2005 CHEVROLET MALIBU Owners Manual

The lever that allows you to tilt and telescope the steering
wheel is located on the left side of the steering column.
To tilt and telescope the wheel, pull down the lever. Then
move the wheel to a comfortable position, pull up the
lever to lock the wheel in place. The wheel can be
adjusted up and down as well as forward and backward.Turn Signal/Multifunction Lever
The lever on the left side of the steering column
includes the following:
Turn and Lane-Change Signals. SeeTurn and
Lane-Change Signals on page 3-8.
Headlamp High/Low-Beam Changer. SeeHeadlamp
High/Low-Beam Changer on page 3-8.
Flash-to-Pass. SeeFlash-to-Pass on page 3-8.
Exterior Light Control. SeeExterior Lamps on
page 3-13.
3-7

Turn and Lane-Change Signals
The turn signal has two upward (for right) and
two downward (for left) positions. These positions
allow you to signal a turn or a lane change.
To signal a turn, move the lever all the way up or
down to the latched position. When the turn is nished,
the lever will return automatically.
An arrow on the instrument
panel cluster will ash
in the direction of the turn
or lane change.
To signal a lane change, just raise or lower the lever
until the arrow starts to ash. Hold it there until you
complete your lane change. The lever will return by
itself when you release it.
A warning chime signal will come on if you have left
your turn signal on for more than 2/3 mile (1 km).
As you signal a turn or a lane change, if the arrows
ash rapidly, a signal bulb may be burned out and
other drivers won’t see your turn signal.If a bulb is burned out, replace it to help avoid an
accident. If the arrows don’t go on at all when you signal
a turn, check for burned-out bulbs and then check the
fuse. SeeFuses on page 5-83.
Headlamp High/Low-Beam Changer
To change the headlamps from low beam to high beam,
push the turn signal/multifunction lever away from you.
When the high beams are
on, a light on the
instrument panel cluster
also will be on if the
ignition is in ON.
To change the headlamps from high beam to low beam,
pull the turn signal lever toward you.
Flash-to-Pass
This feature lets you use your high-beam headlamps
momentarily to signal a driver in front of you that
you want to pass.
To use it, pull the turn signal/multifunction lever toward
you until the high-beam headlamps come on, then
release the lever to turn them off.
3-8

Windshield Wipers
Use this lever, located on the right side of the steering
wheel, to operate the windshield wipers.
9(Off):Move the lever to this position to turn off the
windshield wipers.
&(Intermittent; Speed Sensitive Wipers):Move the
lever to this position for intermittent or speed sensitive
operation. When you select this position, the delay
will vary depending on the vehicles speed, as well as
the manually selected delay.
x(Delay):When the lever is in the intermittent
position, turn the intermittent adjust band with this
symbol on it up or down to set for a shorter or longer
delay between wipes. To the left of the adjust band are
bars, increasing in size from bottom to top, that
indicate the frequency of the wipes. Smaller bars mean
the wipers movement is less frequent. Larger bars
mean the movement is more frequent.
6(Low Speed):Move the lever up to the rst
setting past intermittent, for steady wiping at low speed.
1(High Speed):Move the lever up to the second
setting past intermittent, for wiping at high speed.
8(Mist):Move the lever all the way down to this
position for a single wiping cycle. Hold it there until the
windshield wipers start; then let go. The windshield
wipers will stop after one wiping cycle. If you want
additional wiping cycles, hold the lever down longer.
Damaged wiper blades may prevent you from seeing
well enough to drive safely. To avoid damage, be sure
to clear ice and snow from the wiper blades before
using them.
3-9

If the wiper blades are frozen to the windshield, carefully
loosen or thaw them. If your blades do become damaged,
get new blades or blade inserts.
Heavy snow or ice can overload your wiper motor.
A circuit breaker will stop the motor until it cools.
Clear away snow or ice to prevent an overload. If the
motor gets stuck, turn the wipers off, clear away
the snow or ice, and then turn the wipers back on.
As an added safety feature, if the wipers are on for more
than 15 seconds, the vehicle’s headlamps will turn on
automatically. They will turn off 15 seconds after
the wipers are turned off.Windshield Washer
To wash your windshield, push in the button at the
end of the stalk until the washers begin.
{CAUTION:
In freezing weather, do not use your washer
until the windshield is warmed. Otherwise the
washer uid can form ice on the windshield,
blocking your vision.
When you release the button, the washers will stop, but
the wipers will continue to wipe for about three cycles
and will either stop or will resume the speed you
were using before.
3-10

