2003 Oldsmobile Alero phone

Battery Run-Down Protection
Your vehicle has a battery run-down protection feature
designed to protect your vehicle's battery.
When any interior lamp (trunk, mirror reading lamps,
dome lamp or glove box) is left on when the ignition is
turned
off, the battery saver system will automatically
shut the lamp
off after 20 minutes. This will avoid
draining the battery.
Accessory Power Outlets
With accessory power outlets you can plug in auxiliary
electrical equipment such as a cellular telephone or
CB radio.
I
To reactivate the interior lamps, do one of the following: I
Lift the driver's door handle,
open any door or
press any remote keyless entry transmitter button
(if equipped),
press the power door lock switch,
press the remote trunk release or
turn the lamp that was left on to off and then to
on again. The accessory power
outlet is located to the left of the
glovebox on the lower side of the instrument panel
and behind a flip-out door.
Notice: When using accessory power outlets the
maximum load should not exceed
15 amps. Be sure
to turn
off any electrical equipment when not in
use. Leaving electrical equipment on for extended
periods can drain the battery.
3-1 7

Audio System(s)
Nofice: Before you add any sound equipment to
your vehicle
- like a tape player, CB radio, mobile
telephone or two-way radio
- be sure you can
add what you want.
If you can, it’s very important to
do it properly. Added sound equipment may
interfere with the operation of your vehicle’s engine,
Delphi Electronics radio or other systems, and
even damage them. Your vehicle’s systems may
interfere with the operation
of sound equipment that
has been added improperly.
So, before adding sound equipment, check with
your dealer and be sure
to check federal rules
covering mobile radio and telephone units.
Your audio system has been designed to operate easily
and to give years of listening pleasure.
You will get
the most enjoyment out of it
if you acquaint yourself with
it first. Find out what your audio system can do and
how to operate all of its controls to be sure you’re getting
the most out of the advanced engineering that went
into
it.
Your vehicle has a feature called Retained Accessory
Power (RAP). With RAP, you can play your audio
system even after the ignition
is turned off. See Retained
Accessory Power under
Ignition Positions on page 2- 17.
Setting the Time for Radios without
Radio Data Systems (RDS)
Press and hold the HR or MIN arrow for two seconds.
Then press the HR arrow until the correct hour appears
on the display. Press and hold the MIN arrow until
the correct minute appears. The time may be set with
the ignition on or
off.
Setting the Time for Radios with
Radio Data Systems (RDS)
Press and hold HR or MIN for two seconds. Then press
and hold HR until the correct hour appears on the
display. AM or PM will also appear. Press and hold MIN
until the correct minute appears on the display. The
time may be set with the ignition on or
off.
To synchronize the time with an FM station broadcasting
Radio Data System (RDS) information, press and
hold HR and MIN at the same time for two seconds until
UPDATED appears on the display.
If the time is not
available from the station, NO UPDATE will appear on
the display instead.
RDS time is broadcast once a minute. Once you have
tuned to an RDS broadcast station, it may take a
few minutes before pressing and holding the
HR and
MIN buttons will result in an update to the time.
3-38

For DAB (Canada only, if your radio is equipped with
DAB), when the TRAF button
is pressed, DAB does not
seek to a station that broadcasts traffic. DAB only
checks the current frequency for traffic support.
Traffic Interrupt Feature: Your radio can interrupt the
play of a CD, or
XMTM, or DAB station. Press the
TRAF button. The radio will seek to a station that
broadcasts traffic announcements. When the radio finds
a station that broadcasts traffic announcements, it
will stop. Brackets around TRAF will appear on the
display. When a traffic announcement comes on
the station that was found, you will hear
it. When the
traffic announcement is over, the radio will resume play
of the CD, or
XMTM, or DAB station. If no station is
found, NO TRAFFIC will appear on the display. INFO
(Information):
If the current station has a
message, INFO will appear on the display. Press this
button to see the message. The message may display
the artist and song title, call in phone numbers, etc.
If the whole message is not displayed, parts of it
will appear every three seconds. To scroll through the
message at your own speed, press the INFO button
repeatedly. A new group of words will appear on
the display with each press. Once the complete
message has been displayed, INFO will disappear from
the display until another new message is received.
The old message can be displayed by pressing
the INFO button until
a new message is received or a
different station is tuned to.
3-48

