
Seats and Restraint Systems........................... 1-1
Front Seats
............................................... 1-2
Rear Seats
............................................... 1-8
Safety Belts
.............................................1-10
Child Restraints
.......................................1-28
Airbag System
.........................................1-49
Restraint System Check
............................1-63
Features and Controls..................................... 2-1
Keys
........................................................ 2-2
Doors and Locks
....................................... 2-7
Windows
.................................................2-12
Theft-Deterrent Systems
............................2-14
Starting and Operating Your Vehicle
...........2-17
Mirrors
....................................................2-29
Storage Areas
.........................................2-31
Sunroof
..................................................2-33
Instrument Panel............................................. 3-1
Instrument Panel Overview
.......................... 3-4
Climate Controls
......................................3-19
Warning Lights, Gages, and Indicators
........3-30
Audio System(s)
.......................................3-47Driving Your Vehicle....................................... 4-1
Your Driving, the Road, and Your Vehicle
..... 4-2
Towing
...................................................4-33
Service and Appearance Care.......................... 5-1
Service
..................................................... 5-3
Fuel
......................................................... 5-5
Checking Things Under the Hood
...............5-11
Headlamp Aiming
.....................................5-39
Bulb Replacement
....................................5-39
Windshield Wiper Blade Replacement
.........5-45
Tires
......................................................5-46
Appearance Care
.....................................5-68
Vehicle Identification
.................................5-75
Electrical System
......................................5-76
Capacities and Specifications
.....................5-83
Normal Maintenance Replacement Parts
......5-84
Maintenance Schedule..................................... 6-1
Maintenance Schedule
................................ 6-2
Customer Assistance and Information.............. 7-1
Customer Assistance and Information
........... 7-2
Reporting Safety Defects
...........................7-10
Index................................................................ 1
2005 Chevrolet Epica Owner ManualM

Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy
Safety belts work for everyone, including pregnant
women. Like all occupants, they are more likely to be
seriously injured if they do not wear safety belts.
A pregnant woman should wear a lap-shoulder belt, and
the lap portion should be worn as low as possible,
below the rounding, throughout the pregnancy.The best way to protect the fetus is to protect the
mother. When a safety belt is worn properly, it is more
likely that the fetus will not be hurt in a crash. For
pregnant women, as for anyone, the key to making
safety belts effective is wearing them properly.
Right Front Passenger Position
To learn how to wear the right front passenger’s safety
belt properly, seeDriver Position on page 1-16.
The right front passenger’s safety belt works the same
way as the driver’s safety belt — except for one
thing. If you ever pull the shoulder portion of the belt out
all the way, you will engage the child restraint locking
feature. If this happens, just let the belt go back all
the way and start again.
1-23

6. To tighten the belt, push down on the child restraint,
pull the shoulder portion of the belt to tighten the
lap portion of the belt and feed the shoulder
belt back into the retractor. If you are using a
forward-facing child restraint, you may find it helpful
to use your knee to push down on the child
restraint as you tighten the belt. You should not be
able to pull more of the belt from the retractor
once the lock has been set.
7. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it is secure.
8. If the airbag is off, the off indicator in the rearview
mirror will be lit and stay lit when the key is turned
to ON or START.If a child restraint has been installed and the on
indicator is lit, turn the vehicle off. Remove the child
restraint from the vehicle and reinstall the child restraint.
If after reinstalling the child restraint and restarting
the vehicle, the on indicator is still lit, check to make
sure that the vehicle’s seatback is not pressing the child
restraint into the seat cushion. If this happens, slightly
recline the vehicle’s seatback and adjust the seat
cushion if possible. Also make sure the child restraint is
not trapped under the vehicle head restraint. If this
happens, adjust the head restraint.
A thick layer of additional material such as a blanket, or
aftermarket equipment such as seat covers heaters
or massagers, located between the seat cushion and the
child restraint or small occupant, can affect how the
passenger sensing system operates. Remove any
additional material from the seat cushion before
reinstalling/securing the child restraint or small occupant.
If the on indicator is still lit, secure the child in the
child restraint in a rear seat position in the vehicle and
check with your dealer.
To remove the child restraint, just unbuckle the vehicle’s
safety belt and let it go back all the way. The safety
belt will move freely again and be ready to work for an
adult or larger child passenger.
1-48

