2006 Chevrolet Corvette Owners Manual

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CD. Insert the CD partway into the slot, label side up. The player will pull the CD in. Once the CD is loaded, wait for INSERT CD # to appear on the display, then load the next CD. The CD player takes up to six CDs. Do not try to load more than six. To load more than one CD but less than six, complete Steps 1 through 3. When ﬁnished loading CDs, press the load button to cancel the loading function. The radio will begin to play the last CD loaded. If more than one CD has been loaded, a number for each CD will appear on the display. If you add any label to a CD, insert more Do not add any label to a CD, it could get caught in the CD player. If a CD is recorded on a personal computer and a description label is needed, try labeling the top of the recorded CD with a marking pen instead. Notice: than one CD into the slot at a time, or attempt to play scratched or damaged CDs, you could damage the CD player. When using the CD player, use only CDs in good condition without any label, load one CD at a time, and keep the CD player and the loading slot free of foreign materials, liquids, and debris. If an error appears on the display, see “CD Messages” later in this section. M (Load): Press this button to load CDs into the CD player. This CD player will hold up to six CDs. To insert one CD, do the following: 1. Turn the ignition on. 2. Press and release the load button. 3. When INSET CD # appears on the display, load a CD. Insert the CD partway into the slot, label side up. The player will pull the CD in. 3-90 Playing a Speciﬁc Loaded CD For every CD loaded, a number will appear on the display. To play a speciﬁc CD press the numbered pushbutton that corresponds to the CD. If an error appears on the display, see “CD Messages” later in this section. X (Eject): Press this button to eject CD(s). To eject the CD that is currently playing, press and release this button. To eject multiple CDs, do the following: 1. Press and hold the eject button for two seconds. You will hear a beep and EJECT ALL DISCS will appear on the display. 2. When REMOVE DISC appears on the display, the CD will eject and can be removed. To stop ejecting the CDs, press the load or the eject button. If the CD is not removed, after 25 seconds, the CD will be automatically pulled back into the player. If CD is pushed back into the player, before the 25 second time period is complete, the player will sense an error and will try to eject the CD several times before stopping. Do not repeatedly press the eject button to eject a CD after you have tried to push it in manually. The player’s 25-second eject timer will reset at each press of eject, causing the player to not eject the CD until the 25-second time period has elapsed. O / e (Tune): Turn this knob to go to the next or previous track. { (Reverse): Press and hold this button to reverse within the current track. | (Fast Forward): Press and hold this button to fast forward through the current track. RDM (Random): Press this button to hear the tracks in random, rather than sequential order, on one CD or all of the loaded CDs. To use random, do one of the following: To play the tracks on the CD you are listening to in random order, press and release this button until RANDOM DISC PLAY appears on the display. To play the tracks on all of the CDs that are loaded in random order, press and release this button until RANDOM ALL DISCS appears on the display. To turn off random play, press and release the RDM button until RANDOM OFF appears on the display. 3-91 (cid:127) (cid:127) To scan all loaded CDs, press and hold either SCAN arrow for more than four seconds until CD SCAN appears on the display and you hear a beep. Use this feature to listen to 10 seconds of the ﬁrst track of each loaded CD. Press either SCAN arrow again, to stop scanning. BAND: Press this button to listen to the radio when a CD is playing. The inactive CD(s) will remain safely inside the radio for future listening. CD AUX (Auxiliary): Press this button to play a CD when listening to the radio. CD will appear on the display when a CD is in the player. If your system is equipped with a remote playback device, pressing this button a second time will allow the remote device to play. AUTO EQ (Automatic Equalization): Press AUTO EQ to select the equalization setting while playing a CD. The equalization will be stored whenever a CD is played. For more information on AUTO EQ, see “AUTO EQ” listed previously in this section. RPT (Repeat): Press this button to hear a track or an entire CD over again. To use repeat, do one of the following: To repeat a track, press and release this button until REPEAT appears on the display. To repeat an entire CD, press and release this button until REPEAT ONE DISC appears on the display. To turn off repeated play, press and release the RPT button until REPEAT OFF appears on the display t SEEK u: Press the left arrow to go to the start of the current track, if more than ten seconds have played. Press the right arrow to go to the next track. If either arrow is held or pressed more than once, the player will continue moving backward or forward through the CD. t SCAN u: To scan one CD, press and hold either SCAN arrow for more than two seconds until SCAN appears on the display and you hear a beep. The radio will go to the next track, play for 10 seconds, then go on to the next track. Press either SCAN arrow again, to stop scanning. 3-92 (cid:127) (cid:127) Using an MP3 CD MP3 Format If you burn your own MP3 disc on a personal computer: (cid:127) Make sure the MP3 ﬁles are recorded on a CD-R disc. (cid:127) Make sure to ﬁnalize the disc when burning an MP3 disc, using multiple sessions. It is usually better to burn the disc all at once. Files can be recorded with a variety of ﬁxed or variable bit rates. Song title, artist name, and album will be available for display by the radio when recorded using ID3 tags version 1 and 2. (cid:127) Do not mix standard audio and MP3 ﬁles on one disc. (cid:127) Make sure playlists have a.pls, or.m3u, or.rmp extension, other ﬁle extensions may not work. The player will be able to read and play a maximum of 50 folders, 50 playlists, 10 sessions, and 255 ﬁles. Long ﬁle names, folder names, or playlist names may use more disc memory space than necessary. To conserve space on the disc, minimize the length of the ﬁle, folder or playlist names. You can also play an MP3 CD that was recorded using no ﬁle folders. The system can support up to 11 folders in depth, though, keep the depth of the folders to a minimum in order to keep down the complexity and confusion in trying to locate a particular folder during playback. If a CD contains more than the maximum of 50 folders, 50 playlists, 10 sessions, and 255 ﬁles the player will let you access and navigate up to the maximum, but all items over the maximum will be ignored. Root Directory The root directory will be treated as a folder. If the root directory has compressed audio ﬁles, the directory will be displayed as F1 ROOT. All ﬁles contained directly under the root directory will be accessed prior to any root directory folders. However, playlists (Px) will always be accessed before root folders or ﬁles. Empty Directory or Folder If a root directory or a folder exists somewhere in the ﬁle structure that contains only folders/subfolders and no compressed ﬁles directly beneath them, the player will advance to the next folder in the ﬁle structure that contains compressed audio ﬁles and the empty folder will not be displayed or numbered. 3-93 (cid:127) No Folder When the CD contains only compressed ﬁles, the ﬁles will be located under the root folder. The next and previous folder functions will have no function on a CD that was recorded without folders or playlists. When displaying the name of the folder the radio will display ROOT. When the CD contains only playlists and compressed audio ﬁles, but no folders, all ﬁles will be located under the root folder. The folder down and the folder up buttons will search playlists (Px) ﬁrst and then go to the root folder. When the radio displays the name of the folder the radio will display ROOT. Order of Play Tracks will be played in the following order: (cid:127) Play will begin from the ﬁrst track in the ﬁrst playlist and will continue sequentially through all tracks in each playlist. When the last track of the last playlist has been played, play will continue from the ﬁrst track of the ﬁrst playlist. If the CD does not contain any playlists, then play will begin from the ﬁrst track under the root directory. When all tracks from the root directory have been played, play will continue from ﬁles according to their numerical listing. After playing the last track from the last folder, play will begin again at the ﬁrst track of the ﬁrst folder or root directory. 3-94 When play enters a new folder, the display will not automatically show the new folder name unless you have chosen the folder mode as the default display. See the information button later in this section for more information. The new track name will appear on the display. File System and Naming The song name that will be displayed will be the song name that is contained in the ID3 tag. If the song name is not present in the ID3 tag, then the radio will display the ﬁle name without the extension (such as .mp3) as the track name. Track names longer than 32 characters or four pages will be shortened. The display will not show parts of words on the last page of text and the extension of the ﬁlename will not be displayed. Preprogrammed Playlists You can access preprogrammed playlists which were created by WinAmp™, MusicMatch™, or Real Jukebox™ software, however, you will not have editing capability. These playlists will be treated as special folders containing compressed audio song ﬁles. (cid:127) Playing an MP3 Insert a CD partway into the slot, label side up. The player will pull it in, and READING will appear on the display. The CD should begin playing and the CD symbol will appear on the display. If the ignition or radio is turned off with a CD in the player it will stay in the player. When the ignition or radio is turned on, the CD will start to play where it stopped, if it was the last selected audio source. As each new track starts to play, the track number will appear on the display. The CD player can play the smaller 3 inch (8 cm) single CDs with an adapter ring. Full-size CDs and the smaller CDs are loaded in the same manner. If playing a CD-R, the sound quality may be reduced due to CD-R quality, the method of recording, the quality of the music that has been recorded, and the way the CD-R has been handled. There may be an increase in skipping, difficulty in ﬁnding tracks, and/or difficulty in loading and ejecting. If these problems