1998 CHEVROLET ASTRO tow

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine -
A CAUTION:
--
Shifting out of PARK (P) or NEUTRAL (N) while
your engine is “racing” (running at high speed) is
dangerous. Unless your foot is firmly on the
brake pedal, your vehicle could move very
rapidly. You could lose control and hit people or
objects. Don’t shift out
of PARK (P) or
NEUTRAL
(N) while your engine is racing.
NOTICE:
Damage to your transmission caused by shifting
out
of PARK (P) or NEUTRAL (N) with the
engine racing isn’t covered by your warranty.
DRIVE (D): This position is for normal driving. If you
need more power for passing, and you’re:
Going less than about 35 mph (55 km/h), push your
accelerator pedal about halfway down.
Going about 35 mph (55 km/h) or more, push the
accelerator pedal all the way down. You’ll shift
down to the next gear and have more power.
DRIVE (D) should be used for normal towing.
THIRD
(3): This position is also used for normal
driving, however it offers more power and lower fuel
economy than DRIVE (D). You should use THIRD
(3)
when carrying a heavy load or driving on steep hills.
SECOND
(2): This position gives you more power but
lower
fuel economy. You can use SECOND (2) on hills.
It can help control your speed as
you go down steep
mountain roads, but then
you would also want to use
your brakes off and
on.
If you manually select SECOND (2), the transmission
will drive
in second gear. You may use this feature for
reducing torque to the
rear wheels when you are trying
to start your vehicle from a stop on slippery
road surfaces.
FIRST
(1): This position gives you even more power
(but lower fuel economy) than SECOND
(2). You can
use it on very steep hills, or in deep snow or mud. If the
selector lever is put in FIRST
(l), the transmission
won’t shift into first gear until the vehicle is going
slow enough.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine NOTICE:
Driving with the parking brake on can cause
your rear brakes to overheat. You may have to
replace them, and you could also damage other
parts of your vehicle.
If you are towing a trailer and are parking on a hill, see
“Towing
a Trailer” in the Index. That section shows
what to do first to keep the trailer from moving.
Shifting Into PARK (P)
A CAUTION:
i
It can be dangerous to get out of ya - -8 vehicle if
the shift lever is not fully in
PARK (P) with the
parking brake firmly set. Your vehicle can roll.
If
you have left the engine running, the vehicle can
move suddenly. You or others could be injured.
To be sure your vehicle won’t move, even when
you’re on fairly level ground, use the steps that
follow.
If you’re pulling a trailer, see “Towing a
Trailer” in the Index.
1. Hold the brake pedal down with your right foot and
set the parking brake.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 2. Move the shift lever into PARK (P) like this:
0 Pull the lever toward you.
Move the lever up as far as it will go.
3. Turn the ignition key to LOCK.
4. Remove the key and take it with you. If you can
remove the key from your ignition, your vehicle is in
PARK (P).
2-24

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Leaving Your Vehicle With the
Engine Running
-
A CAUTION:
It can be dangerous to leave your vehicle with the
engine running. Your vehicle could move
suddenly if the shift lever is not fully in PARK
(P)
with the parking brake firmly set. And, if you
leave the vehicle with the engine running, it could overheat and even catch fire. You or others could
be injured. Don’t leave your vehicle with the
engine running unless you have to.
If you have to leave your vehicle with the engine
running,
be sure your vehicle is in PARK (P) and your
parking brake is firmly set before you leave
it. After
you’ve moved the shift lever to PARK (P), hold
the
regular brake pedal down. Then, see if you can move the
shift lever away from PARK
(P) without first pulling it
toward you.
If you can, it means that the shift lever
wasn’t fully locked into PARK
(P).
Torque Lock
If you are parking on a hill and you don’t shift your
transmission into PARK
(P) properly, the weight of the
vehicle may put
too much force on the parking pawl in
the transmission. You may find it difficult to pull
the
shift lever out of PARK (P). This is called “torque lock.”
To prevent torque lock, set the parking brake and then
shift
into PARK (P) properly before you leave the
driver’s seat.
To find out how, see “Shifting Into
PARK (P)”
in the Index.
When
you are ready to drive, move the shift lever out of
PARK
(P) before you release the parking brake.
If torque lock does occur, you may need to have another
vehicle push yours a little uphill to take some of
the
pressure from the parking pawl in the transmission, so
you can pull the shift lever out of PARK (P).
2-25

