2001 Oldsmobile Aurora tow

2-38 Lamps On Reminder
If the headlamp switch is left on, you'll hear a warning
chime when you turn the ignition off, remove the key
from the ignition and open the driver's door.
Flash-to-Pass
This feature lets you use your high-beam headlamps
to signal a driver in front of you that you want to pass.
It works even if your headlamps are off.
To use it, pull the turn signal lever toward you.
Your 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 your headlamps are on, and on high beam, your
headlamps will switch to low beam when the lever is
released. To get back to high beam, push the lever
away from you.
Fog Lamps
To turn on only the front
fog lamps, turn the fog
lamp band to the single
fog lamp symbol. To turn
on both the front and rear
fog lamps, turn the fog
lamp band to the double
fog lamp symbol.
Turning on the front fog lamps only will automatically
activate the parking lamps. Turning on the front and rear
fog lamps will automatically activate the parking lamps
and headlamps.
To turn off the fog lamps, turn the band to OFF. The
front fog lamps will also turn off when you turn on your
high
-beam headlamps, but will turn on again when you
switch to low beams.

2-39 Windshield Wipers
The lever on the right side of your steering column
operates your windshield wipers.
If your windshield wipers are on for more than
six seconds while you are driving, the low
-beam
headlamps, instrument panel cluster backlighting and
the taillamps will turn on. For more information see
ªWiper
-Activated Headlampsº in the Index.
For a single wiping cycle, move the lever down to MIST.
Hold it there until the wipers start, then release it. The wipers will stop after one cycle. If you want more
cycles, hold the lever to MIST longer.
For steady wiping at low speed, move the lever up to
the LO position. For high
-speed wiping, move the
lever up further, to HI. To stop the wipers, move the
lever to OFF.
You can set the wiper speed for a long or short delay
between wiper cycles. This can be very useful in light
rain or snow. Move the lever up to the first detent, INT.
Turn the band labeled INT ADJ down towards the
shorter lines for fewer wiper passes per minute. As you
turn the band towards the longer lines, the wiper cycles
per minute will increase.
Remember that damaged wiper blades may prevent
you from seeing well enough to drive safely. To avoid
damage, 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 your
blades do become damaged, get new blades or blade
inserts. See ªWindshield Wiper Blade Replacementº
in the Index.
Heavy snow or ice can overload your wipers. A circuit
breaker will stop them until the motor cools. Clear away
snow or ice to prevent an overload.

2-40 Rainsense
Wipers (If Equipped)
The moisture sensor is mounted on the passenger's
interior side of the windshield behind the rearview
mirror and is used to automatically operate the wipers
by monitoring the amount of moisture that is on
the windshield.
The Rainsense system can be activated by moving the
wiper lever to INT. Set the wiper control band to one
of the five sensitivity settings within the delay area.
The bottom INT ADJ position is the lowest sensitivity
setting. This allows more water to collect on the
windshield between wipes. You can increase the
sensitivity of the system and the frequency of wipes
by turning the INT ADJ band up towards the wider
lines. A single wipe will occur each time you turn the
wiper control band to a higher sensitivity setting.
The Rainsense wipers operate in a delay mode as well
as a continuous low or high speed depending on the
amount of moisture on the windshield and the sensitivity
setting. The MIST and ªwashº cycles operate as normal
and are not affected by the Rainsense function.NOTICE:
The wipers must be turned off when going
through a car wash to avoid damage.
It is important to note that the Rainsense delay wiping
feature can be overridden at any time by manually
changing the wiper control to LO or HI speed.
NOTICE:
Do not place stickers or other items on the
exterior glass surface directly in front of the
rainsensor. Doing this could cause the rainsensor
to malfunction.

2-44
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 brake
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 Without Erasing
the Set Speed
There are two ways to turn off the cruise control:

Step lightly on the brake pedal, or

pull the cruise lever towards you to cancel cruise.
To resume the set speed see ªResuming a Set Speedº
earlier in this section.
Erasing Cruise Control Speed Memory
When you turn off the cruise control or the ignition,
your cruise control set speed memory is erased.Exterior Lamps
Headlamps
See ªTurn Signal/Multifunction Leverº in the Index.
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.
A light sensor on top of the instrument panel makes the
DRL work, so be sure it isn't covered.
The DRL system will make your high
-beam headlamps
come on at reduced brightness in daylight when the
following conditions are met:

The ignition is on,

the headlamp switch is off, and

the transaxle is not in PARK (P).
When the DRL are on, only your high
-beam headlamps
will be on. The parking lamps, taillamps, sidemarker
and other lamps won't be on.

2-45
With your headlamp control in AUTO when it is
dark enough outside, your low
-beam headlamps will
automatically come on. The other lamps that turn on
with your headlamps will also turn on. When it is bright
enough outside, the regular lamps will go off, and your
high
-beam headlamps change to the reduced brightness
of DRL.
To turn off all exterior lighting at night when you are
parked, turn the headlamp control all the way toward
OFF. The DRL will turn on automatically and the
HEADLAMPS SUGGESTED message will be
displayed on the DIC when you move the transaxle
out of PARK (P).
If the headlamp control is in the parking lamps position
at night, only the parking lamps will be on. If the
transaxle is out of PARK (P), only the parking lamps
will be active and the HEADLAMPS SUGGESTED
message will be displayed on the DIC.
As with any vehicle, you should turn on the regular
headlamp system when you need it.
Automatic Headlamps
The automatic headlamps will keep your headlamps on
when it is dark outside and the ignition is in RUN.
It's possible that your headlamps may go out if you
drive from a dark area into a bright area like a lighted
parking lot. If this happens, turn on your headlamps
with the regular headlamp switch.
Light Sensor
Your automatic headlamps and Daytime Running Lamps
work with the light sensor on top of the instrument
panel. Don't cover it up. If you do it will read ªdarkº
and the automatic headlamp lighting will turn on.
Exterior Lighting Battery Saver
If the manual lamp control has been left on, the exterior
lamps will turn off approximately 10 minutes after the
ignition is turned to LOCK and any door has been
opened. This protects against draining the battery in
case you have accidentally left the headlamps or parking
lamps on. If you need to leave the lamps on for more
than 10 minutes, use the manual control to turn the lamps
back on after the ignition has been turned to LOCK and
any door has been opened. To delay the lamps from
turning off, see ªAutomatic Headlampsº in the Index.

