2001 CADILLAC ELDORADO ignition

2-24
Ensure the shift lever is fully in PARK (P) before
starting the engine. Your vehicle has an automatic
transaxle shift lock control system. You have to fully
apply your regular brakes before you can shift from
PARK (P) when the ignition key is in RUN. If you
cannot shift out of PARK (P), ease pressure on the shift
lever
-- push the shift lever all the way into PARK (P) as
you maintain brake application. Then move the shift
lever into the gear you wish. See ªShifting Out of
PARK (P)º in the Index.
REVERSE (R): Use this gear to back up.
NOTICE:
Shifting to REVERSE (R) while your vehicle is
moving forward could damage your transaxle.
Shift to REVERSE (R) only after your vehicle
has stopped.
Also use this gear to rock your vehicle back and forth to
get out of snow, ice or sand without damaging your
transaxle. See ªIf You're Stuck in Sand, Mud, Ice or
Snowº in the Index for additional information.NEUTRAL (N): In this position, the engine doesn't
connect with the wheels. To restart when you're already
moving, use NEUTRAL (N) only. Also, use
NEUTRAL (N) when your vehicle is being towed.
CAUTION:
Shifting out of PARK (P) or NEUTRAL (N) while
your engine is ªracingº (running at high speed) is
dangerous. Unless your foot is firmly on the
brake pedal, your vehicle could move very
rapidly. You could lose control and hit people or
objects. Don't shift out of PARK (P) or
NEUTRAL (N) while your engine is racing.
NOTICE:
Damage to your transaxle caused by shifting out
of PARK (P) or NEUTRAL (N) with the engine
racing isn't covered by your warranty.

2-26
FIRST (1): This position gives you even more power
than SECOND (2). You can use it on very steep hills,
or in deep snow or mud. (If the shift lever is put in
FIRST (1), the transaxle won't shift into gear until the
vehicle is going slowly enough.)
NOTICE:
If your front wheels can't rotate, don't try to
drive. This might happen if you were stuck in
very deep sand or mud or were up against a solid
object. You could damage your transaxle.
Also, if you stop when going uphill, don't hold
your vehicle there with only the accelerator
pedal. This could cause overheating and damage
the transaxle. Use your brakes to hold your
vehicle in position on a hill.
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.

2-27
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 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.
Reach under the driver's side of the instrument panel
and pull on the manual release lever, which is located
above the parking brake pedal. If the parking brake does
not release, you should either drive to the nearest service
station or have your vehicle towed.

2-29 Console Shift Lever
1. Hold the brake pedal down with your right foot.
2. Move the shift lever into PARK (P) like this:

Push the lever all the way toward the front of
your vehicle.

With your right foot still holding the brake pedal
down, set the parking brake.
3. Turn the ignition key to LOCK.
4. Remove the key and take it with you. If you can
leave your vehicle with the ignition key in your
hand, your vehicle is in PARK (P).
Leaving Your Vehicle With the
Engine Running
CAUTION:
It can be dangerous to leave your vehicle with the
engine running. Your vehicle could move
suddenly if the shift lever is not fully in PARK (P)
with the parking brake firmly set. And, if you
leave the vehicle with the engine running, it could
overheat and even catch fire. You or others could
be injured. Don't leave your vehicle with the
engine running unless you have to.
If you have to leave your vehicle with the engine
running, be sure your vehicle is in PARK (P) and your
parking brake is firmly set before you leave it. After
you've moved the shift lever into PARK (P), hold the
regular brake pedal down. Then, see if you can move the
shift lever away from PARK (P) without first pulling it
toward you. If you can, it means that the shift lever
wasn't fully locked into PARK (P).

