2007 GMC SAVANA 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. 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 286.
Your vehicle has 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 122for more information.
Setting the Time for Radios without
Radio Data Systems (RDS)
Press and hold the HR or MIN arrow for
two seconds. Then press HR until the correct hour
appears on the display. Press and hold MIN until
the correct minute appears on the display.
The time may be set with the ignition on or off.
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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............ 245City Driving............................................... 248
Freeway Driving........................................ 249
Before Leaving on a Long Trip.................. 250
Highway Hypnosis..................................... 251
Hill and Mountain Roads........................... 252
Winter Driving........................................... 254
If Your Vehicle is Stuck in Sand,
Mud, Ice, or Snow ................................. 258
Rocking Your Vehicle to Get It Out........... 258
Loading Your Vehicle................................ 259
Towing........................................................ 264
Towing Your Vehicle ................................. 264
Recreational Vehicle Towing...................... 264
Towing a Trailer........................................ 266
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 286.
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 286.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. 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.
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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, your 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 your 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 may feel the brakes vibrate, or you may 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 258.
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 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-GM accessories can affect your
vehicle’s performance. SeeAccessories and
Modications on page 286for 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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