occur, check the bottom surface of the CD. If the surface of the CD is damaged, such as cracked, broken, or scratched, the CD will not play properly. If the surface of the CD is soiled, see Care of Your CDs on page 3-100 for more information. If there is no apparent damage, try a known good CD. If you add any label to a CD, insert more Do not add any label to a CD, it could get caught in the CD player. If a CD is recorded on a personal computer and a description label is needed, try labeling the top of the recorded CD with a marking pen instead. Notice: than one CD into the slot at a time, or attempt to play scratched or damaged CDs, you could damage the CD player. When using the CD player, use only CDs in good condition without any label, load one CD at a time, and keep the CD player and the loading slot free of foreign materials, liquids, and debris. If an error appears on the display, see “CD Messages” later in this section. O / e (Tune): Turn this knob to go to the next or previous track. { (Previous Folder): Press this button to go to the ﬁrst track in the previous folder. Press and hold this button to reverse through the current track. | (Next Folder): Press this pushbutton to go to the ﬁrst track in the next folder. Press and hold this button to fast forward the current track. RDM (Random): Press this button to hear the tracks in random, rather than sequential order, on one CD, one folder, or all of the loaded CDs. 3-95 To use random, do one of the following: To play the tracks on the CD you are listening to in random order, press and release this button until RANDOM DISC appears on the display. To play the tracks in the folder you are listening to in random order, press and release this button until RANDOM FOLDER appears on the display. To play the tracks on all of the CDs that are loaded in random order, press and release this button until RANDOM ALL appears on the display. To turn off random play, press and release the RDM button until RANDOM OFF appears on the display RPT (Repeat): Press this button to hear a track, CD, or a folder over again. To use repeat, do one of the following: To repeat a track, press and release this button until REPEAT TRACK appears on the display. To repeat a CD, press and release this button until REPEAT DISC appears on the display. To repeat a folder, press and release this button until REPEAT FOLDER appears on the display. To turn off repeated play, press and release the RPT button until REPEAT OFF appears on the display. 3-96 MUTE: Press this button to silence the system. Press this button again to turn the sound on. This button is not available on the Radio with Six-Disc CD. t SEEK u: Press the left arrow to go to the start of the current track, if more than 10 seconds have played. Press the right arrow to go to the next track. If either arrow is held or pressed more than once, the player will continue moving backward or forward through the CD. 4 (Information): Press this button to display the artist name and album contained in the ID3 tag. BAND: Press this button to listen to the radio when a CD is playing. The inactive CD will remain safely inside the radio for future listening. CD AUX (Auxiliary): Press this button to play a CD when listening to the radio. The CD symbol will appear on the display when a CD is loaded. Y (Eject): Press this button to eject a CD. Eject may be activated with either the ignition or radio off. (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) Using R (Song List) Mode (Single CD, MP3, and Six-Disc CD) This feature is capable of saving 20 track selections. To save tracks into the song list feature, perform the following steps: 1. Turn the CD player on and load it with at least one CD. 2. Check to see that the CD player is not in song list mode. S-LIST should not appear on the display. If S-LIST is present, press the song list button to turn it off. 3. Select the desired CD by pressing the numbered pushbutton and then use the SEEK right arrow or turn the tune knob to locate the track to be saved. The track will begin to play. 4. Press and hold the song list button to save the track into memory. When song list is pressed, one beep will be heard immediately. ADDED SONG will appear on the display. 5. Repeat Steps 3 and 4 for saving other selections. SONGLIST FULL will appear on the display if you try to save more than 20 selections. To play the song list, press the song list button. The recorded tracks will begin to play in the order they were saved. Seek through the song list by using the SEEK arrows. Seeking past the last saved track will return to the ﬁrst saved track. To delete tracks from the song list, perform the following steps: 1. Turn the CD player on. 2. Press the song list button to turn song list on. S-LIST will appear on the display. 3. Press either SEEK arrow or turn the tune knob to select the desired track to be deleted. 4. Press and hold the song list button for two seconds. Release the button when SONG REMOVED appears on the display. After a track has been deleted, the remaining tracks are moved up the list. When another track is added to the song list, the track will be added to the end of the list. 3-97 To delete the entire song list, perform the following steps: 1. Turn the CD player on. 2. Press the song list button to turn song list on. S-LIST will appear on the display. 3. Press and hold the song list button for more than four seconds. One beep will be heard. SONGLIST EMPTY will appear on the display indicating the song list has been deleted. If a CD is ejected, and the song list contains saved tracks from that CD, those tracks are automatically deleted from the song list. Any tracks saved to the song list again are added to the bottom of the list. To end song list mode, press the song list button. One beep will be heard and S-LIST will be removed from the display. CD Messages CHECK CD: If this message appears on the display and/or the CD comes out, it could be for one of the following reasons: It is very hot. When the temperature returns to normal, the CD should play. (cid:127) You are driving on a very rough road. When the road becomes smoother, the CD should play. The CD is dirty, scratched, wet, or upside down. The air is very humid. If so, wait about an hour and try again. There may have been a problem while burning the CD. The label may be caught in the CD player. If the CD is not playing correctly, for any other reason, try a known good CD. If any error occurs repeatedly or if an error cannot be corrected, contact your GM dealer. If the radio displays an error message, write it down and provide it to your GM dealer when reporting the problem. 3-98 (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) Navigation/Radio System Your vehicle may have a navigation radio system. The navigation system has built-in features intended to minimize driver distraction. Technology alone, no matter how advanced, can never replace your own judgment. See the navigation system manual for some tips to help you reduce distractions while driving. Theft-Deterrent Feature THEFTLOCK® is designed to discourage theft of your vehicle’s radio. The feature works automatically by learning a portion of the Vehicle Identiﬁcation Number (VIN). If the radio is moved to a different vehicle, it will not operate and LOCKED will appear on the display. With THEFTLOCK® activated, the radio will not operate if stolen. Your radio has a blinking indicator light located on the upper left side of the radio. The indicator light is used to show that the theft-deterrent feature mode is set. The blinking indicator light will only ﬂash when the ignition is in the off position. Radio Reception You may experience frequency interference and static during normal radio reception if items such as cellphone chargers, vehicle convenience accessories, and external electronic devices are plugged into the accessory power outlet. If there is interference or static, unplug the item from the accessory power outlet. AM The range for most AM stations is greater than for FM, especially at night. The longer range can cause station frequencies to interfere with each other. For better radio reception, most AM radio stations will boost the power levels during the day, and then reduce these levels during the night. Static can also occur when things like storms and power lines interfere with radio reception. When this happens, try reducing the treble on your radio. 3-99 FM Stereo FM stereo will give the best sound, but FM signals will reach only about 10 to 40 miles (16 to 65 km). Tall buildings or hills can interfere with FM signals, causing the sound to fade in and out. XM™ Satellite Radio Service XM™ Satellite Radio Service gives digital radio reception from coast-to-coast in the 48 contiguous United States, and in Canada (if available). Just as with FM, tall buildings or hills can interfere with satellite radio signals, causing the sound to fade in and out. In addition, traveling or standing under heavy foliage, bridges, garages, or tunnels may cause loss of the XM™ signal for a period of time. The radio may display NO SIGNAL to indicate interference. Care of Your CDs Handle CDs carefully. Store them in their original cases or other protective cases and away from direct sunlight and dust. The CD player scans the bottom surface of the disc. If the surface of a CD is damaged, such as cracked, broken, or scratched, the CD will not play properly or not at all. If the surface of a CD is soiled, take a soft, lint free cloth or dampen a clean, soft cloth in a mild, neutral detergent solution mixed with water, and clean it. Make sure the wiping process starts from the center to the edge. Do not touch the bottom side of a CD while handling it; this could damage the surface. Pick up CDs by grasping the outer edges or the edge of the hole and the outer edge. Care of the CD Player The use of CD lens cleaners for CD players is not advised, due to the risk of contaminating the internal lens of the CD optics with lubricants. 3-100 Diversity Antenna System The AM-FM antenna is a hidden self tuning system. It optimizes the AM and FM signals relative to the vehicle’s position and radio station source. No maintenance or adjustments are needed. XM™ Satellite Radio Antenna System (Roof or Trunk Mounted) The XM™ Satellite Radio antenna is located on the roof or on the trunk lid of your vehicle. Keep this antenna clear of snow and ice build up for clear radio reception. XM™ Satellite Radio Antenna System (Diversity System) Your vehicle may have the XM™ Satellite Radio antennas that are located in the outside rear view mirrors. These antennas are hidden from view and are not accessible. Chime Level Adjustment The radio is used to adjust the vehicle’s chime level. To change the volume level of the chime, press and hold pushbutton 6 with the ignition on and the radio power off. The volume level will change from the normal level to loud, and LOUD will appear on the radio display. To change back to the default or normal setting, press and hold pushbutton 6 again. The volume level will change from the loud level to normal, and NORMAL will appear on the radio display. Only one chime will be heard when changing from the normal to the loud setting. Each time the chime volume is changed, three chimes will sound as an example of the new volume selected. Removing the radio and not replacing it with a factory radio or chime module will disable vehicle chimes. 