1996 CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO traction control

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Cruise Control (Option)
Cruise control can be dangerous where you
can’t drive safely at a steady speed.
So,
don’t use your cruise control on winding
roads or in heavy traffic.
slippery roads. On such roads, fast changes
in tire traction can cause needless wheel
spiming, and you could lose control. Don’t
use cruise control
on slippery roads.
Cruise control can be dangerous on
With cruise control, you can maintain a speed of about
25 mph (40 kmdh) or more without keeping your foot on
the accelerator. This can really help on long trips. Cruise
control does not work at speeds below about
25 mph
(40 kmh).
When you apply your brakes, the cruise control shuts
off.
2-27

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Remember: Anti-lock doesn’t change the time you need
to get your foot
up to the brake pedal or always decrease
stopping distance. 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.
Using 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.
LOW
TRAC
When your anti-lock system
is adjusting brake pressure
to help avoid a braking skid,
this light will come on. See
“Anti-Lock Brake System
Active Light”
in the Index.
Braking in Emergencies
Use your anti-lock braking system when you need to.
With anti-lock, you can steer and brake at the same
time. In many emergencies, steering can help you more
than even the very best braking.
Steering
Power Steering
If you lose power steering assist because the engine
stops or
the system is not functioning, you can steer but
it will take much more effort.
Steering Tips
Driving an 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.
4-8

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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. 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.
Suppose you’re steering through a sharp curve. Then
you
suddenly accelerate. Both control systems -- steering and
acceleration
-- have to do their work where the tires meet
the road. Adding the sudden acceleration can demand too
much of those places. You can lose control.
What should you do if this ever happens? Ease up on the
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.
ril in E enc:
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. (See “Braking in
Emergencies” earlier in this section.) 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.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine A cornering skid and an acceleration skid are best
handled by easing your foot off the accelerator pedal. Driving at Night
If your vehicle starts to slide, ease your foot off the
accelerator pedal and quickly steer
the way you want the
vehicle to go. If you start steering quickly enough, your
vehicle may straighten out. Always be ready for a
second skid if it occurs.
Of course, traction is reduced when water, snow, ice,
gravel or other material is on the road. For safety, you’ll
want to slow down and adjust your driving to these
conditions. It is important to slow down on slippery
surfaces because stopping distance will be longer and
vehicle control more limited.
While driving on a surface
with reduced traction, try
your best to avoid sudden steering, acceleration or
braking (including engine braking by shifting to a lower
gear).
Any sudden changes could cause the tires to slide.
You may not realize the surface is slippery
until
your vehicle is skidding. Learn to recognize warning
clues
-- such as enough water, ice or packed snow on
the road to make a “mirrored surface”
-- and slow down
when you have any doubt.
Remember: Any anti-lock brake system
(ABS) helps
avoid only the braking skid. 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.
4-13

