1996 CHEVROLET TRACKER Owners Manual

Driving 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 between your tires and
the road, you can have
a very slippery situation. You’ll
have a lot less traction or “grip” and 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 OF; 0 ’ C) and freezing rain begins to fall.
Try to avoid driving on wet ice until salt and sand crews
can get there.
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 “Anti-Lack” in the Index. This system improves
your vehicle’s stability when you 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.
4-40
ProCarManuals.com

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.
0 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.
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 know 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:
0 Turn on your hazard flashers.
4-41
ProCarManuals.com

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.
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.
4-42
ProCarManuals.com

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 headlamps. Let the heater run for awhile.
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.
Recreational Vehicle Towing
There may be times when you want to tow your Geo
behind another vehicle for use at your destination. Be
sure to use the proper towing equipment designed for
recreational towing. Follow the instructions for the
towing equipment.
Towing Your Vehicle from the Rear
The best way to tow your Geo is from the rear. Follow
these steps:
1. Put the rear wheels on a dolly.
I I
NOTICE:
Do not tow your Geo with the rear wheels in
contact with the ground, or the transmission
could be damaged.
4-43
ProCarManuals.com

2.
3.
4.
5,
Set the parking brake.
If your Geo is a four-wheel-drive vehicle, set your
manual free-wheeling hubs
to FliEE or unlock your
automatic freewheeling hubs.
See “Four-wheel
Drive” in the Index.
Turn the ignition key to ACC to unlock the
steering wheel.
Clamp the steering wheel in a straight-ahead
position, with
a clamping device designed
for towing.
Release the parking brake.
NOTICE:
Make sure that the towing speed does not
exceed 55 mph (90 km/h), or your Geo could be
badly damaged.
Towing Your Ve- ‘cle from the Front
NOTICE:
If your vehicle has automatic freewheeling hubs
or two-wheel drive, do not tow it on all four
wheels. If you do, your transmission could be
damaged.
4-44
ProCarManuals.com

If you have a four-wheel-drive vehicle with manual
freewheeling
hubs, it can be towed from the front with
all four wheels on the ground. Follow these steps:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Set the parking brake.
Turn the ignition key to ACC to unlock the
steering wheel.
Shift your automatic transmission into
PARK (P), or
your manual transmission into SECOND
(2).
Shift the transfer case to NEUTRAL (N).
Set the hubs to FREE. See “Four-wheel Drive” in
the Index.
Release
the parking brake.
Stop towing every
200 miles (300 km) and start
the engine. Leave the transfer case shift lever
in
NEUTRAL (N). Shift your automatic transmission
to DRIVE (D); leave a manual transmission in
SECOND (2) with the clutch engaged. Run the engine
at medium speed for one minute to circulate the oil in
the transfer case. Turn the ignition key to ACC. Now
you can continue towing your Geo.
NOTICE:
The front wheels transmit shocks during towing.
The steering column may not be strong enough to
withstand the shocks. Always unlock the steering
wheel before towing.
I NOTICE:
Make sure that the towing speed does not exceed
50 mph (80 kdh), or your Geo could be badly
damaged.
4-45
ProCarManuals.com

Loading Your Vehicle
TIRE PLACARD
I GWR IGWR FRTI GAWR RR I I I I I I
LBIKg
~~
TIRES
RIMS
INFLATION
COLD PSl/kPa PRESSURE
MFD BY CAM1 AUTOMOTIVE DATE GVWR GAWR FRT CANADA GAWR RR
Two labels on your vehicle show how much weight it
may properly carry. The Tire-Loading Information label
found on the driver's door lock pillar tells you the
proper size, speed rating and recommended inflation pressures for the tires on your vehicle. It also gives you
important information about the number
of people that
can be in your vehicle and the total weight that you can
carry. This weight is called the vehicle capacity weight
and includes the weight
of all occupants, cargo and all
nonfactory-installed options. The
other label is the Certification label, also found on
the driver's door
lock pillar. It tells you the gross weight
capacity of your vehicle, called the GVWR (Gross
Vehicle Weight Rating). The GVWR includes th'e weight
of the vehicle, all occupants, fuel and cargo. Never
exceed the
GVWR for your vehicle, or the Gross Axle
Weight Rating
(GAWR) for either the front or rear axle.
And, if you do have a heavy load, you should spread it
out. Don't
carry more than 400 lbs. (1 8 1 kg) in your
rear area when four people
are in your two-wheel-drive
vehicle.
If you have a four-wheel-drive vehicle, don't
carry
more than 200 lbs. (91 kg) in your rear area when
four people are
in your vehicle.
4-46
ProCarManuals.com

A CAUTION:
I:
Do not load your vehicle any heavier than
the GVWR, or either the maximum front or
rear
GAWR. If you do, parts an your vehicle
can break, or it can change the way your
vehicle handles. These could cause
you to lose
control. Also, overloading can shorten the life
of your vehicle.
NOTICE:
Your warranty does not cover parts or
components that fail because of overloading.
~~
€ you put things inside your vehicle -- like suitcases,
tools, packages or anything else
-- they will go as fast as
the vehicle goes.
If you have to stop or turn quickly, or
if there is a crash, they’ll keep going.
A CAUTION:
nside your vehicle can strike
and injure people in
a sudden stop or turn, or in
a crash.
Put things in the cargo area of your vehicle.
0 Never stack heavier things, like suitcases,
Try to spread the weight evenly.
inside the vehicle
so that some of them are
above the tops
of the seats.
0 Don’t leave an unsecured child restraint in
your vehicle.
When you carry something inside the
vehicle, secure it whenever
you can.
Don’t leave a seat folded down unless you
need to.
There’s also important loading information for off-road
driving in this manual.
See “Loading Your VehicIe” in
the Index.
4-47
ProCarManuals.com