3-101 ✍ NOTES 3-102 Section 4 Driving Your Vehicle Your Driving, the Road, and Your Vehicle ..........4-2 Defensive Driving ...........................................4-2 Drunken Driving .............................................4-3 Control of a Vehicle ........................................4-6 Braking .........................................................4-6 Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS) .........................4-7 Braking in Emergencies ...................................4-9 Traction Control System (TCS) .........................4-9 Active Handling System .................................4-10 Limited-Slip Rear Axle ...................................4-12 Selective Ride Control ...................................4-12 Steering ......................................................4-13 Off-Road Recovery .......................................4-15 Passing .......................................................4-15 Loss of Control .............................................4-17 Racing or Other Competitive Driving ................4-18 Driving at Night ............................................4-18 Driving in Rain and on Wet Roads ..................4-20 City Driving ..................................................4-22 Freeway Driving ...........................................4-23 Before Leaving on a Long Trip .......................4-24 Highway Hypnosis ........................................4-25 Hill and Mountain Roads ................................4-26 Winter Driving ..............................................4-28 If Your Vehicle is Stuck in Sand, Mud, Ice or Snow ..............................................4-32 Rocking Your Vehicle to Get It Out .................4-33 Loading Your Vehicle ....................................4-33 Towing ..........................................................4-38 Towing Your Vehicle .....................................4-38 Recreational Vehicle Towing ...........................4-38 Towing a Trailer ...........................................4-38 4-1 Your Driving, the Road, and Your Vehicle Defensive Driving The best advice anyone can give about driving is: Drive defensively. Please start with a very important safety device in your vehicle: Buckle up. See Safety Belts: They Are for Everyone on page 1-7. {CAUTION: Defensive driving really means “Be ready for anything.” On city streets, rural roads, or expressways, it means “Always expect the unexpected.” Assume that pedestrians or other drivers are going to be careless and make mistakes. Anticipate what they might do and be ready. Rear-end collisions are about the most preventable of accidents. Yet they are common. Allow enough following distance. Defensive driving requires that a driver concentrate on the driving task. Anything that distracts from the driving task makes proper defensive driving more difficult and can even cause a collision, with resulting injury. Ask a passenger to help do these things, or pull off the road in a safe place to do them. These simple defensive driving techniques could save your life. 4-2 Drunken Driving Death and injury associated with drinking and driving is a national tragedy. It is the number one contributor to the highway death toll, claiming thousands of victims every year. Alcohol affects four things that anyone needs to drive a vehicle: Judgment (cid:127) Muscular Coordination (cid:127) Vision (cid:127) Attentiveness Police records show that almost half of all motor vehicle-related deaths involve alcohol. In most cases, these deaths are the result of someone who was drinking and driving. In recent years, more than 16,000 annual motor vehicle-related deaths have been associated with the use of alcohol, with more than 300,000 people injured. Many adults — by some estimates, nearly half the adult population — choose never to drink alcohol, so they never drive after drinking. For persons under 21, it is against the law in every U.S. state to drink alcohol. There are good medical, psychological, and developmental reasons for these laws. The obvious way to eliminate the leading highway safety problem is for people never to drink alcohol and then drive. But what if people do? How much is “too much” if someone plans to drive? It is a lot less than many might think. Although it depends on each person and situation, here is some general information on the problem. The Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of someone who is drinking depends upon four things: The amount of alcohol consumed The drinker’s body weight The amount of food that is consumed before and during drinking The length of time it has taken the drinker to consume the alcohol 4-3 (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) According to the American Medical Association, a 180 lb (82 kg) person who drinks three 12 ounce (355 ml) bottles of beer in an hour will end up with a BAC of about 0.06 percent. The person would reach the same BAC by drinking three 4 ounce (120 ml) glasses of wine or three mixed drinks if each had 1-1/2 ounces (45 ml) of liquors like whiskey, gin, or vodka. It is the amount of alcohol that counts. For example, if the same person drank three double martinis (3 ounces or 90 ml of liquor each) within an hour, the person’s 4-4 BAC would be close to 0.12 percent. A person who consumes food just before or during drinking will have a somewhat lower BAC level. There is a gender difference, too. Women generally have a lower relative percentage of body water than men. Since alcohol is carried in body water, this means that a woman generally will reach a higher BAC level than a man of her same body weight will when each has the same number of drinks. The law in most U.S. states, and throughout Canada, sets the legal limit at 0.08 percent. In some other countries, the limit is even lower. For example, it is 0.05 percent in both France and Germany. The BAC limit for all commercial drivers in the United States is 0.04 percent. The BAC will be over 0.10 percent after three to six drinks (in one hour). Of course, as we have seen, it depends on how much alcohol is in the drinks, and how quickly the person drinks them. 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 reﬂexes, 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. 4-5 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. See Traction Control System (TCS) on page 4-9 and Active Handling System on page 4-10. Adding non-GM accessories can affect your vehicle’s performance. See Accessories and Modiﬁcations on page 5-3. Braking See Brake System Warning Light on page 3-38. 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 your brakes; the weight of the vehicle; and the amount of brake force applied. 4-6 Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS) Your vehicle has anti-lock brakes. ABS is an advanced electronic braking system that will help prevent a braking skid. When you start your engine and begin to drive away, your anti-lock brake system 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 a little. This is normal. If there is a problem with the anti-lock brake system, this warning light will stay on. See Anti-Lock Brake System Warning Light on page 3-39. 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. Your brakes may not have time to cool between hard stops. Your 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 engine ever stops while you are driving, brake normally but do not pump your brakes. If you do, the pedal may get harder to push down. If your 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. Under certain weather or operating conditions, occasional brake squeak, squeal, or other noise may be heard with your performance braking system. This brake system is designed for superior fade resistance and consistent operation using high performance brake pads. Brake noise is normal and does not affect system performance. Adding non-GM accessories can affect your vehicle’s performance. See Accessories and Modiﬁcations on page 5-3. 4-7 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. The anti-lock system 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. 4-8 As you brake, your computer keeps receiving updates on wheel speed and controls braking pressure accordingly. Remember: Anti-lock 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 anti-lock brakes. Using Anti-Lock Do not pump the brakes. Just hold the brake pedal down ﬁrmly and let anti-lock work for you. You may hear a motor or clicking noise and feel the brake pedal move a little during a stop, but this is normal. Braking in Emergencies With anti-lock brakes, 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 called TCS that limits wheel spin. This is especially useful in slippery road conditions. The system operates only if it senses that the rear wheels are spinning too much or are beginning to lose traction. When this happens, the system works the rear brakes and reduces engine power (by closing the throttle and managing engine spark) to limit wheel spin. The TRACTION SYSTEM ACTIVE message will come on when the TCS system is limiting wheel spin. See DIC Warnings and Messages on page 3-53. You may feel or hear the system working, but this is normal. If your vehicle is in cruise control when the TCS 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. See Turn Signal/Multifunction Lever on page 3-8. The SERVICE TRACTION SYSTEM message and the TCS warning light will come on to let you know if there is a problem with your TCS system. See DIC Warnings and Messages on page 3-53. When this light and the SERVICE TRACTION SYSTEM message are on, the system will not limit wheel spin. Adjust your driving accordingly. 