Making turns, Turn signals when towing a trailer, Driving on grades – Pontiac 2004 Grand Prix User Manual

Page 278

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Making Turns

Notice:

Making very sharp turns while trailering

could cause the trailer to come in contact with
the vehicle. Your vehicle could be damaged.
Avoid making very sharp turns while trailering.

When you’re turning with a trailer, make wider turns than
normal. Do this so your trailer won’t strike soft shoulders,
curbs, road signs, trees or other objects. Avoid jerky or
sudden maneuvers. Signal well in advance.

Turn Signals When Towing a Trailer

When you tow a trailer, your vehicle may need a
different turn signal flasher and/or extra wiring.
Check with your dealer. The arrows on your instrument
panel will flash whenever you signal a turn or lane
change. Properly hooked up, the trailer lamps will also
flash, telling other drivers you’re about to turn,
change lanes or stop.

When towing a trailer, the arrows on your instrument
panel will flash for turns even if the bulbs on the trailer
are burned out. Thus, you may think drivers behind
you are seeing your signal when they are not. It’s
important to check occasionally to be sure the trailer
bulbs are still working.

Your vehicle has bulb warning lights. When you plug
a trailer lighting system into your vehicle’s lighting
system, its bulb warning lights may not let you know if
one of your lamps goes out. So, when you have a trailer
lighting system plugged in, be sure to check your
vehicle and trailer lamps from time to time to be sure
they’re all working. Once you disconnect the trailer
lamps, the bulb warning lights again can tell you if one
of your vehicle lamps is out.

Driving On Grades

Reduce speed and shift to a lower gear before you start
down a long or steep downgrade. If you don’t shift
down, you might have to use your brakes so much that
they would get hot and no longer work well.

On a long uphill grade, shift down and reduce your
speed to around 45 mph (70 km/h) to reduce the
possibility of engine and transaxle overheating.

If you have overdrive, you may have to drive in
THIRD (3) instead of AUTOMATIC OVERDRIVE (D).

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