2006 CADILLAC CTS ESP

or the safety belts!
With safety belts, you slow down as the vehicle does.
You get more time to stop. You stop over more distance,
and your strongest bones take the forces. That is why
safety belts make such good sense.
Questions and Answers About
Safety Belts
Q:Will I be trapped in the vehicle after an accident
if I am wearing a safety belt?
A:Youcouldbe — whether you are wearing a safety
belt or not. But you can unbuckle a safety belt,
even if you are upside down. And your chance of
being conscious during and after an accident,
so youcanunbuckle and get out, ismuchgreater
if you are belted.
Q:If my vehicle has airbags, why should I have to
wear safety belts?
A:Airbags are in many vehicles today and will be in
most of them in the future. But they are
supplemental systems only; so they workwith
safety belts — not instead of them. Every airbag
system ever offered for sale has required the use of
safety belts. Even if you are in a vehicle that has
airbags, you still have to buckle up to get the most
protection. That is true not only in frontal collisions,
but especially in side and other collisions.
1-15

Doors and Locks
Door Locks
{CAUTION:
Unlocked doors can be dangerous.
Passengers, especially children, can easily
open the doors and fall out of a moving
vehicle. When a door is locked, the handle
will not open it. You increase the chance
of being thrown out of the vehicle in a
crash if the doors are not locked. So, wear
safety belts properly and lock the doors
whenever you drive.
Young children who get into unlocked
vehicles may be unable to get out. A child
can be overcome by extreme heat and can
suffer permanent injuries or even death
from heat stroke. Always lock your vehicle
whenever you leave it.
Outsiders can easily enter through an
unlocked door when you slow down or
stop your vehicle. Locking your doors can
help prevent this from happening.There are several ways to lock and unlock your vehicle.
Because your vehicle has the theft-deterrent system,
you must unlock the doors from the outside with the key
or Remote Keyless Entry (RKE) transmitter to avoid
setting off the alarm. If the windows are down and the
doors are locked, do not reach in to manually unlock the
vehicle because you will set off the alarm.
From the inside, use the
manual lock levers located
on the door panels near
the windows.
Push down on the manual lock lever to lock the door.
To unlock the door, pull up on the lever.
2-8

If your vehicle has the rear seat pass-through door,
do the following:
1. Fold the rear armrest down and open the
pass-through door. See “Rear-Seat Pass Through”
following for more information.
2. Reach upward through the opening to locate the
emergency trunk release handle. See “Emergency
Trunk Release Handle” for more information.
3. Pull forward on the trunk release handle to open
the trunk lid.
If your vehicle has the split folding rear seat, do the
following:
1. Fold down the rear seatback. SeeSplit Folding
Rear Seat on page 1-9for more information.
2. Reach upward through the opening to locate the
trunk release handle.
3. Pull forward on the trunk release handle to open
the trunk lid.Rear-Seat Pass Through
If your vehicle has the rear seat-pass through door, you
can access the trunk without opening the trunk lid.
This is especially useful when transporting long items.
To open the door, pull down the rear seat armrest. Then
pull the lever all the way down to release the door.
To close the door, push it up and back into place. Then
try to open the door without pulling up on the lever to
make sure it is locked into place.
2-13

Emergency Trunk Release Handle
Notice:Do not use the emergency trunk release
handle as a tie-down or anchor point when securing
items in the trunk as it could damage the handle.
The emergency trunk release handle is only
intended to aid a person trapped in a latched trunk,
enabling them to open the trunk from the inside.
There is a glow-in-the-dark emergency trunk release
handle located on the back wall of the trunk. This handle
will glow following exposure to light. Pull the release
handle toward the front of the vehicle to open the trunk
from the inside.
Windows
{CAUTION:
Leaving children, helpless adults, or pets in a
vehicle with the windows closed is dangerous.
They can be overcome by the extreme heat
and suffer permanent injuries or even death
from heat stroke. Never leave a child, a
helpless adult, or a pet alone in a vehicle,
especially with the windows closed in warm or
hot weather.
2-14

Sun Visors
Swing down the primary visor to block out glare. It can
also be detached from the center mount and moved
to the side to block glare from that direction.
The driver’s visor may also have buttons for a built-in
garage door opener. SeeUniversal Home Remote
System on page 2-45for more information.
Lighted Visor Vanity Mirror
Pull the visor down and lift the cover to access the
mirror. A light comes on when the cover is lifted and
goes out when it is closed.
Theft-Deterrent Systems
Vehicle theft is big business, especially in some cities.
Although your vehicle has a number of theft-deterrent
features, we know that nothing we put on it can make it
impossible to steal.
Theft-Deterrent System
If your vehicle has this
feature, the security light is
located on the instrument
panel cluster.
If the ignition is off and a door is open, the security light
will ash, reminding you to arm the theft-deterrent
system.
To arm the system, do the following:
1. Lock the door using the Remote Keyless
Entry (RKE) transmitter or the power door
lock switch.
2. Close all the doors. The security light will come on.
It should go off within approximately 30 seconds.
Your security system is now armed.
If a door or a trunk is opened without a key or a RKE
transmitter, the horn will sound and the lamps will ash
for up to 30 seconds.
2-18

