2005 CADILLAC STS Owners Manual

Engine Coolant Temperature
Warning Light
The engine coolant
temperature warning light
will come on when the
engine is very hot.
This light will also come on briey when the vehicle is
started.
If the light does not go out or comes on and stays on
while driving, there may be a problem with the cooling
system. Driving with engine coolant temperature light on
could cause your vehicle to overheat, seeOverheated
Engine Protection Operating Mode on page 5-26.
SeeEngine Overheating on page 5-24andDIC
Warnings and Messages on page 3-78for more
information.
Engine Coolant Temperature Gage
This gage shows the
engine coolant
temperature.
It can be used to see when your engine has warmed up
and to make sure your cooling system is operating
properly. If the gage pointer moves into the shaded area,
the engine coolant is too hot and the engine coolant
temperature warning light will come on. SeeEngine
Overheating on page 5-24for more information.
3-67

Malfunction Indicator Lamp
Check Engine Light
Your vehicle is equipped
with a computer which
monitors operation of the
fuel, ignition, and emission
control systems.
This system is called OBD II (On-Board
Diagnostics-Second Generation) and is intended to
assure that emissions are at acceptable levels for the
life of the vehicle, helping to produce a cleaner
environment. The Check Engine light comes on to
indicate that there is a problem and service is required.
Malfunctions often will be indicated by the system
before any problem is apparent. This may prevent more
serious damage to your vehicle. This system is also
designed to assist your service technician in correctly
diagnosing any malfunction.Notice:If you keep driving your vehicle with this
light on, after awhile, your emission controls may not
work as well, your fuel economy may not be as good,
and your engine may not run as smoothly. This could
lead to costly repairs that may not be covered by
your warranty.
Notice:Modications made to the engine,
transmission, exhaust, intake, or fuel system of your
vehicle or the replacement of the original tires with
other than those of the same Tire Performance
Criteria (TPC) can affect your vehicle’s emission
controls and may cause this light to come on.
Modications to these systems could lead to costly
repairs not covered by your warranty. This may also
result in a failure to pass a required Emission
Inspection/Maintenance test.
This light should come on briey, as a check to show
you it is working, as you start the engine. If the light
does not come on, have it repaired. This light will also
come on during a malfunction in one of two ways:
Light Flashing— A misre condition has been
detected. A misre increases vehicle emissions and
may damage the emission control system on your
vehicle. Diagnosis and service may be required.
Light On Steady— An emission control system
malfunction has been detected on your vehicle.
Diagnosis and service may be required.
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If the Light Is Flashing
The following may prevent more serious damage to
your vehicle:
Reducing vehicle speed
Avoiding hard accelerations
Avoiding steep uphill grades
If the light stops ashing and remains on steady, see
“If the Light Is On Steady” following.
If the light continues to ash, when it is safe to do so,
stop the vehicle. Find a safe place to park your vehicle.
Turn the engine off, wait at least 10 seconds and
restart the engine. If the light remains on steady, see
“If the Light Is On Steady” following. If the light is
still ashing, follow the previous steps, and see your
dealer for service as soon as possible.
If the Light Is On Steady
You also may be able to correct the emission system
malfunction by considering the following:
Did you recently put fuel into your vehicle?
If so, reinstall the fuel cap, making sure to fully install
the cap. SeeFilling the Tank on page 5-8. The
diagnostic system can determine if the fuel cap has
been left off or improperly installed. A loose or missing
fuel cap will allow fuel to evaporate into the atmosphere.
A few driving trips with the cap properly installed
should turn the light off.Did you just drive through a deep puddle of water?
If so, your electrical system may be wet. The condition
will usually be corrected when the electrical system
dries out. A few driving trips should turn the light off.
Have you recently changed brands of fuel?
If so, be sure to fuel your vehicle with quality fuel. See
Gasoline Octane on page 5-5. Poor fuel quality will
cause your engine not to run as efficiently as designed.
You may notice this as stalling after start-up, stalling
when you put the vehicle into gear, misring, hesitation
on acceleration, or stumbling on acceleration. (These
conditions may go away once the engine is warmed up.)
This will be detected by the system and cause the
light to turn on.
If you experience one or more of these conditions,
change the fuel brand you use. It will require at least
one full tank of the proper fuel to turn the light off.
If none of the above steps have made the light turn off,
your dealer can check the vehicle. Your dealer has
the proper test equipment and diagnostic tools to x
any mechanical or electrical problems that may
have developed.
3-69

