1996 PONTIAC GRAND-AM mirror

Front Map Lamps (Option)
If your vehicle has a sunroof, it will have a rearview mirror
with lamps built in. The lamps go on when you open the
doors. When the doors
are closed, turn the lamps on and off
with the switches located below the face of the mirror.
Rear Reading Lamps (Option)
These overhead lamps and the interior courtesy lamps
will come on when you open the doors.
To turn on a reading lamp when the doors are closed,
press the button. Press it again-to
turn off the lamp.
Trunk Lamp
This lamp comes on when you open your trunk.
Battery Saver
Your Pontiac is equipped with a battery saver feature
designed to protect your vehicle’s battery.
When any interior lamp (trunk, reading, footwell or glove box) is left
on when the ignition is turned off, the
battery saver system will automatically shut the lamp off
after
20 minutes. This will avoid draining the battery.
To reactivate the interior lamps, either:
0 The ignition must be turned on,
0 The activated lamp switch must be turned off and
then on, or
0 A front door must be opened.
The battery saver feature will also be activated when
any door
of your vehicle is left open.
Also, if your vehicle is left with the ignition turned off
for over
24 days, battery power to your clock, audio
system and Keyless Entry (if you have this option) will
be turned off to reduce battery
drain. When the ignition
is turned on again, battery power will be resupplied.
However, under these conditions, it will be necessary to
reset the clock and audio system settings.
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Mirrors
Inside Manual Day/Night Rearview Mirror
To reduce glare from headlamps behind you, move the
lever toward you to the night position.
Manual Remote ,Control Mirror
The outside rearview mirrors should be adjusted so you
can just see the side of your vehicle when you are sitting
in a comfortable ,driving position.
1
Adjust the driver side
outside
mirror with the
control lever
on the driver’s
door.
To adjust your passenger side mirror, sit in the driver’s
seat and have
a passenger adjust the mirror for you.
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Power Remote Control Mirror (Option)
A selector knob on the
driver’s side door panel
controls both outside
rearview mirrors.
Select the mirror you want
to adjust by rotating the knob
to the left or right. Adjust each minor so that you can
just see the side of your vehicle when you are sitting in a
comfortable driving position.
Turn the knob to the
center position
to turn it off.
Convex Outside Mirror
Your passenger’s side mirror is convex. A convex
mirror’s surface
is curved so you can see more from the
driver’s seat.
/d CAUTIO
A convex mirror can make things (like other
vehicles) look farther away than they really are.
If you cut too sharply into the right lane, you
could hit a vehicle
on your right. Check your
inside, mirror or glance over your shoulder before
changing lanes.
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Sun Visors
To bldck out glare, you can swing down the visors. You
can also swing them to the side.
Your vehicle may also have a plastic extension
which
pulls out of the main visor to increase protection from
glare.
Visor Vanity Mirror
Open the cover to expose the vanity mirror.
Garment Hook
If your vehicle has the
optional rear reading lamps,
push
down on the tab ,.
marked with a coat hanger
symbol to fold down the
garment hook.
1
Litter Bag Hook
There is a litter bag hook located on the front passenger
side
of the center console storage area.
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0
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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 redly 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 lamps 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.
In any emergency, don’t give up. Keep trying to steer
and constantly seek
an escape route or area of less
danger.
Skidding
In a skid, a driver can lose control of the vehicle.
Defensive drivers avoid most skids by
taking reasonable
care suited
to existing conditions, and by not
“overdriving” those conditions. But skids are always
possible.
The three types
of skids correspond to your Pontiac’s
three control systems. In the braking skid, your wheels
aren’t rolling. In the steering or cornering skid, too
much speed or steeiing
in a curve causes tires to slip and
lose cornering force. And
in the acceleration skid, too
much throttle causes the driving wheels to spin.
A cornering
skid is best handled by easing your foot off
the accelerator pedal.
If you have the Enhanced Traction System, remember: It
helps avoid only the acceleration skid.
If you do not have the Enhanced Traction System, or if
the system is off, then an acceleration skid is also best
handled by easing your foot
off the accelerator pedal.
Loss of Control
Let’s review what driving experts say about what
happens
when the three control systems (brakes, steering
and acceleration) don’t have enough friction where the
tires meet the road to do what the driver has asked.
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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.
Driving at Night
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 alcohol or drugs, with night vision problems, or by fatigue.
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
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Here are some tips on night driving.
Drive defensively.
Don't drink and drive.
Adjust yous inside rearview mirror to reduce the
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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 ro8ad ahead.
In remote areas, watch for animals.
If you're tired, pull off the road in a safe place and
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 21)-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. YQU~ eyes will
rest, have less trouble adjusting
to night. But if
you're
driving, don't wear sunglasses at night. They may cat
down ol-i glare from headlamps, but they also make a lot
of things invisible.'
You can be temporarily blinded by approaching
headlamps.
It CZUI take a sec'ond or two, or even several
seconds,
for your eyes to readjust to the dark When you
are faced with severe glare (as
horn 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.
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 eyqs contract repeatedly.
Remember that your headlamps light up far less
of a
roadway
when you are in a turn or cur&. 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 exmined regularly. Some drivers suffer from night
blindness
-- the inability to see in dim light -- and
aren't even aware of it.
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Freeway Driving
,
Mile for mile, freeways (also called thruways, parkways,
expressways, turnpikes or superhighways) are the safest
of all roads. But they have their own special rules.
The most important advice
on freeway driving is: Keep
up with traffic and keep to the right. Drive at the same
speed most of the other drivers are driving. Too-fast or
too-slow driving breaks a smooth traffic flow. Treat the
left lane on
a freeway as a passing lane. At
the entrance, there is usually a ramp that leads to the
freeway.
If you have a clear view of the freeway as you
drive along the entrance ramp, you should begin to
check traffic. Try to determine where you expect to
blend with the flow. Try to merge into the gap at close to
the prevailing speed. Switch on your
turn signal, check
your mirrors and glance over your shoulder as often as
necessary. Try to blend smoothly with the traffic flow.
Once you are on the freeway, adjust your speed to the
posted limit or to the prevailing rate
if it’s slower. Stay
in the right lane unless you want to
pass.
Before changing lanes, check your mirrors. Then use
your
turn signal.
Just before you leave the lane, glance quickly over your
shoulder to make sure there isn’t another vehicle in your
“blind” spot.
Once you,are moving on the freeway, make certain you
allow a reasonable following distance. Expect
to move
slightly slower at night.
When you want to leave the freeway, move to the proper
lane well
in advance. If you miss your exit, do not,
under any circumstances, stop and back up.
Drive on to
the next exit.
The exit ramp can be curved, sometimes quite sharply.
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