2007 CHEVROLET EXPRESS PASSANGER brake

While your vehicle is parked:
•Familiarize yourself with all of its controls.
•Familiarize yourself with its operation.
•Set up your audio system by presetting your
favorite radio stations, setting the tone, and
adjusting the speakers. Then, when driving
conditions permit, you can tune to your favorite
radio stations using the presets and steering
wheel controls if the vehicle has them.
Notice:Before adding any sound equipment to
your vehicle, such as an audio system, CD
player, CB radio, mobile telephone, or two-way
radio, make sure that it can be added by
checking with your dealer/retailer. Also, check
federal rules covering mobile radio and
telephone units. If sound equipment can be
added, it is very important to do it properly.
Added sound equipment may interfere with the
operation of your vehicle’s engine, radio, or
other systems, and even damage them. Your
vehicle’s systems may interfere with the
operation of sound equipment that has
been added.Notice:The chime signals related to safety
belts, parking brake, and other functions
of your vehicle operate through the
radio/entertainment system. If that equipment
is replaced or additional equipment is added
to your vehicle, the chimes may not work. Make
sure that replacement or additional equipment
is compatible with your vehicle before
installing it. SeeAccessories and Modifications
on page 290.
Your vehicle may have a feature called Retained
Accessory Power (RAP). With RAP, the audio
system can be played even after the ignition
is turned off. SeeRetained Accessory Power
(RAP) on page 121for more information.
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Your Driving, the Road, and Your Vehicle... 228
Defensive Driving...................................... 228
Drunken Driving........................................ 229
Control of a Vehicle.................................. 232
Braking...................................................... 232
Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS).................. 233
Braking in Emergencies............................. 235
Locking Rear Axle..................................... 235
StabiliTrak
®System................................... 235
All-Wheel Drive (AWD) System.................. 238
Steering.................................................... 239
Off-Road Recovery.................................... 241
Passing..................................................... 241
Loss of Control.......................................... 243
Driving at Night......................................... 244
Driving in Rain and on Wet Roads............ 246City Driving............................................... 249
Freeway Driving........................................ 250
Before Leaving on a Long Trip.................. 252
Highway Hypnosis..................................... 253
Hill and Mountain Roads........................... 254
Winter Driving........................................... 256
If Your Vehicle is Stuck in Sand, Mud,
Ice, or Snow.......................................... 260
Rocking Your Vehicle to Get It Out........... 260
Loading Your Vehicle................................ 261
Towing........................................................ 266
Towing Your Vehicle................................. 266
Recreational Vehicle Towing...................... 266
Towing a Trailer........................................ 269
Section 4 Driving Your Vehicle
227

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.
Adding non-GM accessories can affect your
vehicle’s performance. SeeAccessories and
Modications on page 290.
Braking
SeeBrake System Warning Light on page 175.
Braking action involves perception time and
reaction time.
First, you have to decide to push on the brake
pedal. That is perception time. Then you have to
bring up your foot and do it. That is reaction time.
Average reaction time is about three-fourths 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 three-fourths 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,
whether it is wet, dry, or icy; tire tread; the condition
of the brakes; the weight of the vehicle; and the
amount of brake force applied.
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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. The brakes may not have time to
cool between hard stops. The 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 vehicle’s engine ever stops while you are
driving, brake normally but do not pump the
brakes. If you do, the pedal may get harder to
push down. If the 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. SeeAccessories and
Modications on page 290.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 the engine and begin to drive
away, ABS will check itself. You might hear
a momentary motor or clicking noise while this test
is going on. This is normal.
If there is a problem
with the ABS, this
warning light will stay
on. SeeAnti-Lock Brake
System Warning Light
on page 176.
233

