2008 CADILLAC STS sensor

When Should an Airbag Inate?
Frontal airbags are designed to inate in moderate to
severe frontal or near-frontal crashes to help reduce the
potential for severe injuries mainly to the driver’s or
right front passenger’s head and chest. However, they
are only designed to inate if the impact exceeds a
predetermined deployment threshold. Deployment
thresholds are used to predict how severe a crash is
likely to be in time for the airbags to inate and
help restrain the occupants.
Whether your frontal airbags will or should deploy is not
based on how fast your vehicle is traveling. It depends
largely on what you hit, the direction of the impact,
and how quickly your vehicle slows down.
Frontal airbags may inate at different crash speeds.
For example:
If the vehicle hits a stationary object, the airbags
could inate at a different crash speed than if the
vehicle hits a moving object.
If the vehicle hits an object that deforms, the
airbags could inate at a different crash speed than
if the vehicle hits an object that does not deform.
If the vehicle hits a narrow object (like a pole),
the airbags could inate at a different crash
speed than if the vehicle hits a wide object
(like a wall).
If the vehicle goes into an object at an angle,
the airbags could inate at a different crash speed
than if the vehicle goes straight into the object.
Thresholds can also vary with specic vehicle design.
Frontal airbags are not intended to inate during vehicle
rollovers, rear impacts, or in many side impacts.
In addition, your vehicle has dual-stage frontal airbags.
Dual-stage airbags adjust the restraint according to
crash severity. Your vehicle has electronic frontal
sensors, which help the sensing system distinguish
between a moderate frontal impact and a more severe
frontal impact. For moderate frontal impacts, dual-stage
airbags inate at a level less than full deployment.
For more severe frontal impacts, full deployment occurs.
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Passenger Sensing System
Your vehicle has a passenger sensing system for the
right front passenger’s position. The passenger
airbag status indicator will be visible on the overhead
console when you start your vehicle.
The words ON and OFF, or the symbol for on and off,
will be visible during the system check. If you are
using remote start to start your vehicle from a distance,
if equipped, you may not see the system check.
When the system check is complete, either the word
ON or the word OFF, or the symbol for on or the symbol
for off, will be visible. SeePassenger Airbag Status
Indicator on page 3-61.The passenger sensing system will turn off the right
front passenger’s frontal airbag under certain conditions.
The driver’s airbags are not part of the passenger
sensing system.
The passenger sensing system works with sensors that
are part of the right front passenger’s seat. The sensors
are designed to detect the presence of a properly-seated
occupant and determine if the right front passenger’s
frontal airbag should be enabled (may inate) or not.
Accident statistics show that children are safer if
they are restrained in the rear rather than the front seat.
We recommend that children be secured in a rear
seat, including: an infant or a child riding in a rear-facing
child restraint; a child riding in a forward-facing child
seat; an older child riding in a booster seat; and children,
who are large enough, using safety belts.
A label on your sun visor says, “Never put a rear-facing
child seat in the front.” This is because the risk to the
rear-facing child is so great, if the airbag deploys. United States
Canada
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Adding Equipment to Your
Airbag-Equipped Vehicle
Q:Is there anything I might add to or change
about the vehicle that could keep the airbags
from working properly?
A:Yes. If you add things that change your vehicle’s
frame, bumper system, height, front end or side
sheet metal, they may keep the airbag system from
working properly. Changing or moving any parts
of the front seats, safety belts, the airbag sensing
and diagnostic module, steering wheel, instrument
panel, roof-rail airbag modules, ceiling headliner
or pillar garnish trim, overhead console, front
sensors, side impact sensors, or airbag wiring can
affect the operation of the airbag system.
In addition, your vehicle has a passenger sensing
system for the right front passenger’s position, which
includes sensors that are part of the passenger’s
seat. The passenger sensing system may not
operate properly if the original seat trim is replaced
with non-GM covers, upholstery or trim, or with GM
covers, upholstery or trim designed for a different
vehicle. Any object, such as an aftermarket seat
heater or a comfort enhancing pad or device,installed under or on top of the seat fabric, could also
interfere with the operation of the passenger sensing
system. This could either prevent proper deployment
of the passenger airbag(s) or prevent the passenger
sensing system from properly turning off the
passenger airbag(s). SeePassenger Sensing
System on page 1-60.
If you have any questions about this, you should
contact Customer Assistance before you modify
your vehicle. The phone numbers and addresses for
Customer Assistance are in Step Two of the
Customer Satisfaction Procedure in this manual.
