Section 3 Instrument Panel
Instrument Panel Overview ............................... 3.4
Hazard Warning Flashers
................................ 3.5
Other Warning Devices
................................... 3.6
Horn
............................................................. 3.6
Tilt Wheel
..................................................... 3.6
Turn SignaVMultifunction Lever
......................... 3.7
Exterior Lamps
............................................. 3.14
Interior Lamps
.............................................. 3.17
Accessory Power Outlets
............................... 3.19
Ashtrays and Cigarette Lighter
........................ 3.20
Climate Controls ......................................... 3.21
Dual Automatic Climate Control System
........ 3.21
Rear Climate Control System
......................... 3.25
Steering Wheel Climate Controls
..................... 3.27
Climate Controls Personalization
..................... 3.27
Warning Lights, Gages and Indicators ............. 3.28
Instrument Panel Cluster
................................ 3.29
Speedometer and Odometer
........................... 3.30
Tachometer
................................................. 3.30
Safety Belt Reminder Light
............................. 3.30
Air Bag Readiness Light
................................ 3-31
Charging System Light
.................................. 3.32 Voltmeter Gage
............................................ 3.32
Anti-Lock Brake System Warning Light
......... 3.34
Engine Coolant Temperature Gage
.............. 3.35
Malfunction Indicator Lamp
............................. 3.35
Oil Pressure Gage
........................................ 3.38
Change Engine Oil Light
................................ 3-39
Security Light
............................................... 3.39
Cruise Control Light
...................................... 3.40
Reduced Engine Power Light
......................... 3.40
Service All-Wheel Drive Light
......................... 3.41
Check Gages Warning Light
........................... 3.41
Gate Ajar Light
............................................. 3.42
Fuel Gage
................................................... 3.42
Low Fuel Warning Light
............................. 3.42
Driver information Center (DiC) .. .............. 3.43
DIC Operation and Displays
........................... 3.43
DIC Warnings and Messages
......................... 3.52
Audio System(s) ............................................. 3.56
Setting the Time
........................................... 3.56
Radio with Cassette and CD
.......................... 3.57
Radio with Six-Disc CD
................................. 3.66
Brake System Warning
Light
.......................... 3-33
3- 1
Speedometer and Odometer
Your speedometer lets you see your speed in both
miles per hour (mph) and kilometers per hour (km/h).
Your odometer shows how far your vehicle has
been driven, in either miles (used in the United States)
or kilometers (used in Canada).
The odometer mileage can be checked without the
vehicle running. Simply press the trip odometer button.
You may wonder what happens
if your vehicle needs
a new odometer installed. The new one will be set to the
correct millage total of the old odometer.
Trip Odometer
I
The trip odometer is part of the Driver Information
Center (DIC). For vehicles without a DIC, press the stem
located on the instrument panel cluster
to display the
trip odometer. Press and hold the stem to reset the trip
odometer once it is displayed.
Tachometer
The tachometer displays the engine speed in revolutions
per minute (rpm).
Notice: Do not operate the engine with the
tachometer in the shaded warning area,
or engine
damage may occur.
Safety Belt Reminder Light
When the key is turned to RUN, a chime will come on
for several seconds
to remind people to fasten their
safety belts, unless the driver’s safety belt is already
buckled.
The trip odometer can tell you how far your vehicle has
been driven since you last set the trip odometer
to zero.
3-30
The safety belt light will also come
on and stay on
for several seconds, then it
will flash for several more.
If the driver’s belt is already buckled, neither the chime
nor the light will come on.
Air Bag Readiness Light
There is an air bag readiness light on the instrument
panel, which shows the air bag symbol. The system
checks the air bag’s electrical system for malfunctions.
The light tells you
if there is an electrical problem.
The system check includes the air bag sensors, the air
bag modules, the wiring and the crash sensing and
diagnostic module. For more information on the air baa
system, see
Air Bag Systems on page 1-46.
This light will come on
when you start your
vehicle, and it will flash for
a few seconds. Then
the light should
go out.
This means the system is
ready. If
the air bag readiness light stays on after you start the
vehicle or comes on when you are driving, your air
bag system may not work properly. Have your vehicle
serviced right away.
If the air bag readiness light stays on after you
start your vehicle, it means the air bag system
may not be working properly. The air bags in
your vehicle may not inflate in a crash, or they
could even inflate without a crash.
To help
avoid injury to yourself or others, have your
vehicle serviced right away
if the air bag
readiness light stays on after you start your
vehicle.
The air bag readiness light should flash for a few
seconds when you turn the ignition key to
RUN. If the
light doesn’t come on then, have it fixed
so it will
be ready to warn you
if there is a problem.
3-3 1
Charging System Light
7 will come on briefly when
The
charging system light
you turn on the ignition,
but the engine is not
running, as a check to
show you it is working.
It should go out once the engine is running.
If it stays
on, or comes on while you are driving, you may have
problem with the charging system.