BAND (Alternate Frequency): Alternate frequency
allows the radio to switch to a stronger station with the
same program type. Press and hold BAND for two
seconds to turn alternate frequency on. AF ON
will appear on the display. The radio may switch to
stronger stations. Press and hold BAND again for two
seconds to turn alternate frequency
off. AF OFF
will appear on the display. The radio will not switch to
other stations.
This function does not apply for
XMTM or DAB.
Setting Preset PTYs (RDS Only)
The six numbered pushbuttons let you return to your
favorite program types (PTYs). These pushbuttons have
factory PTY presets. You can set up to 12 PTYs
(six FMI and six FM2) by performing the following steps:
Press BAND to select FMI or FM2.
Press the P-TYPE button to activate program type
select mode.
Turn the P-TYPE knob to select a PTY.
Press and hold one of the six numbered
pushbuttons until you hear a beep. Whenever you
press that numbered pushbutton, the PTY you
set will return.
RDS and DAB Messages
ALERT!: Alert warns of local or national emergencies.
When an alert announcement comes on the current
radio station, ALERT! will appear on the display. You will
hear the announcement, even
if the volume is muted
or a cassette tape or compact disc
is playing. If the
cassette tape or compact disc player is playing, play will
stop during the announcement. You will not be able
to turn
off alert announcements.
ALERT! will not be affected by tests of the emergency
broadcast system. This feature is not supported by
all RDS stations.
INFO (Information): If the current station has a
message, INFO will appear on the display. Press this
button to see the message. The message may display
the artist and song title, call in phone numbers, etc.
If the whole message is not displayed, parts of it
will appear every three seconds. To scroll through the
message at your own speed, press the INFO button
i-epeaidiy.
A II~W yruup ui wvr& wiii appear on
the display with each press. Once the complete
message has been displayed, INFO will disappear from
the display until another new message is received.
The old message can be displayed by pressing
the INFO button until a new message is received or a
different station
is tuned to.
5. Repeat the steps for each pushbutton.
3-57

Notice; Do not try to clear frost or other material
from the inside
of the rear window with a razor blade
or anything else that
is sharp. This may damage
the rear defogger grid and affect your radio’s ability
to pick up stations clearly. The repairs wouldn’t
be covered by your warranty.
Because this antenna is built into your rear window,
there is a reduced risk of damage caused by car washes
and vandals.
If you choose to add a cellular telephone to your
vehicle, and the antenna needs to be attached to the
glass, be sure that you do not damage the grid lines for
the AM-FM antenna. There is enough space between
the lines to attach a cellular telephone antenna
without interfering with radio reception.
XM Satellite Radio Antenna System
Your XMTM Satellite Radio antenna is located on the
roof of your vehicle. Keep this antenna clear of
snow and ice build up for clear radio reception.
The performance of your
XM system may be affected if
your sunroof is open.
DAB Radio Antenna System
Your DAB antenna is located on the roof of your
vehicle. Keep this antenna clear of snow and ice build
up for clear radio reception.
If your vehicle is purchased in Canada and driven into
the United Stated the DAB radio antenna system will
not function. DAB radio reception is available in
Canada only.
The performance of your DAB antenna may be affected
if your sunroof is open.
Chime Level Adjustment
Chime level adjustment is only available on RDS radios.
The radio is the vehicle chime producer. The chime is
produced from the driver’s side front door speakers.
To change the volume level, press and hold
pushbutton 6 with the ignition on and the radio power
off. The chime volume level will change from the normal
level to loud, and
LOUD will be displaved on the
radio. To change back to the default or normal setting,
press and hold pushbutton
6 again. The chime level
will change from the loud level to normal, and
NORMAL
will be displayed. Each time the chime volume is
changed, three chimes will sound as an example of the
new volume selected.
Removing the radio and net
replacing it with a factory radio or chime module will
disable vehicle chimes.
3-67

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
1-9.
Defensive driving really means “be ready for anything.”
On city streets, rural roads or freeways, it means
“always expect the unexpected.”
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
- such as concentrating on a cellular telephone call, reading,
or reaching for something on
the floor
- makes proper 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
0 Muscular Coordination
Vision
0 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

Hydroplaning doesn’t happen often. But it can if your Driving Through Flowing Water
tires do not have much tread or if the pressure in one or
more is low. It can happen
if a lot of water is standing
on the road.
If you can see reflections from trees,
telephone poles or other vehicles, and raindrops
“dimple” the water’s surface, there could be
hydroplaning.
Hydroplaning usually happens at higher speeds. There
just isn’t a hard and fast rule about hydroplaning.
The best advice is to slow down when
it is raining.
Driving Through Deep Standing Water
Notice: If you drive too quickly through deep
puddles or standing water, water can come in
through your engine’s air intake and badly damage
your engine. Never drive through water that
is
slightly lower than the underbody of your vehicle. If
you can’t avoid deep puddles or standing water,
drive through them very slowly. Fla
ng or rushi - ater creates strong
forces. If you try to drive through flowing
water, as you might at a low water crossing,
your vehicle can be carried away.
As little as
six inches
of flowing water can carry away a
smaller vehicle. If this happens, you and other
vehicle occupants could drown. Don’t ignore
police warning signs, and otherwise be
very cautious about trying to drive through
flowing water.
Some Other Rainy Weather Tips
e Besides slowing down, allow some extra following
distance. And be especially careful when you
pass another vehicle. Allow yourself more clear
room ahead, and be prepared to have your
view restricted by road spray.
Have good tires with proper tread depth. See Tires
on page 5-53.
4-1 9

Section 7 Customer Assistance Information
Customer Assistance Information .................. 7.2
Customer Satisfaction Procedure
...................... 7.2
Customer Assistance for Text Telephone
Customer Assistance
Off ices ............................ 7.3
GM Mobility Program for Persons with
Disabilities
.................................................. 7.5
Roadside Assistance Program
.......................... 7.5
(TTY) Users ............................................... 7.3 Courtesy
Transportation
.................................. -7-7
Government
............................................... 7.9
Government
............................................... 7.9
General Motors
........................................... 7.9
Service Publications Ordering Information
......... 7.10
Reporting Safety Defects
to the United States
Reporting Safety Defects to the Canadian
Reporting Safety Defects to
7-
1