2-
2-1
Section 2 Features and Controls
Here you can learn about the many standard and optional features on your vehicle, and information on starting,
shifting and braking. Also explained are the instrument panel and the warning systems that tell you if everything is
working properly
-- and what to do if you have a problem.
2
-2 Keys
2
-4 Door Locks
2
-6 Remote Keyless Entry (RKE) System
2
-9 Trunk
2
-11 Theft
2
-12 Theft-Deterrent System
2
-14 PASS-Key II
2
-15 New Vehicle ªBreak-Inº
2
-16 Ignition Positions
2
-17 Starting Your Engine
2
-18 Engine Coolant Heater (If Equipped)
2
-19 Automatic Transaxle Operation
2
-23 Parking Brake
2
-25 Shifting Into PARK (P)
2
-26 Shifting Out of PARK (P)
2
-27 Parking Over Things That Burn
2
-28 Engine Exhaust2
-28 Running Your Engine While You're Parked
2
-29 Windows
2
-30 Tilt Wheel
2
-30 Turn Signal/Multifunction Lever
2
-37 Exterior Lamps
2
-41 Interior Lamps
2
-42 Mirrors
2
-46 Storage Compartments
2
-49 Sun Visors
2
-49 Cellular Telephone (Option)
2
-50 Sunroof (Option)
2
-51 HomeLink Transmitter (Option)
2
-54 The Instrument Panel -- Your
Information System
2
-58 Warning Lights, Gages and Indicators
2
-68 Driver Information Center (DIC)
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A. Trunk Lid
B. Lever
If for some reason the trunk lid (A) will not close, it may
be because the trunk pull
-down unit was accidentally
bumped. Even though the trunk lid remains open, the
motor from the pull
-down unit has already cycled down.
If this happens, press the lever (B) on the trunk lid. The
pull
-down unit motor will reset itself, allowing the trunk
lid to close when lowered.
Theft
Vehicle theft is big business, especially in some cities.
Although your vehicle has a number of theft
-deterrent
features, we know that nothing we put on it can make
it impossible to steal. However, there are ways you
can help.
Key in the Ignition
If you leave your vehicle with the keys inside, it's an
easy target for joy riders or professional thieves
-- so
don't do it.
When you park your vehicle and open the driver's door,
you'll hear a chime reminding you to remove your key
from the ignition and take it with you. Always do this.
Your steering wheel will be locked, and so will your
ignition and transaxle. And remember to lock the doors.
Parking at Night
Park in a lighted spot, close all windows and lock your
vehicle. Remember to keep your valuables out of sight.
Put them in a storage area, or take them with you.
2-12 Parking Lots
If you park in a lot where someone will be watching
your vehicle, it's best to lock it up and take your keys.
But what if you have to leave your ignition key?
If possible, park in a busy, well lit area.
Put your valuables in a storage area, like your trunk
or glove box. Be sure to close and lock the
storage area.
Close all windows.
Move the trunk release lockout switch to ON.
Lock the glove box.
Lock all the doors except the driver's.
Then take the door key and remote keyless entry
transmitter with you.
Theft-Deterrent System
If the ignition is off and
either door is open, the
SECURITY light will flash,
reminding you to activate
the system.
The light will also flash if the battery has been
disconnected and reconnected.
To activate the theft
-deterrent system:
1. Open the door.
2. Lock the door using the power door lock or the
remote keyless entry transmitter. The SECURITY
light should come on and stay on.
3. Close both doors. The SECURITY light should go
off within about 30 seconds.
The horn will sound and the lamps will flash for about
30 seconds when a door or the trunk is opened without
the key or the remote keyless entry transmitter. The horn
also sounds if the locks are damaged.
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Remember, the theft-deterrent system won't activate if
you lock a door with a key or use the manual door lock.
It activates only if you use a power door lock switch or
the remote keyless entry transmitter.
To avoid activating the alarm by accident:
Always unlock a door with a key or use the remote
keyless entry transmitter. (Pressing the unlock button
on the remote keyless entry transmitter disables the
theft
-deterrent system.) Unlocking a door any other
way will activate the alarm. Cycling the ignition
without disarming the theft
-deterrent system will
also activate the alarm.
The vehicle should be locked with the door key after
the doors are closed if you don't want to activate the
theft
-deterrent system.
If you activate the alarm by accident, unlock either door
with your key. You can also turn off the alarm by using
the unlock button of the remote keyless entry
transmitter. The alarm won't stop if you try to unlock a
door any other way.
Testing the Alarm
1. From inside the vehicle, roll down the window, then
get out of the vehicle, keeping the door open.
2. From outside of the vehicle, with the door open, lock
the vehicle using the power door lock or the remote
keyless entry transmitter and close the door. Wait
30 seconds until the SECURITY light goes off.
3. Reach in and unlock the door using the manual lock
and open the door. The horn will sound and the
headlamps will flash.
If the alarm does not sound when it should, check to see
if the horn works. The horn fuse may be blown. To
replace the fuse, see ªFuses and Circuit Breakersº in the
Index. If the fuse does not need to be replaced, you may
need to have your vehicle serviced.
To reduce the possibility of theft, always activate the
theft
-deterrent system when leaving your vehicle.
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Parking Brake
Hold the regular brake
pedal down with your right
foot and push down the
parking brake pedal with
your left foot to set the
parking brake.
