2003 CHEVROLET CORVETTE ESP

or the safety belts!
With safety belts, you slow down as the vehicle does.
You get more time to stop. You stop over more distance,
and your strongest bones take the forces. That's why
safety belts make such good sense.
Questions and Answers About
Safety Belts
Q:Won't I be trapped in the vehicle after an
accident if I'm wearing a safety belt?
A:Youcouldbe Ð whether you're wearing a safety
belt or not. But you can unbuckle a safety belt,
even if you're upside down. And your chance
of being conscious during and after an accident,
so you
canunbuckle and get out, ismuchgreater if
you are belted.
Q:If my vehicle has air bags, why should I have to
wear safety belts?
A:Air bags are in many vehicles today and will be in
most of them in the future. But they are
supplemental systems only; so they work
with
safety belts Ð not instead of them. Every air bag
system ever offered for sale has required the
use of safety belts. Even if you're in a vehicle that
has air bags, you still have to buckle up to get
the most protection. That's true not only in frontal
collisions, but especially in side and other
collisions.
1-11

Doors and Locks
Door Locks
{CAUTION:
Unlocked doors can be dangerous.
·Passengers Ð especially children Ð can
easily open the doors and fall out of a
moving vehicle. When a door is locked, the
handle won't open it. You increase the
chance of being thrown out of the vehicle
in a crash if the doors aren't locked. So,
wear safety belts properly and lock the
doors whenever you drive.
·Young children who get into unlocked
vehicles may be unable to get out. A child
can be overcome by extreme heat and can
suffer permanent injuries or even death
from heat stroke. Always lock your vehicle
whenever you leave it.
·Outsiders can easily enter through an
unlocked door when you slow down or
stop your vehicle. Locking your doors can
help prevent this from happening.There are several ways to lock and unlock your vehicle.
To lock or unlock the door from the outside, use your
door key on the drivers's side or the remote keyless
entry transmitter.
If your theft-deterrent system is armed, unlock the
driver's door with the key or by using the remote keyless
entry transmitter to open either door to avoid setting
off the alarm. See
Theft-Deterrent System on page 2-16.
To lock the door from the inside, move the lever located
on the door forward. To unlock it, move the lever on
the door rearward.
2-9

Windows
{CAUTION:
Leaving children in a vehicle with the windows
closed is dangerous. A child can be overcome
by the extreme heat and can suffer permanent
injuries or even death from heat stroke. Never
leave a child alone in a vehicle, especially with
the windows closed in warm or hot weather.
2-14

Your memory settings are now programmed. Any
changes that are made to the audio system and climate
controls while driving will be automatically stored
when the ignition key is turned off.
When ®rst entering your vehicle, after pressing the
unlock button on your remote keyless entry transmitter
or a MEMORY button, a recall of your settings will
occur when the door is closed and the ignition key is in
the ignition switch. As the memory settings are
recalled, the light above the button will ¯ash until the
correct settings are achieved, then glow for ®ve seconds
when complete.A memory recall can be stopped by pressing any
memory seat, mirror or steering column position button.
Drivers 1, 2 and 3 correspond to the order in which
your remote keyless entry transmitters were
programmed. See
Remote Keyless Entry System on
page 2-4for more information.
Memory recall will not work if the vehicle is moving.
Memory recall will be temporarily interrupted during
engine crank.
If easy entry is on, you must press the MEMORY button
to reset the seat.
2-56

You can open the doors manually using the knob next
to the headlamp assembly. Turn the knob
counterclockwise until the doors are open. Turn the
knob clockwise to close the doors manually.
The headlamp doors should be open when driving in icy
or snowy conditions to prevent the doors from freezing
closed and when washing the vehicle to help clean
the headlamps.
Notice:In order to avoid possible contact of the
hood to the headlamp doors, either take care
in raising the hood with the headlamps up, or turn
off the headlamps prior to opening the hood.
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 lamps are required on all vehicles
®rst sold in Canada.The DRL system will make the front turn signal lamps
come on when the following conditions are met:
·The ignition is on,
·the exterior lamp switch is off and
·the parking brake is released.
When the DRL are on, only the front turn signal lamps
will be on. The headlamps, taillamps, sidemarker
and other lamps won't be on. Your instrument panel
won't be lit up either.
To idle the vehicle with the DRL off, set the parking
brake while the ignition is in OFF. Then start the vehicle.
The DRL, headlamps and parking lamps will stay off
until you release the parking brake.
As with any vehicle, you should turn on the regular
headlamp system when you need it.
3-13

