1997 PONTIAC PONTIAC Owners Manual

Highway Hypnosis
Is there actually such a condition as “highway hypnosis”?
Or is it just plain falling asleep at the wheel? Call it
highway hypnosis, lack of awareness, or whatever.
There is something about an easy stretch of road with
the same scenery, along with the hum of the tires on the
road, the drone of the engine, and the rush of the wind
against the vehicle that can make you sleepy. Don’t let it
happen to you!
If it does, your vehicle can leave the
road in
less than a second, and you could crash and
be injured.
What can you
do about highway hypnosis? First, be
aware that it can happen.
Then
here are some tips:
Make sure your vehicle is well ventilated, with a
comfortably cool interior.
Keep your eyes moving. Scan the road ahead and to
the sides. Check your rearview
mirrors and your
instruments frequently.
If you get sleepy, pull off the road into a rest, service
or parking area and take a nap, get some exercise, or
both. For safety, treat drowsiness on the highway as
an emergency.
Hill and Mountain Roads
Driving on steep hills or mountains is different from
driving in flat or rolling terrain.
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If you drive regularly in steep country, or if you’re
planning
to visit there, here are some tips that can make
your
trips safer and more enjoyable.
Keep your vehicle in good shape. Check all fluid
levels
and also the brakes, tires, cooling system
and transaxle. These
parts can work hard on
mountain roads.
Know how to go down hills. The most important
thing
to know is this: let your engine do some of the
slowing down. Shift to
a lower gear when you go
down
a steep or long hill.
If you don’t shift down, your brakes could get
so hot that they wouldn’t work well. You would
then have poor braking or even none going
down
a hill. You could crash. Shift down to let
your engine assist your brakes
OIJ a,qteep
downhill slope. I ,. +;‘ . ..
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I
Coasting downhill in NEUTRAL (N) or with the
ignition off is dangerous. Your brakes will have to
do all the work of slowing down. They could get so
hot that they wouldn’t work well. You would then
have poor
braking or even none going down a hill. ,
You could crash. Always have your engine running
and your vehicle in gear when you go downhill.
I
Know how to go uphill. You may want to shift down
to a lower gear. The lower gears help cool your engine
and transaxle, and
you can climb the hill better.
Stay in your own lane when driving on two-lane
roads
in hills or mountains. Don’t swing wide or cut
across the center
of the road. Drive at speeds that let
you stay in your own lane.
As you go over the top of a hill, be alert, There could be
something in your lane, like a stalled car or an acci’dent.
You may see highway signs on mountain,s that warn of
special problems. Examples are long grades, passing or
no-passing zones,
a falling rocks area or winding
roads.
Be alert to these and take appropriate action.
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Winter Driving
Here are some tips for winter driving:
Have your Pontiac in good shape for winter.
You may want to put winter emergency supplies in
your trunk. Include
an ice scraper, a small brush or broom, a supply
of windshield washer fluid, a rag, some winter outer
clothing, a small shovel,
a flashlight, a red cloth and a
couple
of reflective warning triangles. And, if you will
be driving under severe conditions, include a small bag
of sand, a piece of old carpet or a couple of burlap bags
to help provide traction.
Be sure you properly secure
these items
in your vehicle.
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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 tracti’on or “grip” and will weed to be very careful.
LI
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.
If you have the Trac System,
keep the system on. It will
improve your ability to accelerate when driving on a
slippery road. Even though your vehicle has this system,
you’ll want to slow down and adjust your driving to the
road conditions. See “Trac System” in the Index.
If you don’t have the Trac System, accelerate gently. Try
not to break the fragile traction. If you accelerate too
fast, the drive wheels will spin and polish the surface
under
the tires even more.
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Your anti-lock brakes improve your vehicle’s stability
when you make a hard stop on a slippery road. Even
though you have the anti-lock braking system, you’ 11
want to begin stopping sooner than you would on dry
pavement. See “Anti-Lock” in the Index.
0 Allow greater following distance on any slippery road.
Watch for slippery spots. The road might be fine
until you hit
a spot that’s covered with ice. On an
otherwise clear road, ice patches may appear in
shaded areas where the sun can’t reach: around
clumps of trees, behind buildings or under bridges.
Sometimes
the surface of a curve or an overpass may
remain icy when the surrounding roads are clear.
