2003 OLDSMOBILE SILHOUETTE brake

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 Brake System (ABS)
Your vehicle may have anti-lock brakes. ABS is an
advanced electronic braking system that will help prevent a braking skid.
If your vehicle has anti-lock
brakes, this warning light
on the instrument panel will
come on briefly when
you start your vehicle.
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.
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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. This can help you steer around the obstacle
while braking hard.
Let’s say the road is wet and you’re driving safely.
Suddenly, an animal jumps out in front
of you. You slam
on the brakes and continue braking. 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 wheel. As you brake, your computer keeps receiving updates
on wheel speed and controls braking pressure
accordingly.
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Remember: Anti-lock doesn’t change the time you need
to get your foot up to the brake pedal or always
decrease stopping distance.
If you get too close to the
vehicle in front of you, you won’t have time to apply
your brakes
if that vehicle suddenly slows or stops.
Always leave enough room up ahead to stop, even
though you have anti-lock brakes.
Using Anti-Lock
Don’t pump the brakes. Just hold the brake pedal down
firmly and let anti-lock work for you. You may feel a
slight brake pedal pulsation or notice some noise,
but this is normal.
Braking in Emergencies
At some time, nearly every driver gets into a situation
that requires hard braking.
If you have anti-lock, you can steer and brake at the
same time. However,
if you don’t have anti-lock,
your first reaction
- to hit the brake pedal hard
and hold it down
- mav be the wronq thina to do. Your
wheels can stop rolling. Once they do, the vehicle
can’t respond to your steering. Momentum will carry
it in whatever direction it was headed when the wheels
stopped rolling. That could be off the road, into the
very thing you were trying to avoid, or into traffic.
If you don’t have anti-lock, use a “squeeze” braking
technique. This will give you maximum braking while
maintaining steering control. You can do this by pushing
on the brake pedal with steadily increasing pressure.
In an emergency, you will probably want to squeeze
the brakes hard without locking the wheels. If you hear
or feel the wheels sliding, ease
off the brake pedal.
This will help you retain steering control.
If you do have
anti-lock, it’s different. See “Anti-Lock Brakes.”
In many emergencies, steering can help you more than
even the very best braking.
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Traction Control System (TCS)
Your vehicle may have a traction control system that
limits wheel spin. This is especially useful
in slippery
road conditions. The system operates only
if it senses
that one or both of the front wheels are spinning or
beginning to lose traction. When this happens,
the system works the front brakes and reduces engine
power to limit wheel spin.
The TRACTION ACTIVE message will come on when
the traction control system is limiting wheel spin.
See
Traction Active Message on page 3-53. You may
feel or hear the system working, but this is normal.
If your vehicle is in cruise control when the traction
control system begins to limit wheel spin, the cruise
control will automatically disengage. When road
conditions allow you to safely use it again, you may
reengage the cruise control. See “Cruise Control’’ under
Turn SignaVMultifunction Lever on page 3-7.
SERVICE
TRACTION
SYSTEM
United States
Canada
If this message comes on and stays on or comes on
while you are driving, there’s
a problem with your
traction control system.
See
Service Traction System Warning Message on
page
3-52. When this warning message is on, the TRAC
OFF light will come on to remind you that the system
will not limit wheel spin. Adjust your driving accordingly.
The traction control system automatically comes on
whenever you start your vehicle.
To limit wheel spin,
especially in slippery road conditions, you should always
leave the system on. But you can turn the traction control
system
off if you ever need to. You should turn the
system
off if your vehicle ever gets stuck in sand, mud or
snow and rocking the vehicle is required. See “Rocking
Your Vehicle” under
If You Are Stuck: In Sand, Mud, Ice
or Snow on page
4-30.
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Steering
Power Steering
If you lose power steering assist because the engine
stops or the system is not functioning, you can steer
but it will take much more effort.
Steering Tips
Driving on Curves
It’s important to take curves at a reasonable speed.
A lot of the “driver lost control” accidents mentioned on
the news happen on curves. Here’s why:
Experienced driver or beginner, each of us is subject
to the same laws of physics when driving on curves.
The traction of the tires against the road surface makes
it possible for the vehicle to change its path when
you turn the front wheels. If there’s no traction, inertia
will keep the vehicle going in the same direction.
If you’ve ever tried to steer a vehicle on wet ice,
you’ll understand this.
The traction you can get in
a curve depends on the
condition of your tires and the road surface, the angle at
which the curve is banked, and your speed. While you’re
in a curve, speed is the one factor you can control. Suppose
you’re steering through a sharp curve. Then you
suddenly accelerate. Both control systems
- steering
and braking
- have to do their work where the tires meet
the road. Unless you have four-wheel anti-lock brakes,
adding the hard braking can demand too much of those
places. You can lose control.
The same thing can happen
if you’re steering through a
sharp curve and you suddenly accelerate. Those two
control systems
- steering and acceleration - can
overwhelm those places where the tires meet the road
and make you lose control. See
Traction Control
System (TCS) on page
4- 10.
What should you do if this ever happens? Ease up on
the brake or accelerator pedal, steer the vehicle the way
you want it to go, and slow down.
Speed limit signs near curves warn that you should
adjust your speed. Of course, the posted speeds
are based on good weather and road conditions.
