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 come on when the following
conditions are met:
The ignition is on
The exterior lamps control is in AUTO
The automatic transmission is not in PARK (P)
The light sensor determines it is daytime
When the DRL are on, only your DRL lamps will be on.
The taillamps, sidemarker and other lamps won’t be
on. The instrument panel won’t be lit up either.
When it begins to get dark, the automatic headlamp
system will switch from DRL to the headlamps.
When you turn the headlamp switch off, the headlamps
will go off, and your DRL lamps will illuminate,
provided it is not dark outside.Shifting the transmission into PARK (P) will allow you to
idle the vehicle with the DRL off. The DRL will stay
off until you shift the transmission out of PARK (P).
This procedure applies only to vehicles rst sold in the
United States.
Automatic Headlamp System
When it is dark enough outside, your automatic
headlamp system will turn on your headlamps at the
normal brightness along with other lamps such as
the taillamps, sidemarker, parking lamps and the
instrument panel lights. The radio lights will also be dim.
To turn off the automatic headlamp system, turn the
exterior lamps switch to the off position and then
release. Turning off the automatic headlamp system
with the headlamp switch is not available for vehicles
rst sold in Canada. For vehicles rst sold in Canada,
you can turn off the automatic headlamp system
when parked at night by applying the parking brake
before starting your vehicle. The headlamps will remain
off once the vehicle is started for as long as you are
parked. If you release the parking brake, the lights will
turn on. If the parking brake is not released before
you begin to drive, the exterior lamps will turn on above
2 mph (3.2 km/h).
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Driver Information Center (DIC)
The Driver Information Center (DIC) display is located
on the instrument panel cluster, below the speedometer.
If your vehicle has DIC buttons, they are located on
the steering wheel. The DIC can display information
such as the trip odometer, fuel economy, customization
features, and warning/status messages.
If your vehicle does not have DIC steering wheel
buttons, you will not have all of the features listed.
Scroll through the odometer, trip odometer, and engine
hours by pressing the trip odometer reset stem
located on the instrument panel cluster. Turn off, or
acknowledge, DIC messages by pressing the trip
odometer reset stem. SeeSpeedometer and Odometer
on page 3-37for information on features for vehicles
without DIC buttons.
3(Trip Information):Press this button to display
the odometer, trip odometers, tire pressure for vehicles
with a tire pressure monitor, timer, and engine hours.
t(Fuel Information):Press this button to display the
current range, fuel used, average fuel economy, and
engine oil life.
4(Customization):Press this button to access the
vehicle settings menu and customize the personal
settings on your vehicle.
r(Select):Press this button to reset certain DIC
functions and set your customization settings.
Pressing any of the four DIC buttons will acknowledge
DIC messages and clear them from the DIC display.
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Language
To select your preference for display language, press
the select button while LANGUAGE is displayed on the
DIC. Pressing the select button will scroll through the
following languages:
ENGLISH
FRANCAIS (French)
ESPANOL (Spanish)
Choose one of the available options and press the
customization button while it is displayed on the DIC to
select it.
If you accidentally choose a language that you do not
want or understand, press and hold the customization
button and the trip information button at the same
time. The DIC will begin scrolling through the languages
in their particular language. English will be in English,
Francais will be in French and Espanol will be in
Spanish. When you see the language that you would
like, release both buttons. The DIC will then display the
information in the language you chose.
You can also scroll through the different languages
by pressing and holding the trip reset stem for
four seconds, as long as you are in the odometer mode.
Display Units
Press the customization button until DISPLAY UNITS
appears in the display. To select English or metric, press
the select button while DISPLAY UNITS is displayed
on the DIC. Pressing the select button will scroll through
the following choices:
DISPLAY UNITS: ENGLISH
DISPLAY UNITS: METRIC
If you choose English, all information will be displayed in
English units. For example, distance in miles and fuel
economy in miles per gallon. If you choose metric, all
information will be displayed in metric units. For example,
distance in kilometers and fuel economy in liters per
100 kilometers.
