2003 CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO Zone 7

Cooling
On hot days, open the windows to let hot air escape;
then close them. This helps to reduce the time it takes
for your vehicle to cool down. It also helps the system
to operate more efficiently.
#A/C (Air Conditioning):Press this button to turn
the air-conditioning system on or off. When the system is
on, an indicator light will come on and the system will
begin to cool and dehumidify the air inside of your
vehicle. During daylight hours, you may have to adjust
the instrument panel brightness control to the highest
setting in order to see the indicator light. See
Interior
Lamps on page 3-17for more information.
You may notice a slight change in engine performance
when the air-conditioning compressor shuts off and
turns on again. This is normal. The system is designed
to make adjustments to help with fuel economy while
still maintaining the selected temperature.
The Air Conditioning System removes moisture from the
air, so you may notice a small amount of water
dripping underneath your vehicle when idling or after
turning off the engine.For quicker cool down on hot days, do the following:
1. Select the vent mode.
2. Select A/C.
3. Select the recirculation mode.
4. Select the coolest temperature for both zones.
5. Select the highest fan speeds.
Using these settings together for long periods of time
may cause the air inside of your vehicle to become too
dry. To prevent this, after the air inside of your vehicle
has cooled, switch to Outside Air.
On cool, but sunny days, the sun may warm the upper
part of your body, but the lower part may not be
warm enough. To remedy this, do the following:
1. Select the bi-level mode.
2. Select A/C.
3. Select the temperature.
4. Select the fan speed.
The air-conditioning system removes moisture from the
air, so you may sometimes notice a small amount of
water dripping underneath your vehicle while idling
or after turning off the engine. This is normal.
3-25

Oil Pressure Indicator Light
The oil pressure indicator
tells you if you have the
correct oil pressure in your
engine to operate your
vehicle.
Under normal conditions the indicator should read
slightly above the half way point.
If your oil pressure falls too low, the indicator will read
at the low setting in the red zone.This message is displayed in the message center when
the engine oil pressure is low. A chime will sound
continuously, also.
If this occurs, you should have your vehicle serviced
immediately.
{CAUTION:
Don't keep driving if the oil pressure is low. If
you do, your engine can become so hot that it
catches ®re. 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. 3800 V6 Engine
United StatesCanada
3-42

RESET:You can reset the AVG ECON, FUEL USED
or AVG SPEED trip computer modes by pressing
and holding this button for three seconds while you are
in the mode you wish to reset. A chime will sound to
con®rm that your requested change has been made and
all the segments of the display will brie¯y light up.
To change the display to a metric or English reading,
press the RESET and MODE buttons at the same time.
Hold them down for three seconds, and the display
will change. A chime will be heard to con®rm the new
selection.
The reset button can also be used to manually calibrate
the compass. See ªManual Compass Calibrationº
later in this section.
The reset button can be used to set the compass zone
variation. See ªCompass Varianceº later in this
section.MODE:Press this button to cycle through three modes
of operation: Off, Compass/Temperature and Trip
Computer mode.
·Off:No driver information is displayed in this mode
of operation.
·Compass/Temperature Mode:One of eight
compass readings and the outside temperature are
displayed. If the temperature is below 38ÉF
(3ÉC), the word ICE is displayed for two minutes.
·Trip Computer:Pressing the MODE button cycles
through the ®ve displays. Press the MODE button
after the last Trip Computer display to return
the DIC to the OFF mode.
3-53

Compass Variance
Compass variance is the difference between magnetic
north and geographic north. In some areas of the
country, the difference is great enough to cause the
compass to give false readings. If this occurs, the
compass variance must be set.
Setting the Variance
Turn the ignition on and cycle the DIC to the
Compass/Temperature mode. Press the RESET button
for about ®ve seconds. The last entered variancezone number and VAR will be displayed. Press the
MODE button until the proper variance zone number on
the map is shown. Press the RESET button to set
the new variance zone and resume normal operation.
All the display segments will be illuminated brie¯y
to acknowledge the change in zone number. A chime
will sound to con®rm that the new zone number
has been set.
Automatic Compass Calibration
The compass is self-calibrating, which eliminates the
need to manually set the compass. When the vehicle is
new, the calibration process may not be complete. In
these cases CAL will be displayed, and all segments of
the compass will be illuminated where the compass
reading is normally displayed.
To calibrate the compass, in an area free from large
metal objects, make one to two 360É turns. The
calibration symbol will turn off and the compass reading
will be displayed.
3-54

·Know how to go down hills. The most important
thing to know is this: let your engine do some of
the slowing down. Shift to a lower gear when you go
down a steep or long hill.
{CAUTION:
If you don't shift down, your brakes could get
so hot that they wouldn't work well. You would
then have poor braking or even none going
down a hill. You could crash. Shift down to let
your engine assist your brakes on a steep
downhill slope.
{CAUTION:
Coasting downhill in NEUTRAL (N) or with the
ignition off is dangerous. Your brakes will have
to do all the work of slowing down.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
They could get so hot that they wouldn't work
well. You would then have poor braking or
even none going down a hill. You could crash.
Always have your engine running and your
vehicle in gear when you go downhill.
·Know how to go uphill. You may want to shift down
to a lower gear. The lower gears help cool your
engine and transaxle, and you can climb the
hill better.
·Stay in your own lane when driving on two-lane
roads in hills or mountains. Don't swing wide or
cut across the center of the road. Drive at speeds
that let you stay in your own lane.
·As you go over the top of a hill, be alert. There
could be something in your lane, like a stalled car or
an accident.
·You may see highway signs on mountains that
warn of special problems. Examples are long
grades, passing or no-passing zones, a falling rocks
area or winding roads. Be alert to these and take
appropriate action.
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