1996 GMC Savana Van Owner's Manual - Page 170

0 Keep your vehicle in good shape. Check all fluid levels and also the brakes, tires, cooling system and transmission. These parts can work hard on mountain roads. Know how to go down hills. The most important thing to know is this: let your engine do some of the slowing down. Shift to a lower gear when you go down a steep or long hill. 0 A CAUTION: If you don't shift down, your brakes could get so hot that they wouldn't work well. You would then have poor braking or even none going down hill a You could crash. Shift down to let your engine assist your brakes on steep downhillslope. a 0 0 Coasting downhill in NEUTRAL (N) or with the ignition off is dangerous. Your brakes will have to do all the work of slowing down. They could get so hot that they wouldn't work well. You would then have poor braking or even none going down a hill. You could crash. Always have your engine running and your vehicle in gearwhen you go downhill. 0 0 Know how tb go uphill. You may want to shift down to a lower gear. The lower gears help cool your engine hill and transmission, and you can climb the better. Stay in your own lane when driving on two-lane roads in hills or mountains. Don't swing wide or cut across the center of the road. Drive at speeds that let YOLI stay in your own lane. As you go over the top of a hill, be alert. There could b something in your lane, likea stalled car oran accident. You may see highway signs on mountains that warnof special problems. Examples are long grades, passing or no-passing zones, a falling rocks areaor winding roads. Beale1-f to these and take appropriate action. 4-22