Avoid needless heavy braking. Some people drivein spurts — heavy acceleration followed by heavybraking — rather than keeping pace with traffic.This is a mistake. The brakes might not have timeto cool between hard stops. The brakes will wearout much faster if you do a lot of heavy braking. If youkeep pace with the traffic and allow realistic followingdistances, you will eliminate a lot of unnecessarybraking. That means better brakingand longer brake life.If your vehicle’s engine ever stops while you are driving,brake normally but do not pump the brakes. If you do, thepedal could get harder to push down. If the engine stops,you will still have some power brake assist. But you willuse it when you brake. Once the power assist is used up,it can take longer to stop and the brake pedal will beharder to push.Adding non-dealer/non-retailer accessories can affectyour vehicle’s performance. See Accessories andModifications on page 5-3.Antilock Brake System (ABS)Your vehicle has the Antilock Brake System (ABS),an advanced electronic braking system that willhelp prevent a braking skid.When you start the engine and begin to drive away,ABS will check itself. You might hear a momentarymotor or clicking noise while this test is going on,and you might even notice that the brake pedalmoves a little. This is normal.If there is a problem withABS, this warning light willstay on. See AntilockBrake System WarningLight on page 3-59.Let us say the road is wet and you are driving safely.Suddenly, an animal jumps out in front of you. Youslam on the brakes and continue braking. Here is whathappens with ABS:A computer senses that wheels are slowing down.If one of the wheels is about to stop rolling, the computerwill separately work the brakes at each front wheeland at both rear wheels.4-4
