2006 Saturn Ion Owner's Manual - Page 217

Driving on Snow or Ice Most of the time, those places where the tires meet the road probably have good traction. However, if there is snow or ice between the tires and the road, you can have a very slippery situation. You will have a lot less traction, or grip, and will need to be very careful. What is the worst time for this? Wet ice. Very cold snow or ice can be slick and hard to drive on. But wet ice can be even more trouble because it may offer the least traction of all. You can get wet ice when it is about freezing, 32°F (0°C), and freezing rain begins to fall. Try to avoid driving on wet ice until salt and sand crews can get there. Whatever the condition - smooth ice, packed, blowing, or loose snow - drive with caution. If you have the Enhanced Traction System (ETS), it will improve your ability to accelerate when driving on a slippery road. Even if your vehicle has ETS, you will want to slow down and adjust your driving to the road conditions. Under certain conditions, you may want to turn the ETS off, such as when driving through deep snow and loose gravel, to help maintain vehicle motion at lower speeds. See Enhanced Traction System (ETS) on page 4-9. If you do not have ETS, accelerate gently. Try not to break the fragile traction. If you accelerate too fast, the drive wheels will spin and polish the surface under the tires even more. 4-27