2006 PONTIAC GTO lock

Your Driving, the Road, and Your Vehicle..........4-2
Defensive Driving...........................................4-2
Drunken Driving.............................................4-3
Control of a Vehicle........................................4-6
Braking.........................................................4-6
Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS).........................4-7
Braking in Emergencies...................................4-9
Traction Control System (TCS).........................4-9
Steering......................................................4-10
Off-Road Recovery.......................................4-12
Passing.......................................................4-13
Loss of Control.............................................4-14
Competitive Driving.......................................4-15
Driving at Night............................................4-16
Driving in Rain and on Wet Roads..................4-17City Driving..................................................4-19
Freeway Driving...........................................4-20
Before Leaving on a Long Trip.......................4-21
Highway Hypnosis........................................4-22
Hill and Mountain Roads................................4-23
Winter Driving..............................................4-25
If Your Vehicle is Stuck in Sand, Mud,
Ice or Snow..............................................4-29
Rocking Your Vehicle to Get It Out.................4-29
Loading Your Vehicle....................................4-30
Towing..........................................................4-35
Towing Your Vehicle.....................................4-35
Recreational Vehicle Towing...........................4-35
Towing a Trailer...........................................4-35
Section 4 Driving Your Vehicle
4-1
2006 - Pontiac GTO Owner Manual

Avoid needless heavy braking. Some people drive in
spurts Ð heavy acceleration followed by heavy
braking Ð 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 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.
Adding non-GM accessories can affect your vehicle's
performance. See
Accessories and Modi®cations
on page 5-3.
Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS)
Your vehicle has the Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS),
an advanced electronic braking system that will
help prevent a braking skid.
When you start your engine and begin to drive away,
ABS 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
a little. This is normal.
If there is a problem with
ABS, this warning light
will stay on. See
Anti-Lock Brake System
Warning Light on
page 3-27
.
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2006 - Pontiac GTO Owner Manual

Using ABS
Do not pump the brakes. Just hold the brake pedal
down ®rmly and let anti-lock work for you. You may
hear the anti-lock pump or motor operate, and feel the
brake pedal pulsate, but this is normal.
Braking in Emergencies
With ABS, you can steer and brake at the same time.
In many emergencies, steering can help you more
than even the very best braking.
Traction Control System (TCS)
Your vehicle has a Traction Control System (TCS) 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 reduces engine power and applies the
brakes, as necessary.Traction control helps you to keep control of the
vehicle and reminds you to match your speed to the
road conditions.
You may feel or hear the system working, but this is
normal. The TCS is automatically turned on whenever
the ignition is turned from off to on. A Low Traction
message is displayed on the trip computer, indicating
traction control is limiting wheel spin, until the MODE
button on the trip computer is pressed. The message
then goes back to the original trip computer display with
a small low traction symbol on the left. The symbol
will remain as long as the low traction situation exists.
To limit wheel spin, especially in slippery road
conditions, you should always leave the TCS on. But
you can turn the system off if you prefer.
4-9
2006 - Pontiac GTO Owner Manual

Suppose you are steering through a sharp curve.
Then you suddenly apply the brakes. Both control
systems Ð steering and braking Ð 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 are steering through
a sharp curve and you suddenly accelerate. Those two
control systems Ð steering and acceleration Ð can
overwhelm those places where the tires meet the road
and make you lose control. See
Traction Control System
(TCS) on page 4-9.
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 will 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 ªdriveº 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.Adding non-GM accessories can affect your vehicle's
performance. See
Accessories and Modi®cations
on page 5-3.
Steering in Emergencies
There are times when steering can be more effective
than braking. For example, you come over a hill and ®nd
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 Ð if you can stop
in time. But sometimes you cannot; there is not room.
That is the time for evasive action Ð steering around
the problem.
Your vehicle can perform very well in emergencies like
these. First apply your brakes Ð but, unless you
have anti-lock brakes, not enough to lock your wheels.
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.
4-11
2006 - Pontiac GTO Owner Manual

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 avoided the object.
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.
Off-Road Recovery
You may ®nd that your right wheels have dropped off the
edge of a road onto the shoulder while you are driving.
If the level of the shoulder is only slightly below the
pavement, recovery should be fairly easy. Ease off the
accelerator and then, if there is nothing in the way, steer
so that your vehicle straddles the edge of the pavement.
You can turn the steering wheel up to one-quarter turn
until the right front tire contacts the pavement edge. Then
turn your steering wheel to go straight down the roadway.
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2006 - Pontiac GTO Owner Manual

A cornering skid is best handled by easing your foot off
the accelerator pedal.
Remember: Any traction control system helps avoid only
the acceleration skid. If your traction control 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
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 Ð such as enough water, ice, or packed
snow on the road to make a mirrored surface Ð and
slow down when you have any doubt.
Remember: Any Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS) helps
avoid only the braking skid.Competitive Driving
See your warranty book before using your vehicle for
competitive driving.
Notice:If you use your vehicle for racing or other
competitive driving, the engine may use more
oil than it would with normal use. Low oil levels can
damage the engine. Be sure to check the oil level
often during racing or other competitive driving and
keep the level at or near the upper mark that
shows the proper operating range on the engine oil
dipstick. For information on how to add oil, see
Engine Oil on page 5-13.
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2006 - Pontiac GTO Owner Manual

Your Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS) improves your
vehicle's stability when you make a hard stop on
a slippery road. Even though you have ABS, you will
want to begin stopping sooner than you would on
dry pavement. See
Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS)
on page 4-7.
·Allow greater following distance on any slippery road.
·Watch for slippery spots. The road might be ®ne until
you hit a spot that is covered with ice. On an
otherwise clear road, ice patches may appear in
shaded areas where the sun cannot reach, such as
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 are actually on the ice, and avoid sudden
steering maneuvers.
If You Are Caught in a Blizzard
If you are stopped by heavy snow, you could be in a
serious situation. You should probably stay with
your vehicle unless you know for sure that you are near
help and you can hike through the snow. Here are
some things to do to summon help and keep yourself
and your passengers safe:
·Turn on your hazard ¯ashers.
·Tie a red cloth to your vehicle to alert police that
you have been stopped by the snow.
·Put on extra clothing or wrap a blanket around you.
If you do not have blankets or extra clothing, make
body insulators from newspapers, burlap bags,
rags, ¯oor mats Ð anything you can wrap around
yourself or tuck under your clothing to keep warm.
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2006 - Pontiac GTO Owner Manual

You can run the engine to keep warm, but be careful.
{CAUTION:
Snow can trap exhaust gases under your
vehicle. This can cause deadly CO (carbon
monoxide) gas to get inside. CO could
overcome you and kill you.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
You cannot see it or smell it, so you might not
know it is in your vehicle. Clear away snow
from around the base of your vehicle,
especially any that is blocking your exhaust
pipe. And check around again from time to
time to be sure snow does not collect there.
Open a window just a little on the side of the
vehicle that is away from the wind. This will
help keep CO out.
Run your engine only as long as you must. This saves
fuel. When you run the engine, make it go a little
faster than just idle. That is, push the accelerator
slightly. This uses less fuel for the heat that you get and
it keeps the battery charged. You will need a
well-charged battery to restart the vehicle, and possibly
for signaling later on with your headlamps. Let the
heater run for a while.
Then, shut the engine off and close the window almost all
the way to preserve the heat. Start the engine again and
repeat this only when you feel really uncomfortable from
the cold. But do it as little as possible. Preserve the fuel
as long as you can. To help keep warm, you can get out
of the vehicle and do some fairly vigorous exercises
every half hour or so until help comes.
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2006 - Pontiac GTO Owner Manual