1994 Oldsmobile Silhouette Owner's Manual - Page 138

Your Driving and the Road * x1000 1 i'his light on the instrumentpanel will g on when you start your vehicle. o When you start your vehicle, or when jou begin to drive away, you may hear a nomentary motor or clicking noise. 4nd you may evennotice that your )rake pedal moves a little while this is going on. This is the ABS system :estingitself. (You may also hear a :licking noise if you leave the ignition in .he Run position for about four seconds Iefore starting thevehicle.) If there's a Jroblem with the anti-lock brake iystem, the anti-lock brake system Yarning light will stay on or flash. See Anti-Lock Brake System Warning 2ight in the Index. lere's how anti-lock works. Let's say the road is wet. You're driving safely. Suddenly an animal jumps out in front of you. You slam on thebrakes. Here's what happens with ABS. A computer senses thatwheels are slowing down. If one of the wheels is about to stoprolling, the computerwill 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. 136 You can steer around theobstacle while braking hard. As you brake, your computer keeps receiving updates on wheel speed and controls braking pressure accordingly. Remember: Anti-lock doesn't change the time you need to get your foot up to the brake pedal. If you get too close to the vehicle in front of you, you won't have time to apply your brakes if that vehicle suddenly slows or stops.Always leave enough room up ahead to stop, even though you have anti-lock brakes. To Use Anti-Lock Don't pump the brakes. Just hold the brake pedal down and let anti-lock work for you. You may feel the system working, or you may notice some noise, but this is normal.