ACT HNDLG ± WARMING UP:When you ®rst start
your vehicle (especially during cold winter weather), and
begin to drive away (up to 6 mph (10 km/h)), the
message ACT HNDLG ± WARMING UP may be
displayed in the DIC, the instrument panel cluster light
will be on, and a chime will sound. This is normal.
You can acknowledge this message by pressing the
RESET button. The Active Handling System
performance is affected until the next message WARM
UP COMPLETE is displayed in the DIC.
During hot or cold temperature conditions, this message
may be displayed in the DIC after exceeding 12 mph
(20 km/h) for 30 seconds. The Active Handling System is
off until the WARM UP COMPLETE message is
displayed.
WARM UP COMPLETE:If you receive this message
and hear a chime, the system has completed the
functional check of the Active Handling System.
TRAC/ACT HNDLG ± ON:If the Traction Control and
Active Handling Systems are off, pressing the Active
Handling System console button momentarily will
turn both systems on. The message TRAC/ACT
HNDLG ± ON will be displayed temporarily in the DIC,
the instrument panel cluster light will be off and a
chime will sound.TRAC/ACT HNDLG ± OFF:By pressing the Active
Handling System console button brie¯y, the driver can
turn the Traction Control and Active Handling Systems
off. The message TRAC/ACT HNDLG ± OFF will be
displayed in the DIC, the instrument panel cluster light
will be on and a chime will sound. You can acknowledge
this message by pressing the RESET button. The
anti-lock brake systems remains on with the Traction
Control and Active Handling Systems off. You should
adjust your driving accordingly.
COMPETITIVE DRIVING:When the Competitive
Driving mode is selected, this message will be displayed
in the DIC. The instrument panel cluster light will not
be on when the Competitive Driving mode is selected.
The Traction Control System will not be operating
while in the Competitive Driving mode. You should
adjust your driving accordingly.
SERVICE ABS (Anti-Lock Brake System):If the
SERVICE ABS message is displayed when you
are driving, stop as soon as possible and turn the
ignition off. Then start the engine again to reset the
system. If the message stays on, or comes back
on again while you are driving, your vehicle is in need
of service. If the regular brake system warning light isn't
on, you still have brakes, but don't have anti-lock
brakes. If the regular brake system light is also on, you
don't have anti-lock brakes and there is a problem
with your brakes. See
Brake System Warning Light on
page 3-35.
3-54

If you enter the wrong code eight times, INOP will
appear on the display. You will have to wait an hour
with the ignition on before you can try again. When you
try again, you will only have three chances to enter
the correct code before INOP appears.
If you lose or forget your code, contact your dealer.
Disabling the Theft-Deterrent Feature
Enter your secret code as follows; pause no more than
15 seconds between steps:
1. Turn the ignition on.
2. Turn the radio off.
3. Press the 1 and 4 pushbuttons at the same time.
Hold them down until SEC shows on the display.
4. Press MN and 000 will appear on the display.
5. Press MN again to make the last two digits agree
with your code.
6. Press HR to make the ®rst one or two digits agree
with your code.
7. Press AM FM after you have con®rmed that the
code matches the secret code you have written
down. The display will show ---, indicating that the
radio is no longer secured.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
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.
3-77

Your Driving, the Road, and
Your Vehicle
Defensive Driving
The best advice anyone can give about driving is: Drive
defensively.
Please start with a very important safety device in your
vehicle: Buckle up. See
Safety Belts: They Are for
Everyone on page 1-7.
Defensive driving really means ªbe ready for anything.º
On city streets, rural roads or freeways, it means
ªalways expect the unexpected.º
Assume that pedestrians or other drivers are going to
be careless and make mistakes. Anticipate what
they might do. Be ready for their mistakes.
Rear-end collisions are about the most preventable of
accidents. Yet they are common. Allow enough following
distance. It's the best defensive driving maneuver, in
both city and rural driving. You never know when
the vehicle in front of you is going to brake or turn
suddenly.
Defensive driving requires that a driver concentrate on
the driving task. Anything that distracts from the driving
task Ð such as concentrating on a cellular telephone call,
reading, or reaching for something on the ¯oor Ð makesproper defensive driving more difficult and can even
cause a collision, with resulting injury. Ask a passenger to
help do things like this, or pull off the road in a safe place
to do them yourself. These simple defensive driving
techniques could save your life.
Drunken Driving
Death and injury associated with drinking and driving is
a national tragedy. It's the number one contributor to
the highway death toll, claiming thousands of victims
every year.
Alcohol affects four things that anyone needs to drive a
vehicle:
·Judgment
·Muscular Coordination
·Vision
·Attentiveness.
Police records show that almost half of all motor
vehicle-related deaths involve alcohol. In most cases,
these deaths are the result of someone who was
drinking and driving. In recent years, more than
16,000 annual motor vehicle-related deaths have been
associated with the use of alcohol, with more than
300,000 people injured.
4-2