2004 CHEVROLET KODIAK ESP

There is something else about drinking and driving that
many people do not 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 reexes, 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 do not drink and drive or ride with a
driver who has been drinking. Ride home in a
cab; or if you are with a group, designate a
driver who will not drink.
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 are driving on snow or ice, it
is easy to ask more of those control systems than
the tires and road can provide. That means you can lose
control of your vehicle.
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Braking
Braking action involvesperception timeand
reaction time.
First, you have to decide to push on the brake pedal.
That isperception time.Then you have to bring up your
foot and do it. That isreaction time.
Averagereaction timeis about 3/4 of a second. But that
is 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 km/h) 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 is 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.
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 pacewith 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 are driving, brake
normally but do not 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.
Hydraulic Brake Systems
If your engine stops running, or if your primary brake
system stops working, your vehicle has a reserve power
assist system to help you slow down. Just slowly and
steadily apply the brake pedal until you can safely get off
the road. The pedal will seem harder to push down.
Do not pump the pedal; the system will not work well or
at all that way.
You may find that the steering wheel seems hard to turn
when you are turning and braking at the same time.
Also, the PRIMARY BRAKE warning light may come on
and the warning tone may sound. This is normal
because the main hydraulic brake system and power
steering both use the power steering pump. If this ever
happens, let up on the brake pedal a little. When
you let up on the brake pedal in that situation, it lets the
steering get a little more help from the pump.
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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 rear wheels are spinning or
beginning to lose traction. When this happens,
the system applies the brake(s) at the affected wheel(s).
The bottom light on the TCS on/off button will come
on when the TCS is limiting wheel spin. You may feel or
hear the system working, but this is normal. The TCS
will function at speeds up to about 25 mph (42 km/h).
The TCS may operate on dry roads under some
conditions. When this happens, you may notice a
reduction in acceleration. This is normal and doesn’t
mean there’s a problem with your vehicle. Examples of
these conditions include a hard acceleration in a
turn, an abrupt upshift or downshift of the transmission
or driving on rough roads.
When the light in the top of the TCS button is on, the
TCS is off and will not limit wheel spin. Adjust your
driving accordingly.
The light in the top of the TCS button will come on if the
TCS is turned off by pressing the TCS on/off button.
The light may also come on if a problem has been
detected in either the traction control system or
the anti-lock brake system.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. SeeRocking Your Vehicle To Get it Outunder
If You Are Stuck: In Sand, Mud, Ice or Snow on
page 4-29.
To turn the system on or
off, press the traction
control button located in
the instrument panel
switchbank.
If you used the TCS button to turn the system off, the
light in the top of the button will come on and stay
on. You can turn the TCS back on at any time by
pressing the button again; the light should go off.
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•Watch for traffic signs, pavement markings and
lines. If you can see a sign up ahead that might
indicate a turn or an intersection, delay your pass.
A broken center line usually indicates it is all
right to pass (providing the road ahead is clear).
Never cross a solid line on your side of the lane or
a double solid line, even if the road seems empty
of approaching traffic.
•Do not get too close to the vehicle you want to
pass while you are awaiting an opportunity. For one
thing, following too closely reduces your area of
vision, especially if you are following a larger
vehicle. Also, you will not 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
do not 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 cars are lined up to pass a slow vehicle,
wait your turn. But take care that someone is
not trying to pass you as you pull out to pass the
slow vehicle.
•Check your mirrors 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 right outside mirror,
activate your right lane change and move back
into the right lane. (Remember that if your
right outside mirror is convex, the vehicle you just
passed may seem to be further away from you than
it really is.)
•Try not to pass more than one vehicle at a time on
two-lane roads. Reconsider before passing the
next vehicle.
•Do not overtake a slowly moving vehicle too rapidly.
Even though the brake lamps are not flashing, it
may be slowing down or starting to turn.
•If you are 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 us review what driving experts say about what
happens when the three control systems (brakes,
steering and acceleration) do not have enough friction
where the tires meet the road to do what the driver
has asked.
