1996 OLDSMOBILE AURORA traction control

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°F; 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.
Keep your traction control system on.
It improves your
ability to accelerate when driving on a slippery road. Even
though your vehicle has
a traction control system, you’ll
want
to slow down and adjust your driving to the road
conditions. See “Traction Control System”
in the Index.
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NOTICE:
Spinning your wheels can destroy parts of your
vehicle as well
as the tires. If you spin the wheels
too fast while shifting your transaxle back and
forth, you can destroy your transaxle.
For information about using tire chains on your vehicle,
see “Tire Chains” in the Index.
Rocking your vehicle to get it out:
First, turn your steering wheel left and right. That will
clear the area around your front wheels. You should turn
your traction control system off. (See “Traction Control
System” in the Index.) Then shift back and forth
between REVERSE
(R) and a forward gear, spinning the
wheels as little
as possible. Release the accelerator pedal
while you shift, and press lightly on the accelerator
pedal when the transaxle is in gear. If that doesn’t get
you out after
a few tries, you may need to be towed out.
If you do need to be towed out, see “Towing Your
Vehicle” in the Index.
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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 tire’s sidewall. When you get new 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 Spec number, make sure they are the same size,
load range, speed rating and construction type (bias,
bias-belted or radial) as your original tires. 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.
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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, traction and temperature performance. (This
applies only to vehicles sold in the United States.) The
grades are molded on the sidewalls 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.
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.
Treadwear
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
(1 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
6-45
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Lights Air Bag Readiness
....................... 1.19. 2.64
Anti-Lock Brake System Warning
............ 2.66. 4.6
Battery Warning
.............................. 2-64
Brake System Warning
......................... 2-65
Engine Oil Pressure Light
...................... 2-72
Interior
..................................... 2-45
Parking Brake Indicator
........................ 2-66
Safety Belt Reminder
...................... 1.6. 2.63
Service Engine Soon
.......................... 2-69
Traction Active
................................ 4-8
Traction Control System Active
.............. 2.68. 4.8
Traction Control System Warning
............ 2.67. 4.9
Traction
Off Warning ........................... 4-9
Light Sensor. Twilight Sentinel
.................... 2-44
Loading Your Vehicle
........................... 4-29
Locks
......................................... 2-3
Anti-Lockout Feature
.......................... 2-7
Automatic Door
............................... 2-4
Delayed Locking
............................. 2- 10
Door ........................................ 2-3
Key Lock Cylinder Service
..................... 7-39
PowerDoor
.................................. 2-4
Rear Door Security
............................. 2-6
Steering Column Lock Check
................... 7-41
Tr~nk
...................................... 2-13
Window
.................................... 2-32
Lubricants and Fluids
............................ 7-43
Lubrication Service. Body
........................ 7-39
Lumbar Controls
................................ 1-2 Magnasteer
............................ ; . GT 4-10
Maintenance
Normal Replacement Parts
...................... 6-69
Record
..................................... 7-45
Underbody
.................................. 6-54
When Trailer Towing
.......................... 4-38
Maintenance Schedule
............................ 7-1
Long Tripmighway Definition
................... 7-5
Long Tripwighway Intervals
..................... 7-5
Owner Checks and Services
..................... 7-38
Periodic Maintenance Inspections
................ 7-42
Recommended Fluids and Lubricants
............. 7-43
Scheduled Maintenance Services
.................. 7-2
Short Trip/City Definition
....................... 7-4
Short Trip/City Intervals
........................ 7-4
Malfunction Indicator Lamp
...................... 2-69
Maxifuse/Relay Center
.......................... 6-58
Methanol
...................................... 6-3
Mirrors
....................................... 2-48
Convex Outside
.............................. 2-49
Heated Outside
............................... 2-50
Power Remote Control
......................... 2-49
MMT
......................................... 6-3
MountainRoads
................................ 4-23
Multifunction Lever
............................. 2-33
Electrochromic
Daymight Rearview
.............. 2-48
Visor Vanity. Illuminated
....................... 2-53
Net. Convenience .............................. 2-51
Neutral. Automatic Transaxle
..................... 2-24
New Vehicle Break-In
........................... 2-18
Nightvision
................................... 4-16
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Tires ......................................... 6-40
Alignment and Balance
........................ 6-46
Buying New'
................................. 6-44
Chains
..................................... 6-47
ChangingaFlat
.............................. 5-24
Cleaning
.................................... 6-54
Compact Spare
............................... 5-34
Inflation
.................................... 6-41
Inflation Check
............................... 7-38
Inspection and Rotation
........................ 6-42
Loading Your Vehicle
......................... 4-29
Pressure
.................................... 6-41
Temperature
................................. 6-45
Traction
.................................... 6-45
Treadwear
................................... 6-45
Uniform Quality Grading
....................... 6-45
Wear Indicators
.............................. 6-43
Wheel Replacement
........................... 6-46
When It's Time for New
....................... 6-43
TopStrap
..................................... 1-35
TorqueLock
................................... 2-29
Torque, Wheel Nut
......................... 5-32. 6-68
Towing a Trailer
................................ 4-3 1
Towing Your Vehicle
............................. 5-8
Traction
Control System
................................ 4-8
Control System Active Light
................ 2-68, 4-8
Control System Warning Light
.............. 2-67, 4-9
Off Warning Light ............................. 4-9
Brakes
..................................... 4-35
Driving
on Grades ............................ 4-37
Driving with
................................. 4-35
Trailer Hitches
..................................... 4-34
Maintenance When Towing
..................... 4-38
Parking on Hills .............................. 4-37
Safety Chains
................................ 4-35
Tongueweight
............................... 4-33
Total Weight on Tires
.......................... 4-34
Towing
..................................... 4-31
Turnsignals
................................. 4-37
Weight
..................................... 4-33
Transaxle Fluid. Automatic
....................... 6-17
Transaxle Fluid Life
............................. 2-76
Transmitters
Remote Lock Control
........................... 2-8
Universal
................................... 2-55
Transportation. Courtesy
.......................... 8-5
Trip Odometer
................................. 2-61
Trunk
Lock
....................................... 2-13
Release. Remote Lockout
...................... 2-13
Security Override
............................. 2-14
TTYUsers
..................................... 8-3
Turn Signal and Lane Change Signals
............... 2-34
Turn Signal/Multifunction Lever
................... 2-33
Turn Signal On Chime
........................... 2-35
Turn Signals When Towing a Trailer ................ 4-37
Twilight Sentinel
............................... 2-44
Underbody Flushing Service
..................... 7-41
Underbody Maintenance
......................... 6-54
Universal Theft-Deterrent System
.................. 2-15
Universal Transmitter
............................ 2-55
LO
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