2003 CHEVROLET CAVALIER wheel

Towing a Trailer (Automatic
Transaxle)
{CAUTION:
If you don't use the correct equipment and
drive properly, you can lose control when you
pull a trailer. For example, if the trailer is too
heavy, the brakes may not work well Ð or
even at all. You and your passengers could be
seriously injured. You may also damage your
vehicle; the resulting repairs would not be
covered by your warranty. Pull a trailer only if
you have followed all the steps in this section.
Ask your dealer for advice and information
about towing a trailer with your vehicle.Your vehicle can tow a trailer if it is equipped with an
automatic transaxle and the proper trailer towing
equipment. If your vehicle is not equipped as stated
above, do not tow a trailer. To identify what the vehicle
trailering capacity is for your vehicle, you should
read the information in ªWeight of the Trailerº that
appears later in this section. But trailering is different
than just driving your vehicle by itself. Trailering means
changes in handling, durability and fuel economy.
Successful, safe trailering takes correct equipment, and
it has to be used properly.
That's the reason for this part. In it are many time-tested,
important trailering tips and safety rules. Many of
these are important for your safety and that of your
passengers. So please read this section carefully before
you pull a trailer.
Load-pulling components such as the engine, transaxle,
wheel assemblies and tires are forced to work harder
against the drag of the added weight. The engine
is required to operate at relatively higher speeds and
under greater loads, generating extra heat. What's more,
the trailer adds considerably to wind resistance,
increasing the pulling requirements.
4-34

Before you start, check the trailer hitch and platform
(and attachments), safety chains, electrical connector,
lamps, tires and mirror adjustment. If the trailer has
electric brakes, start your vehicle and trailer moving and
then apply the trailer brake controller by hand to be
sure the brakes are working. This lets you check your
electrical connection at the same time.
During your trip, check occasionally to be sure that the
load is secure, and that the lamps and any trailer
brakes are still working.
Following Distance
Stay at least twice as far behind the vehicle ahead as
you would when driving your vehicle without a trailer.
This can help you avoid situations that require
heavy braking and sudden turns.
Passing
You'll need more passing distance up ahead when
you're towing a trailer. And, because you're a good deal
longer, you'll need to go much farther beyond the
passed vehicle before you can return to your lane.
Backing Up
Hold the bottom of the steering wheel with one hand.
Then, to move the trailer to the left, just move that hand
to the left. To move the trailer to the right, move your
hand to the right. Always back up slowly and, if possible,
have someone guide you.
Making Turns
Notice:Making very sharp turns while trailering
could cause the trailer to come in contact with the
vehicle. Your vehicle could be damaged. Avoid
making very sharp turns while trailering.
When you're turning with a trailer, make wider turns
than normal. Do this so your trailer won't strike
soft shoulders, curbs, road signs, trees or other objects.
Avoid jerky or sudden maneuvers. Signal well in
advance.
Turn Signals When Towing a Trailer
When you tow a trailer, your vehicle may need a
different turn signal ¯asher and/or extra wiring. Check
with your dealer. The arrows on your instrument
panel will ¯ash whenever you signal a turn or lane
change. Properly hooked up, the trailer lamps will also
¯ash, telling other drivers you're about to turn,
change lanes or stop.
When towing a trailer, the arrows on your instrument
panel will ¯ash for turns even if the bulbs on the trailer
are burned out. Thus, you may think drivers behind
you are seeing your signal when they are not. It's
important to check occasionally to be sure the trailer
bulbs are still working.
4-38

Driving on Grades
Notice:Do not tow on steep continuous grades
exceeding 6 miles (9.6 km). Extended, higher
than normal engine and transaxle temperatures may
result and damage your vehicle. Frequent stops
are very important to allow the engine and transaxle
to cool.
Reduce speed and shift to a lower gear
beforeyou start
down a long or steep downgrade. If you don't shift
down, you might have to use your brakes so much that
they would get hot and no longer work well.
On a long uphill grade, shift down and reduce your
speed to around 45 mph (70 km/h) to reduce the
possibility of engine and transaxle overheating.
Pay attention to the engine coolant gage. If the indicator
is in the red area, turn off the air conditioning to
reduce engine load. See
Engine Overheating on
page 5-25.
Parking on Hills
{CAUTION:
You really should not park your vehicle, with a
trailer attached, on a hill. If something goes
wrong, your rig could start to move. People
can be injured, and both your vehicle and the
trailer can be damaged.
But if you ever have to park your rig on a hill, here's
how to do it:
1. Apply your regular brakes, but don't shift into
PARK (P) yet. When parking uphill, turn your wheels
away from the curb. When parking downhill, turn
your wheels into the curb.
2. Have someone place chocks under the trailer
wheels.
3. When the wheel chocks are in place, release the
regular brakes until the chocks absorb the load.
4. Reapply the regular brakes. Then apply your
parking brake, and then shift to PARK (P).
5. Release the regular brakes.
4-39