4-9 The TCS 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 TCS system off if you ever need to. To turn the system off, press the button located on the console. You can turn the system on or off at any time by pressing the ACTIVE HANDLING button. The DIC will display the appropriate message when you push the button. Adding non-GM accessories can affect your vehicle’s performance. See Accessories and Modiﬁcations on page 5-3 for more information. Active Handling System The Active Handling System is a computer controlled system that helps the driver maintain directional control of the vehicle in difficult driving conditions. This is accomplished by selectively applying any one of the vehicle’s brakes. When you ﬁrst start your vehicle during cold winter weather and begin to drive away, the message ACTIVE HANDLING WARMING UP may be displayed in the DIC. This is normal. You can acknowledge this message by pressing the RESET button. The Active Handling System performance is affected until the message, ACTIVE HANDLING READY, is displayed in the DIC. The ACTIVE HANDLING CALIBRATING message may be displayed in the DIC and the instrument panel cluster light will be on after exceeding 18 mph (30 km/h) for 10 seconds. The Active Handling System is off until the ACTIVE HANDLING READY message is displayed. This could take up to 15 minutes. The ACTIVE HANDLING message will come on when the system is operating. See DIC Warnings and Messages on page 3-53 for more information. You may also feel or hear the system working. This is normal. 4-10 The SERVICE ACTIVE HANDLING message will be displayed, the instrument cluster light will come on, and a chime will sound to let you know if there is a problem with the system. See DIC Warnings and Messages on page 3-53 for more information. To turn the system off, press the ACTIVE HANDLING button on the console for ﬁve seconds. You can turn the system on at any time by pressing the button. The DIC will display the appropriate message when you push the button. When this light and the SERVICE ACTIVE HANDLING message are on, the system is not operational. Adjust your driving accordingly. The Active Handling System comes on automatically whenever you start your vehicle. To help maintain directional control of the vehicle, you should always leave the system on. You can turn the system off if you ever need to. If you turn the Active Handling System off, the Traction Control System will also be turned off. Adjust your driving accordingly. If the Tire Pressure Monitor (TPM) system detects a ﬂat tire and the Driver Information Center (DIC) displays TIRE FLAT, or if the TPM system is malfunctioning and the DIC displays SERVICE TIRE MONITOR, the Active Handling System will be affected as follows: The Active Handling System cannot be turned off by the driver. If the Active Handling System is off, it will be turned on automatically. (cid:127) Competitive Driving Mode is unavailable. The Active Handling System will feel different in aiding and maintaining directional control. 4-11 (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) Competitive Driving Mode The driver can select this optional handling mode by pressing the ACTIVE HANDLING button on the console two times within a ﬁve second time period. COMPETITIVE DRIVING MODE will be displayed in the DIC. Competitive Driving Mode allows the driver to have full control of the rear wheels while the Active Handling System helps maintain directional control of the vehicle by selective brake application. The instrument cluster light will not be on. The Traction Control System will not be operating. Adjust your driving accordingly. When you press the ACTIVE HANDLING button again, or turn the ignition to ACC, the Active Handling and Traction Control Systems will be on. The TRACTION SYSTEM AND ACTIVE HANDLING-ON message will be displayed temporarily in the DIC and a chime will be heard. Limited-Slip Rear Axle Your limited-slip 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. 4-12 Selective Ride Control You may have a ride control system on your vehicle called Magnetic Selective Ride Control. The system provides the following performance beneﬁts: (cid:127) Reduced Impact Harshness Improved Road Isolation Improved High-Speed Stability Improved Handling Response (cid:127) Better Control of Body Ride Motions This knob is located on the center console. Turn it to select the suspension of your choice. TOUR: Use for normal city and highway driving. This setting provides a smooth, soft ride. SPORT: Use where road conditions or personal preference demand more control. This setting provides more “feel”, or response to the road conditions. (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) You can select a setting at any time. Based on road conditions, steering wheel angle and your vehicle speed, the system automatically adjusts to provide the best ride and handling. Select a new setting whenever driving conditions change. There are three Driver Information Center (DIC) messages that are displayed when a malfunction occurs with the Selective Ride Control system (SERVICE RIDE CONTROL, SHOCKS INOPERATIVE, MAXIMUM SPEED 80 MPH (129 KM/H). Refer to DIC Warnings and Messages on page 3-53 for more information. Steering Power Steering If you lose power steering assist because the engine stops or the system is not functioning, you can steer but it will take much more effort. Magnetic Speed Variable Assist Steering Your vehicle is equipped with a steering system that continuously adjusts the effort you feel when steering at all vehicle speeds. It provides ease when parking, yet a ﬁrm, solid feel at highway speeds. Steering Tips It is important to take curves at a reasonable speed. A lot of the “driver lost control” accidents mentioned on the news happen on curves. Here is why: Experienced driver or beginner, each of us is subject to the same laws of physics when driving on curves. The traction of the tires against the road surface makes it possible for the vehicle to change its path when you turn the front wheels. If there is no traction, inertia will keep the vehicle going in the same direction. If you have ever tried to steer a vehicle on wet ice, you will understand this. The traction you can get in a curve depends on the condition of your tires and the road surface, the angle at which the curve is banked, and your speed. While you are in a curve, speed is the one factor you can control. Suppose you are steering through a sharp curve. Then you suddenly accelerate. Both control systems — steering and acceleration — have to do their work where the tires meet the road. Adding the sudden acceleration can demand too much of those places. You can lose control. See Traction Control System (TCS) on page 4-9. What should you do if this ever happens? Ease up on the accelerator pedal, steer the vehicle the way you want it to go, and slow down. 4-13 Speed limit signs near curves warn that you should adjust your speed. Of course, the posted speeds are based on good weather and road conditions. Under less favorable conditions you will want to go slower. If you need to reduce your speed as you approach a curve, do it before you enter the curve, while your front wheels are straight ahead. Try to adjust your speed so you can “drive” through the curve. Maintain a reasonable, steady speed. Wait to accelerate until you are out of the curve, and then accelerate gently into the straightaway. Adding non-GM accessories can affect your vehicle’s performance. See Accessories and Modiﬁcations on page 5-3. Steering in Emergencies There are times when steering can be more effective than braking. For example, you come over a hill and ﬁnd a truck stopped in your lane, or a car suddenly pulls out from nowhere, or a child darts out from between parked cars and stops right in front of you. You can avoid these problems by braking — if you can stop in time. But sometimes you cannot; there is not room. That is the time for evasive action — steering around the problem. Your vehicle can perform very well in emergencies like these. First apply your brakes. 4-14 See Braking on page 4-6. It is better to remove as much speed as you can from a possible collision. Then steer around the problem, to the left or right depending on the space available. An emergency like this requires close attention and a quick decision. If you are holding the steering wheel at the recommended 9 and 3 o’clock positions, you can turn it a full 180 degrees very quickly without removing either hand. But you have to act fast, steer quickly, and just as quickly straighten the wheel once you have avoided the object. The fact that such emergency situations are always possible is a good reason to practice defensive driving at all times and wear safety belts properly. Off-Road Recovery You may ﬁnd that your right wheels have dropped off the edge of a road onto the shoulder while you are driving. If the level of the shoulder is only slightly below the pavement, recovery should be fairly easy. Ease off the accelerator and then, if there is nothing in the way, steer so that your vehicle straddles the edge of the pavement. You can turn the steering wheel up to one-quarter turn until the right front tire contacts the pavement edge. Then turn your steering wheel to go straight down the roadway. Passing The driver of a vehicle about to pass another on a two-lane highway waits for just the right moment, accelerates, moves around the vehicle ahead, then goes back into the right lane again. A simple maneuver? Not necessarily! Passing another vehicle on a two-lane highway is a potentially dangerous move, since the passing vehicle occupies the same lane as oncoming traffic for several seconds. A miscalculation, an error in judgment, or a brief surrender to frustration or anger can suddenly put the passing driver face to face with the worst of all traffic accidents — the head-on collision. So here are some tips for passing: (cid:127) Drive ahead. Look down the road, to the sides and to crossroads for situations that might affect your passing patterns. If you have any doubt whatsoever about making a successful pass, wait for a better time. (cid:127) Watch for traffic signs, pavement markings and lines. If you can see a sign up ahead that might indicate a turn or an intersection, delay your pass. A broken center line usually indicates it is all right to pass, providing the road ahead is clear. Never cross a solid line on your side of the lane or a double solid line, even if the road seems empty of approaching traffic. 