You are driving a newer vehicle and its brake system warning light comes on. According to the manual, what should you expect?
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A.
The parking brake will engage automatically to stop the vehicle.
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B.
You may still have braking on two of the four wheels. Correct
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C.
The brakes will work normally until you reach a full stop.
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D.
All four brakes will fail completely within a few seconds.
The answer is "You may still have braking on two of the four wheels."
The manual explains that in newer vehicles a split braking system reduces the possibility of total brake failure. If the warning light comes on, you may have braking in two of the four wheels, probably one front wheel and one rear wheel. Choice D tempts drivers who picture older single-circuit systems where one failure took out every wheel at once; the split braking system in newer vehicles is exactly what prevents that total loss.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. The parking brake will engage automatically to stop the vehicle.
The manual describes no automatic parking-brake engagement when the warning light comes on. This answer confuses the older-vehicle instruction to use the parking brake after pedal failure with an automatic feature that engages on its own.
C. The brakes will work normally until you reach a full stop.
The manual says the pedal will go down farther than usual and you will need to push harder, so pedal feel and stopping distance both change. This answer treats a red brake warning like a low-fuel light, an advisory that flags a future problem without changing how the vehicle currently drives.
D. All four brakes will fail completely within a few seconds.
The split braking system is designed to reduce the possibility of total brake failure, so a warning light does not mean the pedal will drop to the floor within seconds. This answer assumes any red brake indicator behaves like the sudden total failure that split systems were built to prevent.
This question tests your knowledge of Defensive Driving in Pennsylvania. Source: Pennsylvania Driver Manual, "IF YOUR VEHICLE HAS BRAKE FAILURE," p.62..
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