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Section 3 Comfort Controls and Audio Systems
In this section, you'll find out how to operate the comfort control and audio systems offered with your vehicle. Be
sure to read about the particular systems supplied with your vehicle.
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-2 Comfort Controls
3
-2 Climate Control Panel
3
-6 Air Conditioning
3
-6 Heating
3
-7 Defrosting and Defogging
3
-7 Rear Window Defogger
3
-8 Ventilation System
3
-10 HVAC Steering Wheel Controls
3
-10 Climate Control Personalization (If Equipped)
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-11 Audio Systems
3
-11 Setting the Clock
3
-11 AM-FM Stereo with Cassette Tape and
Compact Disc Player (If Equipped)
3
-16 AM-FM Stereo with Cassette Tape and
Compact Disc Player with Radio Data
Systems (RDS) and Digital Signal Processing
(DSP) (If Equipped)3
-26 Radio Data Systems (RDS) Program Type
(PTY) Selections
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-27 CD Adapter Kits
3
-28 Console-Mounted CD Changer (Option)
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-30 Radio Personalization with Home and Away
Feature (If Equipped)
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-31 Theft-Deterrent Feature
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-31 Audio Steering Wheel Controls
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-32 Understanding Radio Reception
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-32 Tips About Your Audio System
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-33 Care of Your Cassette Tape Player
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-34 Care of Your Compact Discs
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-35 Care of Your Compact Disc Player
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-35 Diversity Antenna System
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3-10 HVAC Steering Wheel Controls
Some heating and cooling
controls can be adjusted at
the steering wheel. Other
touch controls operate some
audio controls. See ªAudio
Steering Wheel Controlsº in
the Index.
TEMP: Press the up arrow on the control to increase
the temperature and the down arrow to
decrease temperature.
FAN: Press the up arrow on the control to increase
the fan speed and the down arrow to decrease fan speed.
Climate Control Personalization
(If Equipped)
With this feature, your vehicle will recall the latest
climate control settings as adjusted the last time your
vehicle was operated. These settings include the set
temperatures for driver and passenger, air conditioning,
mode and fan speed. (This feature does not recall
recirculation or defrost modes.) This feature allows two
different drivers to store and recall their own climate
control settings. The settings recalled by the climate
control system are determined by which Remote
Keyless Entry (RKE) transmitter (ª1º or ª2º) was used
to enter the vehicle. The number on the back of the
RKE transmitter corresponds to driver 1 or to driver 2.
After any button is pressed on the RKE transmitter or
the key is placed in the ignition, the climate control
settings will automatically adjust to where they were last
set. The settings can also be changed by briefly pressing
buttons 1 or 2 located on the driver's door.
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When battery power is removed and later applied, you
will not have to reset your home radio presets because
the radio remembers them. However, you will have to
reset your away radio presets.
Theft-Deterrent Feature
THEFTLOCK is designed to discourage theft of your
radio. Your vehicle has a ªbuilt
-inº theft-deterrent
feature on each radio that is automatic
-- there is no
programming required. The radio in your vehicle cannot
be used in any other vehicle. When the radio was
originally installed in your vehicle at the factory, it
stored the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). Each
time the ignition is turned on, the VIN is verified. If the
vehicle's VIN does not match the VIN stored in the
radio, THEFTLOCK will be activated and the audio
system will not play. If the radio is removed from your
vehicle, the original VIN in the radio can be used to
trace the radio back to your vehicle.
Audio Steering Wheel Controls
Some audio controls
can be adjusted at the
steering wheel. They
include the following:
VOL: Press the up arrow button to increase volume and
the down arrow button to decrease volume.
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3-41 Audio Steering Wheel Controls
Some audio controls
can be adjusted at the
steering wheel. They
include the following:
VOL: Press the up arrow button to increase volume and
the down arrow button to decrease volume.SEL: When listening to the radio, press the up or down
arrow button to tune to the next or previous preset radio
station. When listening to a cassette tape, the up or down
arrow button can be used to SEEK forward and rearward
through the tape. Pressing the up or down arrow button
when listening to a CD will cause the player to go to the
next or previous selection. When in Radio Data Systems
(RDS) Program Type (PTY) mode, the up or down
arrow button can be used to perform a PTY preset seek.
PSEEK will appear on the display while the PTY preset
seek is performed. The radio will seek all of the PTYs
stored in presets, except for the PTY Any.
Understanding Radio Reception
AM
The range for most AM stations is greater than for FM,
especially at night. The longer range, however, can
cause stations to interfere with each other. AM can pick
up noise from things like storms and power lines. Try
reducing the treble to reduce this noise if you ever get it.
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You can turn the system back on at any time by pressing
the button again. The TRACTION READY message
should display briefly on the Driver Information Center.
Braking in Emergencies
With anti-lock, you can steer and brake at the same
time. In many emergencies, steering can help you more
than even the very best braking.
Steering
Power Steering
If you lose power steering assist because the engine
stops or the system is not functioning, you can steer but
it will take much more effort.
Magnasteer
Your vehicle may be equipped with GM Magnasteer, a
system that continuously adjusts the effort you feel
when steering at all vehicle speeds. It provides ease
when parking yet a firm, solid feel at highway speeds.
