2-65
Vehicle Locator Service: To contact the center, call
1
-888-4-ONSTAR. You will be required to provide
your security information. An advisor will send a
command to your vehicle to sound the horn and/or
flash the lamps.
Route Support: An advisor can provide
directions or guidance to most places you want to go.
In addition, they can help you locate gas stations,
rest areas, ATMs, hospitals, hotels, stores, eateries
and more.
Ride Assist: An advisor can locate transportation in
the event that you are unable to drive.
Concierge Services: The concierge advisor can
obtain tickets, reservations or help with vacation/trip
planning and other unique items and services.
OnStar System Limitations
Complete limitations can be found on the Subscriber
Services Agreement. In order to provide you with
excellent service, calls with the OnStar Center may be
monitored or recorded.OnStar Service is:
available in the 48 contiguous United States, Alaska,
Hawaii and Canada;
available when the vehicle is within the operating
range of a cellular provider;
subject to limitations caused by atmospheric
conditions, such as severe weather or topographical
conditions, such as mountainous terrain.
subject to cellular carrier equipment limitations.
Global positioning locating capabilities will not be
available if satellite signals are obstructed.
OnStar will not function if the vehicle's battery is
discharged or disconnected. It may also be inoperative
if the vehicle is in an accident and the OnStar or vehicle
electrical system components are damaged.
OnStar is the communication link between you and
existing governmental emergency and roadside service
providers. OnStar will receive your call and use
reasonable effort to contact an appropriate provider.
OnStar cannot promise that the providers will respond
in a timely manner or at all.
2-78 Low Traction Light (If Equipped)
If you have the Traction
Assist System, this light
will come on when the
system is limiting wheel
spin. See ªTraction Assist
Systemº in the Index.
You may feel or hear the system working or notice a
lack of accelerator response, but this is normal.
The LOW TRACTION light also comes on briefly when
you turn your ignition to RUN. If the light doesn't come
on then, the system may require service; have it fixed so
it will be there to tell you when the traction system is
active. Slippery road conditions may exist if this light
comes on, so adjust your driving accordingly.
Traction Off Light (If Equipped)
If you have the Traction
Assist System, this light
should come on briefly
when you turn the ignition
to RUN.
If the light doesn't come on then, the system may
require service; have it fixed so it will be there to warn
you if the system is turned off.
If the light stays on, or comes on when you're driving,
there may be a problem with your Traction Assist
System and your vehicle may need service. When this
light is on, the system will not limit wheel spin. Adjust
your driving accordingly.
3-29
If the code entered is incorrect, SEC will appear on the
display. The radio will remain secured until the correct
code is entered.
When battery power is removed and later applied to a
secured radio, the radio won't turn on and LOC will
appear on the display.
To unlock a secured radio, see ªUnlocking the
Theft
-Deterrent Feature After a Power Lossº
earlier in this section.
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.FM Stereo
FM stereo will give you the best sound, but FM signals
will reach only about 10 to 40 miles (16 to 65 km). Tall
buildings or hills can interfere with FM signals, causing
the sound to come and go.
Tips About Your Audio System
Hearing damage from loud noise is almost undetectable
until it is too late. Your hearing can adapt to higher
volumes of sound. Sound that seems normal can be loud
and harmful to your hearing. Take precautions by
adjusting the volume control on your radio to a safe
sound level before your hearing adapts to it.
To help avoid hearing loss or damage do the following:
1. Adjust the volume control to the lowest setting.
2. Increase volume slowly until you hear comfortably
and clearly.
4-5
The body takes about an hour to rid itself of the alcohol
in one drink. No amount of coffee or number of cold
showers will speed that up. ªI'll be carefulº isn't the
right answer. What if there's an emergency, a need to
take sudden action, as when a child darts into the street?
A person with even a moderate BAC might not be able
to react quickly enough to avoid the collision.
There's something else about drinking and driving that
many people don't know. Medical research shows that
alcohol in a person's system can make crash injuries
worse, especially injuries to the brain, spinal cord or
heart. This means that when anyone who has been
drinking
-- driver or passenger -- is in a crash, that
person's chance of being killed or permanently disabled
is higher than if the person had not been drinking.
CAUTION:
Drinking and then driving is very dangerous.
Your reflexes, perceptions, attentiveness and
judgment can be affected by even a small amount
of alcohol. You can have a serious
-- or even
fatal
-- collision if you drive after drinking.
