Winter Driving
Driving on Snow or Ice
Drive carefully when there is snow or ice between thetires and the road, creating less traction or grip. Wet icecan occur at about 0°C (32°F) when freezing rainbegins to fall, resulting in even less traction. Avoiddriving on wet ice or in freezing rain until roads can betreated with salt or sand.
Drive with caution, whatever the condition. Accelerategently so traction is not lost. Accelerating too quicklycauses the wheels to spin and makes the surface underthe tires slick, so there is even less traction.
Try not to break the fragile traction. If you accelerate toofast, the drive wheels will spin and polish the surfaceunder the tires even more.
TheStabiliTrak®Systemo n p a g e 6!6improves theability to accelerate on slippery roads, but slow downand adjust your driving to the road conditions. Whendriving through deep snow, turn off the traction controlpart of the StabiliTrak®System to help maintain vehiclemotion at lower speeds.
TheAntilock Brake System (ABS)o n p a g e 6!5improves vehicle stability during hard stops on aslippery roads, but apply the brakes sooner than whenon dry pavement.
Allow greater following distance on any slippery roadand watch for slippery spots. Icy patches can occur onotherwise clear roads in shaded areas. The surfaceof a curve or an overpass can remain icy when thesurrounding roads are clear. Avoid sudden steeringmaneuvers and braking while on ice.
Turn off cruise control, if equipped, on slippery surfaces.
Blizzard Conditions
Being stuck in snow can be in a serious situation. Staywith the vehicle unless there is help nearby. If possible,use theRoadside Serviceo n p a g e 9!8. To get helpand keep everyone in the vehicle safe:
.Turn on theHazard Warning Flashersonp a g e 4!3.
.Tie a red cloth to an outside mirror.
6-28
Uniform Tire Quality Grading
Quality grades can be found where applicable on
the tire sidewall between tread shoulder and
maximum section width. For example:
Treadwear 200 Traction AA
Temperature A
The following information relates to the system
developed by the United States National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which
grades tires by treadwear, traction, and
temperature performance. This applies only to
vehicles sold in the United States. The grades are
molded on the sidewalls of most passenger car
tires. The Uniform Tire Quality Grading (UTQG)
system does not apply to deep tread, winter-type
snow tires, space-saver, or temporary use spare
tires, tires with nominal rim diameters of
10 to 12 inches (25 to 30 cm), or to some
limited-production tires.
While the tires available on General Motors
passenger cars and light trucks may vary with
respect to these grades, they must also conform
to federal safety requirements and additional
General Motors Tire Performance Criteria (TPC)
standards.
Treadwear
The treadwear grade is a comparative rating
based on the wear rate of the tire when tested
under controlled conditions on a specified
government test course. For example, a tire
graded 150 would wear one and a half (1.5) times
as well on the government course as a tire
graded 100. The relative performance of tires
depends upon the actual conditions of their use,
however, and may depart significantly from the
norm due to variations in driving habits, service
practices, and differences in road characteristics
and climate.
Traction–AA, A, B, C
The traction grades, from highest to lowest, are
AA, A, B, and C. Those grades represent the
tire's ability to stop on wet pavement as measured
under controlled conditions on specified
government test surfaces of asphalt and concrete.
A tire marked C may have poor traction
performance.
7-76
Bulb Replacement (cont.)
Headlamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-54
High Intensity Discharge (HID) Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . 7-54
License Plate Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-56
Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-73
C
Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-47
California
Perchlorate Materials Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-5
Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-5
California Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7-8
Camera, Rear Vision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-51
Canadian Owners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
Capacities and Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-115
Carbon Monoxide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12, 3-14
Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-41
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-28
Care of
Safety Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7-102
Center Console Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-64
Chains, Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-78
Charging System Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-32
Check
Engine Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-36
Checking Things Under the Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-14
Chemical Paint Spotting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-106
Child Restraints
Infants and Young Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-52
Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children . . . . . . . . . . 2-59
Older Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-49
Securing a Child Restraint in a Rear Seat
Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-67
Securing a Child Restraint in the Center Front
Seat Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-70
Securing a Child Restraint in the Right Front
Seat Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-71
Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-55
Where to Put the Restraint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-57
Cigarette Lighter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-20
Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-108
Cleaning
Aluminum or Chrome-Plated Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . .7-104
Exterior Lamps/Lenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7-103
Fabric/Carpet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-99
Finish Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7-103
Instrument Panel, Vinyl, and Other Plastic
Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7-101
Interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-98
Leather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7-100
Speaker Covers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7-101
Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7-105
Underbody Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7-106
Washing Your Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7-102
i - 3
W
Warning Lights, Gages, and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-27
Warnings
DIC Warnings and Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-48
Hazard Flashers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3
Safety and Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
Wheels
Alignment and Tire Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-77
Different Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-75
Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-77
When It Is Time for New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-73
Where to Put the Child Restraint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-57
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-18
Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-19
Windshield
Backglass, and Wiper Blades, Cleaning . . . . . . . . .7-104
Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-7
Washer Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-39
Wiper Blade Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-57
Wiper Fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7-108
Wipers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-6
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-28
Wipers
Rear Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-7
X
XM™Satellite Radio
Antenna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-108
i - 16