Vauxhall 2010 Astra, Owner'S Manual

Page: 202 / 367

198 Driving and operation
Driving hints
The first 600 miles / 1000 km
Drive your vehicle at v arious speeds. Do
not use full throttle. Never allow the eng ine
to labour at low revs.
Make good use of all gea rs. Depress the
accelerator pedal a maximum of around
three quarters of the ava ila ble ped al travel
in all gears.
Do not drive faster than three quarters of
maximum speed.
Do not brake unnecessarily hard for the
first 120 miles (200 km ).
Never coa st with engine not running
Many units will not function in this situation
(e.g. brak e serv o unit, elec tro-hydraulic
power steering). Driving in this manner is a
danger to yourself and others.
Brake servo unit
When the engine is not running, the brake
servo unit is no longer effective once the
brake pedal has been depressed once or
twice. Braking effect is not reduced, b ut
significantly greater force is required for
braking.
Electro-hydraulic power assisted steering
If the power-assisted steering fails when
being towed with the engine switched off,
the vehicle can still be steered, but
considera bly more forc e is req uired.
Dr iving in mountainous terrain or with a
trailer/cara van
The cooling fan is electrically operated. Its
cooling p ow er is therefore independent of
the engine speed.
Since a considerable amount of heat is
genera ted at high engine speeds and less
at slower speeds, do not shift d ow n when
climbing hills whilst the v ehicle is still coping
with the gradient in the higher g ear.
Dr iving with a roof load
Do not exceed the permissible roof load -
see p ages 231, 325. For reasons of safety,
distribute the load evenly and secure it
prop erly w ith retaining straps. Adjust the
tyre pressure to the load conditions. Do not
drive faster than 75 m ph (120 km /h). Check
and re-tighten the strap s frequently.
Observ e country-specific regulations. Roof
loa ds are not permitted on the Astra
Tw inTop.
Sw itching off the engine
When you switch off, fans in the eng ine
compa rtm ent may continue running for a
time to cool the engine.
If the engine temperature is very high, e.g.
after driving in mountainous terrain: allow
the engine to id le for approxim ately two
minutes in order to prevent heat
acc um ulation.
Vehicles with turbocharged engine
3
After running at high eng ine speeds or high
eng ine loads, op erate the engine briefly at
a low load or run in neutral for approx.
30 seconds before switching off in ord er to
protec t the turbocharger.
Sa ve energy – m ore miles
Plea se observe the running-in hints on the
previous pa ge a nd the tips for sa ving
energy on the following pages.
Good, technically correc t and ec onomical
driving ensures m aximum d urab ility and
performa nc e for your vehicle.