
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 you are towing a trailer, reduce the amount of
cargo being hauled as soon as it is possible
If the light stops ¯ashing and remains on steady,
see ªIf the Light Is On Steadyº 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 key off, wait at least 10 seconds and restart the
engine. If the light remains on steady, see ªIf the Light Is
On Steadyº 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 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. See
Filling Your 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.
3-34

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, mis®ring, 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.
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.
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.
3-35

When the fuel level is low in your vehicle, the check
gages light will come on and a chime will sound. You
will also see a FUEL LEVEL LOW message on the DIC.
See
DIC Warnings and Messages on page 3-45for
more information.
Fuel Gage
When the ignition is on, the fuel gage tells you about
how much fuel you have remaining.
A chime will sound and the check gages warning
light will come on when your fuel level is low. FUEL
LEVEL LOW will appear on the DIC display. See
Check
Gages Warning Light on page 3-38, ªFuel Rangeº under
DIC Controls and Displays on page 3-42, andDIC Warnings and Messages on page 3-45for
more information.
Here are four things that some owners ask about. None
of these show a problem with your fuel gage:
·At the gas station, the gas pump shuts off before
the gage reads full.
·It takes a little more or less fuel to ®ll up than the
gage indicated. For example, the gage may have
indicated the tank was half full, but it actually took
a little more or less than half the tank's capacity
to ®ll the tank.
·The gage moves a little when you turn a corner or
speed up.
·The gage doesn't go back to empty when you turn
off the ignition.
United States
Canada
3-39

Driver Information Center (DIC)
The Driver Information Center (DIC) gives you the
status of many of your vehicle's systems. It is also used
to display driver personalization features and warning/
status messages. The DIC display is located on
the instrument panel cluster. The DIC buttons are
located on 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.
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.
DIC Controls and Displays
The DIC has different modes which can be accessed by
pressing the four buttons located on the steering wheel.
The button functions are listed in the following pages.A.
3(Trip Information) : Press this button to
display the odometer, trip odometer, and the timer.
B.
r(Fuel Information) : Press this button to
display the current fuel and engine oil information.
3-42

C.q(Personalization): Press this button to access
the vehicle personalization menu and customize
the personalization settings on your vehicle.
D.
r(Select) : Press this button to reset certain DIC
functions, acknowledge DIC warning messages
and clear them from the DIC, and set your
personalization settings.
Trip Information
3
(Trip Information): Press this button to scroll
through the odometer, TRIP A, TRIP B, and TIMER.
Odometer
Press the trip information button until the odometer
appears on the display. This shows the total distance
the vehicle has been driven in either miles or kilometers.
Trip Odometer
Press the trip information button until TRIP A or TRIP B
is displayed. This shows the current distance traveled
since the last reset for each trip odometer in either miles
or kilometers. Both odometers can be used at the
same time. Each trip odometer can be reset to zero separately by
pressing and holding the select button while the desired
trip odometer is displayed.
Timer
The DIC can be used as a stopwatch. Press the trip
information button until TIMER is displayed. Press the
select button to start the timer. The display will show
the amount of time that has passed since the timer was
last reset (not including time the ignition is off). Time
will continue to be counted as long as the ignition is on,
even if another display is being shown on the DIC.
The timer will record up to 99 hours, 59 minutes and
59 seconds (99:59:59) after which the display will
roll back to zero.
To stop the counting of time, press the select button
brie¯y while TIMER is displayed.
To reset the timer to zero, press and hold the select
button while TIMER is displayed until the timer returns
to zero.
Fuel Information
r
(Fuel Information):
Press this button to scroll
through the range, average fuel economy, instant fuel
economy and engine oil life.
3-43

