1998 CHEVROLET TRACKER weight

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Child Restraints
Every time infants and young children ride in
vehicles, they should have protection provided by
appropriate restraints.
@ What are the different types of add-on
A: Add-on child restraints are available in four basic
types. When selecting a child restraint, take into consideration not only the child’s weight and size,
but also whether or not the restraint will be
compatible with the motor vehicle in which it
will be used.
ghild restraints?
An infant car bed (A) is a special bed made for use
in a motor vehicle. It’s an infant restraint system
designed to restrain or position a child on
a
continuous flat surface. With an infant car bed,
make sure that the infant’s head rests toward the
center
of the vehicle.
1-38

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Leaving Your Vehicle With the Engine
Running (Automatic Transmission Only)
I
It can be dangerous to leave yuur 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. If you have
four-wheel drive and your transfer case is in
NEUTRAL (N), your vehicle will be free to roll,
even
if your shift lever is in PARK (P). So be sure
the transfer case is in
a drive gear -- not in
NEUTRAL (N). 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.
Torque Lock (Automatic Transmission)
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).
2-24

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Convertible Top (If Equipped)
Your convertible top features a sunroof, a removable
rear
window, removable side windows and a removable
canvas
top.
NOTICE:
Never raise or lower the top while the
vehicle
is moving, or drive with any part
of the top unfastened or partially removed.
The wind could get under it and
cause damage.
0 Do not take your vehicle through an
automatic car wash.
It could damage your
convertible top.
Don’t try to lower or raise the convertible
top or tap or beat on the plastic windows
if your vehicle is out in cold weather,
41°F (5OC) or below. The cold can cause
cracks and other damage to the windows
and to the top as it is being lowered
or raised,
NOTICE: (Continued) NOTICE: (Continued)
e Don’t lower
the top if it is damp or wet.
After the top is down, the trapped water
can cause stains, mildew and damage
to the
inside of your car. Be sure
to dry off the top
before you lower it.
Don’t lower the convertible top if the rear
flap or side windows are dirty. Dirt could
scratch the side windows.
The convertible top isn’t designed to carry
weight. Never let anyone sit on the top, and
don’t put anything on top
of it when it is
up, or it could be damaged.
2-41

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Drunken Driving
Death and injury associated with drinking and driving is
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
0 Vision
Attentiveness.
Police records show that almost half of
all motor
vehicle-related deaths involve alcohol. In most cases,
these deaths are the result
of someone who was drinking
and driving. In recent years, over
17,000 annual motor
vehicle-related deaths have been associated with
the use
of alcohol, with more than
300,000 people injured.
Many adults
-- by some estimates, nearly half the
adult population
-- choose never to drink alcohol, so
they never drive after drinking. For persons under 21,
it’s against the law in every U.S. state to drink alcohol.
There are good medical, psychological and developmental reasons for these laws. The
obvious way to solve this highway safety problem
is for people never to drink alcohol and then drive. But
what if people do? How much is “too much”
if the
driver plans to drive?
It’s a lot less than many might
think. Although it depends on each person and situation,
here
is some general information on the problem.
The Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of someone
who is drinking depends upon four things:
0 The amount of alcohol consumed
0 The drinker’s body weight
0 The amount of food that is consumed before and
during drinking
The length of time it has taken the drinker to
According
to the American Medical Association, a
180-lb. (82 kg) person who drinks three 12-ounce
(355 ml) bottles of beer in an hour will end up with a
BAC of about 0.06 percent. The person would reach the
same BAC by drinking three 4-ounce (120
ml) glasses
of wine or three mixed drinks if each had
1 - 112 ounces
(45 ml) of a liquor like whiskey, gin or vodka.
consume the alcohol.
4-3

