1997 CHEVROLET S10 Owners Manual

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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.
1 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.
The anti-lock system em change the brake p~essure faster
than any driver could. ?%e computer is programmed to
make the most of available tire and road tronditions.
You cansteer around the obstacle while braking hard.
As you brake, your computer keeps receiving updates- on
wheel speed and controls braking pressure accordingly.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Remember: Anti-lock dsesn’t change tbc- -time y.ou :need
:to get yo.ur fo~t up to .the brake ped,ai or always decrease
stopping
diskan&. If.you get-to6 cl~,se to thcvehicle in
front of YOU; you won’t have time to apply your brzikes
If.th:at vehicle suddelily .slows or siop-s. Always i-eave
e.nough mom up ahead to si.op, even though you have
anti-lockrbpkes.
U.s,ing.Anti.-LthA
Don’t pump the’bisakes. Just hdd the brake pedzl down
and let anti-lock wark..fox you. You ‘may feel the brake.$
vibrate., or you-may notice som-e noise, but this is-
::normal. Ofi vehicles Mth-four-wheel drive, your
;anti-lockbrakes work at all times- -- whether ,you are in
two-wheel driveor fuur-wheel:&.ive.
Braking in Emergencies,
With m-ti-lock, you can steer and brake at thc same
.time-. In many emergencies., st.eering can kip, you more
than even the very $est braking.
Power Steering
If you lose p~wer steeringatssist because the e.ngine
stop;s or the system is not fiw.dt?orriag, you can ste.er .but
it will take much more effort.
Steering Tips
It’s important to take c.urv.es at a reasonable sp-eed.
A lot of the “drivet lo‘st ci3ntml”‘accidents meritionedl ~li
the slews happen on curves. Here’-s why

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine What shoula-you do if this ever nappens? E,as,e up on the
.acceIerator.pedd, steer the vehicle .the way y~u. want it
to go, .md:&xv down.
Stea3n.g in Em
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine An eri~rgency like this requires t10 ,attintion .arid a
quick decision. 1fy.0~1 are. holding the steering wheel at
the rec,omme,nded-9 and
3 o’elock-..positims, you can
turn it a full 180 de,grees. very quickly without removing
eith.er
hand. But you have tomt hst, ste,er quickly, and.
just as quickly straighten the wheel once you have
avoided the object..
The fact that such emergency situations ..me always
possible
is a-goD.d reason to pmctice. defensive driving at
all times and wexr safety b.elts properly.
Off-Road Recovery
You may find soriletime that your right wheels have
dropped off the. edge of a road onto the shoulder while
y~i’re
driving.
Tf the level of .the shoulder is only slightly below the
pavemefit, recovery should be fairly easy. Ease off tlie
accelerator
and then, if there is nothing in the way7 steer so.
that your-vehicle straddies the edge of the pavement. You-
cm turn the st.eering wheel up taone-quarter turn until the
right front tire contacts -the pavement edge. Then turn your
steering wheel to’ go straight dawn the roadway,

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Pas.sin.g
The fiver.of-a vehicle-about to pass another on a
two-lane highway wahs for just the-fiight moment,
acceIerates,
moves around the vehicle ahead, thmgaes
back inta the right-lane- again. A simple mamuver?
Not
necessaiIy! Passiixg amther vehicle on a twa-law
highway is a potentixlly dangerous rno.ve, since the
p&sing;vkhicle occupl& .the same lane as oncoming
traffic fbr several secands. A miscalculation, an error in
judgment, or zbrief’surrend.a to frustration or anger cas
suddenly put the pas-sing driver face to faice with the
worst
of all triffic -accidefiTs -- the head-on c.o:Uision.
Zio~here ,me some .tip fur-passing:
“%>sive ahead.” Look down the mad, to the sides and to
crossroad8 far situations ,that might affee.t your passing
pattans. E you have any doubt whatsoever about
-making a.successfu1 p-ass, wait for a better .ti.me.
9 Do not ge.t too c-lose to the vehicle you-want to
pass while you’re: awai,ting .an opportunity. For ode
thing; following t0.0 closely redu.c:es your area of
vision, espec:ially if you’re fo1lo.win.g a larger-
vehicle. Also, ydu won’t have. adequate space if the
vehicle ahead suddenly.Slciws or stops. Keep back 8
reasondble .distance;