4-15 (cid:127) Do not get too close to the vehicle you want to pass while you are awaiting an opportunity. For one thing, following too closely reduces your area of vision, especially if you are following a larger vehicle. Also, you will not have adequate space if the vehicle ahead suddenly slows or stops. Keep back a reasonable distance. (cid:127) When it looks like a chance to pass is coming up, start to accelerate but stay in the right lane and do not get too close. Time your move so you will be increasing speed as the time comes to move into the other lane. If the way is clear to pass, you will have a running start that more than makes up for the distance you would lose by dropping back. And if something happens to cause you to cancel your pass, you need only slow down and drop back again and wait for another opportunity. If other vehicles are lined up to pass a slow vehicle, wait your turn. But take care that someone is not trying to pass you as you pull out to pass the slow vehicle. Remember to glance over your shoulder and check the blind spot. (cid:127) Check your mirrors, glance over your shoulder, and start your left lane change signal before moving out of the right lane to pass. When you are far enough ahead of the passed vehicle to see its front in your inside mirror, activate your right lane change signal and move back into the right lane. Remember that your passenger side outside mirror is convex. The vehicle you just passed may seem to be farther away from you than it really is. Try not to pass more than one vehicle at a time on two-lane roads. Reconsider before passing the next vehicle. (cid:127) Do not overtake a slowly moving vehicle too rapidly. Even though the brake lamps are not ﬂashing, it may be slowing down or starting to turn. If you are being passed, make it easy for the following driver to get ahead of you. Perhaps you can ease a little to the right. 4-16 (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) Loss of Control Let us review what driving experts say about what happens when the three control systems — brakes, steering, and acceleration — do not have enough friction where the tires meet the road to do what the driver has asked. In any emergency, do not give up. Keep trying to steer and constantly seek an escape route or area of less danger. Skidding In a skid, a driver can lose control of the vehicle. Defensive drivers avoid most skids by taking reasonable care suited to existing conditions, and by not overdriving those conditions. But skids are always possible. The three types of skids correspond to your vehicle’s three control systems. In the braking skid, your wheels are not rolling. In the steering or cornering skid, too much speed or steering in a curve causes tires to slip and lose cornering force. And in the acceleration skid, too much throttle causes the driving wheels to spin. A cornering skid is best handled by easing your foot off the accelerator pedal. Remember: Any traction control system helps avoid only the acceleration skid. If your traction control system is off, then an acceleration skid is also best handled by easing your foot off the accelerator pedal. If your vehicle starts to slide, ease your foot off the accelerator pedal and quickly steer the way you want the vehicle to go. If you start steering quickly enough, your vehicle may straighten out. Always be ready for a second skid if it occurs. Of course, traction is reduced when water, snow, ice, gravel, or other material is on the road. For safety, you will want to slow down and adjust your driving to these conditions. It is important to slow down on slippery surfaces because stopping distance will be longer and vehicle control more limited. While driving on a surface with reduced traction, try your best to avoid sudden steering, acceleration, or braking, including engine braking by shifting to a lower gear. Any sudden changes could cause the tires to slide. You may not realize the surface is slippery until your vehicle is skidding. Learn to recognize warning clues — such as enough water, ice, or packed snow on the road to make a mirrored surface — and slow down when you have any doubt. Remember: Any Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS) helps avoid only the braking skid. 4-17 If you use your vehicle for racing or other Racing or Other Competitive Driving See your warranty book before using your vehicle for racing or other competitive driving. Notice: competitive driving, the engine may use more oil than it would with normal use. Low oil levels can damage the engine. For information on how to add oil, see Engine Oil on page 5-16. Z06 Only: Be sure to check the oil level often during racing or other competitive driving and keep the level at or near the upper mark that shows the proper operating range on the engine oil dipstick. Except Z06: Be sure to check the oil level often during racing or other competitive driving and keep the level at or near 1 quart (1 L) above the upper mark that shows the proper operating range on the engine oil dipstick. After the competitive driving, remove excess oil so that the level on the dipstick is not above the upper mark that shows the proper operating range. 4-18 Vehicles with the Z51 performance package have greaseable outer ends on both of the rear toe-links. Under normal use, lubrication should be performed as described in the maintenance schedule. See Scheduled Maintenance on page 6-4 and Recommended Fluids and Lubricants on page 6-12. If you use the vehicle for racing, lubrication should be performed at the end of each racing day. See your dealer for lubrication and make sure any needed repairs are made at once. Proper procedures for performing these services can be found in the service manual. See Service Publications Ordering Information on page 7-14. Driving at Night Night driving is more dangerous than day driving. One reason is that some drivers are likely to be impaired — by alcohol or drugs, with night vision problems, or by fatigue. Here are some tips on night driving. (cid:127) Drive defensively. (cid:127) Do not drink and drive. (cid:127) Adjust the inside rearview mirror to reduce the glare from headlamps behind you. (cid:127) Since you cannot see as well, you may need to slow down and keep more space between you and other vehicles. (cid:127) Slow down, especially on higher speed roads. Your vehicle’s headlamps can light up only so much road ahead. In remote areas, watch for animals. If you are tired, pull off the road in a safe place and rest. No one can see as well at night as in the daytime. But as we get older these differences increase. A 50-year-old driver may require at least twice as much light to see the same thing at night as a 20-year-old. What you do in the daytime can also affect your night vision. For example, if you spend the day in bright sunshine you are wise to wear sunglasses. Your eyes will have less trouble adjusting to night. But if you are driving, do not wear sunglasses at night. They may cut down on glare from headlamps, but they also make a lot of things invisible. You can be temporarily blinded by approaching headlamps. It can take a second or two, or even several seconds, for your eyes to re-adjust to the dark. When you are faced with severe glare, as from a driver who does not lower the high beams, or a vehicle with misaimed headlamps, slow down a little. Avoid staring directly into the approaching headlamps. Keep the windshield and all the glass on your vehicle clean — inside and out. Glare at night is made much worse by dirt on the glass. Even the inside of the glass can build up a ﬁlm caused by dust. Dirty glass makes lights dazzle and ﬂash more than clean glass would, making the pupils of your eyes contract repeatedly. Remember that the headlamps light up far less of a roadway when you are in a turn or curve. Keep your eyes moving; that way, it is easier to pick out dimly lighted objects. Just as the headlamps should be checked regularly for proper aim, so should your eyes be examined regularly. Some drivers suffer from night blindness — the inability to see in dim light — and are not even aware of it. 4-19 (cid:127) (cid:127) Driving in Rain and on Wet Roads Rain and wet roads can mean driving trouble. On a wet road, you cannot stop, accelerate, or turn as well because your tire-to-road traction is not as good as on dry roads. And, if your tires do not have much tread left, you will get even less traction. It is always wise to go slower and be cautious if rain starts to fall while you are driving. The surface may get wet suddenly when your reﬂexes are tuned for driving on dry pavement. 4-20 The heavier the rain, the harder it is to see. Even if your windshield wiper blades are in good shape, a heavy rain can make it harder to see road signs and traffic signals, pavement markings, the edge of the road, and even people walking. It is wise to keep your windshield wiping equipment in good shape and keep your windshield washer ﬂuid reservoir ﬁlled with washer ﬂuid. Replace your windshield wiper inserts when they show signs of streaking or missing areas on the windshield, or when strips of rubber start to separate from the inserts. {CAUTION: Wet brakes can cause accidents. They will not work as well in a quick stop and may cause pulling to one side. You could lose control of the vehicle. After driving through a large puddle of water or a car wash, apply your brake pedal lightly until your brakes work normally. Driving too fast through large water puddles or even going through some car washes can cause problems, too. The water may affect your brakes. Try to avoid puddles. But if you cannot, try to slow down before you hit them. Hydroplaning Hydroplaning is dangerous. So much water can build up under your tires that they can actually ride on the water. This can happen if the road is wet enough and you are going fast enough. When your vehicle is hydroplaning, it has little or no contact with the road. Hydroplaning does not happen often. But it can if your tires do not have much tread or if the pressure in one or more is low. It can happen if a lot of water is standing on the road. If you can see reﬂections from trees, telephone poles, or other vehicles, and raindrops dimple the water’s surface, there could be hydroplaning. Hydroplaning usually happens at higher speeds. There just is not a hard and fast rule about hydroplaning. The best advice is to slow down when it is raining. Driving Through Deep Standing Water Notice: If you drive too quickly through deep puddles or standing water, water can come in through your engine’s air intake and badly damage your engine. Never drive through water that is slightly lower than the underbody of your vehicle. If you cannot avoid deep puddles or standing water, drive through them very slowly. Driving Through Flowing Water {CAUTION: Flowing or rushing water creates strong forces. If you try to drive through ﬂowing water, as you might at a low water crossing, your vehicle can be carried away. As little as six inches of ﬂowing water can carry away a smaller vehicle. If this happens, you and other vehicle occupants could drown. Do not ignore police warning signs, and otherwise be very cautious about trying to drive through ﬂowing water. Some Other Rainy Weather Tips (cid:127) Besides slowing down, allow some extra following distance. And be especially careful when you pass another vehicle. Allow yourself more clear room ahead, and be prepared to have your view restricted by road spray. (cid:127) Have good tires with proper tread depth. See Tires on page 5-57. 