
1(Defrost):Pressing this button directs most of the
air to the windshield, with a small amount directed
to the side window outlets. The light on the button will
come on and the digital display will show the defrost
mode symbol and fan speed when the front defrost
mode is being used. In this mode, the system will
automatically turn off the recirculation and run the
air-conditioning compressor, unless the outside
temperature is at or below freezing. Recirculation
cannot be selected while in the defrost mode. Pressing
this button again will return the system to the last
operating mode.
For severe ice conditions, turn the driver’s temperature
knob to 90°F (32°C) while in defrost mode.
Do not drive the vehicle until all the windows are clear.
Rear Window Defogger
The rear window defogger uses a warming grid to
remove fog or frost from the rear window.
The rear window defogger will only work when the
engine is running.
=(Rear Window Defogger):Press this button to turn
the rear window defogger on. Be sure to clear as
much snow from the rear window as possible. An
indicator light in the button will come on to let you know
that the rear window defogger is activated.
The rear window defogger will turn off about 10 minutes
after the button is pressed when traveling less than
30 mph (48 km/h). If turned on again, the defogger will
only run for about ve minutes before turning off.
The defogger can also be turned off by pressing the
button again or by turning off the engine.
Your vehicle has heated outside rearview mirrors. The
mirrors will heat to help clear fog or frost from the
surface of the mirrors when the rear window defog
button is pressed.
If your vehicle is equipped with the power convertible
top, the rear window defogger and heated mirrors
are automatically disabled when the power convertible
top is moving or down.
Notice:Do not use anything sharp on the inside of
the rear window. If you do, you could cut or
damage the warming grid, and the repairs would not
be covered by your warranty. Do not attach a
temporary vehicle license, tape, a decal or anything
similar to the defogger grid.
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Entering the Personal Options Menu
To enter the personal options menu, use the
following steps:
1. If you have an automatic transmission vehicle, turn
the vehicle on with the shift lever in PARK (P).
If you have a manual transmission vehicle, turn the
vehicle on with the parking brake set.
2. Press the OPTION button and you will enter the
PERSONAL OPTIONS menu.
The DIC will display the current driver
number (1 or 2) for a few seconds and then will
display instructions on which buttons to use
for setting the personalizations. The RESET button
is used to select a setting for a particular feature.
The OPTION button is used to move to the
next feature.
3. Press the OPTION button while the instruction
screen is displayed to enter the rst personalization
menu item.
4. Once you have cycled through all of the personal
options, pressing the OPTION button a nal time
exits the personal options menu. In addition, if
no button is pressed within 45 seconds, the DIC will
exit the personal options menu.
Personal Options
The following options are available for programming:
Display Units:This option allows you to choose
the measurement units.
Press the OPTION button until DISPLAY UNITS
appears on the display, then press the RESET button to
scroll through the following modes:
ENGLISH (default)
METRIC
If you choose ENGLISH, all information will be displayed
in English units.
If you choose METRIC, all information will be displayed
in metric units.
When the mode you want is selected, press the
OPTION button to set your choice and advance to the
next personal option.
Auto Memory Recall (Automatic Transmission
only):If your automatic transmission vehicle has the
memory package, you may have this option. This option
allows the driver’s seat, the telescopic steering
column, if equipped, and the outside rearview mirrors to
automatically move to the current driver’s set position
when the engine starts.
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Press the OPTION button until AUTO MEMORY
RECALL appears on the display, then press the RESET
button to scroll through the following modes:
YES
NO (default)
If you choose YES, the driver’s seat, the outside
rearview mirrors and the telescopic steering column, if
equipped, positions are recalled when you turn the
ignition on.
If you choose NO, this option will turn off.
When the mode you want is selected, press the
OPTION button to set your choice and advance to the
next personal option.
Auto Exit Recall:If your vehicle has the memory
package, you may have this option. This option allows
the driver’s seat and telescopic steering column, if
equipped, to automatically move to the current driver’s
exit position when one of the following occurs:
The vehicle is turned off or in Retained Accessory
Power (RAP) or ACCESSORY mode and the
driver’s door is opened.