Driver Shift Control (DSC)
Notice:If you drive your vehicle at high RPMs
without upshifting while using Driver Shift Control
(DSC), you could damage your vehicle. Always
upshift when necessary while using DSC.
Your automatic transmission has a Driver Shift Control
(DSC) feature that allows you to change gears similar to a
manual transmission. To use the DSC feature:
1. Slide the shift lever over from AUTOMATIC
OVERDRIVE (D) to the right into the DSC area.
The sport mode light in the
instrument panel cluster
will come on.
If you do not move the shift lever forward or
rearward, the vehicle will be in sport mode. When
you are in the sport mode the vehicle will still
shift automatically. While driving in sport mode, the
transmission may remain in a gear longer than it
would in the normal driving mode based on braking,
throttle input, and vehicle lateral acceleration.
2. To enter the DSC mode, press the shift lever
forward to upshift or rearward to downshift.The odometer on the instrument panel cluster will
change from the mileage to a number indicating the
requested gear range when moving the shift lever
forward or rearward. SeeSpeedometer and Odometer
on page 3-33for more information on the odometer.
While using the DSC feature, the vehicle will have rmer
shifting and increased performance. You can use this
for sport driving or when climbing or descending hills, to
stay in gear longer, or to down shift for more power
or engine braking.
The transmission will only allow you to shift into gears
appropriate for the vehicle speed and engine
Revolutions Per Minute (RPM). The transmission will
not automatically shift to the next higher gear if the
engine RPM is too high.
If shifting is prevented for any reason, the currently
selected gear will ash multiple times, indicating that the
transmission has not shifted gears.
While in the DSC mode, the transmission will
automatically downshift when the vehicle comes to a stop
and while quickly applying the accelerator to increase
speed. This will allow for more power during take-off.
When accelerating your vehicle from a stop in snowy
and icy conditions, you may want to shift into second
gear. A higher gear ratio allows you to gain more traction
on slippery surfaces.
2-29

Wiper Activated Headlamps
This feature activates the headlamps and parking
lamps after the windshield wipers have been in use
for about six seconds. For this feature to work,
the exterior lamp control must be in AUTO.
When the exterior lamp control is off or in the parking
lamp position and the windshield wiper control is
in any position except off, the Headlamps Suggested
message will appear on the DIC display. See
“Headlamps Suggested Message” underDIC Warnings
and Messages on page 3-61for more information.
When the ignition is turned to OFF, the wiper-activated
headlamps will immediately turn off. They will also
turn off if the windshield wiper control is turned off.
Headlamps on Reminder
A warning chime will sound if the exterior lamp control
is left on in either the headlamp or parking lamp position
and the driver’s door is opened with the ignition off.
SeeLights On Reminder on page 3-45for additional
information.
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL)
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) can make it easier for
others to see the front of your vehicle during the
day. DRL can be helpful in many different driving
conditions, but they can be especially helpful in the short
periods after dawn and before sunset. Fully functional
daytime running lamps are required on all vehicles
rst sold in Canada.
The DRL system will make the turn signal lamps come
on when the following conditions are met:
It is still daylight and the ignition is in ON
or START.
The exterior lamp control is in off or AUTO and the
headlamps are off.
The automatic transmission is not in PARK (P).
When DRL are on, only your front turn signal lamps will
be on. No other exterior lamps will be on. Your
instrument panel cluster will not be lit up either.
3-17

Transmission Temperature
When the transmission
temperature displays you
will see the transmission
temperature symbol.
The temperature displays in degrees Fahrenheit or
Celsius with a graph beneath the reading. If the graph
shows the temperature in the shaded area all the way on
the right, then the transmission temperature is hot.
SeeDIC Warnings and Messages on page 3-61and
Manual Transmission Fluid on page 5-24for more
information.
Tire Pressure
When the tire pressure is displayed you will see a
vehicle in the display. The numbers in each corner
represent the tire pressure for the corresponding tire.
The tire pressure will be displayed in psi or kPa.
If any of the tires are blinking on the vehicle in the
display, this means that the tire pressure in that tire is
either high or low. SeeTire Pressure Monitor System on
page 5-68for more information.
Lateral Acceleration
Lateral acceleration is a measure of how hard you
are taking a corner. For example, when you are turning
right you will feel your body push to the left. This
force is measured in a “g”. This gage will display from
0.00 g to 1.2 g. The lowest reading means there is
no lateral acceleration. The highest reading means the
force the driver is feeling is 1.2 times the acceleration
due to gravity.
When (B) is pressed and held while the Lateral
Acceleration display is being shown, the peak hold
values—both tick marks and numbers—will be reset
to zero.
Warning Messages
The warning messages that are described in the
following text are also shown in the tachometer display.
While any warning messages are shown, pressing (A)
or (B) will acknowledge the warning and then display the
gage relating to the message. For instance, if a tire is
below the minimum recommended pressure, the tire
pressure warning message will blink on and off (ve times
for a low tire warning, continuously for a at tire warning).
The driver can go to the tire pressure display immediately
by pressing either button on the outboard switch.
3-49