Let us say the road is wet and you are driving
safely. Suddenly, an animal jumps out in front of
you. You slam on the brakes and continue braking.
Here is 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
front wheel and at both rear wheels.ABS 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.
As you brake, the computer keeps receiving
updates on wheel speed and controls braking
pressure accordingly.
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Remember: ABS does not 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 will not
have time to apply the brakes if that vehicle
suddenly slows or stops. Always leave enough
room up ahead to stop, even though you
have ABS.
Using ABS
Do not pump the brakes. Just hold the brake
pedal down firmly and let anti-lock work for you.
You might feel the brakes vibrate or notice
some noise, 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.
Locking Rear Axle
If your vehicle has this feature, your locking rear
axle can give you additional traction on snow, mud,
ice, sand or gravel. It works like a standard axle
most of the time, but when one of the rear wheels
has no traction and the other does, this feature will
allow the wheel with traction to move the vehicle.
StabiliTrak®System
If your vehicle has StabiliTrak®, it combines
anti-lock brake, traction and stability control
systems and helps the driver maintain directional
control of the vehicle in most driving conditions.
When you first start your vehicle and begin to drive
away, the system performs several diagnostic
checks to ensure that it is working properly. You
may hear or feel the system working. This is normal
and does not mean there is a problem with your
vehicle. The system should initialize before the
vehicle reaches 20 mph (32 km/h). In some cases,
it may take approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) of driving
before the system initializes.
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Pressing and holding
the StabiliTrak®button
located on the
instrument panel for
more than five seconds
can turn off StabiliTrak
®
and part of the
traction control system.
For your safety, the system can only be disabled
when the vehicle speed is less than 20 mph
(32 km/h). You will hear three chimes and the
StabiliTrak
®not ready light will come on.
To turn on the StabiliTrak
®system, press the
StabiliTrak®button again. StabiliTrak®will
automatically turn back on when the vehicle speed
exceeds 20 mph (32 km/h). You will hear one chime
and the StabiliTrak
®not ready light will turn off.
When the StabiliTrak
®system has been turned off
you may still hear system noises as a result of
the brake-traction control coming on.It is recommended to leave the system on for
normal driving conditions, but it may be necessary
to turn the system off if your vehicle is stuck in sand,
mud, ice or snow, and you want to “rock” your
vehicle to attempt to free it. SeeIf Your Vehicle is
Stuck in Sand, Mud, Ice, or Snow on page 260.
StabiliTrak®System Operation
The StabiliTrak®system is normally on, except
when the system is initializing or has been disabled
with the StabiliTrak
®button. The StabiliTrak®
system will automatically activate to assist the
driver in maintaining vehicle directional control in
most driving conditions. When activated, the
StabiliTrak
®system may reduce engine power to
the wheels and apply braking to individual wheels
as necessary to assist the driver with vehicle
directional control. If your vehicle is in cruise control
when the system activates, the StabiliTrak
®
indicator light on the instrument panel will flash, and
the cruise control will automatically disengage.
When the StabiliTrak
®system is no longer active,
you may re-engage the cruise control. SeeCruise
Control on page 151.
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The StabiliTrak®system may also turn off
automatically if it determines that a problem exists
with the system. If the problem does not clear
itself after restarting the vehicle, you should see
your dealer/retailer for service.
Traction Control Operation
The traction control system is part of the
StabiliTrak®system. Traction control limits wheel
spin by reducing engine power to the wheels
(engine speed management) and by applying
brakes to each individual wheel (brake-traction
control) as necessary.
If the brake-traction control system activates
constantly or if the brakes have heated up due to
high speed braking, the brake-traction control
will be automatically disabled. The system
will come back on after the brakes have cooled.
This can take up to two minutes or longer
depending on brake usage.The traction control system may activate on dry or
rough roads or under conditions such as heavy
acceleration while turning or abrupt upshifts/
downshifts of the transmission. When this happens
you may notice a reduction in acceleration, or
may hear a noise or vibration. This is normal.
Adding non-dealer/non-retailer accessories
can affect your vehicle’s performance. See
Accessories and Modications on page 290for
more information.
All-Wheel Drive (AWD) System
If your vehicle has all-wheel drive, your engine’s
driving power is sent to all four wheels for
extra traction when needed.
This is like four-wheel drive, but there is no
separate lever or switch to engage or disengage
the front axle. It is fully automatic, and adjusts itself
as needed for road conditions.
You may experience a brief vehicle vibration upon
acceleration when driving in slippery conditions.
This is normal and is an indication that the
all-wheel drive system is functioning properly.
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