4-21 City Driving Here are ways to increase your safety in city driving: (cid:127) Know the best way to get to where you are going. Get a city map and plan your trip into an unknown part of the city just as you would for a cross-country trip. Try to use the freeways that rim and crisscross most large cities. You will save time and energy. See Freeway Driving on page 4-23. Treat a green light as a warning signal. A traffic light is there because the corner is busy enough to need it. When a light turns green, and just before you start to move, check both ways for vehicles that have not cleared the intersection or may be running the red light. One of the biggest problems with city streets is the amount of traffic on them. You will want to watch out for what the other drivers are doing and pay attention to traffic signals. 4-22 (cid:127) (cid:127) Freeway Driving Mile for mile, freeways — also called thruways, parkways, expressways, turnpikes, or superhighways — are the safest of all roads. But they have their own special rules. The most important advice on freeway driving is: Keep up with traffic and keep to the right. Drive at the same speed most of the other drivers are driving. Too-fast or too-slow driving breaks a smooth traffic ﬂow. Treat the left lane on a freeway as a passing lane. At the entrance, there is usually a ramp that leads to the freeway. If you have a clear view of the freeway as you drive along the entrance ramp, you should begin to check traffic. Try to determine where you expect to blend with the ﬂow. Try to merge into the gap at close to the prevailing speed. Switch on your turn signal, check your mirrors, and glance over your shoulder as often as necessary. Try to blend smoothly with the traffic ﬂow. Once you are on the freeway, adjust your speed to the posted limit or to the prevailing rate if it is slower. Stay in the right lane unless you want to pass. 4-23 Before changing lanes, check your mirrors. Then use your turn signal. Just before you leave the lane, glance quickly over your shoulder to make sure there is not another vehicle in your blind spot. Once you are moving on the freeway, make certain you allow a reasonable following distance. Expect to move slightly slower at night. When you want to leave the freeway, move to the proper lane well in advance. If you miss your exit, do not, under any circumstances, stop and back up. Drive on to the next exit. The exit ramp can be curved, sometimes quite sharply. The exit speed is usually posted. Reduce your speed according to your speedometer, not to your sense of motion. After driving for any distance at higher speeds, you may tend to think you are going slower than you actually are. Before Leaving on a Long Trip Make sure you are ready. Try to be well rested. If you must start when you are not fresh — such as after a day’s work — do not plan to make too many miles that ﬁrst part of the journey. Wear comfortable clothing and shoes you can easily drive in. Is your vehicle ready for a long trip? If you keep it serviced and maintained, it is ready to go. If it needs service, have it done before starting out. Of course, you will ﬁnd experienced and able service experts in GM dealerships all across North America. They will be ready and willing to help if you need it. 4-24 Here are some things you can check before a trip: (cid:127) Windshield Washer Fluid: Is the reservoir full? Are all windows clean inside and outside? (cid:127) Wiper Blades: Are they in good shape? Fuel, Engine Oil, Other Fluids: Have you checked all levels? Lamps: Are they all working? Are the lenses clean? Tires: They are vitally important to a safe, trouble-free trip. Is the tread good enough for long-distance driving? Are the tires all inﬂated to the recommended pressure? (cid:127) Weather Forecasts: What is the weather outlook along your route? Should you delay your trip a short time to avoid a major storm system? (cid:127) Maps: Do you have up-to-date maps? Highway Hypnosis Is there actually such a condition as highway hypnosis? Or is it just plain falling asleep at the wheel? Call it highway hypnosis, lack of awareness, or whatever. There is something about an easy stretch of road with the same scenery, along with the hum of the tires on the road, the drone of the engine, and the rush of the wind against the vehicle that can make you sleepy. Do not let it happen to you! If it does, your vehicle can leave the road in less than a second, and you could crash and be injured. What can you do about highway hypnosis? First, be aware that it can happen. Then here are some tips: (cid:127) Make sure your vehicle is well ventilated, with a comfortably cool interior. (cid:127) Keep your eyes moving. Scan the road ahead and to the sides. Check your rearview mirrors and your instruments frequently. If you get sleepy, pull off the road into a rest, service, or parking area and take a nap, get some exercise, or both. For safety, treat drowsiness on the highway as an emergency. 4-25 (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) If you drive regularly in steep country, or if you are planning to visit there, here are some tips that can make your trips safer and more enjoyable. (cid:127) Keep your vehicle in good shape. Check all ﬂuid levels and also the brakes, tires, cooling system, and transmission. These parts can work hard on mountain roads. {CAUTION: If you do not shift down, your brakes could get so hot that they would not work well. You would then have poor braking or even none going down a hill. You could crash. Shift down to let your engine assist your brakes on a steep downhill slope. Hill and Mountain Roads Driving on steep hills or mountains is different from driving in ﬂat or rolling terrain. 4-26 {CAUTION: Coasting downhill in NEUTRAL (N) or with the ignition off is dangerous. Your brakes will have to do all the work of slowing down. They could get so hot that they would not work well. You would then have poor braking or even none going down a hill. You could crash. Always have your engine running and your vehicle in gear when you go downhill. (cid:127) Know how to go down hills. The most important thing to know is this: let your engine do some of the slowing down. Shift to a lower gear when you go down a steep or long hill. (cid:127) Know how to go uphill. You may want to shift down to a lower gear. The lower gears help cool your engine and transmission, and you can climb the hill better. (cid:127) Stay in your own lane when driving on two-lane roads in hills or mountains. Do not swing wide or cut across the center of the road. Drive at speeds that let you stay in your own lane. (cid:127) As you go over the top of a hill, be alert. There could be something in your lane, like a stalled car or an accident. (cid:127) You may see highway signs on mountains that warn of special problems. Examples are long grades, passing or no-passing zones, a falling rocks area, or winding roads. Be alert to these and take appropriate action. 4-27 Winter Driving Here are some tips for winter driving: (cid:127) Have your vehicle in good shape for winter. (cid:127) You may want to put winter emergency supplies in your vehicle. Also see Tires on page 5-57. Include an ice scraper, a small brush or broom, a supply of windshield washer ﬂuid, a rag, some winter outer clothing, a small shovel, a ﬂashlight, a red cloth, and a couple of reﬂective warning triangles. And, if you will be driving under severe conditions, include a small bag of sand, a piece of old carpet, or a couple of burlap bags to help provide traction. Be sure you properly secure these items in your vehicle. 4-28 Driving On Snow or Ice Most of the time, those places where the tires meet the road probably have good traction. However, if there is snow or ice between the tires and the road, you can have a very slippery situation. You will have a lot less traction, or grip, and will need to be very careful. traction of all. You can get wet ice when it is about freezing, 32°F (0°C), and freezing rain begins to fall. Try to avoid driving on wet ice until salt and sand crews can get there. Whatever the condition — smooth ice, packed, blowing, or loose snow — drive with caution. Traction control improves your ability to accelerate when driving on a slippery road. Even though your vehicle has a traction control system, you will want to slow down and adjust your driving to the road conditions. Under certain conditions, you may want to turn the traction control system off, such as when driving through deep snow and loose gravel, to help maintain vehicle motion at lower speeds. See Traction Control System (TCS) on page 4-9. The Active Handling System may also activate. See Active Handling System on page 4-10. What is the worst time for this? Wet ice. Very cold snow or ice can be slick and hard to drive on. But wet ice can be even more trouble because it may offer the least 4-29 Your Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS) improves your vehicle’s stability when you make a hard stop on a slippery road. Even though you have ABS, you will want to begin stopping sooner than you would on dry pavement. See Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS) on page 4-7. (cid:127) Allow greater following distance on any slippery road. (cid:127) Watch for slippery spots. The road might be ﬁne until you hit a spot that is covered with ice. On an otherwise clear road, ice patches may appear in shaded areas where the sun cannot reach, such as around clumps of trees, behind buildings, or under bridges. Sometimes the surface of a curve or an overpass may remain icy when the surrounding roads are clear. If you see a patch of ice ahead of you, brake before you are on it. Try not to brake while you are actually on the ice, and avoid sudden steering maneuvers. If You Are Caught in a Blizzard If you are stopped by heavy snow, you could be in a serious situation. You should probably stay with your vehicle unless you know for sure that you are near help and you can hike through the snow. Here are some things to do to summon help and keep yourself and your passengers safe: Turn on your hazard ﬂashers. Tie a red cloth to your vehicle to alert police that you have been stopped by the snow. (cid:127) Put on extra clothing or wrap a blanket around you. If you do not have blankets or extra clothing, make body insulators from newspapers, burlap bags, rags, ﬂoor mats — anything you can wrap around yourself or tuck under your clothing to keep warm. 4-30 (cid:127) (cid:127) You can run the engine to keep warm, but be careful. {CAUTION: Snow can trap exhaust gases under your vehicle. This can cause deadly CO (carbon monoxide) gas to get inside. CO could overcome you and kill you. You cannot see it or smell it, so you might not know it is in your vehicle. Clear away snow from around the base of your vehicle, especially any that is blocking your exhaust pipe. And check around again from time to time to be sure snow does not collect there. Open a window just a little on the side of the vehicle that is away from the wind. This will help keep CO out. Run your engine only as long as you must. This saves fuel. When you run the engine, make it go a little faster than just idle. That is, push the accelerator slightly. This uses less fuel for the heat that you get and it keeps the battery charged. You will need a well-charged battery to restart the vehicle, and possibly for signaling later on with your headlamps. Let the heater run for a while. 