The vehicle is turned off or in RAP and the unlock
button on the keyless access transmitter is
pressed.In order for the Auto Exit Recall feature to work on an
automatic transmission vehicle, the vehicle must be
in PARK (P). On a manual transmission vehicle,
the parking brake must be set.
Press the OPTION button until AUTO EXIT RECALL
appears on the display, then press the RESET button to
scroll through the following modes:
YES
NO (default)
If you choose YES, when you turn the ignition off and
open the driver’s door or press the unlock button on the
keyless access transmitter, the seat and the telescopic
steering wheel, if equipped, will return to their stored exit
positions for an easy exit or an easy entrance when
returning to the vehicle.
The seat and steering wheel will only return to the
stored driving position if you press the appropriate
memory button or activate the auto memory recall
feature.
If you choose NO, this option will turn off.
When the mode you want is selected, press the
OPTION button to set your choice and advance to the
next personal option.
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Check your mirrors, glance over your shoulder, and
start your left lane change signal before moving out
of the right lane to pass. When you are far
enough ahead of the passed vehicle to see its front
in your inside mirror, activate your right lane
change signal and move back into the right lane.
Remember that your right outside mirror is convex.
The vehicle you just passed may seem to be
farther away from you than it really is.
Try not to pass more than one vehicle at a time on
two-lane roads. Reconsider before passing the
next vehicle.
Do not overtake a slowly moving vehicle too rapidly.
Even though the brake lamps are not ashing, it
may be slowing down or starting to turn.
If you are being passed, make it easy for the
following driver to get ahead of you. Perhaps
you can ease a little to the right.
Loss of Control
Let us review what driving experts say about what
happens when the three control systems — brakes,
steering, and acceleration — do not have enough friction
where the tires meet the road to do what the driver
has asked.
In any emergency, do not give up. Keep trying to steer
and constantly seek an escape route or area of less
danger.
Skidding
In a skid, a driver can lose control of the vehicle.
Defensive drivers avoid most skids by taking reasonable
care suited to existing conditions, and by not overdriving
those conditions. But skids are always possible.
The three types of skids correspond to your vehicle’s
three control systems. In the braking skid, your wheels
are not rolling. In the steering or cornering skid, too much
speed or steering in a curve causes tires to slip and lose
cornering force. And in the acceleration skid, too much
throttle causes the driving wheels to spin.
A cornering skid is best handled by easing your foot off
the accelerator pedal.
Remember: Any traction control system helps avoid only
the acceleration skid. If your traction control system is
off, then an acceleration skid is also best handled
by easing your foot off the accelerator pedal.
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If your vehicle starts to slide, ease your foot off the
accelerator pedal and quickly steer the way you want
the vehicle to go. If you start steering quickly enough,
your vehicle may straighten out. Always be ready
for a second skid if it occurs.
Of course, traction is reduced when water, snow, ice,
gravel, or other material is on the road. For safety, you
will want to slow down and adjust your driving to
these conditions. It is important to slow down on slippery
surfaces because stopping distance will be longer and
vehicle control more limited.
While driving on a surface with reduced traction, try
your best to avoid sudden steering, acceleration,
or braking, including engine braking by shifting to a
lower gear. Any sudden changes could cause the tires
to slide. You may not realize the surface is slippery
until your vehicle is skidding. Learn to recognize warning
clues — such as enough water, ice, or packed snow
on the road to make a mirrored surface — and
slow down when you have any doubt.
Remember: Any anti-lock brake system (ABS) helps
avoid only the braking skid.Driving at Night
Night driving is more dangerous than day driving.
One reason is that some drivers are likely to be
impaired — by alcohol or drugs, with night vision
problems, or by fatigue.
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Here are some tips on night driving.
Drive defensively.
Do not drink and drive.
Adjust your inside rearview mirror to reduce the
glare from headlamps behind you.
Since you cannot see as well, you may need to
slow down and keep more space between you
and other vehicles.