SeeCustomer Satisfaction Procedure on page 7-2.
Q:Because I have a disability, I have to get
my vehicle modied. How can I nd out whether
this will affect my airbag system?
A:If you have questions, call Customer Assistance.
The phone numbers and addresses for Customer
Assistance are in Step Two of the Customer
Satisfaction Procedure in this manual. See
Customer Satisfaction Procedure on page 7-2.
In addition, your dealer/retailer and the service manual
have information about the location of the airbag sensors,
sensing and diagnostic module and airbag wiring.
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Object Detection Systems
Ultrasonic Rear Parking Assist
(URPA)
If your vehicle has the Ultrasonic Rear Parking Assist
(URPA) system, it helps you park easier and avoid other
vehicles while in REVERSE (R). It operates at speeds
less than 3 mph (5 km/h). It can determine how close
objects are to the rear bumper, up to 5 feet (1.5 m)
behind your vehicle. The distance sensors are located
on the rear bumper.
{CAUTION:
The Ultrasonic Rear Parking Assist (URPA)
system does not replace driver vision.
It cannot detect:
objects that are below the bumper,
underneath the vehicle, or if they are
too close or far from the vehicle
children, pedestrians, bicyclists, or pets.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
If you do not use proper care before and while
backing; vehicle damage, injury, or death
could occur. Even with URPA, always check
behind your vehicle before backing up. While
backing, be sure to look for objects and check
your vehicle’s mirrors.
The display is located in
the dome lamp and can be
seen by looking over
your right shoulder.
URPA uses three color-coded lights to provide distance
and system information.
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When the System Does Not Seem to
Work Properly
The ultrasonic sensors are not clean, a red URPA
display light may illuminate when the vehicle is in
REVERSE (R). Keep your rear bumper free of mud,
dirt, snow, ice and slush. For cleaning instructions,
seeWashing Your Vehicle on page 5-110.
A trailer was attached to your vehicle, or a bicycle
or an object was hanging out of your trunk during
your last drive cycle, the red light may illuminate.
Once the attached object is removed, URPA
will return to normal operation.
The vehicle’s bumper is damaged. Take the vehicle
to your dealer/retailer to repair the system.
Other conditions may affect system performance,
such as vibrations from a jackhammer or the
compression of air brakes on a very large truck.
If the system is still disabled, after driving forward at
least 15 mph (25 km/h), take your vehicle to your
dealer/retailer.
Side Blind Zone Alert
Your vehicle may have a Side Blind Zone Alert (SBZA)
system. The SBZA system is an aid that may help
you avoid lane change crashes with vehicles in your side
blind spots (zones). Read the entire section before
using the system. See “Side Blind Zone Alert” in
the Index of the navigation manual.
Lane Departure Warning
Your vehicle may have a Lane Departure Warning
(LDW) system. The LDW system does not steer the
vehicle and is only an aid to help you stay in your driving
lane. Read the entire section before using the system.
See “Lane Departure Warning” in the Index of the
navigation manual.
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Rainsense™ II Wipers
If your vehicle has this feature, the moisture sensor is
mounted on the interior side of the windshield behind
the rearview mirror. It is used to automatically operate
the wipers by monitoring the amount of moisture
build-up on the windshield. Wipes occur as needed to
clear the windshield depending on driving conditions
and the sensitivity setting. In light rain or snow,
fewer wipes will occur. In heavy rain or snow, wipes
will occur more frequently. The Rainsense™ wipers
operate in a delay mode as well as a continuous low
or high speed as needed. If the system is left on for long
periods of time, occasional wipes may occur without
any moisture on the windshield. This is normal and
indicates that the Rainsense™ system is activated.
To activate the Rainsense™ system, turn the wiper band
to delay mode and select one of the four sensitivity
levels indicated on the wiper stalk. The position closest
to off is the lowest sensitivity setting, level one. This
allows more rain or snow to collect on the windshield
between wipes. Turning the wiper band away from
you to higher sensitivity levels increases the sensitivity
of the system and frequency of wipes. The highest
sensitivity setting, level four, is closest to low.A single wipe will occur each time you turn the wiper
stalk to a higher sensitivity level to indicate that the
sensitivity level has been increased.
Notice:Going through an automatic car wash with
the wipers on can damage them. Turn the wipers
off when going through an automatic car wash.
