1997 Pontiac Grand Am Owner's Manual - Page 158

Avoid needless heavy braking.Some people drive in spurts -- heavy acceleration followed by heavy braking -- rather than keeping pace with traffic. This is a mistake. Your brakes maynot have time to cool between hard stops.Your brakes will wearout much faster if you do a lot of heavy braking. If you keep pace with the traffic and allowrealistic following distances, you will eliminate a lot of unnecessary braking.That means better braking and longer brake life. If your engine ever stops while you'redriving, brake normally but don't pump your brakes. If you do, the pedal may get harder to push down. If your engine stops, you will still have some powerbrake assist. But you will useit when you brake.Once the power assist is used up, it may take longer to stop and the brake pedal will be harderto push. Anti-Lock Brakes (ABS) Your vehicle has anti-lock brakes (ABS). ABSis an advanced electronic braking system that will help prevent a braking skid. When you start your engine, or when you begin todrive away, your anti-lock brake system will check itself. You may hear a momentary motoror clicking noise while this test is going on, and you mayeven notice that your brake pedal moves a little. This is normal. If there's a problem with the anti-lock brake system, this warning light will stay on. See "Anti-Lock Brake System Warning Light" in the Index. 4-7