2007 CHEVROLET TRAIL BLAZER brake

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 386.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 113for more information.
Setting the Time
The radio may have a button marked with
an H or HR to represent hours and an M or MN
to represent minutes.
Press and hold the hour button until the correct
hour displays. AM or PM displays for morning
or evening hours. Press and hold the minute
button until the correct minute displays. The
time can be set with the ignition on or off.
To synchronize the time with an FM station
broadcasting Radio Data System (RDS)
information, press and hold the hour and minute
buttons at the same time until UPDATED and the
clock symbol appear on the display. If the time
is not available from the station, NO UPDATE
or NO UPDAT will appear on the display.
RDS time is broadcast once a minute. After
tuning to an RDS broadcast station, it could
take a few minutes for the time to update.
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Your Driving, the Road, and Your Vehicle. 306
Defensive Driving...................................... 306
Drunken Driving........................................ 307
Control of a Vehicle.................................. 310
Braking...................................................... 310
Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS).................. 311
Braking in Emergencies............................. 313
Locking Rear Axle..................................... 313
StabiliTrak
®System................................... 313
All-Wheel Drive (AWD) System
(TrailBlazer SS)...................................... 318
Steering.................................................... 318
Off-Road Recovery.................................... 320
Passing..................................................... 321
Loss of Control.......................................... 322
Competitive Driving................................... 323
Off-Road Driving (Except SS).................... 323
Driving at Night......................................... 339
Driving in Rain and on Wet Roads............ 340City Driving............................................... 344
Freeway Driving........................................ 345
Before Leaving on a Long Trip.................. 346
Highway Hypnosis..................................... 347
Hill and Mountain Roads........................... 348
Winter Driving........................................... 350
If Your Vehicle is Stuck in Sand,
Mud, Ice, or Snow................................. 354
Rocking Your Vehicle to Get It Out........... 354
Recovery Hooks........................................ 355
Loading Your Vehicle................................ 356
Adding a Snow Plow or Similar
Equipment.............................................. 362
Towing........................................................ 362
Towing Your Vehicle................................. 362
Recreational Vehicle Towing...................... 362
Electronically Controlled Air
Suspension System................................ 367
Towing a Trailer........................................ 368
Section 4 Driving Your Vehicle
305

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 386.
Braking
SeeBrake System Warning Light on page 208.
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.
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.
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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 386.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 ABS, this warning
light will stay on.
SeeAnti-Lock Brake
System Warning
Light on page 209.
Along with ABS, your vehicle has a Dynamic Rear
Proportioning (DRP) system. If there is a DRP
problem, both the brake and ABS warning lights
will come on accompanied by a 10-second
chime. The lights and chime will come on each
time the ignition is turned on until the problem is
repaired. See your dealer/retailer for service.
311

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 rmly 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
Your vehicle is equipped with StabiliTrak®,
Electronic Stability Control (ESC) which combines
antilock brake, traction and stability control
systems and helps the driver maintain directional
control of the vehicle in most driving conditions.
Traction control activates when the controller
senses wheel spin. StabiliTrak
®will selectively
apply the brakes and reduce engine torque to
help regain traction.
Stability control activates when the controller
senses a discrepancy between your intended
path and the direction the vehicle is travelling.
StabiliTrak
®selectively applies braking pressure
at any one of the vehicle’s brakes to help guide the
vehicle in the direction which you are steering.
When you rst start your vehicle and begin to drive
away, the system performs several diagnostic
checks to insure there are no problems. You may
hear or feel the system working. This is normal
and does not mean there is a problem with
your vehicle. If driving conditions delay system
initialization, the STABILITRAK NOT READY
message may be displayed. If this is the case,
your vehicle does not need servicing.
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Traction Control Off
In this mode, stability control and brake-traction
control are functional. Engine speed management
will be modied and the driven wheels can spin
more freely. This can cause the brake-traction
control to activate more frequently. If the controller
detects excessive wheel spin in this mode, the
StabiliTrak
®indicator light may blink and the
STABILITRAK ACTIVE message may be displayed
to warn the driver that damage may occur to the
transfer case.
StabiliTrak®Off
In this mode, both stability control and part of the
traction control system are disabled. Your
vehicle will still have brake-traction control, but will
not be able to use the engine speed management
system. You may still hear system noises as a
result of the brake-traction control coming on. If the
controller detects excessive wheel spin in this
mode, the StabiliTrak
®indicator light may blink and
the STABILITRAK ACTIVE message may be
displayed to warn the driver that damage
may occur to the transfer case.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 may want
to “rock” your vehicle in an attempt to free it. It
may also be necessary to turn off the system when
driving in extreme off-road conditions where
high wheel spin is required. SeeIf Your Vehicle is
Stuck in Sand, Mud, Ice, or Snow on page 354
for more information.
For vehicles with four-wheel drive, when the
transfer case is in 4LO, the stability system is
automatically disabled. The StabiliTrak
®light will
come on and the STABILITRAK OFF message will
appear on the DIC. The StabiliTrak
®system
cannot be turned on until the vehicle is switched
to 2HI, 4HI, or 4AWD.
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The following chart describes the StabiliTrak®system events and the corresponding messages and lights
that will be displayed on the instrument panel cluster.
Vehicles with a DIC Vehicles without a DIC
Event
StabiliTrak®
Indicator LightDIC MessageStabiliTrak
®
Indicator LightStabiliTrak
®
Service Light
Off None Off OffStabiliTrak®On
mode (System is fully
enabled, but is not
actively controlling
vehicle stability).
Solid Traction Control Off Solid OffTraction Control
Off Mode
Solid StabiliTrak
®Off Solid OffStabiliTrak
®Off Mode
(StabiliTrak®indicator
light will ash when
system rst enters
this mode).
Blinking StabiliTrak
®Active Blinking OffStabiliTrak
®system
activates using
engine speed
management, brake
traction control,
and/or stability
control.
316