Pontiac G8 manual Turn Signals When Towing a Trailer, Driving On Grades, Parking on Hills

9-90 Vehicle Service and Care

Turn Signals When Towing a Trailer

When you tow a trailer, your vehicle may need a different turn signal flasher and/or extra wiring. Check with your dealer/retailer. The arrows on your instrument panel will

flash whenever you signal a turn or lane change. Properly hooked up, the trailer lamps will also flash, telling other drivers you are

about to turn, change lanes or stop.

When towing a trailer, the arrows on your instrument panel will flash for turns even if the bulbs on the trailer are burned out. Thus, you may think drivers behind you are seeing your signal when they

are not. It is important to check occasionally to be sure the trailer bulbs are still working.

Your vehicle has bulb warning lights. When you plug a trailer lighting system into your vehicle’s lighting system, its bulb warning lights may not let you know if one of your lamps goes out. So, when

you have a trailer lighting system plugged in, be sure to check your vehicle and trailer lamps from time to time to be sure they are

all working. Once you disconnect the trailer lamps, the bulb warning lights again can tell you if one of your vehicle lamps is out.

Driving On Grades

Reduce speed and shift to a lower gear before you start down a long or steep downgrade. If you do not shift down, you might have

to use your brakes so much that they would get hot and no longer work well.

On a long uphill grade, shift down to a lower gear and reduce your speed to around 45 mph (70 km/h) to reduce the possibility of engine and transmission overheating.

Parking on Hills

{CAUTION

You really should not park your vehicle, with a trailer attached, on a hill. If something goes wrong, your rig could start to move. People can be injured, and both your vehicle and the trailer can be damaged.

But if you ever have to park your rig on a hill, here is how to do it:

1.Apply your regular brakes, but do not shift into P (Park) yet.

2.Have someone place chocks under the trailer wheels.

3.When the wheel chocks are in place, release the regular brakes until the chocks absorb the load.

4.Reapply the regular brakes. Then apply your parking brake, and then shift to P (Park).

5.Release the regular brakes.