Passenger Sensing System
Your vehicle has a passenger sensing system for the
right front passenger position. The passenger airbag
status indicator will be visible when you turn your ignition
key to ON or START. The words ON and OFF or the
symbol for on and off, will be visible on the rearview
mirror during the system check. When the system check
is complete, either the word ON or the word OFF, or
the symbol for on or the symbol for off will be visible.
SeePassenger Airbag Status Indicator on page 3-34.The passenger sensing system will turn off the right
front passenger’s frontal airbag under certain conditions.
The driver’s airbag and the side airbags (if equipped)
are not part of the passenger sensing system.
The passenger sensing system works with sensors
that are part of the right front passenger’s seat.
The sensors are designed to detect the presence of a
properly-seated occupant and determine if the
passenger’s frontal airbag should be enabled
(may inflate) or not.
Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained in the rear rather than the front seat.
General Motors recommends that child restraints
be secured in a rear seat, including an infant riding in a
rear-facing infant seat, a child riding in a forward-facing
child seat and an older child riding in a booster seat.
Your vehicle has a rear seat that will accommodate
a rear-facing child restraint. A label on your sun visor
says, “Never put a rear-facing child seat in the
front.” This is because the risk to the rear-facing child is
so great, if the airbag deploys. Passenger Airbag Status Indicator – United States
Passenger Airbag Status Indicator – Canada
1-58

A thick layer of additional material such as a blanket, or
aftermarket equipment such as seat covers, seat
heaters and seat massagers can affect how well the
passenger sensing system operates. Remove any
additional material from the seat cushion before
reinstalling or securing the child restraint or small
occupant. You may want to consider not using seat
covers or other aftermarket equipment if your vehicle
has the passenger sensing system. SeeAdding
Equipment to Your Airbag-Equipped Vehicle on
page 1-63for more information about modifications that
can affect how the system operates.Servicing Your Airbag-Equipped
Vehicle
Airbags affect how your vehicle should be serviced.
There are parts of the airbag system in several places
around your vehicle. Your dealer and the service manual
have information about servicing your vehicle and the
airbag system. To purchase a service manual, see
Service Publications Ordering Information on page 7-11.
{CAUTION:
For up to 10 seconds after the ignition key is
turned off and the battery is disconnected, an
airbag can still in ate during improper service.
You can be injured if you are close to an
airbag when it in ates. Avoid yellow
connectors. They are probably part of the
airbag system. Be sure to follow proper
service procedures, and make sure the person
performing work for you is quali ed to do so.
The airbag system does not need regular maintenance.
1-62

Keys...............................................................2-2
Remote Keyless Entry System.........................2-4
Remote Keyless Entry System Operation...........2-5
Doors and Locks.............................................2-7
Door Locks....................................................2-7
Central Door Unlocking System........................2-8
Power Door Locks..........................................2-8
Door Ajar Reminder........................................2-9
Rear Door Security Locks................................2-9
Lockout Protection........................................2-10
Trunk..........................................................2-10
Windows........................................................2-12
Power Windows............................................2-13
Sun Visors...................................................2-13
Theft-Deterrent Systems..................................2-14
Theft-Deterrent System..................................2-14
Immobilizer..................................................2-15
Immobilizer Operation....................................2-16
Starting and Operating Your Vehicle................2-17
New Vehicle Break-In....................................2-17
Ignition Positions..........................................2-17Starting Your Engine.....................................2-18
Engine Coolant Heater..................................2-19
Automatic Transaxle Operation.......................2-20
Parking Brake..............................................2-24
Shifting Into Park (P).....................................2-25
Shifting Out of Park (P).................................2-26
Parking Over Things That Burn.......................2-27
Engine Exhaust............................................2-27
Running Your Engine While You Are Parked. . . .2-28
Mirrors...........................................................2-29
Manual Rearview Mirror.................................2-29
Automatic Dimming Rearview Mirror................2-29
Outside Power Mirrors...................................2-30
Outside Convex Mirror...................................2-31
Outside Heated Mirrors..................................2-32
Storage Areas................................................2-32
Glove Box...................................................2-32
Cupholder(s)................................................2-32
Coinholder(s)................................................2-32
Sunglasses Storage Compartment...................2-33
Center Console Storage Area.........................2-33
Rear Seat Armrest........................................2-33
Sunroof.........................................................2-34
Section 2 Features and Controls
2-1

Keys
{CAUTION:
Leaving children in a vehicle with the ignition
key is dangerous for many reasons. They
could operate the power windows or other
controls or even make the vehicle move. The
children or others could be badly injured or
even killed. Do not leave the keys in a vehicle
with children.
2-2

One key is used for the
ignition, the doors and all
other locks.
When a new vehicle is delivered, the dealer removes the
key tag and gives it to the first owner. The tag has a code
on it that tells your dealer how to make extra keys. For
vehicle security, keep the key tag in a safe place and also
record the key number somewhere other than inside of
the vehicle. If you lose your key, you will be able to have
a new one made easily using the tag.Your vehicle may have an electronic immobilizer
designed to protect your car against theft. If so, only
keys with the correct electronic code can be used
to start the vehicle. Even if a key has the same profile,
it will not start the engine if the electronic code is
incorrect. If you need a new key, contact your dealer
who can obtain the correct key code. SeeRoadside
Assistance Program on page 7-5for more information.
Notice:If you ever lock your keys in your
vehicle, you may have to damage the vehicle to get
in. Be sure you have spare keys.
2-3