Owner's Manual

Black plate (1,1)
Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual - 2011
Driving and Operating 9-1
Driving and
Operating
Driving Information
Defensive Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
Drunk Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
Control of a Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-4
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
Driving on Wet Roads . . . . . . . . . 9-7
Highway Hypnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-8
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . . 9-8
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-9
If the Vehicle is Stuck . . . . . . . . 9-11
Vehicle Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . 9-12
Starting and Operating
New Vehicle Break-In . . . . . . . . 9-16
Ignition Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-16
Starting the Engine . . . . . . . . . . 9-18
Engine Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-19
Retained Accessory
Power (RAP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-20
Shifting Into Park . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-20
Shifting Out of Park . . . . . . . . . . 9-21
Parking Over Things
That Burn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-22
Engine Exhaust
Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-22
Running the Vehicle While
Parked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-23
Automatic Transmission
Automatic Transmission . . . . . 9-24
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-25
Brakes
Antilock Brake
System (ABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-27
Parking Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-28
Brake Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-28
Ride Control Systems
Traction Control
System (TCS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-29
Electronic Stability
Control (ESC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-31
Cruise Control
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-32
Fuel
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-35
Recommended Fuel . . . . . . . . . 9-35
Gasoline Specifications (U.S.
and Canada Only) . . . . . . . . . . 9-36
California Fuel
Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-36
Fuels in Foreign Countries . . . 9-36
Fuel Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-36
Fuel E85 (85% Ethanol) . . . . . 9-37
Filling the Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-39
Filling a Portable Fuel
Container . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-40
Towing
General Towing
Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-41
Driving Characteristics and
Towing Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-42
Trailer Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-45
Towing Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . 9-47
Conversions and Add-Ons
Add-On Electrical
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-47