Antilock Brake System (Abs) - Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell Owner's Manual

And, of course, actual stopping distances vary greatly
with the surface of the road, whether it is pavement
or gravel; the condition of the road, whether it is
wet, dry, or icy; tire tread; the condition of the brakes;
the weight of the vehicle; and the amount of brake force
applied.
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. The brakes might not have time to cool between
hard stops. The 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 vehicle's propulsion system ever stops while you
are driving, brake normally but do not pump the brakes. If
you do, the pedal could get harder to push down. If the
vehicle 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 can take longer to stop and the brake pedal
will be harder to push.
4-4

Antilock Brake System (ABS)

Your vehicle has the Antilock Brake System (ABS), an
advanced electronic braking system that will help
prevent a braking skid.
When you start the vehicle and begin to drive away,
ABS will check itself. You might hear a momentary
motor or clicking noise while this test is going on, and
you might even notice that the brake pedal moves
a little. This is normal.
Let us say the road is wet and you are driving safely.
Suddenly, an animal jumps out in front of you. You slam
on the brakes and continue braking. Here is 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 wheel.
If there is a problem with
ABS, this warning light will
stay on. See Anti-lock
Brake System (ABS)
Warning Light on
page 3-32.