Chevrolet Spark Owners Manual: Braking

Chevrolet Spark Owners Manual / Driving and Operating / Driving Information / Braking

Braking action involves perception time and reaction time. Deciding to push the brake pedal is perception time. Actually doing it is reaction time.

Average driver reaction time is about three-quarters of a second. In that time, a vehicle moving at 100 km/h (60 mph) travels 20m (66 ft), which could be a lot of distance in an emergency.

Helpful braking tips to keep in mind include:

Keep enough distance between you and the vehicle in front of you.
Avoid needless heavy braking.
Keep pace with traffic.

If the engine ever stops while the vehicle is being driven, brake normally but do not pump the brakes. Doing so could make the pedal harder to push down. If the engine stops, there will be some power brake assist but it will be used when the brake is applied.

Once the power assist is used up, it can take longer to stop and the brake pedal will be harder to push.

Drunk Driving

Death and injury associated with drinking and driving is a global tragedy. Warning Drinking and then driving is very dangerous. Your reflexes, perceptions, attentiveness, and judgment can be affec ...

Steering

Electric Power Steering The vehicle has electric power steering. It does not have power steering fluid. Regular maintenance is not required. If power steering assist is lost due to a system malfun ...

Other materials:

Jump Starting
For more information about the vehicle battery, see Battery on page 10-22. If the battery has run down, try to use another vehicle and some jumper cables to start your vehicle. Be sure to use the following steps to do it safely. Warning WARNING: Battery posts, terminals, and related accessorie ...

Dinghy Towing (with Manual Transmission)
To dinghy tow the vehicle from the front with all four wheels on the ground: Position the vehicle to tow and then secure it to the towing vehicle. Shift the transmission to Neutral. Turn the ignition to ACC/ ACCESSORY. Caution If 113 km/h (70 mph) is exceeded while towing the vehicle ...

Automatic Headlamp System
When it is dark enough outside and the exterior lamp control is in the automatic position, the headlamps come on automatically. See Exterior Lamp Controls on page 6-1. The vehicle has a light sensor on top of the instrument panel. Make sure it is not covered, or the headlamps will be on w ...