Service............................................................5-3
Doing Your Own Service Work.........................5-3
Adding Equipment to the Outside of Your
Vehicle......................................................5-4
Fuel................................................................5-4
Gasoline Octane............................................5-4
Gasoline Speci®cations....................................5-5
California Fuel...............................................5-5
Additives.......................................................5-5
Fuels in Foreign Countries...............................5-6
Filling Your Tank............................................5-7
Filling a Portable Fuel Container.......................5-9
Checking Things Under
the Hood....................................................5-10
Hood Release..............................................5-10
Engine Compartment Overview.......................5-12
Engine Oil...................................................5-14
Engine Air Cleaner/Filter................................5-18
Automatic Transaxle Fluid..............................5-20
Manual Transaxle Fluid..................................5-20
Hydraulic Clutch...........................................5-21
Engine Coolant.............................................5-22
Coolant Surge Tank Pressure Cap..................5-24
Engine Overheating.......................................5-25
Cooling System............................................5-27Power Steering Fluid.....................................5-33
Windshield Washer Fluid................................5-34
Brakes........................................................5-35
Battery........................................................5-39
Jump Starting...............................................5-40
Bulb Replacement..........................................5-45
Halogen Bulbs..............................................5-45
Headlamps..................................................5-45
Front Turn Signal and Parking Lamps..............5-47
Taillamps and Turn Signal Lamps...................5-48
Back-Up Lamps............................................5-49
Replacement Bulbs.......................................5-49
Windshield Wiper Blade Replacement..............5-50
Tires..............................................................5-51
In¯ation -- Tire Pressure................................5-52
Tire Inspection and Rotation...........................5-53
When It Is Time for New Tires.......................5-54
Buying New Tires.........................................5-55
Uniform Tire Quality Grading..........................5-56
Wheel Alignment and Tire Balance..................5-57
Wheel Replacement......................................5-57
Tire Chains..................................................5-59
If a Tire Goes Flat........................................5-60
Changing a Flat Tire.....................................5-61
Compact Spare Tire......................................5-70
Section 5 Service and Appearance Care
5-1

Brake Wear
Your vehicle has front disc brakes and rear drum
brakes.
Disc brake pads have built-in wear indicators that make
a high-pitched warning sound when the brake pads
are worn and new pads are needed. The sound
may come and go or be heard all the time your vehicle
is moving (except when you are pushing on the
brake pedal ®rmly).
{CAUTION:
The brake wear warning sound means that
soon your brakes won't work well. That could
lead to an accident. When you hear the brake
wear warning sound, have your vehicle
serviced.
Notice:Continuing to drive with worn-out brake
pads could result in costly brake repair.Some driving conditions or climates may cause a brake
squeal when the brakes are ®rst applied or lightly
applied. This does not mean something is wrong with
your brakes.
See
Caliper/Knuckle MaintenanceInspection on
page 6-24.
Properly torqued wheel nuts are necessary to help
prevent brake pulsation. When tires are rotated, inspect
brake pads for wear and evenly tighten wheel nuts in
the proper sequence to GM torque speci®cations.
Your rear drum brakes don't have wear indicators, but if
you ever hear a rear brake rubbing noise, have the
rear brake linings inspected immediately. Also, the rear
brake drums should be removed and inspected each
time the tires are removed for rotation or changing.
When you have the front brake pads replaced, have the
rear brakes inspected, too.
Brake linings should always be replaced as complete
axle sets.
See
Brake System Inspection on page 6-24.
5-37

