2000 CHEVROLET TRACKER Owners Manual

3-19 Care of Your Cassette Tape Player
A tape player that is not cleaned regularly can cause
reduced sound quality, ruined cassettes or a damaged
mechanism. Cassette tapes should be stored in their
cases away from contaminants, direct sunlight and
extreme heat. If they aren't, they may not operate
properly or may cause failure of the tape player.
Your tape player should be cleaned regularly after every
50 hours of use. Your radio may display CLN or
CLEAN to indicate that you have used your tape player
for 50 hours without resetting the tape clean timer. If
this message appears on the display, your cassette tape
player needs to be cleaned. It will still play tapes, but
you should clean it as soon as possible to prevent
damage to your tapes and player. If you notice a
reduction in sound quality, try a known good cassette to
see if it is the tape or the tape player at fault. If this other
cassette has no improvement in sound quality, clean the
tape player.
The recommended cleaning method for your cassette
tape player is the use of a scrubbing action,
non
-abrasive cleaning cassette with pads which scrub
the tape head as the hubs of the cleaner cassette turn.
The recommended cleaning cassette is available through
your dealership (GM Part No. 12344789).When using a scrubbing action, non
-abrasive cleaning
cassette, it is normal for the cassette to eject because
your unit is equipped with a cut tape detection feature
and a cleaning cassette may appear as a broken tape. To
prevent the cleaning cassette from being ejected, use the
following steps.
1. Turn the ignition to ON or ACC.
1. Turn the radio off.
2. Press and hold the TAPE button for five seconds.
CAS will flash on the display for five seconds.
3. Insert the scrubbing action cleaning cassette.
4. Eject the cleaning cassette after the manufacturer's
recommended cleaning time.
When the cleaning cassette has been ejected, the cut tape
detection feature is active again.
You may also choose a non
-scrubbing action, wet-type
cleaner which uses a cassette with a fabric belt to clean
the tape head. This type of cleaning cassette will not
eject on its own. A non
-scrubbing action cleaner may
not clean as thoroughly as the scrubbing type cleaner.
The use of a non
-scrubbing action, dry-type cleaning
cassette is not recommended.

3-20
After you clean the player, press and hold the cassette
eject symbol or EJT button for five seconds to reset the
CLEAN or CLN indicator. The radio will display
CLEANED or
--- to show the indicator was reset.
Cassettes are subject to wear and the sound quality
may degrade over time. Always make sure the cassette
tape is in good condition before you have your tape
player serviced.
Care of Your Compact Discs
Handle discs carefully. Store them in their original cases
or other protective cases and away from direct sunlight
and dust. If the surface of a disc is soiled, dampen a
clean, soft cloth in a mild, neutral detergent solution and
clean it, wiping from the center to the edge.
Be sure never to touch the signal surface when handling
discs. Pick up discs by grasping the outer edges or the
edge of the hole and the outer edge.
Care of Your Compact Disc Player
The use of CD lens cleaner discs is not advised, due to
the risk of contaminating the lens of the CD optics with
lubricants internal to the CD mechanism.
Antenna
Use the knob on the end of the antenna to raise the
antenna. To lower it, hold the antenna mast near the roof
and feed it into the holder. Do not try to lower the
antenna using the knob. Keep the antenna mast clean for
good performance.
Always lower the antenna before entering a car wash.
If you have the convertible top, also lower the antenna
before removing or installing the top.

4-
4-1
Section 4 Your Driving and the Road
Here you'll find information about driving on different kinds of roads and in varying weather conditions. We've also
included many other useful tips on driving.
4
-2 Your Driving, the Road and Your Vehicle
4
-3 Defensive Driving
4
-4 Drunken Driving
4
-7 Control of a Vehicle
4
-7 Braking
4
-10 Steering
4
-13 Off-Road Recovery
4
-13 Passing
4
-15 Loss of Control
4
-16 Off-Road Driving with Your
Four
-Wheel-Drive Vehicle4
-29 Driving at Night
4
-31 Driving in Rain and on Wet Roads
4
-34 City Driving
4
-35 Freeway Driving
4
-36 Before Leaving on a Long Trip
4
-37 Highway Hypnosis
4
-37 Hill and Mountain Roads
4
-39 Winter Driving
4
-43 Recreational Vehicle Towing
4
-46 Loading Your Vehicle
4
-48 Towing a Trailer

