2003 BUICK RANDEZVOUS tires

Driving too fast through large water puddles or even
going through some car washes can cause problems,
too. The water may affect your brakes. Try to avoid
puddles. But if you can’t, try to slow down before you
hit them.
{CAUTION:
Wet brakes can cause accidents. They won’t
work as well in a quick stop and may cause
pulling to one side. You could lose control of
the vehicle.
After driving through a large puddle of water
or a car wash, apply your brake pedal lightly
until your brakes work normally.
Hydroplaning
Hydroplaning is dangerous. So much water can build up
under your tires that they can actually ride on the
water. This can happen if the road is wet enough and
you’re going fast enough. When your vehicle is
hydroplaning, it has little or no contact with the road.Hydroplaning doesn’t happen often. But it can if your
tires do not have much tread or it the pressure in one or
more is low. It can happen if a lot of water is standing
on the road. If you can see reections from trees,
telephone poles or other vehicles, and raindrops
“dimple”the water’s surface, there could be
hydroplaning.
Hydroplaning usually happens at higher speeds. There
just isn’t a hard and fast rule about hydroplaning.
The best advice is to slow down when it is raining.
Driving Through Deep Standing Water
Notice:If you drive too quickly through deep
puddles or standing water, water can come in
through your engine’s air intake and badly damage
your engine. Never drive through water that is
slightly lower than the underbody of your vehicle. If
you can’t avoid deep puddles or standing water,
drive through them very slowly.
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Driving Through Flowing Water
{CAUTION:
Flowing or rushing water creates strong
forces. If you try to drive through flowing
water, as you might at a low water crossing,
your vehicle can be carried away. As little as
six inches of flowing water can carry away a
smaller vehicle. If this happens, you and other
vehicle occupants could drown. Don’t ignore
police warning signs, and otherwise be very
cautious about trying to drive through flowing
water.
Some Other Rainy Weather Tips
Besides slowing down, allow some extra following
distance. And be especially careful when you
pass another vehicle. Allow yourself more clear
room ahead, and be prepared to have your
view restricted by road spray.
Have good tires with proper tread depth. SeeTires
on page 5-48.
City Driving
One of the biggest problems with city streets is the
amount of traffic on them. You’ll want to watch out for
what the other drivers are doing and pay attention
to traffic signals.
Here are ways to increase your safety in city driving:
Know the best way to get to where you are
going. Get a city map and plan your trip into
an unknown part of the city just as you would for a
cross-country trip.
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Tires:They are vitally important to a safe,
trouble-free trip. Is the tread good enough for
long-distance driving? Are the tires all inated to the
recommended pressure?
Weather Forecasts:What’s the weather outlook
along your route? Should you delay your trip a
short time to avoid a major storm system?
Maps:Do you have up-to-date maps?
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 inless 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 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.
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Hill and Mountain Roads
Driving on steep hills or mountains is different from
driving inat or rolling terrain.
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 alluid
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.
{CAUTION:
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 on a steep
downhill slope.
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You may want to put winter emergency supplies in
your vehicle.
Include an ice scraper, a small brush or broom, a
supply of windshield washeruid, a rag, some winter
outer clothing, a small shovel, aashlight, a red
cloth and a couple of reective 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.
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 traction or“grip”and will need to
very careful.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.
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If you have traction control, keep the system on. It will
improve your ability to accelerate when driving on a
slippery road. But you can turn the traction system off if
your vehicle ever gets stuck in sand, mud, ice or
snow. SeeIf You Are Stuck: In Sand, Mud, Ice or Snow
on page 4-30. Even though your vehicle has a traction
system, you’ll want to slow down and adjust your driving
to the road conditions. SeeTraction Control System
(TCS) on page 4-10.
If you don’t have a traction system, accelerate gently.
Try not to break the gentle traction. If you accelerate too
fast, the drive wheels will spin and polish the surface
under the tires even more.
Unless you have the anti-lock braking system, you’ll
want to brake very gently, too. (If you do have anti-lock,
seeBraking on page 4-7. This system improves your
vehicle’s stability when you make a hard stop on a
slippery road.) Whether you have the anti-lock braking
system or not, you’ll want to begin stopping sooner than
you would on dry pavement. Without anti-lock brakes,
if you feel your vehicle begin to slide, let up on the
brakes a little. Push the brake pedal down steadily to
get the most traction you can.Remember, unless you have anti-lock, if you brake so
hard that your wheels stop rolling, you’ll just slide. Brake
so your wheels always keep rolling and you can still
steer.
Whatever your braking system, allow greater
following distance on any slippery road.
Watch for slippery spots. The road might bene
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.
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If You Are Stuck: In Sand, Mud, Ice
or Snow
In order to free your vehicle when it is stuck, you will
need to spin the wheels, but you don’t want to spin your
wheels too fast. The method known as“rocking”can
help you get out when you’re stuck, but you must
use caution.
{CAUTION:
If you let your tires spin at high speed, they
can explode, and you or others could be
injured. And, the transaxle or other parts of the
vehicle can overheat. That could cause an
engine compartmentfire or other damage.
When you’re stuck, spin the wheels as little as
possible. Don’t spin the wheels above 35 mph
(55 km/h) as shown on the speedometer.
Notice:Spinning your wheels can destroy parts of
your vehicle as well as the tires. If you spin the
wheels too fast while shifting your transaxle back
and forth, you can destroy your transaxle. See
“Rocking Your Vehicle To Get It Out.”For information about using tire chains on your vehicle,
seeTire Chains on page 5-56.
Rocking Your Vehicle To Get It Out
First, turn your steering wheel left and right. That will
clear the area around your front wheels. If your vehicle
has traction control, you should turn your traction
control system off. SeeTraction Control System (TCS)
on page 4-10. Then shift back and forth between
REVERSE (R) and a forward gear, spinning the wheels
as little as possible. Release the accelerator pedal
while you shift, and press lightly on the accelerator pedal
when the transaxle is in gear. By slowly spinning your
wheels in the forward and reverse directions, you
will cause a rocking motion that may free your vehicle. If
that doesn’t get you out after a few tries, you may
need to be towed out. If you do need to be towed out,
see“Towing Your Vehicle”following.
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Dolly Towing
If you have a two-wheel-drive vehicle, it can be towed
with two of its wheels on the ground. To dolly tow
your vehicle, do the following:
1. Put the front wheels on a dolly.
2. Put the vehicle in PARK (P).
3. Set the parking brake and then remove the key.
4. Clamp the steering wheel in a straight-ahead
position with a clamping device designed for towing.
5. Release the parking brake.
If you have an all-wheel-drive vehicle, it cannot be
towed with any of its wheels on the ground. It can be
towed with car carrier equipment.
Notice:Towing an all-wheel-drive vehicle with all
four wheels on the ground, or even with only two of
its wheels on the ground, will damage drivetrain
components. Don’t tow an all-wheel-drive vehicle if
any of its wheels will be on the ground.
Loading Your Vehicle
The Certication/Tire Label is found on the rear edge of
the driver’s door.
The label shows the size of your original tires and the
ination pressures needed to obtain the gross weight
capacity of your vehicle. This is called the Gross Vehicle
Weight Rating (GVWR). The GVWR includes the
weight of the vehicle, all occupants, fuel and cargo.
The Certication/Tire Label also tells you the maximum
weights for the front and rear axles, called the Gross
Axle Weight Rating (GAWR). Tond out the actual loads
on your front and rear axles, you need to go to a
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