Chevrolet Spark Owners Manual: 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:
Brake Fluid
The brake/clutch master cylinder
reservoir is filled with DOT 4 brake fluid as indicated on the reservoir cap. See
Engine Compartment Overview on page 10-7 for the location of the reservoir.
There are only two reasons why the brake fluid level in the reservoir might go
down:
The brake fl ...
Child Restraint Systems
Rear-Facing Infant Seat
A rear-facing infant seat provides restraint with the seating surface against
the back of the infant.
The harness system holds the infant in place and, in a crash, acts to keep the
infant positioned in the restraint.
Forward-Facing Child Seat
A forward-facing ...
Event Data Recorders
This vehicle is equipped with an event data recorder (EDR). The main purpose
of an EDR is to record, in certain crash or near crash-like situations, such as
an air bag deployment or hitting a road obstacle, data that will assist in understanding
how a vehicle’s systems performed. The EDR is de ...