4-31 Then, shut the engine off and close the window almost all the way to preserve the heat. Start the engine again and repeat this only when you feel really uncomfortable from the cold. But do it as little as possible. Preserve the fuel as long as you can. To help keep warm, you can get out of the vehicle and do some fairly vigorous exercises every half hour or so until help comes. If Your Vehicle is Stuck in Sand, Mud, Ice or Snow In order to free your vehicle when it is stuck, you will need to spin the wheels, but you do not want to spin your wheels too fast. The method known as rocking can help you get out when you are stuck, but you must use caution. {CAUTION: If you let your tires spin at high speed, they can explode, and you or others could be injured. And, the transmission or other parts of the vehicle can overheat. That could cause an engine compartment ﬁre or other damage. When you are stuck, spin the wheels as little as possible. Do not spin the wheels above 35 mph (55 km/h) as shown on the speedometer. Notice: Spinning your wheels can destroy parts of your vehicle as well as the tires. If you spin the wheels too fast while shifting your transmission back and forth, you can destroy your transmission. For more information about using tire chains on your vehicle, see Tire Chains on page 5-76. 4-32 Rocking Your Vehicle to Get It Out First, turn your steering wheel left and right. That will clear the area around your front wheels. You should turn your traction control system off. See Traction Control System (TCS) on page 4-9. Then shift back and forth between REVERSE (R) and a forward gear, spinning the wheels as little as possible. For a manual transmission, shift slowly between either FIRST (1) or SECOND (2) and REVERSE (R), allowing the wheels to stop before shifting into gear. Release the accelerator pedal while you shift, and press lightly on the accelerator pedal when the transmission is in gear. By slowly spinning your wheels in the forward and reverse directions, you will cause a rocking motion that may free your vehicle. If that does not get you out after a few tries, you may need to be towed out. If you do need to be towed out, see Towing Your Vehicle on page 4-38. Loading Your Vehicle It is very important to know how much weight your vehicle can carry. This weight is called the vehicle capacity weight and includes the weight of all occupants, cargo and all nonfactory-installed options. Two labels on your vehicle show how much weight it may properly carry, the Tire and Loading Information label and the Certiﬁcation label. {CAUTION: Do not load your vehicle any heavier than the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR), or either the maximum front or rear Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR). If you do, parts on your vehicle can break, and it can change the way your vehicle handles. These could cause you to lose control and crash. Also, overloading can shorten the life of your vehicle. 4-33 The Tire and Loading Information label also shows the size of the original equipment tires (C) and the recommended cold tire inﬂation pressures (D). For more information on tires and inﬂation see Tires on page 5-57 and Inﬂation - Tire Pressure on page 5-64. There is also important loading information on the vehicle Certiﬁcation label. It tells you the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) and the Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) for the front and rear axle. See “Certiﬁcation Label” later in this section. Steps for Determining Correct Load Limit 1. Locate the statement “The combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed XXX kg or XXX lbs” on your vehicle’s placard. 2. Determine the combined weight of the driver and passengers that will be riding in your vehicle. 3. Subtract the combined weight of the driver and passengers from XXX kg or XXX lbs. Tire and Loading Information Label Label Example A vehicle speciﬁc Tire and Loading Information label is attached to the center pillar (B-pillar) of your vehicle. With the driver’s door open, you will ﬁnd the label attached below the door latch. This label shows the number of occupant seating positions (A), and the maximum vehicle capacity weight (B) in kilograms and pounds. 4-34 4. The resulting ﬁgure equals the available amount of cargo and luggage load capacity. For example, if the “XXX” amount equals 1400 lbs and there will be ﬁve 150 lb passengers in your vehicle, the amount of available cargo and luggage load capacity is 650 lbs (1400 − 750 (5 x 150) = 650 lbs). 5. Determine the combined weight of luggage and cargo being loaded on the vehicle. That weight may not safely exceed the available cargo and luggage load capacity calculated in Step 4. 6. If your vehicle will be towing a trailer, the load from your trailer will be transferred to your vehicle. Consult this manual to determine how this reduces the available cargo and luggage load capacity of your vehicle. Your vehicle is neither designed nor intended to tow a trailer. Example 1 Item Description Total Vehicle Capacity Weight for Example 1 = Subtract Occupant Weight @ 150 lbs (68 kg) x 1 = Available Occupant and Cargo Weight = 400 lbs (181 kg) 150 lbs (68 kg) 250 lbs (113 kg) 4-35 Example 2 Example 3 Item Description Total Item Description Total Vehicle Capacity Weight for Example 2 = Subtract Occupant Weight @ 150 lbs (68 kg) x 2 = Available Cargo Weight = 400 lbs (181 kg) 300 lbs (136 kg) 100 lbs (45 kg) Vehicle Capacity Weight for Example 3 = Subtract Occupant Weight @ 200 lbs (91 kg) x 2 = Available Cargo Weight = 400 lbs (181 kg) 400 lbs (181 kg) 0 lbs (0 kg) Refer to your vehicle’s tire and loading information label for speciﬁc information about your vehicle’s capacity weight and seating positions. The combined weight of the driver, passengers and cargo should never exceed your vehicle’s capacity weight. 4-36 Certiﬁcation Label A vehicle speciﬁc Certiﬁcation label is attached to the rear edge of the driver’s door. It tells you the gross weight capacity of your vehicle, called the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR). The GVWR includes the weight of the vehicle, all occupants, fuel and cargo. Never exceed the GVWR for your vehicle, or the Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) for either the front or rear axle. If your vehicle is a coupe or ZO6 model, the load limit for the rear cargo area is 123 lbs (56 kg). The load limit for the convertible’s rear cargo area is 88 lbs (40 kg). Do not load your vehicle with more weight than it was designed to carry. See “Steps for Determining Correct Load Limit” earlier in this section. {CAUTION: Do not load your vehicle any heavier than the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR), or either the maximum front or rear Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR). If you do, parts on your vehicle can break, and it can change the way your vehicle handles. These could cause you to lose control and crash. Also, overloading can shorten the life of your vehicle. Notice: Overloading your vehicle may cause damage. Repairs would not be covered by your warranty. Do not overload your vehicle. 4-37 If you put things inside your vehicle — like suitcases, tools, packages or anything else — they will go as fast as the vehicle goes. If you have to stop or turn quickly, or if there is a crash, they will keep going. {CAUTION: Things you put inside your vehicle can strike and injure people in a sudden stop or turn, or in a crash. (cid:127) Put things in the rear area of your vehicle. Try to spread the weight evenly. (cid:127) Never stack heavier things, like suitcases, inside the vehicle so that some of them are above the tops of the seats. (cid:127) Do not leave an unsecured child restraint in your vehicle. (cid:127) When you carry something inside the vehicle, secure it whenever you can. Towing Towing Your Vehicle Consult your dealer or a professional towing service if you need to have your disabled vehicle towed. See Roadside Assistance Program on page 7-6. Recreational Vehicle Towing Recreational vehicle towing means towing your vehicle behind another vehicle — such as behind a motorhome. The two most common types of recreational vehicle towing are known as “dinghy towing” (towing your vehicle with all four wheels on the ground) and “dolly towing” (towing your vehicle with two wheels on the ground and two wheels up on a device known as a “dolly”). Your vehicle was not designed to be towed with any of its wheels on the ground. If your vehicle must be towed, see “Towing Your Vehicle” earlier in this section. Towing a Trailer Your Corvette is neither designed nor intended to tow a trailer. 4-38 Section 5 Service and Appearance Care Service ............................................................5-3 Accessories and Modiﬁcations ..........................5-3 California Proposition 65 Warning .....................5-3 Doing Your Own Service Work .........................5-4 Adding Equipment to the Outside of Your Vehicle ..............................................5-4 Fuel ................................................................5-4 Gasoline Octane ............................................5-5 Gasoline Speciﬁcations ....................................5-5 California Fuel ...............................................5-5 Additives .......................................................5-6 Fuels in Foreign Countries ...............................5-6 Filling the Tank ..............................................5-7 Filling a Portable Fuel Container .....................5-10 Checking Things Under the Hood ....................5-10 Hood Release ..............................................5-11 Engine Compartment Overview .......................5-12 Engine Oil ...................................................5-16 Engine Oil Life System ..................................5-23 Engine Air Cleaner/Filter ................................5-25 Automatic Transmission Fluid .........................5-28 Manual Transmission Fluid .............................5-28 Hydraulic Clutch ...........................................5-28 Engine Coolant .............................................5-29 Coolant Surge Tank Pressure Cap ..................5-32 Engine Overheating .......................................5-32 Overheated Engine Protection Operating Mode ........................................5-34 