2-30 Torque Lock
If you are parking on a hill and you don't shift your
transaxle into PARK (P) properly, the weight of the
vehicle may put too much force on the parking pawl in
the transaxle. You may find it difficult to pull the shift
lever out of PARK (P). This is called ªtorque lock.º To
prevent torque lock, set the parking brake and then shift
into PARK (P) properly before you leave the driver's
seat. To find out how, see ªShifting Into PARK (P)º in
the Index.
If torque lock does occur, you may need to have another
vehicle push yours a little uphill to take some of the
pressure from the parking pawl in the transaxle, so you
can pull the shift lever out of PARK (P).
Shifting Out of PARK (P)
Your vehicle has an automatic transaxle shift lock
control system. You have to fully apply your regular
brakes before you can shift from PARK (P) when the
ignition is in RUN. See ªAutomatic Transaxleº in
the Index.
If you cannot shift out of PARK (P), try applying
pressure to the brakes and push the shift lever all the
way into PARK (P) as you maintain brake application.
Then move the shift lever into the gear you want. If you
ever hold the brake pedal down but still can't shift out of
PARK (P), try this:
1. Turn the ignition key to OFF. Open and close the
driver's door to turn off the Retained Accessory
Power (RAP) feature.
2. Apply and hold the brake until the end of Step 4.
3. Shift to NEUTRAL (N).
4. Start the vehicle and then shift to the drive gear
you want.
5. Take your vehicle to an authorized service center as
soon as you can.

2-36
OFF: Turn the band to OFF to turn off the wipers.
Be sure to clear ice and snow from the wiper blades
before using them. If they're frozen to the windshield,
carefully loosen or thaw them. If the blades do become
damaged, get new blades or blade inserts.
Heavy snow or ice can overload the wiper motor.
A circuit breaker will stop the motor until it cools.
Clear away snow or ice to prevent an overload.
Rainsense
II Wipers (ETC Only)
The moisture sensor is mounted on the interior side of
the windshield behind the rearview mirror and is used to
automatically operate the wipers by monitoring the
amount of moisture build
-up on the windshield.Wipes occur as needed to clear the windshield
depending on driving conditions and the sensitivity
setting. In light rain or snow, fewer wipes will occur. In
heavy rain or snow, wipes will occur more frequently.
The Rainsense wipers operate in a delay mode as well as
a continuous low or high speed depending as needed.
If the system is left on for long periods of time,
occasional wipes may occur without any moisture on
the windshield. This is normal and indicates that the
Rainsense system is activated.
The Rainsense system can be activated by turning the
wiper stalk to one of the five sensitivity levels within the
AUTO DELAY area. The AUTO DELAY position closest
to OFF is the lowest sensitivity setting, level one. This
allows more rain or snow to collect on the windshield
between wipes. Turning the stalk away from you to the
higher levels of other AUTO DELAY settings increases
the sensitivity of the system and frequency of wipes. The
highest sensitivity setting, level five is closest to LO. A
single wipe will occur each time you turn the wiper stalk
to a higher sensitivity level to indicate that the sensitivity
level has been increased. An initial wipe occurs when you
turn the ignition on as a reminder that Rainsense is active.
The windshield wipers also remain in a ªhigh parkº
position (when the wipers are stopped on the windshield
and are not in the normal park position), even when the
ignition is turned off.

2-41
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.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.

2-42 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.
Lamps On Reminder
If the manual headlamp control is activated, you will
hear a warning chime if you open either door while
leaving the lamps on. An exception to this is when
you're using Twilight Sentinel.
Daytime Running Lamps
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) can make it easier for
others to see the front of your vehicle during the day.
DRL can be helpful in many different driving
conditions, but they can be especially helpful in the
short periods after dawn and before sunset. Fully
functional daytime running lights are required on all
vehicles first sold in Canada.
The DRL system will make the high
-beam headlamps
come on at reduced brightness when:

The ignition is on,

the headlamp switch is off and

the transaxle is not in PARK (P).
When DRL are on, only your high
-beam headlamps (at
reduced brightness) will be on. No other exterior lamps
such as the parking lamps, taillamps, etc. will be on
when the DRL are being used. Your instrument panel
won't be lit up either.