
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 flashing and remains on steady, see “If
the Light Is On Steady” following.
If the light continues to flash, 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 “If
the Light Is On Steady” following. If the light is still
flashing, 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. SeeFilling the Tank on page 5-8. The
diagnostic system can determine if the fuel cap hasbeen 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.
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, misfiring, 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 fix any
mechanical or electrical problems that may have
developed.
3-37

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.
Oil Pressure Gage
The oil pressure gage shows the engine oil pressure in
psi (pounds per square inch) when the engine is
running. Canadian vehicles indicate pressure in kPa
(kilopascals).
Oil pressure may vary with engine speed, outside
temperature and oil viscosity, but readings above the
low pressure zone indicate the normal operating range.United States
Canada
3-38

A reading in the low pressure zone may be caused by a
dangerously low oil level or other problem causing
low oil pressure. Check your oil as soon as possible.
{CAUTION:
Do not keep driving if the oil pressure is low. If
you do, your engine can become so hot that it
catches re. You or others could be burned.
Check your oil as soon as possible and have
your vehicle serviced.
Notice:Lack of proper engine oil maintenance may
damage the engine. The repairs would not be
covered by your warranty. Always follow the
maintenance schedule in this manual for changing
engine oil.
Change Engine Oil Light
This light is displayed
when your vehicle needs
to be serviced.
If your vehicle has a V8 engine and this light is flashing,
it indicates that the oil level is low.
When this light is on steady, your vehicle needs to be
serviced. SeeScheduled Maintenance (Gasoline
Engine) on page 6-4for more information.
Once the engine oil has been changed, the change
engine oil light must be reset. Until it is reset, the light
will stay on for a while each time the engine is
started. For more information on resetting the system,
see “How to Reset the Engine Oil Life System”
underEngine Oil Life System (Gasoline Engine) on
page 5-16.
3-39

Security Light
The light will stay on until the engine starts. If the light
flashes, the Passlock®System has entered a tamper
mode. If the vehicle fails to start, seePasslock®
on page 2-17.
If the light comes on continuously while driving and
stays on, there may be a problem with the Passlock
®
System. Your vehicle will not be protected by Passlock®,
and you should see your GM dealer.
Cruise Control Light
The cruise light comes on whenever you set your cruise
control. SeeCruise Control on page 3-10for more
information. United States
CanadaUnited StatesCanada
3-40

Reduced Engine Power Light
If the check engine and reduced engine power lights are
on, the throttle may be disabled and a noticeable
reduction in the vehicle’s performance may occur.
If the reduced engine power light is on, but there is no
reduction in performance, proceed to your destination.
The performance may be reduced the next time
the vehicle is driven. The vehicle may be driven at a
reduced speed while the reduced engine power light is
on, but acceleration and speed may be reduced.
Anytime the check engine light stays on, the vehicle
should be taken to an authorized GM dealer as soon as
possible for service.
Highbeam On Light
This light will come on
when the high-beam
headlamps are in use.
SeeHeadlamp High/Low-Beam Changer on page 3-8.
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL)
Indicator Light
You have this light on the
instrument panel. It will
light whenever the DRL are
on. It is also a reminder
to turn on your headlamps
when driving at night. United States
Canada
3-41

Tow/Haul Mode Light
This message is displayed
when the tow/haul mode
has been activated.
For more information, see “Tow/Haul Mode” inTowing a
Trailer on page 4-37.
Check Gages Warning Light
This light will come on briefly when you are starting
the engine.
If the light comes on and stays on while you are driving,
check your coolant temperature and engine oil
pressure gages to see if they are in the warning zones.
Fuel Gage
The fuel gage, when the ignition is on, tells you about
how much fuel you have left in your tank.
The gage will first indicate empty before you are out of
fuel, and you should get more fuel as soon as possible.
Listed are four situations you may experience with
your fuel gage:
•At the gas station, the fuel pump shuts off before
the gage reads full.
•It takes a little more or less fuel to fill up than the
fuel 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 fill the tank.
United StatesCanada
United StatesCanada
3-42