Please don't drink and drive or ride with a driver
who has been drinking. Ride home in a cab; or if
you're with a group, designate a driver who will
not drink.
4-9
Remember: Anti-lock doesn't change the time you need
to get your foot up to the brake pedal or always decrease
stopping distance. If you get too close to the vehicle in
front of you, you won't have time to apply your brakes
if that vehicle suddenly slows or stops. Always leave
enough room up ahead to stop, even though you have
anti
-lock brakes.
Using Anti
-Lock
Don't pump the brakes. Just hold the brake pedal down
firmly and let anti
-lock work for you. You may feel the
brakes vibrate, or you may notice some noise, but this
is normal.
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.
Traction Assist System (TAS) (Option)
Your vehicle may have a Traction Assist System (TAS)
that limits wheel spin. This is especially useful in
slippery road conditions. The system operates only if it
senses that one or both of the rear wheels are spinning or
beginning to lose traction. When this happens, the
system reduces engine power to limit wheel spin.
This light will come on
when the TAS is limiting
wheel spin. See ªLow
Traction Lightº in
the Index.
You may hear or feel the system working or notice a
lack of accelerator response, but this is normal.
4-11
The Traction Assist System, as delivered from the
factory, will automatically come on whenever you start
your vehicle. To limit wheel spin, especially in slippery
road conditions, you should always leave the system on.
But you can turn the TAS off if you ever need to. You
should turn the TAS off if your vehicle ever gets stuck in
sand, mud or snow and rocking the vehicle is required.
See ªRocking Your Vehicleº in the Index.
To turn the system on
or off press the TAS
on/off button located
to the left of the
steering wheel on the
instrument panel.If you used the button to turn the system off, the
TRACTION OFF light will come on and stay on.
You can turn the system back on at any time by
pressing the button again. The TRACTION OFF
light should go off.
If desired, you can change the TAS automatic
engagement feature so that the system will not come on
automatically when the engine is started. To do so:
1. Park the vehicle with the ignition off and the
transmission in PARK (P).
2. Turn the ignition to RUN; do not start the engine.
3. Apply the brake pedal, press the accelerator pedal to
the floor and then press the TAS on/off button and
hold it down for at least six seconds.
4. Release the TAS button and both pedals.
5. Turn off the ignition and wait a few seconds.
The next time you start your vehicle, the TAS will not
automatically come on. You can restore the automatic
feature by using the same procedure. Whether the TAS is
set to come on automatically or not, you can always turn
the system on or off by pressing the TAS on/off button.
4-15
Passing
The driver of a vehicle about to pass another on a
two
-lane highway waits for just the right moment,
accelerates, moves around the vehicle ahead, then goes
back into the right lane again. A simple maneuver?
Not necessarily! Passing another vehicle on a two
-lane
highway is a potentially dangerous move, since the
passing vehicle occupies the same lane as oncoming
traffic for several seconds. A miscalculation, an error in
judgment, or a brief surrender to frustration or anger can
suddenly put the passing driver face to face with the
worst of all traffic accidents
-- the head-on collision.
So here are some tips for passing:
ªDrive ahead.º Look down the road, to the sides and to
crossroads for situations that might affect your passing
patterns. If you have any doubt whatsoever about
making a successful pass, wait for a better time.
Watch for traffic signs, pavement markings and lines.
If you can see a sign up ahead that might indicate a
turn or an intersection, delay your pass. A broken
center line usually indicates it's all right to pass
(providing the road ahead is clear). Never cross a solid
line on your side of the lane or a double solid line,
even if the road seems empty of approaching traffic.Do not get too close to the vehicle you want to
pass while you're awaiting an opportunity. For one
thing, following too closely reduces your area
of vision, especially if you're following a larger
vehicle. Also, you won't have adequate space if the
vehicle ahead suddenly slows or stops. Keep back
a reasonable distance.
When it looks like a chance to pass is coming up,
start to accelerate but stay in the right lane and don't
get too close. Time your move so you will be
increasing speed as the time comes to move into the
other lane. If the way is clear to pass, you will have a
ªrunning startº that more than makes up for the
distance you would lose by dropping back. And if
something happens to cause you to cancel your pass,
you need only slow down and drop back again and
wait for another opportunity.
If other cars are lined up to pass a slow vehicle, wait
your turn. But take care that someone isn't trying to
pass you as you pull out to pass the slow vehicle.
Remember to glance over your shoulder and check
the blind spot.
4-16
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
if 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.