Choose one of the available options and press the
customization button while it is displayed on the DIC to
select it and end out of the customizable options.
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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 ash and
MULTI LOAD # will appear on the display.
3. Once the light stops ashing and turns green,
INSERT CD # will appear on the display, load
a CD. Insert the CD part way into the slot, label side
up. The player will pull the CD in.
Once the CD is loaded, the indicator light will begin
ashing again. Once the light stops ashing 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 nished 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 speci c CD, rst press the CD AUX
button, 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 two seconds.
You will hear a beep and the indicator light, located
to the right of the slot, will begin to ash and
EJECT ALL will appear on the display.
2. Once the light stops ashing, 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 ashing again and another CD will eject.
To stop ejecting the CDs, press the LOAD or the
eject button.
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PROG (Program):Press this button to play a station
you have programmed on the radio preset pushbuttons.
The radio will only seek preset stations with a strong
signal that are in the selected band.
When a cassette tape is playing, press this button to
play the other side of the tape.
When a CD is playing in the CD changer, press this
button to go to the next available CD, if multiple CDs
are loaded.
QSOURCER:Press this button to switch between
FM1, FM2, AM, or XM1 or XM2 (if equipped), or a
cassette tape or CD. The cassette or CD must be loaded
to play. Available loaded sources are shown on the
display as a tape or a CD symbol.
QSEEKR:Press the up or the down arrow to go to
the next or to the previous radio station and stay
there. The radio will only seek stations with a strong
signal that are in the selected band.
When a cassette tape or CD is playing, press the up or
the down arrow to fast forward or reverse.
QVOLR(Volume):Press the up or the down arrow
to increase or to decrease the volume.
Radio Reception
You may experience frequency interference and static
during normal radio reception if items such as cellphone
chargers, vehicle convenience accessories, and
external electronic devices are plugged into the
accessory power outlet. If there is interference or static,
unplug the item from the accessory power outlet.
AM
The range for most AM stations is greater than for FM,
especially at night. The longer range can cause station
frequencies to interfere with each other. For better radio
reception, most AM radio stations will boost the power
levels during the day, and then reduce these levels
during the night. Static can also occur when things like
storms and power lines interfere with radio reception.
When this happens, try reducing the treble on
your radio.
FM Stereo
FM stereo will give the best sound, but FM signals
will reach only about 10 to 40 miles (16 to 65 km).
Tall buildings or hills can interfere with FM signals,
causing the sound to fade in and out.
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Statistics show that the chance of being in a collision
increases sharply for drivers who have a BAC of
0.05 percent or above. A driver with a BAC level of
0.06 percent has doubled his or her chance of having a
collision. At a BAC level of 0.10 percent, the chance
of this driver having a collision is 12 times greater; at a
level of 0.15 percent, the chance is 25 times greater!
The body takes about an hour to rid itself of the alcohol
in one drink. No amount of coffee or number of cold
showers will speed that up. “I will be careful” is not the
right answer. What if there is an emergency, a need
to take sudden action, as when a child darts into
the street? A person with even a moderate BAC might
not be able to react quickly enough to avoid the
collision.
There is something else about drinking and driving that
many people do not know. Medical research shows
that alcohol in a person’s system can make crash
injuries worse, especially injuries to the brain, spinal
cord, or heart. This means that when anyone who has
been drinking — driver or passenger — is in a crash,
that person’s chance of being killed or permanently
disabled is higher than if the person had not been
drinking.
{CAUTION:
Drinking and then driving is very dangerous.
Your re exes, perceptions, attentiveness, and
judgment can be affected by even a small
amount of alcohol. You can have a serious — or
even fatal — collision if you drive after drinking.
Please do not drink and drive or ride with a
driver who has been drinking. Ride home in a
cab; or if you are with a group, designate a
driver who will not drink.
