2003 CADILLAC CTS Owners Manual

2-93
If the Light Is Flashing
The following may prevent more serious damage to
your vehicle:

Reducing vehicle speed.

Avoiding hard accelerations.

Avoiding steep uphill grades.

If you are towing a trailer, reduce the amount of
cargo being hauled as soon as it is possible.
If the light stops flashing and remains on steady, see
ªIf the Light Is On Steadyº following.
If the light continues to flash, when it is safe to do so,
stop the vehicle. Find a safe place to park your vehicle.
Turn the key off, wait at least 10 seconds and restart the
engine. If the light remains on steady, see ªIf the Light
Is On Steadyº following. If the light is still flashing,
follow the previous steps, and drive the vehicle to your
dealer or qualified service center for service.If the Light Is On Steady
You may be able to correct the emission system
malfunction by considering the following:
Did you recently put fuel into your vehicle?
If so, reinstall the fuel cap, making sure to fully install
the cap. See ªFilling Your Tankº in the Index. The
diagnostic system can determine if the fuel cap has been
left off or improperly installed. A loose or missing fuel
cap will allow fuel to evaporate into the atmosphere. A
few driving trips with the cap properly installed should
turn the light off.
Did you just drive through a deep puddle of water?
If so, your electrical system may be wet. The condition
will usually be corrected when the electrical system
dries out. A few driving trips should turn the light off.
Are you low on fuel?
As your engine starts to run out of fuel, your engine may
not run as efficiently as designed since small amounts of
air are sucked into the fuel line causing a misfire. The
system can detect this. Adding fuel should correct this
condition. Make sure to install the fuel cap properly. See
ªFilling Your Tankº in the Index. It will take a few
driving trips to turn the light off.

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Have you recently changed brands of fuel?
If so, be sure to fuel your vehicle with quality fuel. See
ªFuelº in the Index. Poor fuel quality will cause your
engine not to run as efficiently as designed. You may
notice this as stalling after start
-up, stalling when you
put the vehicle into gear, misfiring, hesitation on
acceleration or stumbling on acceleration. (These
conditions may go away once the engine is warmed up.)
This will be detected by the system and cause the light
to turn on.
If you experience one or more of these conditions,
change the fuel brand you use. It will require at least one
full tank of the proper fuel to turn the light off.
If none of the above steps have made the light turn off,
have your dealer or qualified service center check the
vehicle. Your dealer has the proper test equipment and
diagnostic tools to fix any mechanical or electrical
problems that may have developed.Emissions Inspection and Maintenance Programs
Some state/provincial and local governments have or
may begin programs to inspect the emission control
equipment on your vehicle. Failure to pass this
inspection could prevent you from getting a vehicle
registration.
Here are some things you need to know in order to help
your vehicle pass an inspection:
Your vehicle will not pass this inspection if the CHECK
ENGINE light is on or not working properly.
Your vehicle will not pass this inspection if the OBD
(on
-board diagnostic) system determines that critical
emission control systems have not been completely
diagnosed by the system. The vehicle would be
considered not ready for inspection. This can happen if
you have recently replaced your battery or if your
battery has run down. The diagnostic system is designed
to evaluate critical emission control systems during
normal driving. This may take several days of routine
driving. If you have done this and your vehicle still does
not pass the inspection for lack of OBD system
readiness, see your dealer or qualified service center to
prepare the vehicle for inspection.

2-95
Oil Pressure Light
CAUTION:
Don't keep driving if the oil pressure is low. If
you do, your engine can become so hot that it
catches fire. You or others could be burned.
Check your oil as soon as possible and have your
vehicle serviced.
NOTICE:
Damage to your engine from neglected oil
problems can be costly and is not covered by
your warranty.
This light tells you if there
could be a problem with
your engine oil pressure.
The light goes on when you turn your key to ON or
START. It goes off once you start your engine. That's a
check to be sure the light works. If it doesn't come on,
be sure to have it fixed so it will be there to warn you if
something goes wrong.
When the light comes on and stays on, it means that
oil isn't flowing through your engine properly. You
could be low on oil and you might have some other
system problem.