2-50
Mirrors
Electrochromic Day/Night Rearview Mirror
with Compass
Your vehicle has an electrochromic inside rearview
mirror with a compass. Your vehicle's mirror may also
contain OnStar

controls.
This is the on/off button for mirrors equipped
with OnStar controls.
Pressing the MIRROR button (or the on/off button for
mirrors equipped with OnStar controls) located at the
bottom of the mirror, turns the automatic dimming
feature on or off.
The mirror also includes an eight
-point compass display
in the upper right corner of the mirror face. When on, the
compass automatically calibrates as the vehicle is driven.
When cleaning the mirror, use a paper towel or similar
material dampened with glass cleaner. Do not spray
glass cleaner directly on the mirror as that may cause
the liquid cleaner to enter the mirror housing.Mirror Operation
To turn on the automatic dimming feature, press MIRROR
(or press and hold the on/off button for about three seconds
for mirrors equipped with OnStar controls). To turn off
automatic dimming, press MIRROR (or press and hold
the on/off button for about three seconds for mirrors
equipped with OnStar controls) again. The green indicator
light will be illuminated when this feature is active.
The automatic dimming feature will be active each time
the vehicle is started.
Compass Operation
Press COMPASS (or the on/off button for mirrors equipped
with OnStar controls) once to turn the compass on or off.
When the ignition and the compass feature are on, the
compass will show two character boxes for approximately
two seconds. After two seconds, the mirror will display the
compass heading.
Compass Calibration
If after two seconds, the display does not show a compass
heading (ªNº for North, for example), there may be a
strong magnetic field interfering with the compass. Such
interference may be caused by a magnetic antenna mount,
magnetic note pad holder or a similar magnetic item.
If the letter ªCº should ever appear in the compass
window, the compass may need calibration.

2-57
Assist Handles
A handle above each rear door and the front passenger's
door can be used to help you get in or out of your vehicle.
Garment Hook
For your convenience, you will find a two-hanger
capacity garment hook on each rear door assist handle.
Garment hooks are not designed to support clothing
bars. Use assist handles for this if possible.
Sunroof (Option)
If you have this feature,
the switches are located
between the sun visors.
There are two switches that operate the sunroof. The
switches will only work when the ignition is on or when
the Retained Accessory Power (RAP) is active.The OPEN/CLOSE switch has positions for open or
close and express open. The TILT/CLOSE switch has
positions for tilt or close.
Press and hold the OPEN/CLOSE switch to the
first position to open the glass panel and sunshade.
The sunshade can also be opened by hand. To close
the glass panel, press and hold the OPEN/CLOSE or
TILT/CLOSE switch in the close position. As the
glass panel closes, it will open slightly towards the tilt
position to provide a better seal. The sunshade can only
be closed by hand.
Press and release the OPEN/CLOSE switch rearward
to the second position to express open the glass panel.
It will stop in a partially open position. The glass panel
may be fully opened by pressing the OPEN/CLOSE
switch rearward again. When the glass panel is express
opening, pressing either switch in any direction will stop
it. If you press and hold the OPEN/CLOSE switch in
the express open position for more than one and a half
seconds, the express open operation will be overridden
and the sunroof will operate manually.
To tilt open the glass panel, press and hold the
TILT/CLOSE switch. The sunshade must be opened
by hand. To close the glass panel, press and hold
the TILT/CLOSE or OPEN/CLOSE switch in the
close position.

2-69 Battery Warning Light
This light will come on
briefly when you start the
vehicle, as a check to show
you it is working; then it
should go out.
If it stays on, or comes on while you are driving, you
may have a problem with the electrical charging system.
It could indicate that you have a generator problem or
another electrical system problem. Have it checked
right away. Driving while this light is on could drain
your battery.
If you must drive a short distance with the light on, be
certain to turn off all your accessories, such as the radio
and climate control system.
On the DIC a CHECK CHARGE SYSTEM message
will be displayed and a warning chime will sound.
See ªDIC Warnings and Messagesº in the Index
for more information.
Brake System Warning Light
Your vehicle's hydraulic brake system is divided into
two parts. If one part isn't working, the other part can
still work and stop you. For good braking, though, you
need both parts working well.
If the warning light comes on, there is a brake problem.
Have your brake system inspected right away.
United States Canada
This light should come on briefly when you turn the
ignition key to RUN. If it doesn't come on then, have it
fixed so it will be ready to warn you if there's a problem.
If the light comes on while you are driving, pull off the
road and stop carefully. You may notice that the pedal is
harder to push. Or, the pedal may go closer to the floor.
It may take longer to stop. If the light is still on, have the
vehicle towed for service. See ªTowing Your Vehicleº
in the Index.