1997 CHEVROLET CAVALIER brake

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Speedometer and Odometer
Your speedometer lets you see your speed in both miles
per hour (mph) and kilometers per hour
(km/h). Your
odometer shows how far your vehicle has been driven,
in either miles (used in the United States) or kilometers
(used in Canada).
Your Chevrolet has a tamper resistant odometer.
If you
see silver lines between the numbers, you’ll know that
someone has probably tried to turn it back, so the
numbers may not be true.
You may wonder what happens if your vehicle needs a
new odometer installed.
If the new one can be set to the mileage total of the old
odometer, then it must be. But if it can’t, then it’s set at zero
and a label must
be put on the driver’s door to show the old
mileage reading when
the new odometer was installed.
Trip Odometer (If Equipped)
RPM
APPLY BRAKE TO
SHIFT FROM PARK
The trip odometer can tell you how far your vehicle
has been driven since you last reset the trip odometer
to zero.
To set the trip odometer to zero, press the knob to the
right of it.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Charging System Light
The charging system light
will come on briefly when
you turn on the ignition, and
the engine is not running, as
a check to show you it is
working. Then
it should
go out when the engine
is started.
If it stays on, or comes on while you are driving, you
may have a problem with the electrical charging system.
It could indicate that you have a loose generator drive
belt, or another electrical problem. Have
it checked
right away. Driving while this light is on could drain
your battery.
If you must drive a short distance with the light on, be
certain to turn
off all your accessories, such as the radio
and air conditioner.
Brake System Warning Light
Your Chevrolet’s hydraulic brake system is divided into
two parts.
If one part isn’t working, the other part can
still work and stop you. For good braking, though, you
need both parts working well.
If the warning light comes on, there could be a brake
problem. Have your brake system inspected right away.
BRAKE
This light should come on
briefly when you turn the
ignition key to
RUN.
If it doesn’t come on then,
have it fixed
so it will be
ready to warn you if there’s
a problem.
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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 Enhanced Traction System Warning Light
(If Equipped)
ETS
OFF
With the Enhanced Traction System (ETS), this warning
light should come on briefly
as you start the engine. If
the warning light doesn’t
come on then, have it fixed
so it will be ready to warn
you
if there’s a problem.
If it stays on, or comes on when you’re driving, there
may be a problem with your Enhanced Traction System
and your vehicle may need service. When this warning
light is on, the system will
not limit wheel spin. Adjust
your driving accordingly. The
Enhanced Traction System warning light may come
on for the following reasons:
a
0
0
If you turn the ‘system off by moving the shift lever
to FIRST (1) or SECOND (2), the warning light will
come on and stay on.
To turn the system back on,
move the shift lever back to a position other than
FIRST
(1) or SECOND (2). The warning light
should go off. (See “Enhanced Traction System” in
the Index for more information.)
The warning light will come on when you set your
parking brake with the engine running, and it will
stay on if your parking brake doesn’t release fully. If
the transaxle shift lever is in any position other than
FIRST (1) or SECOND
(2) and the warning light
stays on after your parking brake is fully released,
it
means there’s a problem with the system.
If the traction control system is affected by an engine-related problem,
the system will turn off
and the warning light will come on.
If the Enhanced Traction System warning light comes
on and stays
on for an extended period of time when
the transaxle shift lever is in any position other than
FIRST (1) or SECOND (2) and the parking brake is
fully released, your vehicle needs service.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Defensive Driving
The best advice anyone can give about driving is:
Drive defensively.
Please start with a very important safety device in your
Chevrolet: Buckle up. (See “Safety Belts” in the Index.)\

Defensive driving really means “be ready for anything.”
On city streets, rural roads or freeways, it means
“always expect the unexpected.” Assume that pedestrians
or other
drivers are going to be
careless and make mistakes. Anticipate what they might
do.
Be ready for their mistakes.
Rear-end collisions are about the most preventable
of accidents. Yet they are common. Allow enough
following distance. It’s the best defensive driving
maneuver,
in both city and rural driving. You never
know when the vehicle in front of you is going to brake
or turn suddenly.
Drunken Driving
Death and injury associated with drinking and driving 1s
a national tragedy. It’s the number one contributor to
the highway death toll, claiming thousands of victims
every year.
Alcohol affects four things that anyone needs
to drive
a vehicle:
Judgment
0 Muscular Coordination
Vision
0 Attentiveness.
4-2 .

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.
4-6

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.
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