Emissions Inspection and Maintenance
Programs
Some state/provincial and local governments have or
may begin programs to inspect the emission control
equipment on your vehicle. Failure to pass this inspection
could prevent you from getting a vehicle registration.
Here are some things you need to know to help your
vehicle pass an inspection:
Your vehicle will not pass this inspection if the Check
Engine light is on or not working properly.
To perform a Check Engine light bulb check with the
keyless ignition, make sure the transmitter fob is in the
passenger compartment. SeeIgnition Positions on
page 2-22. Press the bottom of the ACC button on the
instrument panel and hold the button down for ve
seconds. The instrument panel, including the Check
Engine light, will light up and the ignition will be on, but
the engine will not start — if you press the bottom of
the ACC button only briey, less than ve seconds, the
accessory mode will be turned on, but not the ignition.
After the bulb check, be sure to press and release
the ACC button again to turn the ignition off and avoid
draining the vehicle’s battery.
Your vehicle will not pass this inspection if the
OBD (on-board diagnostic) system determines that
critical emission control systems have not been
completely diagnosed by the system.The vehicle would be considered not ready for
inspection. This can happen if you have recently
replaced your battery or if your battery has run down.
The diagnostic system is designed to evaluate
critical emission control systems during normal driving.
This may take several days of routine driving. If you
have done this and your vehicle still does not pass the
inspection for lack of OBD system readiness, your
GM dealer can prepare the vehicle for inspection.
Oil Pressure Light
{CAUTION:
Do not 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:Lack of proper engine oil maintenance
may damage the engine. The repairs would not
be covered by your warranty. Always follow
the maintenance schedule in this manual for
changing engine oil.
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This light tells you if there
could be a problem with
your engine oil pressure.
This light will come on briey when you start your
engine. That is a check to be sure the light works.
If it does not come on, be sure to have it xed so it
will be there to warn you if something goes wrong.
When the light comes on and stays on, it means that
oil is not owing through your engine properly. You could
be low on oil and you might have some other system
problem.
Security Light
For information
regarding this light,
seeTheft-Deterrent
System on page 2-19.
Fog Lamp Light
The fog lamps light will
come on when the fog
lamps are in use.
The light will go out when the fog lamps are turned off.
SeeFog Lamps on page 3-39for more information.
Lights On Reminder
This light comes on
whenever the parking
lamps are on.
SeeHeadlamps on Reminder on page 3-37for more
information.
3-71

Cruise Control Light
This light comes on
whenever you set your
cruise control.
The light will go out when the cruise control is turned
off. SeeCruise Control on page 3-16andAdaptive
Cruise Control on page 3-20for more information.
Highbeam On Light
This light comes on
whenever the high-beam
headlamps are on.
See “Smart Beam Intelligent High-Beam Headlamp
Control System” underHeadlamps on page 3-33and
Headlamp High/Low-Beam Changer on page 3-9
for more information.
Fuel Gage
The fuel gage shows
approximately how much
fuel is in the tank. It
works only when the
engine is on.
If the fuel supply gets low, the Fuel Level Low message
will appear on the DIC and a single chime will sound.
Here are a few concerns some owners have had about
the fuel gage. All of these situations are normal and
do not indicate that anything is wrong with the fuel gage:
At the gas station the gas pump shuts off before
the gage reads full.
The gage may change when you turn, stop quickly
or accelerate quickly.
It takes a little more or less fuel to ll the tank than
the gage indicated. For example, the gage may
have indicated that the tank was half full, but
it actually took a little more or less than half the
tank’s capacity to ll the tank.
3-72

Driver Information Center (DIC)
The Driver Information Center (DIC) gives you the
status of many of your vehicle’s systems. The DIC is
also used to display warning/status messages. All
messages will appear in the DIC display located at the
bottom of the instrument panel cluster, below the
tachometer and speedometer. The DIC buttons are
located on the instrument panel, to the left of the
steering wheel.
The DIC comes on when the ignition is on. After a short
delay, the DIC will display the current driver and the
information that was last displayed before the engine
was turned off.
The top line of the DIC display shows the vehicle
system information and the warning/status messages.
The bottom line of the DIC display shows either the
odometer, the trip odometer A or the trip odometer B
information on the left side. Only one odometer
can appear at a time. See “Trip Information” under
DIC Controls and Displays on page 3-74for informationon changing the display to show the odometer or trip
odometer information. The bottom line of the DIC display
also shows the outside temperature on the right side
and the shift lever position indicator in the center.
SeeAutomatic Transmission Operation on page 2-26for
more information on the shift lever positions.
When the sport mode is active, an S will appear next to
the shift position indicator on the center of the DIC
display. When the manual mode is active, an M
will appear next to the shift position indicator. When the
normal mode is active, only the shift position indicator
will appear. See “Driver Shift Control” underAutomatic
Transmission Operation on page 2-26for more
information.
If a problem is detected, a warning message will appear
on the display. Be sure to take any message that
appears on the display seriously and remember that
clearing the message will only make the message
disappear, not correct the problem.
3-73

DIC Controls and Displays
The Driver Information Center (DIC) has different
modes which can be accessed by pressing the four
DIC buttons located on the instrument panel, to the
left of the steering wheel.
DIC Buttons (Base Level)
If your vehicle does not
have a Head-Up Display
(HUD), these are the
buttons for your DIC.
«4ª(Information):Press the top or bottom of this
button to scroll through the available vehicle information
displays which include fuel range, fuel economy, fuel
used, average speed, timer, battery voltage, tire pressure
(if equipped with a tire pressure monitor), engine oil life
(if equipped) and digital speed display (if equipped).
See “MPH (km)” later in this section for more information
on the digital speed display.
AB
300 (Trip Information):Press the top of this
button to scroll through the odometer, trip odometer A
and trip odometer B. Press and hold the bottom of
this button to reset each trip odometer back to zero.
4// (Reset):Press this button to reset certain DIC
features and to acknowledge DIC warning messages
and clear them from the DIC display.
EM (English/Metric):Press this button to change the
display from English to metric.
3-74