4-2
Your Driving, the Road and
Your Vehicle
Whenever we drive, we're taking on an important
responsibility. This is true for any motor
vehicle
-- passenger car, van, truck or sport utility.
Driver behavior, the driving environment, and the
vehicle's design all affect how well a vehicle performs.But statistics show that the most important factor, by far,
is how we drive. Knowing how these three factors work
together can help you understand how your vehicle
handles and what you can do to avoid many types of
crashes, including a rollover crash.
Driver Behavior
The single most important thing is this: everyone in the
vehicle, including the driver, should buckle up (see
ªSafety Beltsº in the Index). In fact, most serious
injuries and fatalities to unbelted occupants can be
reduced or prevented by the use of safety belts. In a
rollover crash, an unbelted person is significantly more
likely to die than a person wearing a seat belt. In
addition, avoiding excessive speed, sudden or abrupt
turns and drunken or aggressive driving can help make
trips safer and avoid the possibility of a crash, especially
a rollover crash. This section provides many useful tips
to help you drive more safely.

4-3 Driving Environment
You can also help avoid a rollover or other type of crash
by being prepared for driving in inclement weather, at
night, or during other times where visibility or traction
may be limited (such as on curves, slippery roads or
hilly terrain). Unfamiliar surroundings can also have
hidden hazards. To help you learn more about driving in
different conditions, this section contains information
about city, freeway, and off
-road driving, as well as
other hints for driving in various weather conditions.
Vehicle Design
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation,
utility vehicles have a significantly higher rollover rate
than other types of vehicles. Utility vehicles do have a
higher ground clearance and a narrower track or shorter
wheelbase than passenger cars to make them more
capable for off
-road driving. Specific design
characteristics like these give the driver a better view of
the road, but also give utility vehicles a higher center of
gravity than other types of vehicles. This means that you
shouldn't expect a utility vehicle to handle the same way
a vehicle with a lower center of gravity, like a car, would
in similar situations. But driver behavior factors are farmore often the cause of a utility vehicle rollover than are
environmental or vehicle factors. Safe driver behavior
and understanding the environment in which you'll be
driving can help avoid a rollover crash in any type of
vehicle, including utility vehicles.
Defensive Driving
The best advice anyone can give about driving is:
Drive defensively.
Please start with a very important safety device in your
vehicle: Buckle up. (See ªSafety Beltsº in the Index.)
Defensive driving really means ªbe ready for anything.º
On city streets, rural roads or freeways, it means
ªalways expect the unexpected.º
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.

4-4
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.
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

Muscular Coordination

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 the leading highway safety
problem is for people never to drink alcohol and then
drive. But what if people do? How much is ªtoo muchº 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:

The amount of alcohol consumed

The drinker's body weight

The amount of food that is consumed before and
during drinking

The length of time it has taken the drinker to
consume the alcohol.

4-5
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
-1/2 ounces
(45 ml) of a liquor like whiskey, gin or vodka.
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.

4-6
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!
The body takes about an hour to rid itself of the alcohol
in one drink. No amount of coffee or number of cold
showers will speed that up. ªI'll be carefulº isn't the
right answer. What if there's an emergency, a need to
take sudden action, as when a child darts into the street?
A person with even a moderate BAC might not be able
to react quickly enough to avoid the collision.There's something else about drinking and driving that
many people don't know. Medical research shows that
alcohol in a person's system can make crash injuries
worse, especially injuries to the brain, spinal cord or
heart. This means that when anyone who has been
drinking
-- driver or passenger -- is in a crash, that
person's chance of being killed or permanently disabled
is higher than if the person had not been drinking.
CAUTION:
Drinking and then driving is very dangerous.
Your reflexes, perceptions, attentiveness and
judgment can be affected by even a small amount
of alcohol. You can have a serious
-- or even
fatal
-- collision if you drive after drinking.
Please don't drink and drive or ride with a driver
who has been drinking. Ride home in a cab; or if
you're with a group, designate a driver who will
not drink.