2-96
Sport Mode Light (If Equipped)
This light will come on
when the sport mode is
in use.
When you turn off the sport mode, the light will go out.
If it stays on, your vehicle may need service. See your
dealer. See ªSport Modeº listed previously in this
section for more information.
Winter Driving Mode Light (If Equipped)
This light will come on
when the winter driving
mode feature is in use.
When you turn off the winter driving mode feature, the
light will go out. If it stays on, your vehicle may need
service. See your dealer. See ªWinter Driving Modeº
listed previously in this section for more information.
Security Light
For information regarding
this light, see ªTheft
Deterrent
-Systemº listed
previously in this section.

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Cruise Control Light
This light comes on
whenever you set your
cruise control.
The light will go out when the cruise control is turned
off. See ªCruise Controlº listed previously in this
section for more information.
Fog Lamp Light
This light will come on
when the fog lamps are
in use.
The light will go out when the fog lamps are turned off.
See ªFog Lampsº listed previously in this section for
more information.
Lamps On Reminder
This light comes on
whenever the parking
lamps are on.
See ªLamps On Reminderº listed previously in this
section for more information.
Highbeam On Light
This light comes on
whenever the high
-beam
headlamps are on.
See ªHeadlamp High/Low
-Beam Changerº listed
previously in this section for more information.

2-98
Fuel Gage
The fuel gage shows
approximately how much
fuel is in the tank. It works
only when the ignition is
in ON.
If the fuel supply gets low, the Fuel Level Low message
will appear on the DIC and a single chime will sound.Here are a few concerns some owners have had about
the fuel gage. All of these situations are normal and do
not indicate that anything is wrong with the fuel gage:

At the gas station the gas pump shuts off before the
gage reads full.

The gage may change when you turn, stop quickly or
accelerate quickly.

It takes a little more or less fuel to fill the tank than
the gage indicated. For example, the gage may have
indicated that the tank was half full, but it actually
took a little more or less than half the tank's capacity
to fill the tank.

2-99
Driver Information Center (DIC)
The DIC gives you the status of many of your vehicle's
systems. It is also used to display driver personalization
features and warning/status messages. All messages will
appear on the audio system display which is also the
display for the optional Navigation system.
System Controls
Base Audio SystemIf you have the base audio system, use the following to
operate the DIC:
INFO (Information): Use the up or down arrows on
this button to scroll through the system status
information.
CLR (Clear): Press this button to clear DIC messages
and to reset DIC items to zero. See ªDriver Information
Center (DIC) Messagesº and ªStatus Menu Item
Descriptionsº later in this section for more information.
TUNE/SEL (Select) Knob: Once a menu is displayed,
use the knob located to the lower right of the display to
scroll through the menu items and/or select them. To
scroll through the menu items, turn the knob. Once an
item is highlighted, press the knob once to select it.
BACK: Press this button to exit a menu.

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Navigation/Audio SystemIf you have the optional Navigation system, use the
following to operate the DIC:
INFO (Information): Use this button to access the
Vehicle Information menu that provides the status of
various vehicle systems. See ªVehicle Info (Information)
Menu Navigation Systemº later in this section for more
information.
TUNE/SEL (Select) Knob: See the information listed
previously on this knob. It is equivalent to the
TUNE/SEL knob on the base audio system and is
located in the same place.

: Press the button with this symbol on it when it is
next to a menu item or a prompt on the right side of the
display to select the menu item or acknowledge the
prompt. See ªStatus Menu Item Descriptionsº later in
this section for more information.
Status of Vehicle Systems
You can view the status of several vehicle systems using
the DIC. Depending upon whether or not your vehicle
has the optional Navigation system, the menu items will
vary slightly.