Under less favorable conditions you’ll want to go slower.
If you need to reduce your speed as you approach a
curve, do it before you enter the curve, while your front
wheels are straight ahead.
Try to adjust your speed
so you can “drive” through the
curve. Maintain a reasonable, steady speed. Wait to
accelerate until you are out
of the curve, and then
accelerate gently into the straightaway.
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Steering in Emergencies
There are times when steering can be more effective
than braking. For example, you come over a hill and find
a truck stopped in your lane, or a car suddenly pulls
out from nowhere, or a child darts out from between
parked cars and stops right in front of you. You can
avoid these problems by braking
- if you can stop
in time. But sometimes you can’t; there isn’t room.
That’s the time for evasive action
- steering around
the problem.
Your vehicle can perform very well in emergencies
like these. First apply your brakes.
See
Braking on page 4-6. It is better to remove as
much speed as you can from a possible collision.
Then steer around the problem, to the left or right
depending on the space available. An emergency
like this requires close attention and
a
quick decision. If you are holding the steering wheel
at the recommended
9 and 3 o’clock positions, you can
turn
it a full 180 degrees very quickly without removing
either hand. But you have to act fast, steer quickly, and
just as quickly straighten the wheel once you have
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The fact that such emergency situations are always
possible is a good reason to practice defensive driving
at all times and wear safety belts properly.
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Do not get too close to the vehicle you want to
pass while you’re awaiting an opportunity.
For one thing, following too closely reduces your
area of vision, especially
if you’re following a larger
vehicle. Also, you won’t have adequate space
if
the vehicle ahead suddenly slows or stops.
Keep back a reasonable distance.
When it looks like a chance to pass is coming up,
start to accelerate but stay in the right lane and
don’t get too close. Time your move
so you will be
increasing speed as the time comes to move
into the other lane. If the way is clear to pass, you
will have a “running start” that more than makes
up for the distance you would lose by dropping
back. And
if something happens to cause you to
cancel your pass, you need only slow down
and drop back again and wait for another
opportunity.
If other vehicles are lined up to pass a slow vehicle,
wait your turn. But take care that someone isn’t
trying to pass you as you pull out to pass the slow
venicie.
Fiemember io yiance over your sirouicjer
and check the blind spot.
Check your mirrors, glance over your shoulder, and
start your left lane change signal before moving
out of the right lane to pass. When you are
far enough ahead of the passed vehicle to see its
front
in your inside mirror, activate your right
lane change signal and move back into the right
lane. (Remember that your right outside mirror
is convex. The vehicle you just passed may seem
to be farther away from you than it really is.)
0 Try not to pass more than one vehicle at a time
on two-lane roads. Reconsider before passing
the next vehicle.
0 Don’t overtake a slowly moving vehicle too rapidly.
Even though the brake lamps are not flashing,
it may be slowing down or starting to turn.
0 If you’re being passed, make it easy for the
following driver to get ahead of you. Perhaps
you can ease a little to the right.
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Loss of Control
Let’s review what driving experts say about what happens
when the three control systems (brakes, steering and
acceleration) don’t have enough friction where the tires
meet the road to do what the driver has asked.
In any emergency, don’t give up. Keep trying to steer
and constantly seek an escape route or area
of
less danger.
Skidding
In a skid, a driver can lose control of the vehicle.
Defensive drivers avoid most skids by taking reasonable
care suited to existing conditions, and by not “overdriving”
those conditions. But skids are always possible.
The three types of skids correspond to your vehicle’s
three control systems. In the braking skid, your wheels
aren’t rolling. In the steering or cornering skid, too much
speed or steering in a curve causes tires to slip and lose
cornering force. And in the acceleration skid, too much
throttle causes the driving wheels to spin.
A cornering skid is best handled by easing your foot
off
the accelerator pedal.
If you have the Traction Control System, remember:
It helps avoid only the acceleration skid.
If you do not
have this system, or
if the system is off, then an
acceleration skid is also best handled by easing your
foot
off the accelerator pedal.
If your vehicle starts to slide, ease your foot off the
accelerator pedal and quickly steer the way you want
the vehicle to go. If you start steering quickly enough,
your vehicle may straighten out. Always be ready
for a second skid
if it occurs.
Of course, traction is reduced when water, snow, ice,
gravel or other material
is on the road. For safety, you’ll
want to slow down and adjust your driving to these
conditions. It is important to slow down on slippery
surfaces because stopping distance will be longer and
vehicle control more limited.
While driving on a surface with reduced traction,
try your best
to avoid sudden steering, acceleration or
braking (including engine braking by shifting to a
lower gear). Any sudden changes could cause the tires
to slide. You may not realize the surface is slippery
until your vehicle
is skidding. Learn to recognize warning
clues
- such as enough water, ice or packed snow
on the road to make
a “mirrored surface” - and slow
down when you have any doubt.
If you have the anti-lock braking system, remember:
It helps avoid only the braking skid.
if you do not have
anti-lock, then in a braking skid (where the wheels
are no longer rolling), release enough pressure on the
brakes to get the wheels rolling again. This restores
steering control. Push the brake pedal down steadily
when you have to stop suddenly.
As long as the wheels
are rolling, you will have steering control.
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