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine It’s the amount of alcohol that counts. For example, if
the same person drank three double martinis (3 ounces
or
90 ml of liquor each) within an hour, the person’s
BAC would be close to 0.12 percent. A person who
consumes food just before or during drinking will have a
somewhat lower BAC level.
There is a gender difference? too. Women generally have
a lower relative percentage
of body water than men. Since alcohol
is carried in body water, this means that
a
woman generally will reach a higher BAC level than a
man of her same body weight when each has the same
number
of drinks.
The law in many
U.S. states sets the legal limit at a BAC
of 0.10 percent. In a growing number of U.S. states, and
throughout Canada, the limit is
0.08 percent. In some
other countries, it’s even lower. The BAC limit for all
commercial drivers in the United States is
0.04 percent.
The BAC will be over
0.10 percent after three to six
drinks (in one hour). Of course, as we’ve seen, it
depends on how much alcohol is in the drinks, and how
quickly the person drinks them.
But the ability to drive is affected well below
a BAC of
0.10 percent. Research shows that the driving skills of
many people are impaired at
a BAC approaching
0.05 percent, and that the effects are worse at night. All
drivers are impaired at BAC levels above
0.05 percent.
Statistics show that the chance of being in
a collision
increases sharply for drivers who have a BAC of
0.05 percent or above. A driver with a BAC level of
0.06 percent has doubled his or her chance of having a
collision. At a BAC level of 0.10 percent, the chance of
this driver having a collision is 12 times greater; at a
level of 0.15 percent, the chance is 25 times greater!
4-4

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.
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
1 of your vehicle.
~~ ~~~~~~~~~
Braking
Braking action involves perception time and
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 3/4 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 kmk) 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.

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Driving Across an Incline
Sooner or later, an off-road trail will probably go &crW$
the incline of a hill.
If this happens, you have to decide
whether to try to drive across the incline. Here are some
things to consider:
0 A hill that can be driven straight up or down may be
too steep to drive across. When you go straight up or
down a hill, the length of the wheel base (the
distance from the front wheels to the rear wheels)
reduces the likelihood the vehicle will tumble end
over end. But when you drive across an incline, the
much more narrow track width (the distance between
the left and right wheels) may not prevent the vehicle
from tilting and rolling over. Also, driving across an
incline puts more weight on the downhill wheels.
This could cause a downhill slide or a rollover.
0 Surface conditions can be a problem when you drive
across a hill. Loose gravel, muddy spots, or even wet
grass can cause your tires to slip sideways, downhill.
If the vehicle slips sideways,
it can hit something
that will trip
it (a rock, a rut, etc.) and roll over.
Hidden obstacles can make the steepness of the
incline even worse. If
you drive across a rock with
the uphill wheels, or if the downhill wheels drop into
a rut or depression, your vehicle can tilt even more.
For reasons like these, you need to decide carefully
whether to try to drive across an incline. Just because
the trail goes across the incline doesn’t mean you
have to drive it. The last vehicle to try it might have
rolled over.
A CAUTION:
Driving across an incline that’s too steep will
make your vehicle roll over. You could be
seriously injured or killed.
If you have any doubt
about the steepness
of the incline, don’t drive
across it. Find another route instead.
4-25
~ . ~

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Loading Your Vehicle
TIRES
RIMS
MFD BY CAM1 AUTOMOTIVE
I DATE CANADA
GVWR GAWR FRT GAWR RR
Two labels on your vehicle show how much weight it
may properly carry. The Tire-Loading Information label
found on the driver's door lock pillar 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 that you can carry. This weight is called the Vehicle Capacity Weight
and includes the weight
of all occupants, cargo and all
nonfactory-installed options. The other label is the Certification label,
also found on the
driver's door lock pillar. It tells you the
gross weight
capacity of your vehicle, called the
Gross Vehicle Weight
Rating (GVWR). 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.
And, if
you do have a heavy load, you should spread it
out. Don't carry more than
400 lbs. (1 8 1 kg) in your rear
area when four people are in your two-wheel-drive
vehicle.
If you have a four-wheel-drive vehicle, don't
carry more than
200 lbs. (9 1 kg) in your rear area when
four people are in your vehicle.