Control of a Vehicle
You have three systems that make your vehicle go where
you want it to go. They are the brakes, the steering, and
the accelerator. All three systems have to do their work at
the places where the tires meet the road.
Sometimes, as when you are driving on snow or ice, it is
easy to ask more of those control systems than the tires
and road can provide. That means you can lose control of
your vehicle. SeeStabiliTrak
®System on page 4-9.
Adding non-GM accessories can affect your vehicle’s
performance. SeeAccessories and Modi cations
on page 5-3.
4-5
Passing
The driver of a vehicle about to pass another on a
two-lane highway waits for just the right moment,
accelerates, moves around the vehicle ahead, then
goes back into the right lane again. A simple maneuver?
Not necessarily! Passing another vehicle on a two-lane
highway is a potentially dangerous move, since the
passing vehicle occupies the same lane as oncoming
traffic for several seconds. A miscalculation, an error in
judgment, or a brief surrender to frustration or anger
can suddenly put the passing driver face to face with the
worst of all traffic accidents — the head-on collision.
So here are some tips for passing:
Drive ahead. Look down the road, to the sides and
to crossroads for situations that might affect your
passing patterns. If you have any doubt whatsoever
about making a successful pass, wait for a
better time.
Watch for traffic signs, pavement markings and
lines. If you can see a sign up ahead that might
indicate a turn or an intersection, delay your pass.A broken center line usually indicates it is all
right to pass, providing the road ahead is clear.
Never cross a solid line on your side of the lane or
a double solid line, even if the road seems empty
of approaching traffic.
Do not get too close to the vehicle you want to
pass while you are awaiting an opportunity. For
one thing, following too closely reduces your area
of vision, especially if you are following a larger
vehicle. Also, you will not have adequate space if
the vehicle ahead suddenly slows or stops.
Keep back a reasonable distance.
When it looks like a chance to pass is coming up,
start to accelerate but stay in the right lane and do
not get too close. Time your move so you will be
increasing speed as the time comes to move into
the other lane. If the way is clear to pass, you will
have a running start that more than makes up for the
distance you would lose by dropping back. And if
something happens to cause you to cancel your
pass, you need only slow down and drop back again
and wait for another opportunity.
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If other vehicles are lined up to pass a slow vehicle,
wait your turn. But take care that someone is not
trying to pass you as you pull out to pass the slow
vehicle. Remember to glance over your shoulder
and check the blind spot.
Check your mirrors, glance over your shoulder and
start your left lane change signal before moving out
of the right lane to pass. When you are far enough
ahead of the passed vehicle to see its front in your
inside mirror, activate your right lane change signal
and move back into the right lane. Remember that if
your passenger side outside mirror is convex, the
vehicle you just passed may seem to be farther
away from you than it really is.
Try not to pass more than one vehicle at a time on
two-lane roads. Reconsider before passing the
next vehicle.
Do not overtake a slowly moving vehicle too rapidly.
Even though the brake lamps are not ashing,
it may be slowing down or starting to turn.
If you are being passed, make it easy for the
following driver to get ahead of you. Perhaps you
can ease a little to the right.
Loss of Control
Let us review what driving experts say about what
happens when the three control systems — brakes,
steering, and acceleration — do not have enough
friction where the tires meet the road to do what the
driver has asked.
In any emergency, do not give up. Keep trying to steer
and constantly seek an escape route or area of less
danger.
Skidding
In a skid, a driver can lose control of the vehicle.
Defensive drivers avoid most skids by taking reasonable
care suited to existing conditions, and by not overdriving
those conditions. But skids are always possible.
The three types of skids correspond to your vehicle’s
three control systems. In the braking skid, your wheels
are not rolling. In the steering or cornering skid, too
much speed or steering in a curve causes tires to
slip and lose cornering force. And in the acceleration
skid, too much throttle causes the driving wheels to spin.
A cornering skid is best handled by easing your foot
off the accelerator pedal.
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