If the ignition is on, the BRAKE indicator light should
come on. If it doesn't, you need to have your
vehicle serviced.
If the parking brake has not been fully released and
you try to drive with the parking brake on, the
BRAKE indicator light comes on and stays on.
See ªBrake System Warning and Park Brake Indicator
Lightº in the Index for more information.When you move out of PARK (P) or NEUTRAL (N),
if the engine is running, the parking brake should
release. If it doesn't, you can manually release the
parking brake.
CAUTION:
Always shift to PARK (P) before pulling the
manual release lever. If your hand or arm is in
the way of the pedal you could be hurt. The pedal
springs back quickly. Keep your hand and arm
away when you use the manual release lever.
Be sure to turn off the ignition and put the vehicle in
PARK (P) before manually releasing the brake.
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If the turn signal is left on, a warning chime will
sound and the Driver Information Center (DIC) will
display TURN SIGNAL ON (after driving about
1 mile (1.6 km/h)) to remind you to turn it off.
Arrows that flash rapidly when signaling for a turn or
lane change may be caused by a burned
-out signal bulb.
Other drivers won't see the turn signal.
Replace burned
-out bulbs to help avoid possible
accidents. Check the fuse (see ªFuses and Circuit
Breakersº in the Index) and for burned
-out bulbs if the
arrow fails to work when signaling a turn.
Headlamp High/Low Beam Changer
This light located on the
instrument panel panel will
be on when the high beam
headlamps are in use.
Pull the turn signal lever all the way toward you and
then release it to change the headlamps from low beam
to high or from high beam to low.
Flash-To-Pass
This lets you use the high-beam headlamps to signal
the driver in front of you that you want to pass.
Pull the turn signal lever toward you to use.
When you do:
If the headlamps are either off or in the Daytime
Running Lamps (DRL) mode, the high
-beam
headlamps will turn on. They'll stay on as long as
you hold the lever there. Release the lever to turn
them off.
If the headlamps are on low beam, they will shift to
high beam and stay there. Pull the lever toward you
to return to low beam.
If the headlamps are on high beam, they will switch
to low beam. To return to high beam, pull the lever
toward you.
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Increasing Speed While Using Cruise Control
There are two ways to go to a higher speed:
Use the accelerator pedal to get to the higher speed.
Push the button at the end of the lever and then
release the button and the accelerator pedal. You'll
now cruise at the higher speed.
Move the cruise switch from ON to R/A. Hold it there
until you reach a desired speed and then release the
switch. (To increase your speed in very small amounts,
move the switch to R/A. Each time you do this, your
vehicle will go about 1 mph (1.6 km/h) faster.)
The accelerate feature will only work after you have set the
cruise control speed by pushing the SET CRUISE button.
Reducing Speed While Using Cruise Control
There are two ways to reduce your speed while using
cruise control:
Push in the button at the end of the lever until you
reach a desired lower speed, then release it. A
CRUISE ENGAGED message will then display in
the Driver Information Center (DIC).
To slow down in very small amounts, push the
button for less than half a second. Each time you do
this, you'll go 1 mph (1.6 km/h) slower.Passing Another Vehicle While Using Cruise Control
Use the accelerator pedal to increase your speed. When
you take your foot off the pedal, your vehicle will slow
down to the cruise control speed you set earlier.
Using Cruise Control on Hills
How well your cruise control will work on hills depends
upon your speed, load and the steepness of the hills.
When going up steep hills, you may have to step on the
accelerator pedal to maintain your speed. When going
downhill, you may have to brake or shift to a lower gear
to keep your speed down. Of course, applying the brakes
or downshifting into FIRST (1) takes you out of cruise
control. Many drivers find this to be too much trouble
and don't use cruise control on steep hills.
Ending Cruise Control
There are two ways to end cruise control:
Step lightly on the brake pedal.
Move the CRUISE switch to OFF.
Erasing Speed Memory
The cruise control set speed memory is erased when you
turn off the cruise control or the ignition.
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Exterior Lamps
The control located on the
left side of the instrument
panel controls these
lamp systems:
Headlamps
Taillamps
Parking Lamps
Sidemarker Lamps
License Plate Lamp
Underhood Lamp
Fog Lamps
Instrument Panel Lights
Interior Courtesy Lamps
Instrument panel backlighting will activate whenever
the lamps or lights are turned on.
Parking Lamps
Pull the exterior lamp control knob out to the first stop to
turn on the parking as well as the taillamps, sidemarker
lamps and instrument panel lights. Push the control knob
all the way back in to turn the lamps and lights off.
Headlamps
Pull the exterior lamp control knob out all the way to
turn on the headlamps. Push the control knob all the way
back in to turn the headlamps off.
Wiper
-Activated Headlamps
This feature activates the headlamps and parking lamps
after the windshield wipers have been in use for
approximately 20 seconds.
In order to operate the wiper
-activated headlamps,
the Twilight Sentinel must be turned on. This
feature lights the way in poor weather and it also makes
your vehicle more visible to other drivers. If the
wiper
-activated headlamps are on, and the ignition
switch is turned off, the wiper
-activated headlamps will
immediately turn off.
The wiper
-activated headlamps will deactivate if you
turn off the Twilight Sentinel or if the windshield wipers
have been turned off for a period of one or two seconds.