Slow down, especially on higher speed roads. Your
headlamps can light up only so much road ahead.
In remote areas, watch for animals.
If you are tired, pull off the road in a safe place
and rest.
No one can see as well at night as in the daytime.
But as we get older these differences increase.
A 50-year-old driver may require at least twice as much
light to see the same thing at night as a 20-year-old.
What you do in the daytime can also affect your
night vision. For example, if you spend the day in bright
sunshine you are wise to wear sunglasses. Your
eyes will have less trouble adjusting to night. But if you
are driving, do not wear sunglasses at night. They
may cut down on glare from headlamps, but they also
make a lot of things invisible.You can be temporarily blinded by approaching
headlamps. It can take a second or two, or even several
seconds, for your eyes to re-adjust to the dark. When
you are faced with severe glare, as from a driver
who does not lower the high beams, or a vehicle with
misaimed headlamps, slow down a little. Avoid
staring directly into the approaching headlamps.
Keep your windshield and all the glass on your vehicle
clean — inside and out. Glare at night is made much
worse by dirt on the glass. Even the inside of the glass
can build up a lm caused by dust. Dirty glass makes
lights dazzle and ash more than clean glass would,
making the pupils of your eyes contract repeatedly.
Remember that your headlamps light up far less of a
roadway when you are in a turn or curve. Keep
your eyes moving; that way, it is easier to pick out dimly
lighted objects. Just as your headlamps should be
checked regularly for proper aim, so should your eyes
be examined regularly. Some drivers suffer from
night blindness — the inability to see in dim light — and
are not even aware of it.
4-18

Freeway Driving
Mile for mile, freeways — also called thruways,
parkways, expressways, turnpikes, or
superhighways — are the safest of all roads.
But they have their own special rules.
The most important advice on freeway driving is: Keep
up with traffic and keep to the right. Drive at the
same speed most of the other drivers are driving.Too-fast or too-slow driving breaks a smooth traffic ow.
Treat the left lane on a freeway as a passing lane.
At the entrance, there is usually a ramp that leads to
the freeway. If you have a clear view of the freeway as
you drive along the entrance ramp, you should begin
to check traffic. Try to determine where you expect
to blend with the ow. Try to merge into the gap at close
to the prevailing speed. Switch on your turn signal,
check your mirrors, and glance over your shoulder as
often as necessary. Try to blend smoothly with the
traffic ow.
Once you are on the freeway, adjust your speed to the
posted limit or to the prevailing rate if it is slower.
Stay in the right lane unless you want to pass.
Before changing lanes, check your mirrors. Then use
your turn signal.
Just before you leave the lane, glance quickly over your
shoulder to make sure there is not another vehicle in
your blind spot.
Once you are moving on the freeway, make certain you
allow a reasonable following distance.
Expect to move slightly slower at night.
When you want to leave the freeway, move to the
proper lane well in advance. If you miss your exit, do
not, under any circumstances, stop and back up. Drive
on to the next exit.
4-22

Highway Hypnosis
Is there actually such a condition as highway hypnosis?
Or is it just plain falling asleep at the wheel? Call it
highway hypnosis, lack of awareness, or whatever.
There is something about an easy stretch of road with
the same scenery, along with the hum of the tires on the
road, the drone of the engine, and the rush of the
wind against the vehicle that can make you sleepy. Do
not let it happen to you! If it does, your vehicle can
leave the road in less than a second, and you could
crash and be injured.
What can you do about highway hypnosis? First, be
aware that it can happen.
Then here are some tips:
Make sure your vehicle is well ventilated, with a
comfortably cool interior.
Keep your eyes moving. Scan the road ahead and
to the sides. Check your rearview mirrors and your
instruments frequently.
If you get sleepy, pull off the road into a rest,
service, or parking area and take a nap, get some
exercise, or both. For safety, treat drowsiness
on the highway as an emergency.
Hill and Mountain Roads
Driving on steep hills or mountains is different from
driving in at or rolling terrain.
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