1996 CHEVROLET CAMARO ESP

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Here are some tips on night driving.
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Drive defensively.
Don’t drink and drive. 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.
You can be temporarily blinded by approaching
headlamps.
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
misaimed headlamps), slow down a little. Avoid staring
directly into the approaching headlamps.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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.
Driving Through Deep Standing Water
NOTICE:
If you drive too quickly through deep puddles or
standing water, water can come in through your
engine’s air intake and badly damage your
engine. Never drive through water that
is slightly
lower than the underbody
of your vehicle. If you
can’t avoid deep puddles or standing water, drive
through them very slowly.
Some Other Rainy Weather Tips
Turn on your low-beam headlamps -- not just
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0
your parking lamps -- 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.)

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 1
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. I
You can run the engine to keep warm, but be careful.
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 is 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.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Driving with a Trailer
Towing a trailer requires a certain amount of experience.
Before setting out for the open road, you’ll want to get
to know your rig. Acquaint yourself with the feel of
handling and braking with the added weight of the
trailer. And always keep in mind that the vehicle
you are
driving is now a good deal longer and not nearly as
responsive as your vehicle is by itself.
Before you start, check the trailer hitch and platform
(and attachments), safety chains, electrical connector,
lamps, tires and mirror adjustment. If the trailer has
electric brakes, start your vehicle and trailer moving and
then apply the trailer brake controller by hand to be sure
the brakes
are working. This lets you check your
electrical connection at the same time.
During your trip, check occasionally
to be sure that the
load is secure, and that the lamps and any trailer brakes
are still working.
Following Distance
Stay at least twice as far behind the vehicle ahead as you
would when driving your vehicle without a trailer. This
can help you avoid situations that require heavy braking
and sudden turns.
Passing
You’ll need more passing distance up ahead when
you’re towing a trailer. And, because you’re a good deal
longer, you’ll need to go much farther beyond the
passed vehicle before you can return to your lane.
Backing Up
Hold the bottom of the steering wheel with one hand.
Then,
to move the trailer to the left, just move that hand
to the left.
To move the trailer to the right, move your
hand
to the right. Always back up slowly and, if
possible, have someone guide you.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine When You Are Ready to Leave After
Parking on a Hill
1. Apply your regular brakes and hold the pedal down
while you:
Start your engine;
Shift into a gear; and
Release the parking brake.
2. Let up on the brake pedal.
3. Drive slowly until the trailer is clear of the chocks.
4. Stop and have someone pick up and store the chocks.
Maintenance When Trailer Towing
Your vehicle will need service more often when you’re
pulling a trailer. See the Maintenance Schedule for more
on this. Things that are especially important in trailer
operation are automatic transmission fluid (don’t
overfill), engine oil, axle lubricant, belt, cooling system
and brake adjustment. Each
of these is covered in this
manual, and the Index will help
you find them quickly.
If you’re trailering, it’s a good idea to review these
sections before you start your trip.
Check periodically to see that all hitch nuts and bolts
are tight.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine If a Tire Goes Flat
It’s unusual for a tire to “blow out” while you’re driving,
especially if you maintain your tires properly. If air goes
out of a tire, it’s much more likely
to leak out slowly.
But if you. should ever have a “blowout,” here are a few
tips about what
to expect and what to do:
If a front tire fails, the flat tire will create a drag that
pulls the vehicle toward that side. Take your foot
off the
accelerator pedal and grip the steering wheel firmly.
Steer to maintain lane position, and then gently brake to
a stop well
out of the traffic lane.
A rear blowout, particularly on a curve, acts much like a
skid and may require the same correction you’d use in a
skid. In any rear blowout, remove your foot from the
accelerator pedal. Get the vehicle under control by
steering the way you want the vehicle
to go. It may be
very bumpy and noisy, but you can still steer. Gently
brake to a stop
-- well off the road if possible.
If a tire goes flat, the next part shows how to use your
jacking equipment to change a flat tire safely.
Changing a Flat Tire
If a tire goes flat, avoid further tire and wheel damage
by driving slowly to a level place. Turn on your hazard
warning flashers.
A CAUTION:
Changing a tire can cause an injury. The vehicle
can slip off the jack and roll over you or other
people. You and they could be badly injured.
Find a level place to change your tire. To help
prevent the vehicle from moving:
1. Set the parking brake firmly.
2. Put an automatic transmission shift
lever in
PARK (P), or shift a manual
transmission to
FIRST (1) or
REVERSE (R).
3. Brn off the engine.
To be even more certain the vehicle won’t move,
you can put blocks at the front and rear
of the
tire farthest away from the one being changed.
That would be the tire on the other side of the
vehicle, at the opposite end.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine How to Check
Because this operation can be a little difficult, you may
choose to have this done at your Chevrolet dealership
Service Department.
If
you do it yourself, be sure to follow all the instructions
here, or
you could get a false reading on the dipstick.
NOTICE:
Too much or too little fluid can damage your
transmission. Too much can mean that some of
the fluid could come out and fall on hot engine
parts or exhaust system parts, starting a fire.
Be
sure to get an accurate reading if you check your
transmission fluid.
Wait at least 30 minutes before checking the
transmission fluid level if you have been driving:
When outside temperatures are above 90°F (32°C).
0 At high speed for quite a while.
0 In heavy traffic -- especially in hot weather.
e While pulling a trailer.
To get the right reading, the fluid should be at normal
operating temperature, which
is 180°F to 200°F
(82°C to 93°C).
Checking Transmission Fluid Hot
Get the vehicle warmed up by driving about 15 miles
(24 km) when outside temperatures are above 50°F
(10°C). If it's colder than 50°F (lO"C), drive the
vehicle in
DRIVE (D) until the engine temperature gage
moves and then remains steady for 10 minutes. Then
follow the hot check procedures.
Checking Transmission Fluid Cold
A cold check is made after the vehicle has been sitting
for eight hours or more with the engine off and is used
only as a reference. Let the engine
run at idle for five
minutes if outside temperatures are
50°F (10°C) or
more.
If it's colder than 50°F (IOOC), you may have
to idle the engine longer. Should the fluid level be
low
during a cold check, you must perform a hot check
before adding fluid. This will give you a more accurate
reading
of the fluid level.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 3800 L36 Engine Transmission Dipstick
3. Check both sides of the dipstick, and read the lower
level. The fluid level must be in the COLD area for a
cold check or in the
HOT area or cross-hatched area
for a hot check.
4. If the fluid level is in the acceptable range, push the
dipstick back
in all the way.
How to Add Fluid
Refer to the Maintenance Schedule to determine what
kind
of transmission fluid to use. See “Recommended
Fluids and Lubricants”
in the Index.
Add fluid only after checking the transmission fluid
HOT. (A COLD check is used only as a reference.) If
the fluid level is low, add only enough of the proper
fluid
to bring the level up to the HOT area for a hot
check. It doesn’t take much fluid, generally less than a
pint
(0.5 L). Don ’t overfill. We recommend you use only
fluid labeled DEXRON@-111, because fluid with that
label is made especially for your automatic transmission.
Damage caused by fluid other than DEXRON-I11 is
not
covered by your new vehicle warranty.
After adding fluid, recheck the fluid level
as
described under “How to Check.”
When the correct fluid level is obtained, push the
dipstick back in all
the way.
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