The mist and wash cycles operate as normal and
are not affected by the Rainsense™ function. The
Rainsense™ system can be overridden at any time by
manually turning the wiper band to low or high speed.
When Rainsense™ is active, the headlamps will turn
on automatically. The headlamps will turn off again
once the wipers turn off if it is light enough outside.
If it is dark, they will remain on. SeeWiper Activated
Headlamps on page 3-37.
Notice:Do not place stickers or other items on
the exterior glass surface directly in front of
the moisture sensor. Doing this could cause the
moisture sensor to malfunction.
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;(Parking Lamps):Turn the control to this position
to turn on the parking lamps together with the following:
Sidemarker Lamps
Taillamps
License Plate Lamps
Instrument Panel Lights
5(Headlamps):Turn the control to this position to
turn on the headlamps, together with the previously
listed lamps and lights.
IntelliBeam™ Intelligent High-Beam
Headlamp Control System
If your vehicle has this feature, be sure to read this
entire section before using it.
IntelliBeam™ is an enhancement to the vehicle’s
headlamp system. Using a digital light sensor located
on the back of the rearview mirror, this system turns
the high-beam headlamps on and off according to
surrounding traffic conditions.
The IntelliBeam™ system turns the high-beam
headlamps on when it is dark enough, there is no other
traffic present, and the IntelliBeam™ system is enabled.
Turning On and Enabling IntelliBeam™
AUTO3(IntelliBeam™ On/Off):Press and release
the IntelliBeam™ button on the inside rear view mirror.
The IntelliBeam™ indicator on the mirror turns on.
Once the system has been turned on, it remains on each
time the vehicle is started. Additionally, the IntelliBeam™
system must be enabled.
To enable the IntelliBeam™ System, turn the exterior
lamp control to AUTO, with the turn signal/multifunction
lever in its neutral position. The High-Beam On
Light appears on the instrument panel cluster when
the high-beams are on. SeeHighbeam On Light
on page 3-72. Your vehicle has variable intensity
high-beams. The high-beam indicator on the instrument
panel cluster comes on as soon as the high-beams
start to come on, and remains on until the high-beams
have completely turned off. All vehicles that have
IntelliBeam™, however, quickly turn off the high-beams
if the system detects the sudden presence of vehicle
lights ahead.
Driving with IntelliBeam™
IntelliBeam™ only activates the high-beams when
driving over 20 mph (32 km/h).
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The high-beam headlamps remain on, under the
control of IntelliBeam™, until any of the following
situations occur:
The system detects an approaching vehicle’s
headlamps.
The system detects a preceding vehicle’s taillamps.
The outside light is bright enough that high-beam
headlamps are not required.
The high-beam headlamps are manually
turned on or you use the ash-to-pass feature.
SeeHeadlamp High/Low-Beam Changer on
page 3-9andFlash-to-Pass on page 3-13.
When either of these conditions occur, the
IntelliBeam™ feature is temporarily disabled until
the high-beam stalk is returned to the neutral
position. If either of these conditions occur and
IntelliBeam™ already has the high-beam headlamps
on, the IntelliBeam™ feature is disabled and the
IntelliBeam™ light in the mirror turns off.
The exterior lamp control is turned to any setting
except AUTO.
When this occurs, IntelliBeam™ is disabled until
the control is turned back to the AUTO position
and the AUTOMATIC LIGHTS ON message
displays on the DIC.
The IntelliBeam™ system is turned off at the inside
rearview mirror.
The vehicle’s speed drops below 15 mph (24 km/h).
IntelliBeam™ may not turn off the high-beams if the
system cannot detect other vehicle’s lamps because
of any of the following:
The others vehicle’s lamp(s) are missing, damaged,
obstructed from view, or otherwise undetected.
The other vehicle’s lamp(s) are covered with dirt,
snow and/or road spray.
The other vehicle’s lamp(s) cannot be detected due
to dense exhaust, smoke, fog, snow, road spray,
mist, or other airborne obstructions.
Your vehicle’s windshield is dirty, cracked,
or obstructed by something that blocks the view
of the IntelliBeam™ light sensor.
Your vehicle’s windshield is covered with ice,
dirt, haze, or other obstructions.
Your vehicle is loaded such that the front end of
the vehicle points upward, causing the IntelliBeam™
sensor to aim high and not detect headlamps
and taillamps.
You are driving on winding or hilly roads.
You might need to manually disable or cancel the
high-beam headlamps by turning the low-beam
headlamps on, if any of the above conditions exist.
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