2002 Pontiac Firebird Owner's Manual - Page 210

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. 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're 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's important to check occasionally to be sure the trailer bulbs are still working. Driving On Grades Reduce speed and shift to a lower gear before you start down a long or steep downgrade. If you don't 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 and reduce your speed to around 45 mph (70 km/h) to reduce the possibility of engine and transmission overheating. If you are towing a trailer and you have an automatic transmission with overdrive, you may prefer to drive in THIRD (3) instead of AUTOMATIC OVERDRIVE (D) or, as you need to, a lower gear. Or, if you have a manual transmission with FIFTH (5) gear and you are towing a trailer, it's better not to use FIFTH (5) gear. Just drive in FOURTH (4) or, as you need to, a lower gear. If you have a manual transmission with SIXTH (6) gear, drive in FIFTH (5) or, as you need to, a lower gear. 4-38