2007 SATURN RELAY Owners Manual

But the ability to drive is affected well below a BAC
of 0.10 percent. Research shows that the driving
skills of many people are impaired at a BAC
approaching 0.05 percent, and that the effects are
worse at night. All drivers are impaired at BAC
levels above 0.05 percent. Statistics show that the
chance of being in a collision increases sharply for
drivers who have a BAC of 0.05 percent or above.
A driver with a BAC level of 0.06 percent has
doubled his or her chance of having a collision. At a
BAC level of 0.10 percent, the chance of this driver
having a collision is 12 times greater; at a level of
0.15 percent, the chance is 25 times greater!
The body takes about an hour to rid itself of the
alcohol in one drink. No amount of coffee or
number of cold showers will speed that up.
“I will be careful” is not the right answer. What if
there is an emergency, a need to take sudden
action, as when a child darts into the street?
A person with even a moderate BAC might not
be able to react quickly enough to avoid the
collision.There is something else about drinking and driving
that many people do not know. Medical research
shows that alcohol in a person’s system can make
crash injuries worse, especially injuries to the
brain, spinal cord, or heart. This means that when
anyone who has been drinking — driver or
passenger — is in a crash, that person’s chance
of being killed or permanently disabled is
higher than if the person had not been drinking.
{CAUTION:
Drinking and then driving is very
dangerous. Your reexes, perceptions,
attentiveness, and judgment can be
affected by even a small amount of
alcohol. You can have a serious — or even
fatal — collision if you drive after drinking.
Please do not drink and drive or ride with a
driver who has been drinking. Ride home in
a cab; or if you are with a group, designate
a driver who will not drink.
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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. SeeTraction
Control System (TCS) on page 365and
StabiliTrak
®System on page 367.
Adding non-Saturn accessories can affect your
vehicle’s performance. SeeAccessories and
Modications on page 412.
Braking
SeeBrake System Warning Light on page 226.
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-Saturn accessories can affect your
vehicle’s performance. SeeAccessories and
Modications on page 412.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 or pulses a little. This is normal.
If there is a problem
with ABS, this warning
light will stay on.
SeeAnti-Lock Brake
System Warning
Light on page 227.
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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, 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 rmly and let anti-lock work for you.
You may feel a slight brake pedal pulsation
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.
Traction Control System (TCS)
Your vehicle has a traction control system that
limits wheel spin. This is especially useful in
slippery road conditions. The system operates if it
senses that one or both of the front wheels are
spinning or beginning to lose traction. When
this happens, the system brakes the spinning
wheel(s) and/or reduces engine power to
limit wheel spin.
The TRACTION CONTROL ACTIVE message will
come on in the Driver Information Center (DIC)
when the traction control system is limiting wheel
spin. You may feel or hear the system working,
but this is normal.
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If your vehicle is in cruise control when the traction
control system begins to limit wheel spin, the cruise
control will automatically disengage. When road
conditions allow you to safely use it again, you may
re-engage the cruise control.
This warning light will
come on to let you
know if there is
a problem with your
traction control system.
When this warning light is on, the system will not
limit wheel spin. Adjust your driving accordingly.
If the SERVICE TRACTION SYSTEM message in
the DIC comes on and stays on or comes on
while you are driving, there’s a problem with your
traction control system. Have the traction
control system serviced by your Saturn retailer as
soon as possible.
When this warning message is on, the TRACTION
CONTROL OFF message in the DIC will come
on to remind you that the system will not limit
wheel spin. Adjust your driving accordingly.The traction control system automatically comes
on whenever you start your vehicle. To limit wheel
spin, especially in slippery road conditions, you
should always leave the system on. But you
can turn the traction control system off if you ever
need to. You should turn the system off if your
vehicle ever gets stuck in sand, mud or snow and
rocking the vehicle is required. SeeRocking
Your Vehicle to Get It Out on page 391andIf Your
Vehicle is Stuck in Sand, Mud, Ice, or Snow on
page 390.
To turn the system off,
press the traction
control button located
on the center of
the instrument panel.
If the system is limiting wheel spin when you
press the button, the TRACTION CONTROL
ACTIVE message will go off, but the system will
not turn off until there is no longer a current
need to limit wheel spin. The TRACTION
CONTROL OFF message will come on to remind
you the system is off.
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You can turn the system back on at any time by
pressing the button again. The traction control
system warning message should go off.
Adding non-Saturn accessories can affect your
vehicle’s performance. SeeAccessories and
Modications on page 412for more information.
StabiliTrak®System
Your vehicle is equipped with StabiliTrak®which
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 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 the system fails to turn on or activate, the
SERVICE STABILITY SYSTEM message will be
displayed on the Driver Information Center (DIC).If the vehicle has gone through heavy acceleration
or braking or multiple turns during the rst two miles
of driving after starting your vehicle, the STABILITY
CONTROL OFF message may appear on the DIC.
If this is the case, your vehicle does not need
servicing. You will need to turn the vehicle off and
then restart it to initialize StabiliTrak
®. If either
message appears on the DIC, and your vehicle has
not gone through hard acceleration, braking or
multiple turns in the rst two miles of driving, your
vehicle should be taken in for service.
The STABILITY CONTROL ACTIVE message will
appear on the DIC only when the system is
both on and activated. It means that an advanced
computer-controlled system has come on to
help your vehicle continue to go in the direction in
which you are steering. StabiliTrak
®activates
when the computer senses that your vehicle is just
starting to spin, as it might if you hit a patch of
ice or other slippery spot on the road. When
the system activates, you may hear a noise or feel
a vibration in the brake pedal. This is normal.
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When the STABILITY CONTROL ACTIVE
message is on, you should continue to steer in the
direction you want to go. The system is designed
to help you in bad weather or other difficult driving
situations by making the most of whatever road
conditions will permit. For more information on the
stability messages, seeDriver Information
Center (DIC) on page 234.
If the StabiliTrak
®system turns off, the traction
control system warning light will illuminate, and
the STABILITY CONTROL OFF message
will appear on the DIC to warn the driver that
StabiliTrak
®is no longer available to assist you
with directional control of the vehicle. Adjust
your driving accordingly.
To realize the full benets of the stability
enhancement system, you should normally leave
StabiliTrak
®on, 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. SeeRocking
Your Vehicle to Get It Out on page 391and
If Your Vehicle is Stuck in Sand, Mud, Ice, or
Snow on page 390.
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.
The traction control system is enabled
automatically when you start your vehicle. It will
activate and display the TRACTION CONTROL
ACTIVE message in the DIC if it senses that
one or both of the front wheels are spinning or
beginning to lose traction while driving.
If the brake traction-control system activates
constantly or if the brakes have heated up due
to high-speed braking, brake traction-control will be
disabled and the TRACTION CONTROL ACTIVE
message will be displayed. In the limited mode,
the traction control system will only use engine
traction-control and is limited in its ability to provide
optimal performance since the system will not
utilize brake traction-control to control slip on the
drive wheels. The system will return to normal
operation after the brakes have cooled. This can
take up to two minutes or longer depending
on brake usage.
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