1996 Buick Century Owner's Manual

Avoid needless heavy braking. Some people drivein spurts -- heavy acceleration followed by heavybraking -- rather than keeping pace with traffic. Thisis a mistake. Your brakes may not have time to coolbetween hard stops. Your brakes will wear out muchfaster if you do a lot of heavy braking. If you keep pacewith the traffic and allow realistic following distances,you will eliminate a lot of unnecessary braking. Thatmeans better braking and longer brake life.If your engine ever stops while you’re driving, brakenormally but don’t pump your brakes. If you do, thepedal may get harder to push down. If your enginestops, you will still have some power brake assist. Butyou will use it when you brake. Once the power assist isused up, it may take longer to stop and the brake pedalwill be harder to push.Your vehicle has anti-lock brakes (ABS). ABS is anadvanced electronic braking system that will helpprevent a braking skid.When you start your engine, or when you begin to driveaway, your anti-lock brake system will check itself. Youmay hear a momentary motor or clicking noise whilethis test is going on, and you may even notice that yourbrake pedal moves a little. This is normal.ANTI -LOCKDomesticCanadianIf there’s a problem with the anti-lock brake system, thiswarning light will stay on or flash. See “Anti-LockBrake System Warning Light” in the Index.