It could indicate
that you have problems with a generator drive belt,
or
another electrical problem. Have it checked right
away. Driving while this light is on could drain your
battery. a
If you must drive a short distance with the light on, be
certain
to turn off all your accessories, such as the radio
and air conditioner.
Voltmeter Gage
When your engine is not
running, but the ignition is
on (in
RUN), this gage
shows your battery's state of charge in
DC volts.
When the engine is running, the gage shows the
condition of the charging system. Readings between the
low and high warning zones indicate the normal
operating range.
3-32
Care of Your Cassette Tape Player
A tape player that is not cleaned regularly can cause
reduced sound quality, ruined cassettes or a damaged
mechanism. Cassette tapes should be stored in their
cases away from contaminants, direct sunlight and
extreme heat.
If they aren’t, they may not operate
properly or may cause failure of the tape player.
Your tape player should be cleaned regularly after every
50 hours of use. Your radio may display CLEAN
PLAYR
to indicate that you have used your tape player
for
50 hours without resetting the tape clean timer. If
this message appears on the display, your cassette tape
player needs
to be cleaned. It will still play tapes, but
you should clean it as soon as possible to prevent
damage
to your tapes and player. If you notice a
reduction in sound quality, try a known good cassette to
see
if the tape or the tape player is at fault. If this
other cassette has no improvement in sound quality,
clean the tape player.
For best results, use a scrubbing action, non-abrasive
cleaning cassette with pads which scrub the tape
head as the hubs of the cleaner cassette turn. The
recommended cleaning cassette is available through
your dealership.
The cut tape detection feature of your cassette tape
player may identify the cleaning cassette as a damaged
tape,
in error. To prevent the cleaning cassette from
being ejected, use the following steps.
I. Turn the ignition on.
2. Turn the radio off.
3. Press and hold the TP CD button for five seconds.
4. Insert the scrubbing action cleaning cassette.
5. Eject the cleaning cassette after the manufacturer’s
recommended cleaning time.
You may also choose a non-scrubbing action, wet-type
cleaner which uses a cassette with a fabric belt
to
clean the tape head. This type of cleaning cassette will
not eject on its own. A non-scrubbing action cleaner
may not clean as thoroughly as the scrubbing type
cleaner. The use
of a non-scrubbing action, dry-type
cleaning cassette is not recommended.
After you clean the player, press and hold the eject
button for five seconds to reset the CLEAN PLAYR
indicator. The radio will display CLEANED
to show the
indicator was reset.
Cassettes are subject
to wear and the sound quality
may degrade over time. Always make sure the cassette
tape
is in good condition before you have your tape
player serviced.
3-90
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 1-8.
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
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
An emergency like this requires close attention and a
quick decision.
If you are holding the steering wheel at
the recommended
9 and 3 o’clock positions, you
can turn it a full
180 degrees very quickly without
removing either hand. But you have
to act fast, steer
quickly, and just as quickly straighten the wheel once you have avoided the object.
The fact that such emergency situations are always
possible is a good reason
to practice defensive driving
at all times and wear safety belts properly.
Off-Road Recovery
You may find that your right wheels have dropped off the
edge of a road onto the shoulder while you’re driving.
If the level of the shoulder
is only slightly below the
pavement, recovery should be fairly easy. Ease
off the
accelerator and then,
if there is nothing in the way,
steer
so that your vehicle straddles the edge of
the pavement.
You can turn the steering wheel up to
one-quarter turn until the right front tire contacts
the pavement edge. Then turn your steering wheel
to go
straight down the roadway.
4-1 2
Controlling your vehicle is the key to successful off-road
driving. One of the best ways to control your vehicle
is to control your speed. Here are some things to keep
in mind. At higher speeds:
you approach things faster and you have less time
to scan the terrain for obstacles.
you have less time to react.
you have more vehicle bounce when you drive over
obstacles.
you’ll need more distance for braking, especially
since you’re on an unpaved surface.
I
When you’re driving off-road, bouncing and
quick changes in direction can easily throw
you out of position. This could cause you to
lose control and crash.
So, whether you’re
driving on
or off the road, you and your
passengers should wear safety belts.
Scanning the Terrain
Off-road driving can take you over many different kinds of
terrain.
You need to be familiar with the terrain and its
many different features. Here are some things to
consider.
Surface Conditions: Off-roading can take you over
hard-packed dirt, gravel, rocks, grass, sand, mud, snow
or ice. Each of these surfaces affects the steering,
acceleration and braking of your vehicle in different ways.
Depending upon the kind of surface you are on, you may
experience slipping, sliding, wheel spinning, delayed
acceleration, poor traction and longer braking distances.
Surface Obstacles: Unseen or hidden obstacles can
be hazardous.
A rock, log, hole, rut or bump can startle
you
if you’re not prepared for them. Often these
obstacles are hidden by grass, bushes, snow or even
the rise and fall of the terrain itself. Here are some
things
to consider:
Is the path ahead clear?
Will the surface texture change abruptly up ahead?
Does the travel take you uphill or downhill?
(There’s more discussion of these subjects later.)
Will you have to stop suddenly or change direction
quickly?