1997 CHEVROLET CAVALIER brakes

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine If the light comes on while you are driving, pull off the
road and stop carefully.
You may notice that the pedal is
harder to push. Or, the pedal may go closer to the floor.
It may take longer to stop. If the light is still on, have the
vehicle towed for service. (See “Towing Your Vehicle’’
il he
- *)
Your brake system may not be working propc--y
if the brake system warning light
is on. Driving
with the brake system warning light on can lead
to an accident.
If the light is still on after you’ve
pulled
off the road and stopped carefully, have
the vehicle towed for service.
When the ignition is on, the brake system warning light
will also
come on when you set your parking brake. The
light will stay on if your parking brake doesn’t release
fully. If it stays on after your parking brake is fully
released, it means you have
a brake problem.
Anti-Lock Brake System Warning Light
With the anti-lock brake
system, this light will come
on when you start your
engine and it will stay
on for three seconds.
That’s normal.
If the light stays on, turn the ignition to OFF. Or, if the
light comes on when you’re driving, stop as soon as
possible and turn the ignition
off. Then start the engine
again to reset the system.
If the light still stays on, or
comes on again while you’re driving, your Chevrolet
needs service. If the regular brake system warning light
isn’t on, you still have brakes, but you don’t have
anti-lock brakes.
If the regular brake system warning
light is also on, you don’t have anti-lock brakes and
there’s
a problem with your regular brakes. See “Brake
System Warning Light” earlier in this section.
The anti-lock brake system warning light should come
on briefly when
you turn the ignition key to RUN. If the
light doesn’t come on then, have it fixed
so it will be
ready to warn you if there is a problem.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Control of a Vehicle
You have three systems that make your vehicle go where
you want it to go. They are the brakes, the steering and
the accelerator. All
three systems have to do their work
at the places where the tires meet the road.
Braking
Braking action involves perception time ana
reaction time.
First, you have to decide to push on the brake pedal.
That’s
perception time. Then you have to bring up your
foot and do it. That’s reaction time.
Average reaction time is about 314 of a second. But
that’s only an average. It might be less with one driver
and as long as two or three seconds
or more with
another. Age, physical condition, alertness, coordination
and eyesight all play a part. So do alcohol, drugs and
frustration. But even in
3/4 of a second, a vehicle
moving at
60 mph (100 km/h) travels 66 feet (20 m).
That could be a lot of distance in an emergency, so
keeping enough space between your vehicle and others
is important.
And,
of course, actual stopping distances vary greatly
with the surface of the road (whether it’s pavement or
gravel); the condition of the road (wet,
dry, icy); tire
tread; the condition of
your brakes; the weight of the
vehicle and the amount of brake force applied.
Sometimes, as when you’re driving on snow or ice,
it’s
easy to ask more of those control systems than the tires
and road can provide. That means
you can lose control
of your vehicle.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Avoid needless heavy braking. Some people drive in
spurts
-- heavy acceleration followed by heavy
braking
-- rather than keeping pace with traffic. This is a
mistake. Your brakes may not have time to cool between
hard stops. Your brakes will wear out much faster if you
do a lot of heavy braking. If you keep pace with the
traffic and allow realistic following distances, you will
eliminate a lot
of unnecessary braking. That means
better braking and longer brake life.
If your engine ever stops while you’re driving, brake
normally but don’t pump your brakes. If you do, the
pedal may get harder to push down.
If your engine
stops, you will still have some power brake assist. But
you will use it when you brake. Once the power assist is
used up, it may take longer to stop and the brake pedal
will be harder to push.
Anti-Lock Brakes
Your vehicle has anti-lock brakes (ABS). ABS is an
advanced electronic braking system that will help
prevent a braking skid.
When you start your engine,
or when you begin to drive
away, your anti-lock brake system will check itself.
You
may hear a momentary motor or clicking noise while
this test is going on, and you may even notice that your
brake pedal moves
a little. This is normal.
If there’s
a problem with the
anti-lock brake system, this
warning light will stay on. See “Anti-Lock Brake
System Warning Light’’ in
the Index.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine The anti-lock system can change the brake pressure
I faster than any driver could. The computer is
programmed
to make the most of available tire and
road conditions.
Here’s how anti-lock works. Let’s say the road is wet.
You’re driving safely. Suddenly an animal jumps out in
front of you.
You slam on the brakes. Here’s what happens with
ABS.
A computer senses that wheels are slowing down. If one
of the wheels is about to stop rolling, the computer will
separately
work the brakes at each front wheel and at the
rear wheels. You
can steer around the obstacle while braking hard.
As you brake, your computer keeps receiving updates on
wheel speed and controls braking pressure accordingly.
4-8

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.
Enhanced Traction System (If Equipped)
If your vehicle has the optional four-speed automatic
transaxle, it also has an Enhanced Traction System
(ETS) that limits wheel spin. This is especially useful
in slippery road conditions. The system operates only
when the transaxle shift lever is in
the REVERSE (R),
THIRD (3) or OVERDRIVE (a) position and the
system senses that one
or both of the front wheels are
spinning or beginning to lose traction. When this
happens, the system reduces engine power and may also
upshift the transaxle to limit wheel spin.
LOW
TRAC
This light will come on
when your Enhanced
Traction System is limiting
wheel spin. See “Enhanced
Traction System Active Light” in the Index.
You may feel or hear the system working, but this
is normal.
ETS
OFF
When the transaxle shift
lever is in any position
other than
FIRST (1) or
SECOND (2) and the
parking brake is fully
released, this warning light will come on to let you
know if there’s a problem
with the system.

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.
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.
Refer to “Enhanced Traction System” in the Index.
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. 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.
Steering in Emergencies
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.
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~. ~

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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 really is.)
Try not to pass more than one vehicle at a time on
two-lane roads. Reconsider before passing the
next vehicle.
0 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.
following driver to get ahead of you. Perhaps you
can ease a little to the right.
If you’re being passed, make it easy for the
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.
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 Chevrolet’s
three control systems. In the braking skid, your wheels aren’t rolling. In the steering or cornering skid, too
much speed or steering 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.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Driving too fast through large water puddles or even
going through some car washes can cause problems, too.
The water may affect your brakes.
Try to avoid puddles.
But if you can’t, try to slow down before you hit them.
A CAUTION:
Wet brakes can cause accidents. They won’t work 1
as well in a quick stop and may cause pulling to ~
one side. You could lose control of the vehicle.
After driving through a large puddle of water or a car wash, apply your brake pedal lightly until
your brakes work normally.