2003 PONTIAC VIBE ignition

3-15 AM-FM Radio with Six-Disc Compact Disc
Player with Equalization and Radio Data
System (RDS) (Option)
Playing the Radio
PWR (Power): Push this knob to turn the system
on and off.
VOLUME: Turn the knob to increase or to
decrease volume.
RCL (Recall): Push this knob to switch the display
between the radio station frequency and the time.
Pushing this knob with the ignition off will display
the time.

3-19
AM FM (Alternate Frequency): Alternate frequency
allows the radio to switch to a stronger station with the
same program type. Press and hold AM FM 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 AM FM again for two seconds
to turn alternate frequency off. AF OFF will appear on
the display. The radio will not switch to other stations.
When you turn the ignition off and then on again,
the alternate frequency feature will automatically be
turned on.
Setting PTY Preset Stations
The six numbered pushbuttons let you return to your
favorite PTYs. These buttons have factory PTY presets.
You can set up to 12 PTYs (six FM1 and six FM2) by
performing the following steps:
1. Press AM FM to select FM1 or FM2.
2. Press the P
-TYPE button to activate program type
select mode.
3. Turn the P
-TYPE knob to select a PTY.
4. 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.
5. Repeat the steps for each pushbutton.RDS Messages
ALERT!: Alert warns of national or local 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 compact disc is playing. If the 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
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.

3-20
TRAF (Traffic): Press this button to seek to a station
that broadcasts traffic announcements. TRAF will
appear on the display. If no station is found, NO TRAF
will appear on the display.
When a traffic announcement comes on the current
station or on a related network station, you will hear it,
even if the volume is muted or a compact disc is
playing. If the compact disc player is being used, play
will stop during the announcement.
Playing a Compact Disc
If an error appears on the display, see ªCompact Disc
Messagesº later in this section.
LOAD CD
: Press the LOAD side of this button
to load CDs into the compact disc player. This compact
disc player will hold up to six discs.
To insert one disc, do the following:
1. Turn the ignition on.
2. Press and release the LOAD side of the LOAD
CD button.
3. Wait for the light, located to the right of the slot,
to turn green.
4. Load a disc. Insert the disc partway into the slot,
label side up. The player will pull the disc in.When a disc is inserted, the CD symbol will be
displayed. If you select an equalization setting for your
disc, it will be activated each time you play a disc.
If the radio is on or off, the disc will begin to play
automatically.
To insert multiple discs, do the following:
1. Turn the ignition on.
2. Press and hold the LOAD side of the LOAD CD
button for two seconds.
You will hear a beep and the light, located to the
right of the slot, will begin to flash.
3. Once the light stops flashing and turns green, load a
disc. Insert the disc partway into the slot, label side
up. The player will pull the disc in.
Once the disc is loaded, the light will begin flashing
again. Once the light stops flashing and turns green
you can load another disc. The disc player takes up
to six discs. Do not try to load more than six.
To load more than one disc but less than six, complete
Steps 1 through 3. When you have finished loading
discs, with the radio on or off, press the LOAD side of
the LOAD CD button to cancel the loading function.
The radio will begin to play the last CD loaded.

4-25
If you drive regularly in steep country, or if you're
planning to visit there, here are some tips that can make
your trips safer and more enjoyable.

Keep your vehicle in good shape. Check all fluid
levels and also the brakes, tires, cooling system
and transaxle. These parts can work hard on
mountain roads.

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. 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. Drive in the highest gear
possible.

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.

4-31 Dinghy Towing (Front-Wheel-Drive
Vehicles with Manual Transmissions Only)
NOTICE:
Towing your vehicle this way does not eliminate
the possibility of damaging your vehicle.
For vehicles with manual transmissions, do the
following:
1. Put the shift lever in neutral.
NOTICE:
To avoid locking the steering wheel, turn the
ignition to the ACC position.
2. Turn the ignition to ACC. Make sure the audio
system is turned off and that nothing is plugged into
the power outlets.
3. Release the parking brake.
After dinghy towing, let the engine idle for more than
three minutes before driving the vehicle.

5-4
2. Get the vehicles close enough so the jumper cables
can reach, but be sure the vehicles aren't touching
each other. If they are, it could cause a ground
connection you don't want. You wouldn't be able to
start your vehicle, and the bad grounding could
damage the electrical systems.
To avoid the possibility of the vehicles rolling, set
the parking brake firmly on both vehicles involved in
the jump start procedure. Put an automatic transaxle
in PARK (P) or a manual transaxle in NEUTRAL
before setting the parking brake.
NOTICE:
If you leave your radio on, it could be badly
damaged. The repairs wouldn't be covered by
your warranty.
3. Turn off the ignition on both vehicles. Unplug
unnecessary accessories plugged into the cigarette
lighter. Turn off the radio and all lamps that aren't
needed. This will avoid sparks and help save both
batteries. And it could save your radio!
4. Open the hoods and locate the batteries. Find the
positive (+) and negative (
-) terminal locations on
each vehicle. See ªEngine Compartment Overviewº
in the Index for more information on location.
CAUTION:
An electric fan can start up even when the engine
is not running and can injure you. Keep hands,
clothing and tools away from any underhood
electric fan.

7-40
Automatic Transaxle Shift Lock Control
System Check
CAUTION:
When you are doing this check, the vehicle could
move suddenly. If it does, you or others could be
injured. Follow the steps below.
1. Before you start, be sure you have enough room
around the vehicle. It should be parked on a level
surface.
2. Firmly apply the parking brake. See ªParking Brakeº
in the Index if necessary.
Be ready to apply the regular brake immediately if
the vehicle begins to move.3. With the engine off, turn the key to the ON position,
but don't start the engine. Without applying the
regular brake, try to move the shift lever out of
PARK (P) with normal effort. If the shift lever
moves out of PARK (P), your vehicle needs service.
Ignition Transaxle Lock Check
While parked, and with the parking brake set, try to turn
the ignition key to LOCK in each shift lever position.

With an automatic transaxle, the key should turn to
LOCK only when the shift lever is in PARK (P).

With a manual transaxle, the key should turn to
LOCK only if you push the key in farther, while
turning it towards LOCK.