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 passe.d vehicle to see its front in your
inside -01, activate your right lane change sigmd
and-move back into the.
ri,ght lane. (Remember that
your-right outside ,mirror is convex. The vehicle you
juslpassed may
seem to be farther away from y6u
than it really is.)
Tfy not co p.ass mufe ,than one vehicle ,at a time
on two-lane’roads. Reconsider before passing the
next vehicle.
D.on’:t overtake-.a slowly moving vehi-de too rapidly.
Even though
the brake -1amp.s are not flashing, it m.a.y
be slowing down or starting to, turn.
Qi If+ you’re being .passed, make it easy- for the
fallowing driver to
get..ahead .of you. Perh,aps you
can ease.&
little to the right.
Let’s review what driving expmts s-ay about what
happens when the thre.e
con.trol systems- (brakes., steering,
and,acceleration) don’t
have enough friction where the
tifes ”meet the road to do what the drivt?r has asked..
In any emergency, don’t give up Keep trying to
steer and constantly seek
an escape route-or aea of
less danger.
In a. skid, a driver cn lose control of .the vehicle, Defensive
drivers .avoid
most skids by taking reasonable care suited t9
existing conditiolrs, and by not “overdriving” those
conditions.. But- ,&ids
are always -pa.ssible.
The three typcis of skids correspond to your vehicle’s
three
c’0ntro1 syst,erns. In. the. brakifig skid, y0.m whe.eIs
aren’t rpl.ling. Ln the steering or- cornering skid, too
much speed or steering in a curve causes tires: to slip and
lase cornehg, foxce,. And. in the acceleration skid, too
much throttle causes the driving wheels- to spin.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine A cornering skid and an acceleratioa skid .are best
hand1e.d by easing your foot off the accelerator pedal.
Driving Guidelines.
Off-IC0a.d Driving with Your
Four-Wheel-Drive Vehicle..
This off-road guide is for vehicles that have
.four-wheel drive.
Also, see “Anti-Lock Brakes” in the Index;
If your vehicle doesn’t have :four-wheel drive, you
shouldn’t drive off-road unl.es.s-you”re on a letel,
solid surface.
Off-road driving can be great fun. But it does have
some definite hazards. The greatest of these is the
terrain itself,
“Off-roading” means
.you’ ve left .the great North
American road system behind. Traffic. lanes arerft
marked. Curves aren.’t.Ij;znked. There are no road -sigm.
Surfaces can be slip-pery, rouqh, uphill or &~wnMl. In
-short, you’ve gone. ri.ght ba to nature.
off-road driving involves soni new skills. Aad tbat.’s-
why it’s very important that you read this guide. You’ll
find many driving tips and suggestions. These will help
make your off-rbad driving safer and more enjoyable.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 0 The, heaviest things s.hould be on the load floor and
forward of your rear axle. Put h-avier items as far
forwardas you~~m.
0 Be- sure- the- imd is secured properly, so driving on
the off-road terrain doesn’t toss things around.
0
0
0
Cargo on the loa-d.-floar .piled. higher than
the seatbacks can
be thrown €ofward
during a sudden stop. You or y0u.r
passengers could be injured. Keep cargo
below the top
of the seatbacks.
Unsecured
cargo on the load floor can be
tossed about; when driving, over rough
terrain. You or your passengers can be
struck-by flying objects. Secure the
cargo properIy.
Heavy laads on the roof raise the vehicle’s
center
of gravity, making it more likely to
roll over, Yuu .can be seriously -or fatally
injured if the vehicle rolls over. Put heavy
loads iiiside thexargo .area, not on the roof.
Keep cargo in the cargo ar
and low as possible. wward
You‘ll find other important information in this manual.
See “Vehicle Lo-ading,” “Luggage C.arrier” and “Tires”
in the
Index.
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