
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 – 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
youcanunbuckle 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 workwith
safety belts – 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.
1-15

Doors and Locks
Door Locks
{CAUTION:
Unlocked doors can be dangerous.
Passengers — especially children — can
easily open the doors and fall out of a
moving vehicle. When a door is locked, the
handle will not open it. You increase the
chance of being thrown out of the vehicle
in a crash if the doors are not 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 unlock the door from the outside, use the key or
the remote keyless entry transmitter (if equipped).
To lock a door from the inside, rotate the manual lever
on your door forward. To unlock a door from the
inside, rotate the lever on the door rearward.
You will see a colored area on the lever when the door
is unlocked.
2-7

Windows
{CAUTION:
Leaving children, helpless adults, or pets in a
vehicle with the windows closed is dangerous.
They can be overcome by the extreme heat
and suffer permanent injuries or even death
from heat stroke. Never leave a child, a
helpless adult, or a pet alone in a vehicle,
especially with the windows closed in warm or
hot weather.
Manual Windows
On a vehicle with manual windows, use the handle on
each door to open and close each window.
2-12

Sliding Rear Window
If your vehicle has this feature, squeeze the latch in the
center of the window and slide the glass to open it.
When you close the window, be sure the latch
is engaged.
Sun Visors
To block glare, pull the visor down. It can also be
detached from the center mount and moved to the side
to block glare from that direction.
Visor Vanity Mirror
The passenger’s side sun visor has a mirror on it. Pull
down the visor to access the mirror.
Theft-Deterrent Systems
Vehicle theft is big business, especially in some cities.
Although your vehicle has a number of theft-deterrent
features, we know that nothing we put on it can make it
impossible to steal. However, there are ways you
can help.
2-14

During that delay, your instrument panel cluster may not
be as bright as usual. Make sure your instrument
panel brightness control is in the full bright position. See
“Instrument Panel Brightness” underInterior Lamps
on page 3-10.
Lamps On Reminder
If a door is open, a reminder chime will sound when
your headlamps or parking lamps are manually turned
on and your key is out of the ignition. To turn off
the chime, turn the headlamp switch to off and then
back on. In the automatic mode, the headlamps turn off
once the ignition is in LOCK.
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 come on when the following
conditions are met:
The ignition is on.
The exterior lamps control is in AUTO.
The automatic transmission is not in PARK (P).
The light sensor determines it is daytime.
When the DRL are on, only your DRL lamps will be on.
The taillamps, sidemarkers and other lamps will not
be on. The instrument panel will not be lit up either.
When it begins to get dark, the automatic headlamp
system will switch from DRL to the headlamps.
As with any vehicle, you should turn on the regular
headlamp system when you need it.
3-8

As each new track starts to play, the track number will
appear on the display.
To insert multiple CDs, do the following:
1. Turn the ignition on.
2. Press and hold the LOAD button for two seconds.
You will hear a beep and the light, located to the
right of the slot, will begin to ash and LOAD
ALL will appear on the display.
3. Once the light stops ashing and turns green, load
a CD. Insert the CD partway into the slot, label side
up. The player will pull the CD in.
4. Once the CD is loaded, the light will begin ashing
again. Once the light stops ashing and turns green
you can load another CD. The CD player takes
up to six CDs. Do not try to load more than six.
To load more than one CD but less than six, complete
Steps 1 through 3. When you have nished loading
CDs, press the LOAD button to cancel the loading
function. The radio will begin to play the last CD loaded.
When a CD is inserted, the CD symbol will appear on
the display. If more than one CD has been loaded,
a number for each CD will appear on the display. If you
select an equalization setting for your CD, it will be
activated each time you play a CD.
As each new track starts to play, the track number will
appear on the display.Playing a Speci c Loaded CD
For every CD loaded, a number will appear on the
display. To play a speci c CD, rst press the CD AUX
button, then press the numbered pushbutton that
corresponds to the CD you want to play. A small bar will
appear under the CD number that is playing, and the
track number will appear.
If an error appears on the display, see “CD Messages”
later in this section.
CD
Z(Eject):Press the CD eject button to eject a
single CD or multiple CDs. To eject the CD that is
currently playing, press and release this button. To eject
multiple CDs, press and hold this button for two
seconds. You will hear a beep and the light will ash to
let you know when a CD is being ejected.
REMOVE CD will appear on the display. You can now
remove the CD. If the CD is not removed, after
25 seconds, the CD will be automatically pulled back
into the receiver. If you try to push the CD back into the
receiver, before the 25 second time period is complete,
the receiver will sense an error and will try to eject
the CD several times before stopping.
3-54

