2000 Cadillac Catera Owners Manual

Avoid needless heavy braking. Some people drive inspurts -- heavy acceleration followed by heavybraking -- rather than keeping pace with traffic.This is a mistake. Your brakes may not have time tocool between hard stops. Your brakes will wear outmuch faster if you do a lot of heavy braking. If youkeep pace with the traffic and allow realistic followingdistances, you will eliminate a lot of unnecessarybraking. That means better braking and longerbrake 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.Anti-Lock Brakes (ABS)Your vehicle has anti-lock brakes (ABS). ABS is anadvanced electronic braking system that will helpprevent a braking skid.When you start your engine and begin to drive away,your anti-lock brake system will check itself. You mayhear a momentary motor or clicking noise while this testis going on, and you may even notice that your brakepedal moves a little. This is normal.If there’s a problem withthe anti-lock brake system,this warning light will stayon. See “Anti-Lock BrakeSystem Warning Light”in the Index.4-7