In any emergency, do not 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
are not 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.
Of course, traction is reduced when water, snow, ice,
gravel or other material is on the road. For safety,
you will 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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Driving at Night
Night driving is more dangerous than day driving.
One reason is that some drivers are likely to be
impaired — by alcohol or drugs, with night vision
problems, or by fatigue.Here are some tips on night driving.
•Drive defensively.
•Do not drink and drive.
•Since you can not see as well, you may need to
slow down and keep more space between you
and other vehicles.
•Slow down, especially on higher speed roads. Your
headlamps can light up only so much road ahead.
•In remote areas, watch for animals.
•If you are tired, pull off the road in a safe place
and rest.
No one can see as well at night as in the daytime. But
as we get older these differences increase. A
50-year-old driver may require at least twice as much
light to see the same thing at night as a 20-year-old.
What you do in the daytime can also affect your
night vision. For example, if you spend the day in bright
sunshine you are wise to wear sunglasses. Your
eyes will have less trouble adjusting to night. But if you
are driving, do not wear sunglasses at night. They
may cut down on glare from headlamps, but they also
make a lot of things invisible.
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•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 5-68.
City Driving
One of the biggest problems with city streets is the
amount of traffic on them. You will 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.
•Larger vehicles can not be driven everywhere
smaller ones can. There are low underpasses, truck
routes and other special situations. Usually these
are well marked, so be sure to watch for the signs.
•Try to use the freeways that rim and crisscross most
large cities. You will save time and energy. See
Freeway Driving on page 4-22.
•Treat a green light as a warning signal. A traffic
light is there because the corner is busy enough
to need it. When a light turns green, and just before
you start to move, check both ways for vehicles
that have not cleared the intersection or may
be running the red light.
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Diesel Engine Fuel
For the Caterpillar®diesel, see the Caterpillar®
Operation & Maintenance Manual for information
concerning fuel usage.
Notice:Diesel fuel or fuel additives not
recommended in this manual could damage your
fuel system and engine. Your warranty would
not cover this damage. And:
Diesel fuel that has been mixed with engine oil
or automatic transmission uid could damage
your engine and emission controls.
Aftermarket diesel fuel additives are not tested
by General Motors. Some additives, particularly
those which contain alcohol or water
emulsiers, may damage your fuel system. If
you believe that unique circumstances call for a
fuel additive to be used, consult your dealer
for advice.
If you ever run out of diesel fuel, it can be
difficult to restart your engine. To avoid all this,
never let your tank get empty.
If you run out of fuel,Running Out of Fuel on page 5-15,
tells you how to restart your engine.
What Fuel to Use
In the United States, for best results use Number 2–D
diesel fuel year-round (above and below freezing
conditions) as oil companies blend Number 2–D fuel to
address climate differences. Number 1–D diesel fuel
may be used in very cold temperatures (when it
stays below 0°F or−18°C); however, it will produce a
power and fuel economy loss. Avoid the use of Number
1–D diesel fuel in warm or hot climates. It may result
in stalling, poor starting when the engine is hot and may
damage the fuel injection system.
At a minimum, the diesel fuel you use should meet
specifications ASTM D975-02 (Grade Low Sulfur) in the
United States. In addition, the Engine Manufacturers
Association (EMA) has identified properties of an
improved diesel fuel for better engine performance and
durability. Diesel fuels corresponding to the EMA
Recommended Guideline on Premium Diesel Fuel
(FQP-1A) could provide better starting, less noise and
better vehicle performance. If there are questions
about the fuel you are using, contact your fuel supplier.
It is acceptable to use diesel fuel containing up to
5% biodiesel (B5), but the final blended fuel must meet
the same specification, ASTM D975–02 (Grade Low
Sulfur), as other fuels used in your vehicle, and
the biodiesel used for making this fuel must meet the
ASTM D6751–02 specification.
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