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.
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.
Care of Your CDs
Handle CDs carefully. Store them in their original cases
or other protective cases and away from direct
sunlight and dust. If the surface of a CD is soiled,
dampen a clean, soft cloth in a mild, neutral detergent
solution and clean it, wiping from the center to the edge.
Be sure never to touch the side without writing when
handling CDs. Pick up CDs by grasping the outer edges
or the edge of the hole and the outer edge.
Care of Your CD Player
The use of CD lens cleaners for CD players is not
advised, due to the risk of contaminating the lens of the
CD optics with lubricants internal to the CD mechanism.
Fixed Mast Antenna
The xed mast antenna can withstand most car washes
without being damaged. If the mast should ever
become slightly bent, straighten it out by hand. If the
mast is badly bent, replace it.
Check occasionally to make sure the mast is still
tightened to the fender. If tightening is required, tighten
by hand, then with a wrench one quarter turn.
Chime Level Adjustment
The radio is the vehicle chime producer. 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 appear on the radio display. 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 appear on the radio display.
Each time the chime volume is changed, three chimes
will sound as an example of the new volume selected.
Removing the radio and not replacing it with a factory
radio or chime module will disable vehicle chimes.
3-59

It is the amount of alcohol that counts. For example, if
the same person drank three double martinis (3 ounces
or 90 ml of liquor each) within an hour, the person’s
BAC would be close to 0.12 percent. A person
who consumes food just before or during drinking will
have a somewhat lower BAC level.
There is a gender difference, too. Women generally
have a lower relative percentage of body water
than men. Since alcohol is carried in body water, this
means that a woman generally will reach a higher BAC
level than a man of her same body weight will when
each has the same number of drinks.
The law in an increasing number of U.S. states, and
throughout Canada, sets the legal limit at 0.08 percent.
In some other countries, the limit is even lower. For
example, it is 0.05 percent in both France and Germany.
The BAC limit for all commercial drivers in the United
States is 0.04 percent.
The BAC will be over 0.10 percent after three to six
drinks (in one hour). Of course, as we have seen,
it depends on how much alcohol is in the drinks, and
how quickly the person drinks them.But the ability to drive is affected well below a BAC of
0.10 percent. Research shows that the driving skills
of many people are impaired at a BAC approaching
0.05 percent, and that the effects are worse at night. All
drivers are impaired at BAC levels above 0.05 percent.
Statistics show that the chance of being in a collision
increases sharply for drivers who have a BAC of
0.05 percent or above. A driver with a BAC level of
0.06 percent has doubled his or her chance of having a
collision. At a BAC level of 0.10 percent, the chance
of this driver having a collision is 12 times greater; at a
level of 0.15 percent, the chance is 25 times greater!
The body takes about an hour to rid itself of the alcohol in
one drink. No amount of coffee or number of cold
showers will speed that up. “I will be careful” is not the
right answer. What if there is an emergency, a need to
take sudden action, as when a child darts into the street?
A person with even a moderate BAC might not be able to
react quickly enough to avoid the collision.
There is something else about drinking and driving that
many people do not know. Medical research shows that
alcohol in a person’s system can make crash injuries
worse, especially injuries to the brain, spinal cord or
heart. This means that when anyone who has been
drinking — driver or passenger — is in a crash, that
person’s chance of being killed or permanently disabled
is higher than if the person had not been drinking.
4-4