Cruise Control
If your vehicle has cruise control, you can maintain a
speed of about 25 mph (40 km/h) or more without
keeping your foot on the accelerator. This can really
help on long trips. Cruise control does not work at
speeds below 25 mph (40 km/h).
{CAUTION:
Cruise control can be dangerous where you
cannot drive safely at a steady speed. So, do
not use your cruise control on winding roads
or in heavy traffic.
Cruise control can be dangerous on slippery
roads. On such roads, fast changes in tire
traction can cause needless wheel spinning,
and you could lose control. Do not use cruise
control on slippery roads.
Setting Cruise Control
{CAUTION:
If you leave your cruise control on when you
are not using cruise, you might hit a button
and go into cruise when you do not want to.
You could be startled and even lose control.
Keep the cruise control switch off until you
want to use cruise control.
3-11

The cruise control buttons are located on the steering
wheel.
J(On/Off):Press this button to turn the cruise
control system on and off.
+RES (Resume):Press this part of the button to
resume a set speed and to accelerate the speed.
−SET (Set):Press this part of the button to set a speed
and to decrease the speed.
To set a speed do the following:
1. Press the on/off button to turn cruise control on.
The indicator light on the button will come on.
2. Get to the speed you want.
3. Press the−SET part of the control button and
release it. The cruise symbol will display in the
instrument panel cluster to show the system
is engaged.
4. Take your foot off the accelerator pedal.
Resuming a Set Speed
Suppose you set your cruise control at a desired
speed and then you apply the brake. This, of course,
disengages the cruise control. The cruise symbol in
the instrument panel cluster will also go out indicating
cruise is no longer engaged. To return to your
previously set speed, you do not need to go through
the set process again. Once you’re going about
25 mph (40 km/h) or more, you can press the +RES
part of the button briey.
This will take you back up to your previously chosen
speed and stay there.
3-12

Increasing Speed While Using Cruise
Control
There are two ways to go to a higher speed.
Disengage the cruise control but do not turn it off.
If the cruise control system is already engaged, press
the +RES part of the button. Hold it there until you
get up to the speed you want, and then release the
button. To increase your speed in very small
amounts, press the +RES part of the button briey
and then release it. Each time you do this, your
vehicle will go about 1 mph (1.6 km/h) faster.
Reducing Speed While Using Cruise
Control
If the cruise control system is already engaged,
Push and hold the−SET part of the button until you
reach the lower speed you want, then release it.
To slow down in very small amounts, push the
−SET part of the button briey. Each time you
do this, you’ll go about 1 mph (1.6 km/h) slower.
Passing Another Vehicle While Using
Cruise Control
Use the accelerator pedal to increase your speed.
When you take your foot off the pedal, your vehicle will
slow down to the cruise control speed you set earlier.
Using Cruise Control on Hills
How well your cruise control will work on hills depends
upon your speed, load and the steepness of the
hills. When going up steep hills, you may have to
step on the accelerator pedal to maintain your speed.
When going downhill, you may have to brake or shift
to a lower gear to keep your speed down. Of course,
applying the brake takes you out of cruise control.
Many drivers nd this to be too much trouble and don’t
use cruise control on steep hills.
Ending Cruise Control
There are two ways to disengage the cruise control:
Step lightly on the brake pedal; when cruise control
disengages, the cruise symbol in the instrument
panel cluster will go out.
Press the on/off button, this will turn off the cruise
control system.
Erasing Speed Memory
When you turn off the cruise control or the ignition,
your cruise control set speed memory is erased.
3-13

Exterior Lamps
The lever on the left side of the steering column
operates the exterior lamps.
The exterior lamp switch has the following four positions:
2(Headlamps):This position turns on the
headlamps, parking lamps, and taillamps.
;(Parking Lamps):This position turns on the
parking lamps and taillamps only.AUTO (Automatic Headlamp System):This position
automatically turns on the Daytime Running Lamps
during daytime, and the headlamps, parking lamps,
and taillamps at night.
P(Off/On):This position is the momentary Off/On
switch for the Automatic Headlamp System. In Canada,
this only works when the vehicle is in PARK (P).
When operating in AUTO, a momentary turn of the
switch to off/on will turn off the Automatic Headlamp
System. Rotating the switch to off/on again will turn
the Automatic Headlamp System back on. The
Automatic Headlamp System is always turned on
at the beginning of an ignition cycle.
3-14