Steering Tips
Driving on Curves
It's important to take curves at a reasonable speed.
A lot of the ªdriver lost controlº accidents mentioned on
the news happen on curves. Here's why:
Experienced driver or beginner, each of us is subject to
the same laws of physics when driving on curves. The
traction of the tires against the road surface makes it
possible for the vehicle to change its path when you turn
the front wheels. If there's no traction, inertia will keep
the vehicle going in the same direction. If you've ever
tried to steer a vehicle on wet ice, you'll understand this.
The traction you can get in a curve depends on the
condition of your tires and the road surface, the angle
at which the curve is banked, and your speed.
While you're in a curve, speed is the one factor you
can control.
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Suppose you're steering through a sharp curve.
Then you suddenly accelerate. Both control
systems
-- steering and acceleration -- have to do
their work where the tires meet the road. Adding the
sudden acceleration can demand too much of those
places. You can lose control. Refer to ªTraction
Control Systemº in the Index.
What should you do if this ever happens? Ease up on the
accelerator pedal, steer the vehicle the way you want it
to go, and slow down.
Since your vehicle is equipped with Stabilitrak
, you
may see the STABILITY SYS ENGAGED message on
the Driver Information Center. See ªStability Sys
Engaged Messageº in the Index.
Speed limit signs near curves warn that you should
adjust your speed. Of course, the posted speeds are
based on good weather and road conditions. Under less
favorable conditions you'll want to go slower.
If you need to reduce your speed as you approach a
curve, do it before you enter the curve, while your front
wheels are straight ahead.
Try to adjust your speed so you can ªdriveº through
the curve. Maintain a reasonable, steady speed. Wait
to accelerate until you are out of the curve, and then
accelerate gently into the straightaway.To help you steer in the direction you want to go, during
certain sharp or sudden cornering maneuvers, gear
selection is controlled. This will maximize the available
drive wheel torque and minimize the transaxle response
time and shift activity. During this kind of maneuver, the
transaxle shifts automatically as vehicle speed changes.
Steering in Emergencies
There are times when steering can be more effective
than braking. For example, you come over a hill and
find a truck stopped in your lane, or a car suddenly pulls
out from nowhere, or a child darts out from between
parked cars and stops right in front of you. You can
avoid these problems by braking
-- if you can stop in
time. But sometimes you can't; there isn't room.
That's the time for evasive action
-- steering around
the problem.
Your vehicle can perform very well in emergencies
like these. First apply your brakes. (See ªBraking in
Emergenciesº earlier in this section.) It is better to
remove as much speed as you can from a possible
collision. Then steer around the problem, to the left
or right depending on the space available.
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An emergency like this requires close attention and a
quick decision. If you are holding the steering wheel at
the recommended 9 and 3 o'clock positions, you can
turn it a full 180 degrees very quickly without removing
either hand. But you have to act fast, steer quickly, and
just as quickly straighten the wheel once you have
avoided the object.
The fact that such emergency situations are always
possible is a good reason to practice defensive driving at
all times and wear safety belts properly.
Off-Road Recovery
You may find that your right wheels have dropped off the
edge of a road onto the shoulder while you're driving.
If the level of the shoulder is only slightly below the
pavement, recovery should be fairly easy. Ease off the
accelerator and then, if there is nothing in the way, steer
so that your vehicle straddles the edge of the pavement.
You can turn the steering wheel up to one
-quarter turn
until the right front tire contacts the pavement edge.
Then turn your steering wheel to go straight down
the roadway.
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Check your mirrors, glance over your shoulder, and
start your left lane change signal before moving out
of the right lane to pass. When you are far enough
ahead of the passed vehicle to see its front in your
inside mirror, activate your right lane change signal
and move back into the right lane. (Remember that
your right outside mirror is convex. The vehicle you
just passed may seem to be farther away from you
than it really is.)
Try not to pass more than one vehicle at a time
on two
-lane roads. Reconsider before passing the
next vehicle.
Don't overtake a slowly moving vehicle too rapidly.
Even though the brake lamps are not flashing, it may
be slowing down or starting to turn.
If you're being passed, make it easy for the
following driver to get ahead of you. Perhaps you
can ease a little to the right.
Loss of Control
Let's review what driving experts say about what
happens when the three control systems (brakes, steering
and acceleration) don't have enough friction where the
tires meet the road to do what the driver has asked.
In any emergency, don't give up. Keep trying to steer and
constantly seek an escape route or area of less danger.
Skidding
In a skid, a driver can lose control of the vehicle.
Defensive drivers avoid most skids by taking reasonable
care suited to existing conditions, and by not ªoverdrivingº
those conditions. But skids are always possible.
The three types of skids correspond to your vehicle's
three control systems. In the braking skid, your wheels
aren't rolling. In the steering or cornering skid, too
much speed or steering in a curve causes tires to slip and
lose cornering force. And in the acceleration skid, too
much throttle causes the driving wheels to spin.
A cornering skid is best handled by easing your foot off
the accelerator pedal.
Remember: Any traction control system helps avoid
only the acceleration skid.