Playing a CD
If the ignition or radio is turned off, with a CD in the
player, it will stay in the player. When the ignition
or radio is turned on, the CD will start playing where it
stopped, if it was the last selected audio source.
When a CD is inserted, the CD symbol will appear on
the display. As each new track starts to play, the
track number will appear on the display.
The CD player can play the smaller 3 inch (8 cm)
single CDs with an adapter ring. Full-size CDs and
the smaller CDs are loaded in the same manner.
If playing a CD-R, the sound quality may be reduced
due to CD-R quality, the method of recording, the quality
of the music that has been recorded, and the way the
CD-R has been handled. There may be an increase
in skipping, difficulty in finding tracks, and/or difficulty in
loading and ejecting. If these problems occur, check
the bottom surface of the CD. If the surface of the CD is
damaged, such as cracked, broken, or scratched, the
CD will not play properly. If the surface of the CD
is soiled, seeCare of Your CDs on page 3-76for more
information.
If there is no apparent damage, try a known good CD.
Do not add any label to a CD, it could get caught in the
CD player. If a CD is recorded on a personal computer
and a description label is needed, try labeling the top of
the recorded CD with a marking pen instead.Notice:If you add any label to a CD, insert more
than one CD into the slot at a time, or attempt
to play scratched or damaged CDs, you could
damage the CD player. When using the CD player,
use only CDs in good condition without any
label, load one CD at a time, and keep the CD player
and the loading slot free of foreign materials,
liquids, and debris.
If an error appears on the display, see “CD Messages”
later in this section.
LOAD:Press this button to load CDs into the CD
player. This CD player will hold up to six CDs.
To insert one CD, do the following:
1. Turn the ignition on.
2. Press and release the LOAD button.
3. Wait for the indicator light, located to the right of the
slot, to turn green.
4. Load a CD. Insert the CD partway into the slot,
label side up. The player will pull the CD in.
To insert multiple CDs, do the following:
1. Turn the ignition on.
2. Press and hold the LOAD button for two seconds.
You will hear a beep and the indicator light, located
to the right of the slot, will begin to flash and
MULTI LOAD # will appear on the display.
3-69

3. Once the light stops flashing and turns green,
INSERT CD # will appear on the display, load
a CD. Insert the CD partway into the slot, label side
up. The player will pull the CD in.
Once the CD is loaded, the indicator light will begin
flashing again. Once the light stops flashing and
turns green, you can load another CD. The
CD player takes up to six CDs. Do not try to load
more than six.
To load more than one CD but less than six, complete
Steps 1 through 3. When finished loading CDs,
press the LOAD button to cancel the loading function.
The radio will begin to play the last CD loaded.
If more than one CD has been loaded, a number for
each CD will appear on the display.
Playing a Speci c Loaded CD
For every CD loaded, a number will appear on the
display. To play a specific CD, first press the CD AUX
button (if not already in CD mode), then press the
numbered pushbutton that corresponds to the CD. A
small bar will appear under the CD number that is
playing and the track number will appear on the display.
If an error appears on the display, see “CD Messages”
later in this section.CD
Z(Eject):Press this button to eject CD(s).
To eject the CD that is currently playing, press and
release this button.
To eject multiple CDs, do the following:
1. Press and hold the CD eject button for five seconds.
You will hear a beep and the indicator light, located
to the right of the slot, will begin to flash and
EJECT ALL will appear on the display.
2. Once the light stops flashing, REMOVE CD # will
appear on the display. The CD will eject and can
be removed.
Once the CD is removed, the indicator light will
begin flashing again and another CD will eject.
To stop ejecting the CDs, press the LOAD or the
eject button.
If the CD is not removed, after 25 seconds, the CD will
be automatically pulled back into the player. If CD is
pushed back into the player, before the 25 second time
period is complete, the player will sense an error
and will try to eject the CD several times before
stopping.
Do not repeatedly press the CD eject button to eject a
CD after you have tried to push it in manually. The
player’s 25-second eject timer will reset at each press of
eject, causing the player to not eject the CD until the
25-second time period has elapsed.
3-70