2007 SATURN OUTLOOK ABS

When the ignition is on, the brake system warning
light will also come on when you set your
parking brake. The light will stay on if your parking
brake does not release fully. If it stays on after
your parking brake is fully released, it means you
have a brake problem.
If the light comes on while you are driving, pull off
the road and stop carefully. Make sure the parking
brake is fully released. You may notice that the
pedal is harder to push or, the pedal may go closer
to the oor. It may take longer to stop. If the light is
still on, have the vehicle towed for service. See
Towing Your Vehicle on page 358.
{CAUTION:
Your brake system may not be working
properly if the brake system warning light
is on. Driving with the brake system
warning light on can lead to an accident.
If the light is still on after you have pulled
off the road and stopped carefully, have
the vehicle towed for service.
Antilock Brake System Warning
Light
Your vehicle has the Antilock Brake
System (ABS).
This light will come on
when your engine is
started and may stay on
for several seconds.
This is normal.
If the light stays on, turn the ignition to off. If the
light comes on and the chime sounds when
you are driving, pull your vehicle over to a safe
location and stop as soon as possible.
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Turn the ignition off. Then start the engine again
to reset the system. If the light still stays on,
or comes on again while you are driving, your
vehicle needs service. If the regular brake system
warning light is not on, you still have brakes,
but you do not have antilock brakes. If the regular
brake system warning light is also on, you do
not have antilock brakes and there is a problem
with your regular brakes. SeeBrake System
Warning Light on page 217earlier in this section.
The ABS warning light will come on briey
when you turn the ignition key to ON. This is
normal. If the light does not come on then, have it
xed so it will be ready to warn you if there is a
problem.StabiliTrak®Indicator Light
This warning light
should come on briey
when the engine is
started.
If the warning light does not come on then, have it
xed so it will be ready to warn you if there is a
problem. If it stays on, or comes on when you are
driving, there may be a problem with your
StabiliTrak
®system and your vehicle may need
service. When this warning light is on, the system
is off and will not limit wheel spin. Adjust your
driving accordingly.
This light will also ash when the StabiliTrak
®
system is active.
If the StabiliTrak
®system warning light comes on
and stays on for an extended period of time
when the system is turned on, your vehicle needs
service. SeeStabiliTrak
®System on page 329
for more information.
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ALL WHEEL DRIVE OFF
If your vehicle has the All-Wheel Drive (AWD)
system, this message displays when there
is a compact spare tire on the vehicle, when the
Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) warning light comes
on, or when the rear differential uid is
overheating. This message turns off when the
differential uid cools.
The AWD system is disabled until the compact
spare tire is replaced by a full-size tire. If the
warning message is still on after putting on the
full-size tire, you need to reset the warning
message. To reset the warning message, turn the
ignition off and then back on again after
30 seconds. If the message stays on, see your
dealer/retailer right away. SeeAll-Wheel Drive
(AWD) System on page 332for more information.
AUTOMATIC LIGHT CONTROL OFF
This message displays when the automatic
headlamps are turned off. This message clears
itself after 10 seconds.
AUTOMATIC LIGHT CONTROL ON
This message displays when the automatic
headlamps are turned on. This message clears
itself after 10 seconds.
BATTERY SAVER ACTIVE
This message displays when the system detects
that the battery voltage is dropping below expected
levels. The battery saver system starts reducing
certain features of the vehicle that you may
be able to notice. At the point that the features are
disabled, this message is displayed. It means
that the vehicle is trying to save the charge in the
battery.
Turn off all unnecessary accessories to allow the
battery to recharge.
The normal battery voltage range is
11.5 to 15.5 volts.
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Your Driving, the Road,
and Your Vehicle..................................... 322
Defensive Driving...................................... 322
Drunken Driving........................................ 323
Control of a Vehicle.................................. 326
Braking...................................................... 326
Antilock Brake System (ABS).................... 327
Braking in Emergencies............................. 329
StabiliTrak
®System................................... 329
All-Wheel Drive (AWD) System.................. 332
Steering.................................................... 332
Off-Road Recovery.................................... 334
Passing..................................................... 335
Loss of Control.......................................... 336
Driving at Night......................................... 337Driving in Rain and on Wet Roads............ 339
City Driving............................................... 342
Freeway Driving........................................ 342
Before Leaving on a Long Trip.................. 343
Highway Hypnosis..................................... 344
Hill and Mountain Roads........................... 345
Winter Driving........................................... 347
If Your Vehicle is Stuck in Sand, Mud,
Ice, or Snow.......................................... 352
Rocking Your Vehicle to Get It Out........... 352
Loading Your Vehicle................................ 353
Towing........................................................ 358
Towing Your Vehicle................................. 358
Recreational Vehicle Towing...................... 358
Towing a Trailer........................................ 362
Section 4 Driving Your Vehicle
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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 might
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 could 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 can take longer to stop and the brake pedal
will be harder to push.
Adding non-dealer/non-retailer accessories can
affect your vehicle’s performance. SeeAccessories
and Modifications on page 377.Antilock Brake System (ABS)
Your vehicle has the Antilock 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, and you might even notice that the
brake pedal moves a little. This is normal.
If there is a problem
with ABS, this warning
light will stay on.
SeeAntilock Brake
System Warning Light
on page 218.
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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
wheel.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 antilock work for you.
You might hear the antilock 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.
StabiliTrak®System
Your vehicle has the StabiliTrak®system which
combines antilock brake, traction and stability
control systems and helps the driver maintain
directional control of the vehicle in most driving
conditions.
When you rst start your vehicle and begin to
drive away, the system performs several diagnostic
checks to ensure 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. The system should initialize
before the vehicle reaches 20 mph (32 km/h).
In some cases, it may take approximately
two miles of driving before the system initializes.
If the system fails to turn on or activate, the
StabiliTrak
®light along with one of the following
messages will be displayed on the Driver
Information Center (DIC): TRACTION CONTROL
OFF, SERVICE TRACTION CONTROL,
SERVICE STABILITRAK. If you see these
conditions, turn the vehicle off, wait 15 seconds,
and then turn it back on again to reset the system.
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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.
The traction control system is enabled
automatically when you start your vehicle. It will
activate and the StabiliTrak
®light will ash if
it senses that any of the wheels are spinning or
beginning to lose traction while driving. If you turn
off traction control, only the brake-traction
control portion of traction control will work. The
engine speed management will be disabled. In this
mode, engine power is not reduced automatically
and the driven wheels can spin more freely.
This can cause the brake-traction control to
activate constantly.
Notice:If you allow the wheel(s) of one axle
to spin excessively while the StabiliTrak
®, ABS
and brake warning lights and the SERVICE
STABILITRAK message are displayed,
you could damage the transfer case. The
repairs would not be covered by your warranty.Reduce engine power and do not spin the
wheel(s) excessively while these lights and this
message are displayed.
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.
If your vehicle is in cruise control when the system
activates, the StabiliTrak
®light will ash and the
cruise control will automatically disengage.
When road conditions allow you to use cruise
again, you may re-engage the cruise control. See
Cruise Control on page 179.
StabiliTrak
®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.
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