Tire Inspection and Rotation
Tires should be rotated every 6,000 to 8,000 miles
(10 000 to 13 000 km).
Any time you notice unusual wear, rotate your tires as
soon as possible and check wheel alignment. Also
check for damaged tires or wheels. See
When It Is Time
for New Tires on page 5-54andWheel Replacement
on page 5-57for more information.
The purpose of regular rotation is to achieve more
uniform wear for all tires on the vehicle. The ®rst rotation
is the most important. See ªPart A: Scheduled
Maintenance Services,º in Section 6, for scheduled
rotation intervals.
When rotating your tires, always use the correct rotation
pattern shown here.Don't include the compact spare tire in your tire rotation.
After the tires have been rotated, adjust the front and
rear in¯ation pressures as shown on the Tire-Loading
Information label. Make certain that all wheel nuts
are properly tightened. See ªWheel Nut Torqueº under
Capacities and Speci®cations on page 5-85.
{CAUTION:
Rust or dirt on a wheel, or on the parts to
which it is fastened, can make wheel nuts
become loose after a time. The wheel could
come off and cause an accident. When you
change a wheel, remove any rust or dirt from
places where the wheel attaches to the vehicle.
In an emergency, you can use a cloth or a
paper towel to do this; but be sure to use a
scraper or wire brush later, if you need to, to
get all the rust or dirt off. See ªChanging a Flat
Tireº in the Index.
5-53

Buying New Tires
To ®nd out what kind and size of tires you need, look at
the Tire-Loading Information label.
The tires installed on your vehicle when it was new had
a Tire Performance Criteria Speci®cation (TPC Spec)
number on each tire's sidewall. When you get new tires,
get ones with that same TPC Spec number. That way
your vehicle will continue to have tires that are designed
to give proper endurance, handling, speed rating,
traction, ride and other things during normal service on
your vehicle. If your tires have an all-season tread
design, the TPC number will be followed by an ªMSº (for
mud and snow).
If you ever replace your tires with those not having a
TPC Spec number, make sure they are the same size,
load range, speed rating and construction type (bias,
bias-belted or radial) as your original tires.{CAUTION:
Mixing tires could cause you to lose control
while driving. If you mix tires of different sizes
or types (radial and bias-belted tires), the
vehicle may not handle properly, and you
could have a crash. Using tires of different
sizes may also cause damage to your vehicle.
Be sure to use the same size and type tires on
all wheels. It's all right to drive with your
compact spare temporarily, it was developed
for use on your vehicle. See ªCompact Spare
Tireº in the index.
{CAUTION:
If you use bias-ply tires on your vehicle, the
wheel rim ¯anges could develop cracks after
many miles of driving. A tire and/or wheel
could fail suddenly, causing a crash. Use only
radial-ply tires with the wheels on your vehicle.
5-55

Temperature ± A, B, C
The temperature grades are A (the highest), B, and C,
representing the tire's resistance to the generation
of heat and its ability to dissipate heat when tested
under controlled conditions on a speci®ed indoor
laboratory test wheel. Sustained high temperature can
cause the material of the tire to degenerate and
reduce tire life, and excessive temperature can lead to
sudden tire failure. The grade C corresponds to a
level of performance which all passenger car tires must
meet under the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
No. 109. Grades B and A represent higher levels of
performance on the laboratory test wheel than the
minimum required by law.
Warning: The temperature grade for this tire is
established for a tire that is properly in¯ated and not
overloaded. Excessive speed, underin¯ation, or
excessive loading, either separately or in combination,
can cause heat buildup and possible tire failure.
Wheel Alignment and Tire Balance
The wheels on your vehicle were aligned and balanced
carefully at the factory to give you the longest tire life
and best overall performance.
Scheduled wheel alignment and wheel balancing are
not needed. However, if you notice unusual tire wear or
your vehicle pulling one way or the other, the alignment
may need to be reset. If you notice your vehicle
vibrating when driving on a smooth road, your wheels
may need to be rebalanced.
Wheel Replacement
Replace any wheel that is bent, cracked or badly rusted
or corroded. If wheel nuts keep coming loose, the
wheel, wheel bolts and wheel nuts should be replaced.
If the wheel leaks air, replace it (except some
aluminum wheels, which can sometimes be repaired).
See your dealer if any of these conditions exist.
Your dealer will know the kind of wheel you need.
5-57