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Buying New Tires
To find out what kind and size of tires you need, look at
the Tire-Loading Information label.
The tires installed on your vehicle when
it was new had
a Tire Performance Criteria Specification (TPC Spec)
number on each ti.re’s sidewall. When
you get new tires,
~~ - -I - ~ 4
load range, speed rating and construction type (bias,
bias-belted or radial) as your original tires.
get ones
with that same
TPC Spec number. That way
your vehicle will continue to have tires that are designed
to give proper endurance, handling, speed rating,
traction, ride and other things during normal service on
your vehicle.
If your tires have an all-season tread
design, the TPC number will be followed by an
“MS”
(for mud and snow).
If you ever replace your tires with those not having a
TPC SDec number. make sure thev are the same size, Mixing tires could cause
you to lose control while
driving.
If you mix tires of different sizes or types
(radial and bias-belted tires), the vehicle may not
handle properly, and you could have a crash.
Using tires of different sizes may also cause
damage to your vehicle. Be sure to use the
same size and type tires on all four wheels.
It’s all right to drive with your compact spare,
though. It was developed for use on your vehicle.
Uniform Tire Quality Grading
The following information relates to the system developed
by the United States National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, which grades tires by treadwear, &action
and temperature performance.
(This applies only to
vehicles sold in the United States.) The grades are molded on the sidewas
of most passenger car tires. The Uniform
Tire Quality Grading system does not apply to deep tread, winter-type snow tires, space-saver or temporary use spare
tires, tires
with nominal rim diameters of 10 to 12 inches
(25 to 30 cm), or to some limited-production tires.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine While the tires available on General Motors passenger
cars and light trucks may vary with respect to these
grades,
they must also conform to Federal safety
requirements and additional General Motors Tire
Performance Criteria‘(TPC) standards.
Tread wear
The treadwear grade is a comparative rating based on
the wear rate of the tire when tested under controlled
conditions on
a specified government test course. For
example,
a tire graded 150 would wear one and a half
( I 1/2) times as well on the government course as a tire
graded
100. The relative performance of tires depends
upon the actual conditions of their use, however, and
may depart significantly from the norm due to variations
in driving habits, service practices and differences in
road characteristics and climate.
Traction - A, B, C
The traction grades, from highest to lowest, are A, B, and
C, and they represent the tire’s ability to stop on wet
pavement
as measured under controlled conditions on
specified government test surfaces
of asphalt and concrete.
A tire marked C may have poor traction performance. Warning:
The traction grade assigned to this tire
is based
on braking (straightahead) traction tests and does not
include cornering (turning) traction.
Temperature - A, B, C
The temperature grades are A (the highest), B, and C,
representing the tire’s resistance to the generation of
heat and its ability to dissipate heat when tested under
controlled conditions on a specified indoor laboratory
test wheel. Sustained high temperature can cause the
material of the tire to degenerate and reduce tire life,
and excessive temperature can lead to sudden tire
failure. The grade C corresponds to
a level of
performance which all passenger car tires must meet
under
the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
No. 109. Grades B and A represent higher levels of
performance on
the laboratory test wheel than the
minimum required by law.
Warning: The temperature grade for
this tire is
established for a tire that is properly inflated and not
overloaded. Excessive speed, underinflation, or
excessive loading, either separately or in combination,
can cause heat buildup and possible tire failure.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Thermostat .................................... 6-23
Tilt Steering Wheel
............................. 2-24
Time. Setting the
................................ 3-5
TireLoading
................................... 4-26
Tire-Loading Information Label
................... 4-26
BuyingNew
................................. 6-40
Tire Chains
.................................... 6-43
Tires
......................................... 6-36
Alignment
and Balance ........................ 6-42
Chains
..................................... 6-43
Changing a Flat
.............................. 5-22
Cleaning
.................................... 6-50
Compact Spare
............................... 5-33
Inflation
.................................... 6-37
Inflation Check
............................... 7-36
Inspection and Rotation
........................ 6-38
Loading
.................................... 4-26
Pressure
.................................... 6-37
Storing the Flat
............................... 5-30
Storing the Spare
............................. 5-32
Temperature
................................. 6-4 I
Traction .................................... 6-41
Treadwear
................................... 6-41
Uniform Quality Grading
....................... 6-40
Wear Indicators
.............................. 6-39
Wheel Replacement
........................... 6-42
When It’s Time for New
....................... 6-39
TopStrap
..................................... 1-33
TorqueLock
................................... 2-20
Torque, Wheel
Nut .............................. 5-29
TowingaTrailer
................................ 4-28
Towing Your Vehicle
............................. 5-7 Trailer
Brakes
Driving
Driving
Hitches
..................................... 4-32
onGrades
............................ 4-33
with ................................. 4-32
..................................... 4-31
Maintenance When Towing
..................... 4-34
Parking on Hills
.............................. 4-34
Safety Chains
................................ 4-31
Tongueweight
............................... 4-30
Total Weight on Tires
.......................... 4-31
Towing
..................................... 4-28
TurnSignals
................................. 4-33
Weight
..................................... 4-30
Transaxle Fluid. Automatic
....................... 6-16
Transmitters. Remote Lock Control
.................. 2-4
Transportation. Courtesy
.......................... 8-6
Trip Odometer
................................. 2-41
Trunk
......................................... 2-6
Lock
........................................ 2-6
Release. Remote
............................... 2-7
TTYUsers ..................................... 8-3
Turn Signal and Lane Change Signals
............... 2-25
Turn Signal/Multifunction Lever
................... 2-24
Turn Signals When Towing
a Trailer ................ 4-33
Underbody Flushin, o Service ..................... 7-39
Underhood Electrical Center
................. 6-56. 6-58
Underbody Maintenance
......................... 6-50
9-9