Pontiac 1993 Sunbird Owner's Manual page 106

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're
driving, brake normally but don't 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.
L
B
0
SHIFT
ANTI-
Anti-Lock Brakes (ABS)
Your Pontiac has an advanced
electronic braking system that will help
prevent skidding.
This light on the instrument panel will
go on when you start your vehicle.
When you start your vehicle, or when
you begin to drive away, you may hear a
momentary motor or clicking noise.
And you may even notice that your
brake pedal moves a little while this is
going on. This is the ABS system
testing itself. If there's a problem with
the anti-lock brake system, the anti-lock
brake system warning light will stay on
or flash.
See
Anti-lock Brake System Warning
Light in the Index.
Here's how anti-lock works. Let's say
the road is wet. You're driving safely.
Suddenly an animal jumps out in front
You slam on the brakes. Here's 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 front
wheel and at the rear wheels.
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.
of you.