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine A CAUTION:
It can be dangerous to get out of your vehicle if
the shift lever is not fully in
PARK (P) with the
parking brake firmly set. Your vehicle can roll.
Don’t leave your vehicle when the engine is
running unless you have to. If you’ve left the
engine running, the vehicle can move suddenly.
You or others could be injured. To be sure your
vehicle won’t move, even when you’re on
fairly
level ground, always set your parking brake and
move the shift lever to
PARK (P).
Locking Rear Axle (Option)
If you have this feature, your locking rear axle can give
you additional traction on snow, mud, ice, sand or
gravel. It works like a standard axle most of the time,
but when one
of the rear wheels has no traction and the
other does, this feature will allow the wheel with
traction to move
the vehicle.
All-Wheel Drive (Option)
If your vehicle has
all-wheel drive, your
engine’s driving power
is sent to all four wheels
for extra traction.
Follow
the proper steps to be sure your vehicle won’t
move. See “Shifting Into
PARK (P)” in the Index.
If you’re pulling a trailer, see “Towing a Trailer’’ in
the Index.
This is like four-wheel drive, but there
is no separate
lever or switch
to engage or disengage the front axle.
It is fully automatic, and adjusts itself as needed for
road conditions.
2-2s

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Windows
Manual Windows
To open your manual windows, turn the hand crank on
each door to raise or lower your side door windows.
Power Windows (Option)
If you have the optional power windows, the controls
are on each of the front side doors. The driver’s door has
a switch for the front passenger window as well. Your
power windows will not move unless the ignition has
been turned to RUN or ACCESSORY.
Express-Down Window
The driver’s window switch also has an express-down
feature that allows you to lower it without holding the
window switch. Press and hold the side
of driver’s
window switch marked AUTO for one second to
activate the express-down feature. The express-down
feature can be interrupted at any time by pressing the up
arrow end of the switch. Lightly tap the switch to open
the window slightly.
Swing-Out Windows
To open your swing-out
windows, pull up on the
latch and push the
window out.
To close the window, pull the latch toward you and push
it down.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine As you signal a turn or a lane change, if the arrows don’t
flash but just stay on, a signal bulb may be burned out
and other drivers won’t see your turn signal.
If a bulb is burned
out, replace it to help avoid an
accident. If the arrows don’t go
on at all when you
signal a turn, check the fuse (see “Fuses and Circuit
Breakers” in the Index) and for burned-out bulbs.
Windshield Wipers
You control the windshield
wipers by turning
the band
with the wiper symbol on it.
- .- .. For a single-wiping cycle,
a turn the band to MIST. Hold m
If you have a trailer towing option with added wiring for
the trailer lamps, a different turn signal flasher is used.
With this flasher installed, the signal indicator
will flash
even if
a turn signal bulb is burned out. Check the front
and rear turn signal lamps regularly
to make sure they it there
until the wipers
start, then let go. The wipers
will stop after
one wipe. If
you want more wipes, hold
the band on MIST longer.
are working.
Headlamp HighLow Beam Changer between wipes. This can be very useful in light rain or
To change the headlamps from low beam to high or high closer to Low, the shorter the delay,
to low,
pull the multifunction lever all the way toward You
can set the wiper speed for a long or short delay
snow. Turn the band
to choose the delay time. The
you. Then release it.
When the high beams are
on, this indicator light on
the instrument panel also
will be
on.
For steady wiping at low speed, turn the band away
from
you to LOW. For high-speed wiping, turn the band
further, to HIGH.
To stop the wipers, move the band
to OFF.
Be sure to clear ice and snow from the wiper blades
before using them. If they’re frozen
to the windshield,
carefully loosen or thaw them. If your blades do become
worn or damaged, get new blades or blade inserts.
2-32

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Exterior Lamps
Your lamp switch is on the driver’s side of the
instrument panel.
Rotate the knob toward the right to
the parking lamp
symbol
to turn on the following:
Parking Lamps
Taillamps
0 License Plate Lamps
Instrument Panel Lights Rotate
the knob toward the right to the master lighting
symbol to turn on all
the lamps listed as well as
the headlamps.
Rotate the knob toward the left to
OFF to turn off
your lamps.
Rotate the dial next
to the knob up to adjust your
instrument panel lights. Rotate the dial up to
the first
notch for
full intensity. If you rotate the dial to the
second notch,
your interior lamps will come on.
Rotate
the dial next to the lamp switch down to dim
your instrument panel lights.
Headlamps
You can switch your headlamps from high to low beam
by pulling
the multifunction lever toward you.
A circuit breaker protects your headlamps. If you have
an electrical overload, your headlamps
will flicker on
and off. Have your headlamp wiring checked right away
if this happens.
Headlamps On Reminder
A reminder tone will sound when your headlamps or
parking lamps are turned
on and your ignition is in the
OFF, LOCK or ACCESSORY position. To turn the tone
off, turn
the switch to OFF.
2-37