this
is
normal. When your anti-lock system is adjusting brake
pressure to help avoid a braking skid,
the LOW TRAC
light
will come on. See “LOW Traction Light” in the
Index.
Traction Control System
(Option:
LT1 V8 Engine)
Your vehicle may have a traction control system that
limits wheel spin. This is especially useful in slippery
road conditions: The system operates only if it senses
that one or both of the rear wheels are spinning or
beginning to lose traction.
When this happens, the system works the rear brakes
and reduces engine power
(by closing the throttle and
managing engine spark) to limit wheel spin.
The LOW TRAC light will come on when your traction
control system is limiting wheel spin. See “Low Traction
Light” in the Index.
You may feel the system working, or
you may notice some noise, but this
is normal.
The traction control system may operate on dry roads
under some conditions, and
you may notice a reduction
in acceleration when
this happens. This is normal and
doesn’t mean there’s a problem with your vehicle.
Examples of these conditions include a hard acceleration
in a
turn, or an abrupt upshift or downshift.
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If your vehicle is in cruise control when the traction When this warning light is on, the system will not liinit
control system begins to lirinit wheel spin, the cruise wheel spin. Adiust your driving accordingly - -
control will automatically disengage. When road
conditions allow you to safely use it again, you may
re-engage the cruise
corn-01. (See “Ci-uise Control” in
The traction control system automatically comes on
whenever you start your vehicle.
the Index.)
TCS
OFF
When the system is on,
the TCS
OFF warning
light will come on to
let you know if there’s a problem with your
traction control
system. See “Traction
Control System
Warning Light” in the
Index.
To limit wheel spin, especially in slippery mad
conditions, you should always leave the system on. But
you can
turn the traction control system off if you ever
need to. (You should
turn the system off if youi. vehicle
ever gets stuck in sand, mud, ice
or snow. See “Rocking
Your Vehicle” in the Index.)
’
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1
TRACTION
@
Automatic
Transmission
Manual
Transmission
TRACTION
CONTROL
To turn the system off, press the button located on
the center of the console behind the shift lever
(Automatic Transmission) or in ffont of the shift boot
(Manual Trans’Mss-ion).
The light on the bu@on will go off, and the TCS OFF
wmiqg light will come on and stay on. If the traction
control system
is limiting wheel spin when you press the
button, the system won’t
turn off right away. It will wait
until there’s no.lonier
a current need to limit wheel spin.
You can turn the system back on at any time by pressing
the button again.
The light on the button should come on, aqd the
TCS
QFF warning light should go off.
If your car is equipped with P245/50ZR16 tires, the
traction control system will automatically
turn off at
speeds above 108 mph (174
km/h). (The TCS OFF
warning light will not come on.) When the vehicle speed
drops below
1p3 mph (166 km/h) the system will
automaticaUy borne on agdn.
,!
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Off-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
1/4 turn until the
right front tire contacts the pavement edge. Then turn
your steering wheel to go straight down the roadway.
OFF
SLOW DOWN
edge of paved surface
5’ LEFT APPROX. QUARTER TURN
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 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:
0 “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 making a successful pass, wait for a better time.
Watch for traflic signs, pavement markings, and lines.
If you can see a sign up ahead that might indicate a
turn or an intersection, delay your pass. A broken
center line usually indicates it’s
all right to pass
(providing the road ahead is clear). Never cross a solid
line on your side
of the lane or a double solid line,
even
if the road seems empty of approaching traffic.
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Do not get too close to the vehicle you want to pass
while you’re awaiting
an opportunity. For one thing,
following too closely reduces your area of vision,
especially if you’re following a larger vehicle.
Also,
you won’t have adequate space if the vehicle ahead
suddenly slows or stops. Keep back a reasonable
distance.
When it looks like a chance to pass is coming up,
start to accelerate but stay in the right lane and don’t
get too close. Time your move
so you will be
increasing speed as the time comes to move into the
other lane.
If the way is clear to pass, you will have a
“running start” that more than makes up for the
distance you would lose by dropping back. And
if
something happens to cause you to cancel your pass,
you need only slow down and drop back again and
wait for another opportunity.
If other cars are lined up to pass a slow vehicle, wait
your turn. But take care that someone isn’t trying to
pass you as you pull out to pass the slow vehicle. Remember
to glance over your shoulder and check
the blind spot.
Check your mirrors, glance over your shoulder, and
start your left lane change signal before moving out
of the right lane to pass. When you are far enough
ahead of the passed vehicle to see its front in your
inside mirror, activate your right lane change signal
and move back into the right lane. (Remember that
your right outside mirror is convex. The vehicle you
just passed may seem to be farther away from you
than it really is.)
Try not to pass more than one vehicle at a time on
two-lane roads. Reconsider before passing the next
vehicle.
Don’t overtake a slowly moving vehicle too rapidly.
Even though the brake lights are not flashing, it may
be slowing down or starting to turn.
If you’re being passed, make it easy for the
following driver to get ahead of you. Perhaps you
can ease a little
to the right.
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I
Driving at Night 0
0
0
Night driving is more dangerous than day driving. One
reason
is that some drivers are likely to be impaired -- by
alcohol
or drugs, with night vision problems, or by fatigue.
Here are some tips on night driving.
Drive defensively.
a Don’t drink and drive.
0
0
Adjust your inside rearview mirror to reduce the
glare from headlamps behind you.
Since you can’t see as well, you may need to slow
down and keep more space between you and other
vehicles.
Slow down, especially on higher speed roads. Your
headlamps can light up only so much road ahead.
In remote areas, watch for animals.
If you’re tired, pull off the road in a safe place and
rest.
Night Vision
No one can see as well at night as in the daytime. But as
we get older these differences increase. A 50-year-old
driver may require at least twice as much light to see the same thing at night as a 20-year-old.
What you do in the daytime can also affect your night
vision. For example, if you spend the day in bright
sunshine you
are wise to wear sunglasses. Your eyes will
have less trouble adjusting to night. But
if you’re
driving, don’t wear sunglasses at night. They may cut
down on glare from headlamps, but they also make a lot
of things invisible.
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You can be temporarily blinded by approaching lights.
It can take a second or two, or even several seconds, for
your eyes to readjust to the dark. When you are faced
with severe glare (as from a driver who doesn’t lower
the high beams, or a vehicle with rnisaimed headlamps),
slow down a little. Avoid staring directly into the
approaching lights.
Keep your windshield and all the glass on your vehicle
clean
-- inside and out. Glare at night is made much
worse by dirt on the glass. Even the inside of the glass
can build up a film caused by dust. Dirty glass makes
lights dazzle and flash more than clean glass would,
making the pupils of your eyes contract repeatedly.
Remember that ydur headlamps light up far less of a
roadway when you
are in a turn or curve. Keep your
eyes moving; that way, it’s easier to pick out dimly
lighted objects. Just as your headlamps should be
checked regularly for proper aim,
so should your eyes
be examined regularly. Some drivers suffer from night
blindness
-- the inability to see in dim light -- and aren’t
even aware of it.
Driving in the Rain
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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
0 Turn on your low-beam headlamps -- not just your . -,
parking lights -- 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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