Cooling System ............................................5-34 Power Steering Fluid .....................................5-40 Windshield Washer Fluid ................................5-41 Brakes ........................................................5-42 Battery ........................................................5-45 Jump Starting ...............................................5-46 Rear Axle .......................................................5-51 Bulb Replacement ..........................................5-52 High Intensity Discharge (HID) Lighting ............5-52 Halogen Bulbs ..............................................5-52 Headlamps, Front Turn Signal, and Parking Lamps ..........................................5-52 Taillamps, Turn Signal, and Stoplamps ............5-54 Replacement Bulbs .......................................5-54 Windshield Replacement .................................5-54 Windshield Wiper Blade Replacement ..............5-55 Tires ..............................................................5-57 Tire Sidewall Labeling ...................................5-58 Tire Terminology and Deﬁnitions .....................5-60 Extended Mobility Tires ..................................5-62 Inﬂation - Tire Pressure .................................5-64 5-1 Section 5 Service and Appearance Care Tire Pressure Monitor System .........................5-67 Tire Rotation ................................................5-69 When It Is Time for New Tires .......................5-69 Buying New Tires .........................................5-70 Different Size Tires and Wheels ......................5-71 Uniform Tire Quality Grading ..........................5-72 Wheel Alignment and Tire Balance ..................5-73 Wheel Replacement ......................................5-73 Tire Chains ..................................................5-76 Lifting Your Vehicle .......................................5-76 If a Tire Goes Flat ........................................5-81 Appearance Care ............................................5-82 Cleaning the Inside of Your Vehicle .................5-82 Fabric/Carpet ...............................................5-83 Coated Moldings ...........................................5-84 Leather .......................................................5-84 Instrument Panel, Vinyl, and Other Plastic Surfaces ..................................................5-85 Cargo Cover and Convenience Net .................5-85 Care of Safety Belts ......................................5-85 Weatherstrips ...............................................5-85 Washing Your Vehicle ...................................5-86 Cleaning Exterior Lamps/Lenses .....................5-86 Finish Care ..................................................5-86 Windshield and Wiper Blades .........................5-87 Removable Roof Panel ..................................5-88 Convertible Top ............................................5-88 Aluminum Wheels .........................................5-89 Tires ...........................................................5-89 Finish Damage .............................................5-90 Underbody Maintenance ................................5-90 Fiberglass Springs ........................................5-90 Chemical Paint Spotting .................................5-90 Vehicle Care/Appearance Materials ..................5-91 Vehicle Identiﬁcation ......................................5-92 Vehicle Identiﬁcation Number (VIN) .................5-92 Service Parts Identiﬁcation Label .....................5-92 Electrical System ............................................5-92 Add-On Electrical Equipment ..........................5-92 Headlamp Wiring ..........................................5-93 Windshield Wiper Fuses ................................5-93 Power Windows and Other Power Options .......5-93 Fuses and Circuit Breakers ............................5-93 Instrument Panel Fuse Block ..........................5-94 Engine Compartment Fuse Block ....................5-98 Capacities and Speciﬁcations ........................5-101 5-2 Service Your dealer knows your vehicle best and wants you to be happy with it. We hope you will go to your dealer for all your service needs. You will get genuine GM parts and GM-trained and supported service people. We hope you will want to keep your GM vehicle all GM. Genuine GM parts have one of these marks: Accessories and Modiﬁcations When you add non-GM accessories to your vehicle they can affect your vehicle’s performance and safety, including such things as, braking, stability, ride and handling, emissions systems, aerodynamics, durability, and electronic systems like antilock brakes, traction control and stability control. Some of these accessories may even cause malfunction or damage not covered by warranty. GM Accessories are designed to complement and function with other systems on your vehicle. Your GM dealer can accessorize your vehicle using genuine GM Accessories. When you go to your GM dealer and ask for GM Accessories, you will know that GM-trained and supported service technicians will perform the work using genuine GM Accessories. California Proposition 65 Warning Most motor vehicles, including this one, contain and/or emit chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. Engine exhaust, many parts and systems (including some inside the vehicle), many ﬂuids, and some component wear by-products contain and/or emit these chemicals. 5-3 Doing Your Own Service Work {CAUTION: You can be injured and your vehicle could be damaged if you try to do service work on a vehicle without knowing enough about it. (cid:127) Be sure you have sufficient knowledge, experience, the proper replacement parts, and tools before you attempt any vehicle maintenance task. (cid:127) Be sure to use the proper nuts, bolts, and other fasteners. English and metric fasteners can be easily confused. If you use the wrong fasteners, parts can later break or fall off. You could be hurt. If you want to do some of your own service work, you will want to use the proper service manual. It tells you much more about how to service your vehicle than this manual can. To order the proper service manual, see Service Publications Ordering Information on page 7-14. 5-4 Your vehicle has an airbag system. Before attempting to do your own service work, see Servicing Your Airbag-Equipped Vehicle on page 1-52. You should keep a record with all parts receipts and list the mileage and the date of any service work you perform. See Maintenance Record on page 6-16. Adding Equipment to the Outside of Your Vehicle Things you might add to the outside of your vehicle can affect the airﬂow around it. This may cause wind noise and affect windshield washer performance. Check with your dealer before adding equipment to the outside of your vehicle. Fuel The 8th digit of your vehicle identiﬁcation number (VIN) shows the code letter or number that identiﬁes your engine. You will ﬁnd the VIN at the top left of the instrument panel. See Vehicle Identiﬁcation Number (VIN) on page 5-92. Gasoline Octane If your vehicle has the 6.0L V8 engine (VIN Code U), use premium unleaded gasoline with a posted octane rating of 91 or higher. You may also use regular unleaded gasoline rated at 87 octane or higher, but your vehicle’s acceleration may be slightly reduced, and you may notice a slight audible knocking noise, commonly referred to as spark knock. If the octane is less than 87, you may notice a heavy knocking noise when you drive. If this occurs, use a gasoline rated at 87 octane or higher as soon as possible. Otherwise, you might damage your engine. If you are using gasoline rated at 87 octane or higher and you hear heavy knocking, your engine needs service. If your vehicle has the 7.0L V8 engine (VIN Code E), use premium unleaded gasoline with a posted octane rating of 91 or higher. For best performance, use premium unleaded gasoline with a posted octane rating of 93. In an emergency, you can use regular unleaded gasoline with an octane rating of 87 or higher. If 87 octane fuel is used, do not perform any aggressive driving maneuvers such as wide open throttle applications. You may also hear audible spark knock during acceleration. Reﬁll your tank with premium fuel as soon as possible to avoid damaging your engine. If you are using gasoline rated at 91 octane or higher and you hear heavy knocking, your engine needs service. Gasoline Speciﬁcations At a minimum, gasoline should meet ASTM speciﬁcation D 4814 in the United States or CAN/CGSB-3.5 in Canada. Some gasolines may contain an octane-enhancing additive called methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl (MMT). General Motors recommends against the use of gasolines containing MMT. See Additives on page 5-6 for additional information. California Fuel If your vehicle is certiﬁed to meet California Emissions Standards, it is designed to operate on fuels that meet California speciﬁcations. See the underhood emission control label. If this fuel is not available in states adopting California emissions standards, your vehicle will operate satisfactorily on fuels meeting federal speciﬁcations, but emission control system performance may be affected. The malfunction indicator lamp may turn on and your vehicle may fail a smog-check test. See Malfunction Indicator Lamp on page 3-42. If this occurs, return to your authorized GM dealer for diagnosis. If it is determined that the condition is caused by the type of fuel used, repairs may not be covered by your warranty. 5-5 Some gasolines that are not reformulated for low emissions may contain an octane-enhancing additive called methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl (MMT); ask the attendant where you buy gasoline whether the fuel contains MMT. General Motors recommends against the use of such gasolines. Fuels containing MMT can reduce the life of spark plugs and the performance of the emission control system may be affected. The malfunction indicator lamp may turn on. If this occurs, return to your authorized GM dealer for service. Fuels in Foreign Countries If you plan on driving in another country outside the United States or Canada, the proper fuel may be hard to ﬁnd. Never use leaded gasoline or any other fuel not recommended in the previous text on fuel. Costly repairs caused by use of improper fuel would not be covered by your warranty. To check the fuel availability, ask an auto club, or contact a major oil company that does business in the country where you will be driving. Additives To provide cleaner air, all gasolines in the United States are now required to contain additives that will help prevent engine and fuel system deposits from forming,

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2006 Chevrolet Corvette Owners Manual