Traction Control Operation - Pontiac Montana SV6 2007 Owner's Manual

To realize the full benefits of the stability
enhancement system, you should normally leave
®
StabiliTrak on, but it may be necessary to turn the
system off if your vehicle is stuck in sand, mud, ice
or snow, and you want to "rock" your vehicle to
attempt to free it. See Rocking Your Vehicle to Get
It Out on page 389 and If Your Vehicle is Stuck in
Sand, Mud, Ice, or Snow on page 388.

Traction Control Operation

The traction control system is part of the
®
StabiliTrak system. Traction control limits wheel
spin by reducing engine power to the wheels
(engine speed management) and by applying
brakes.
The traction control system is enabled
automatically when you start your vehicle. It will
activate and display the TRACTION CONTROL
ACTIVE message in the DIC if it senses that one
or both of the front wheels are spinning or
beginning to lose traction while driving.
If the brake traction-control system activates
constantly or if the brakes have heated up due
to high-speed braking, brake traction-control
will be disabled and the TRACTION
CONTROL ACTIVE message will be displayed.
368
In the limited mode, the traction control system will
only use engine traction-control and is limited in its
ability to provide optimal performance since the
system will not utilize brake traction-control to
control slip on the drive wheels. The system will
return to normal operation after the brakes have
cooled. This can take up to two minutes or longer
depending on brake usage.
The traction control system may activate on dry or
rough roads or under conditions such as heavy
acceleration while turning or abrupt upshifts/
downshifts of the transaxle. When this happens you
may notice a reduction in acceleration, or may hear
a noise or vibration. This is normal.
If your vehicle is in cruise control when the system
activates, the STABILITY CONTROL ACTIVE
message will appear on the DIC and the cruise
control will automatically disengage. When road
conditions allow you to use cruise again, you may
re-engage the cruise control. See Cruise Control on
page 184.
®
StabiliTrak may also turn off automatically if it
determines that a problem exists with the system. If
the problem does not clear itself after restarting the
vehicle, you should see your dealer for service.