If
you see a patch of ice ahead of you, brake before you
are on it. Try not to brake while you’re actually on
the ice, and avoid sudden steering maneuvers.
If You’re Caught in a Blizzard
If you are stopped by heavy snow, you could be in a
serious situation. You should probably stay with your
vehicle unless you know for sure that
you are near help
and you can hike through the snow. Here
are some
things to do to summon help and keep yourself and
your passengers safe:
0 Turn on your hazard flashers.
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Tie a sed cloth to your vehicle to alert police that
you've been stopped
by the snow.
Put on extra clothing or wrap a blanket 'aro'und you.
If you have no blankets or extra clothing, make body
insulators from newspapers, burlap bags, rags, floor
mats
-- anything you can wrap around yourself or
tuck under your clothing to keep
warm.
Snow can trap exhaust gases under your vehicle.
This can cause deadly
GO (carbon monoxide) gas
to get inside.
GO could overcome you and kill
you. You can't see it or smell
it, so you might not
know
it is in your vehicle. Clear away snow from
around the
base of your vehicle, especially any
that is blocking
your exhaust pipe. And check
around
again from time to time to be sure snow
doesn't collect there.
Open
a window just a little on the side of the
vehicle that's away from the wind. This will help
keep
CO out.
i
You can run the engine to keep warm, but be careful,
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Run your engine only as long as you must. This saves
fuel. When you run the engine, make it
go a little faster
than just idle. That
is, push the accelerator slightly. This
uses less fuel for the heat that you get and it keeps the
battery charged. You will need a well-charged battery
to restart the vehicle, and possibly for signaling later on
with your headlamps. Let the heater run for a while.
Then, shut the engine off and close the window almost
all the way to preserve the heat. Start the engine again
and repeat this only when you feel really uncomfortable
from the cold. But do it as little as possible. Preserve the
fuel as long as
you can. To help keep warm, you can get
out of the vehicle and do some fairly vigorous exercises
every half hour or
so until help comes.
Loading Your Vehicle
/@ OCCUPANTS
VEHICLE CAP. WT.
TIRE-LOADING INFORMATION
FRT. CTR.
RR. TOTAL LBS. KG
~-
MAX. LOADING & GVWR SAME AS VEHICLE
CAPACITY
WEIGHT XXX COLD TIRE
TIRE
SIZE SPEED PRESSURE
RTG PSI/KPa
FRT.
RR.
SPA.
IF TIRES ARE HOT, ADD 4PS1/28KPa
SEE OWNER'S MANUAL FOR ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION
Two labels on your vehicle show how much weight it
may properly
carry. The Tire-Loading Information label
is on the inside of the trunk lid. The label tells you the
proper size, speed rating and recommended inflation
pressures for the tires on your vehicle.
It also gives you
important information about the number of people that
can be in your vehicle and the total weight you can
carry. This weight is called the vehicle capacity weight
and includes the
weight of all occupants, cargo and all
nonfactory-installed options.
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MFD BY GENERAL MOTORS CORP
DATE GVWR GAWR FRT GAWR RR
THIS VEHICLE CONFORMS TO ALL APPLI-
CABLE U.S. FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE
SAFETY, BUMPER, AND THEFT PREVENTION
STANDARDS IN EFFECT ON THE DATE OF
MANUFACTURE SHOWN ABOVE.
The other label is the Certification label, found on the
rear edge of the driver’s door. It tells you the gross
weight capacity
of your vehicle, called the GVWR
(Gross Vehicle Weight Rating).
The GVWR includes the
weight of the vehicle, all occupants, fuel and cargo.
Never exceed the GVWR for your vehicle or the
Gross Axle Weight Rating
(GAWR) for either the front
or rear axle.
If you do have a heavy load, spread it out. Don’t carry
more than 167 pounds (75 kg) in your trunk.
Do not load your vehicle any heavier than the
GVWR, or either the maximum front or rear
GAWR. If you do, parts on your vehicle can
break, or it can change the way your vehi’cle
handles. These could cause you to lose control.
Also, overloading
can shorten the life of
your vehicle.
NOTICE:
Your warranty does not cover parts or
components that
fail because of overloading.
If you put things inside your vehicle -- like suitcases,
tools, packages or anything else
-= they will go as fast as
the vehicle goes. If you hav’e to stop or turn quickly, or
if there is a crash, they’ll keep going.
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