Fuel Range
Press the fuel information button until RANGE appears
to display the remaining distance you can drive
without refueling. It is based on fuel economy and the
fuel remaining in the tank. The display will show
FUEL LEVEL LOW and a chime will sound if the fuel
level is low. The check gages warning light on the
instrument panel cluster will also be illuminated. See
Check Gages Warning Light on page 3-38for more
information.
The fuel economy data used to determine fuel range
is an average of recent driving conditions. As your
driving conditions change, this data is gradually updated.
Fuel range cannot be reset.
Average Fuel Economy
Press the fuel information button until AVG. ECON
appears in the display. Average fuel economy is how
many miles per gallon your vehicle is getting based on
current and past driving conditions.
Press and hold the select button while AVG. ECON is
displayed to reset the average fuel economy. Average
fuel economy will then be calculated starting from
that point. If the average fuel economy is not reset, it
will be continually updated each time you drive.
Instant Fuel Economy
Press the fuel information button until INST. ECON
appears in the display. Instant fuel economy is
how many miles per gallon your vehicle is at the
particular moment in time. The instant fuel economy
cannot be reset.
Engine Oil Life
Press the fuel information button until ENGINE OIL LIFE
appears in the display. The engine oil life system
shows an estimate of the oil's remaining useful life.
It will show 100% when the system is reset after an
oil change. It will alert you to change your oil on
a schedule consistent with your driving conditions.
Always reset the engine oil life after an oil change.
To reset the engine oil life system, press and hold the
select button while ENGINE OIL LIFE is displayed.
See
Engine Oil Life System on page 5-16for more
information.
The engine oil life reading in the DIC does not replace
the need to maintain your vehicle as recommended
in the Maintenance Schedule in this manual. See
Engine Oil on page 5-13,Change Engine Oil Light on
page 3-37, andScheduled Maintenance on page 6-4.
3-44

Engine Coolant Hot Idle Engine
Notice:If your engine catches ®re because you
keep driving with no coolant, your vehicle can
be badly damaged. The costly repairs would not
be covered by your warranty.
If the cooling system temperature becomes too hot,
this message will appear in the DIC and you will hear
a chime. Stop the vehicle and let the engine idle in
PARK (P) to allow the coolant to reach a safe
temperature. You may need to add more coolant to your
vehicle before driving again. See
Engine Coolant on
page 5-26andEngine Coolant Temperature Gage
on page 3-32for more information. This message will
clear from the DIC display when the coolant temperature
drops to a safe operating temperature.
Engine Overheated Stop Engine
Notice:If your engine catches ®re because you
keep driving with no coolant, your vehicle can
be badly damaged. The costly repairs would not
be covered by your warranty.
If your engine is overheated, this message will be
displayed on the DIC. Stop the vehicle as soon as
possible and do not drive it until the engine cools down. You may need to add more coolant to your vehicle
before driving again. See
Engine Overheating on
page 5-28andEngine Coolant Temperature Gage on
page 3-32for more information. This message will clear
from the DIC display when the coolant temperature
drops to a safe operating temperature.
Flip Hall Switch Fault
This message will be displayed on the DIC when trying
to raise or lower the convertible top and there is a
fault with this switch. If the message persists, see your
GM dealer for service.
Fuel Level Low
If the fuel level is low in the vehicle's gas tank, this
message will appear on the DIC and you will hear a
chime. You will also see the check gages warning light
on the instrument panel cluster. See
Check Gages
Warning Light on page 3-38for more information. Refuel
as soon as possible. SeeFilling Your Tank on page 5-8andFuel Gage on page 3-39for more information.
Press the select button to acknowledge and clear the
message from the display.
3-47

Reduce your speed according to your speedometer, not
to your sense of motion. After driving for any distance
at higher speeds, you may tend to think you are
going slower than you actually are.
Before Leaving on a Long Trip
Make sure you are ready. Try to be well rested. If you
must start when you are not fresh — such as after
a day’s work — do not plan to make too many miles that
rst part of the journey. Wear comfortable clothing
and shoes you can easily drive in.
Is your vehicle ready for a long trip? If you keep it
serviced and maintained, it is ready to go. If it needs
service, have it done before starting out. Of course, you
will nd experienced and able service experts in GM
dealerships all across North America. They will be ready
and willing to help if you need it.
Here are some things you can check before a trip:
Windshield Washer Fluid:Is the reservoir full?
Are all windows clean inside and outside?
Wiper Blades:Are they in good shape?
Fuel, Engine Oil, Other Fluids:Have you checked
all levels?
Lamps:Are they all working? Are the lenses clean?
Tires:They are vitally important to a safe,
trouble-free trip. Is the tread good enough for
long-distance driving? Are the tires all in ated to
the recommended pressure?
Weather Forecasts:What is the weather outlook
along your route? Should you delay your trip a
short time to avoid a major storm system?
Maps:Do you have up-to-date maps?
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.
4-21