1998 PONTIAC BONNEVILLE brake

The traction control system warning light may come on
for the following reasons:
If you turn the system off by pressing the button
located on the center console, the warning light will come on and stay on.
To turn the system back on,
press the button again.
The warning light should go
off. (See “Traction Control System” in the Index
for more information.)
Low Coolant Warning Light (If Equipped)
LOW
COOLANT
’ If you have this light and it
comes on, your system may
be low on coolant and the
engine may overheat.
If there’s a brake system problem that is specifically
related to traction control, the traction control system will turn
off and the warning light will come on. If
your brakes begin to overheat, the traction control
system will
turn off and the warning light will come
on until your brakes cool down.
engine-related problem, the system will
turn off and
the warning light will come on.
0 If the traction control system is affected by an
If the traction control system warning light comes on
and stays on for
an extended period of time when the
system is turned on, your vehicle needs service. Check to see if
the level is low at the recovery tank, and
add coolant
if necessary. If the level is not low, have
your low coolant warning system serviced. See “Engine
Coolant” in the Index.
The
LOW COOLANT warning light will also come on
when you
turn on the ignition, but your engine is not
running, as a check to show you it is working. If it
doesn’t come on then, have it fixed right away.
After the bulb check, the light will
go out for 20
seconds. If the light comes back on after 20 seconds, the
system may be low on coolant. See “Engine Coolant”
in the Index.
2-67

If you can’t see the HUD image when the ignition is on,
check to see if:
0 The headlamps are on.
0 The HUD unit is covered.
0 The HUD dimmer control is adjusted correctly.
0 The HUD image is adjusted to the proper height.
A fuse in the fuse panel may be blown. See “Fuses
and Circuit Breakers” in the Index.
If the HUD image is not clear, it could be too bright.
Move the HUD dimmer control further downward. You
may need to clean the windshield and
HUD lens.
Your windshield is part of the HUD system. If you ever
have to have a new
windshield, be sure to get one
designed for HUD. If you don’t, the HUD image may
look blurred
and out of focus.
Driver Information Center (Option)
DRIVER

CHECK OIL LEVEL
WABHER
FLUID
LOW COOLANT
CHECK WE8
HOOD DOOR
TRUNK
AJAR
MILES
888888
m
LAMP
MONITOR
HI BEAM HEAD
PARK
LAMP
TURN WONAL
BACK UP TAIL
BRAKE LAMP
TRIP
8 s 8 8.8
If you have the Driver Information Center, it gives you
important safety and maintenance facts.
When you turn
the ignition on, the entire center lights up for a few
seconds. Then it goes
to work.
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FUNCTION MONITOR: This lets you know if you are
low on fluids or have a problem with a vehicle function:
0
0
0
0
CHECK OIL LEVEL: This message could mean
your oil level
is low. If it comes on for more than
three seconds, see “Check Oil
Level Warning Light”
in the Index.
WASHER FLUID: This message means your
washer fluid
tank is less than about 30 percent full.
The windshield portion
of the vehicle outline will
also glow,
If these come on, see “Windshield Washer
Fluid” in the Index.
LOW COOLANT: This message means your
coolant level has fallen to about half full. If it comes
on,
see “Engine Coolant” in the Index.
CHECK GAGES: If this light comes on and stays
on while you are driving, check your gages for fuel,
coolant temperature, oil pressure or battery voltage.
SECURITY: You’ll get a DOOR AJAR message if a
door is not fully closed. The vehicle outline will show
you which door
it is. You will also get a HOOD AJAR
or TRUNK AJAR message if the hood or the trunk isn’t
fully closed. The vehicle outline will
also show you
these are ajar.
LAMP MONITOR: Whenever you try to use one of
the following lamps, the LAMP MONITOR will tell you
if a bulb is out.
0 Headlamp (Low and High Beam)
0 Turn Signal/Parking/Stop
0 Parking Lamp/Sidemarker
Brake Lamp and Center High-Mounted Stoplamp
0 Back-up Lamp
0 Taillamp~rn/Sidemarker/License
If a bulb is out, you will see a message, such as PARK
LAMP, and you will also see where the problem is on
the vehicle outline.
The message stays on until the
problem
is fixed. See “Replacement Bulbs” in the
Index for bulb details.
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If a bumed-out bulb is replaced, the warning light will
stay on until the bulb is used.
Message
Hi Beam Lamp . .
Head Lamp .......
Turn Signal .........
Back Up . .
Tail ......
.......
ParkLamp . .
Bulbs Monitored
. Both Headlamp High Beams
. , Both Headlamp Low Beams
.... 1 Front Left Turn/Park
1 Front Right Turn/Park
1 Rear Left Turn
1 Rear Right Turn
..... .2 Back-up Lamps
......... 4 Tail Only
4 Stop/Tail
2 License Plate
1 Right Rear Sidemarker
1 Left Rear Sidemarker
1 Center High-Mounted Stop
............ 2 Front Park
Right Sidemarker Left Sidemarker
Brake Lamp
............... 4 Rear Stop/Tail./Tbm
Electronic Compass (Option)
Some vehicles are equipped with an electronic compass.
As with all compasses, this unit senses the earth's
magnetic field to
show the direction the car is pointing.
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Defensive Driving
The best advice anyone can give about driving is:
Drive defensively.
Please
start with a very important safety device in your
Pontiac: Buckle up. (See “Safety Belts” in the Index.) Defensive driving really means “be ready
for anytlung.”
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.
Defensive driving requires that a driver concentrate on
the driving task. Anything that distracts from the
driving task
-- such as concentrating on a cellular
telephone call, reading, or reaching for something on the
floor
-- makes proper defensive driving more difficult
and can even cause
a collision, with resulting injury.
Ask a passenger to help do things like
this, or pull
off the road in a safe place to do them yourself.
These simple defensive driving techniques could save your life.
4-2

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
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.
4-6

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 (ABS)
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 or pulses
a little. This is normal.
I
ANTILOCK (e)
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.
4-7

The anti-lock system can change the brake pressure 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
both 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.
4-8