5. To tighten the belt, push down on the child restraint,
pull the shoulder portion of the belt to tighten the
lap portion of the belt, and feed the shoulder
belt back into the retractor. If you are using a
forward-facing child restraint, you may nd it helpful
to use your knee to push down on the child
restraint as you tighten the belt.
6. If your child restraint has a top tether, follow the
child restraint manufacturer’s instructions regarding
the use of the top tether. SeeLower Anchors
and Tethers for Children (LATCH) on page 1-42
for more information.
7. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it is secure.To remove the child restraint, unbuckle the vehicle’s
safety belt and let it go back all the way. If the top tether
is attached to a top tether anchor, disconnect it.
Securing a Child Restraint in the
Right Front Seat Position
Your vehicle has airbags. A rear seat is a safer place
to secure a forward-facing child restraint. SeeWhere to
Put the Restraint on page 1-40.
In addition, your vehicle has a passenger sensing
system which is designed to turn off the right front
passenger’s frontal airbag under certain conditions.
SeePassenger Sensing System on page 1-65
andPassenger Airbag Status Indicator on page 3-28
for more information on this, including important safety
information.
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.
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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 in ate) 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.
{CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured or killed if the right front
passenger’s airbag in ates. This is because
the back of the rear-facing child restraint
would be very close to the in ating airbag.
Even though the passenger sensing system is
designed to turn off the right front passenger’s
frontal airbag if the system detects a rear-facing
child restraint, no system is fail-safe, and
no one can guarantee that an airbag will not
deploy under some unusual circumstance,
even though it is turned off. We recommend that
rear-facing child restraints be secured in a rear
seat, even if the airbag is off.
If you secure a forward-facing child restraint
in the right front seat, always move the front
passenger seat as far back as it will go. It is
better to secure the child restraint in a rear seat.
1-66
DRIVE (D):This position is for normal driving with
the automatic transmission. It provides the best
fuel economy for your vehicle. If you need more
power for passing, and you are:
Going less than about 35 mph (55 km/h),
push your accelerator pedal about halfway down.
Going about 35 mph (55 km/h), push your
accelerator all the way down.
Downshifting the transmission in slippery road conditions
could result in skidding, see “Skidding” underLoss of
Control on page 4-13.
INTERMEDIATE (I):This position is also used for
normal driving. However, it reduces vehicle speed without
using your brakes for slight downgrades where the
vehicle would otherwise accelerate due to steepness
of grade. If constant upshifting or downshifting occurs
while driving up steep hills, this position can be used to
prevent repetitive types of shifts. You might choose
INTERMEDIATE (I) instead of DRIVE (D) when driving
on hilly, winding roads and when towing a trailer, so that
there is less shifting between gears.
LOW (L):This position reduces vehicle speed more
than INTERMEDIATE (I) without actually using
your brakes. You can use it on very steep hills, or in
deep snow or mud. If the shift lever is put in LOW (L),
the transmission will not shift into LOW (L) until the
vehicle is going slowly enough.Notice:Spinning the tires or holding the vehicle
in one place on a hill using only the accelerator
pedal may damage the transmission. The repair will
not be covered by your warranty. If you are stuck,
do not spin the tires. When stopping on a hill,
use the brakes to hold the vehicle in place.Transmission Overheating
If the transmission uid temperature rises above 284°F
(140°C) or rises rapidly, the Engine Coolant
Temperature Warning Light will ash. SeeEngine
Coolant Temperature Warning Light on page 3-33for
more information. When the transmission overheats
it will go into a protection mode and will default shift into
fth gear if in the DRIVE (D) position, or second gear
if in the LOW (L) position. Continue driving the vehicle in
either position depending on the required vehicle
speed and load. Once the uid temperature lowers to
the normal temperature range, the transmission will
return to the normal shift patterns. Towing or driving on
long hills can cause the transmission uid temperature
to be higher than normal. If the transmission uid
temperature will not cool, you may need to pull over and
check the transmission uid level. You should also
check the engine coolant temperature. If it is hot, see
Engine Overheating on page 5-24.
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DRIVE (D):This position is for normal driving.
It provides the best fuel economy for your vehicle.
If the vehicle needs more power for passing, and it is:
Going less than 35 mph (55 km/h), push the
accelerator pedal about halfway down.
Going about 35 mph (55 km/h) or more,
push the accelerator pedal all the way down.
The vehicle will shift down to the next gear
and have more power.
Downshifting the transmission in slippery road conditions
could result in skidding, see Skidding underLoss of
Control on page 4-13.
Notice:Spinning the tires or holding the vehicle
in one place on a hill using only the accelerator
pedal may damage the transmission. The repair
will not be covered by your warranty. If you
are stuck, do not spin the tires. When stopping on
a hill, use the brakes to hold the vehicle in place.
MANUAL SHIFT MODE (M):This position, available
on the models with the Manual Shift Mode (MSM),
allows you to change gears similar to a manual
transmission. If your vehicle has this feature, see
“Manual Shift Mode (MSM)”.
Manual Shift Mode (MSM)
(Automatic Transmission)
To use this feature, do the following:
1. Move the shift lever from DRIVE (D) to the left into
the manual gate.
While driving in manual shift mode, the transmission
will remain in the driver gear selected. When coming
to a stop in the manual position, the vehicle will
automatically shift to FIRST (1) gear.
2. Push the shift lever forward toward the plus (+) to
upshift or rearward toward the minus (−) to downshift.
When using the Manual Shift Mode (MSM) the
number of the gear selected will appear on the
instrument cluster below the shift position display.
2-29
OnStar®System
OnStar uses several innovative technologies and live
advisors to provide you with a wide range of safety,
security, information, and convenience services. If your
airbags deploy, the system is designed to make an
automatic call to OnStar Emergency advisors who can
request emergency services be sent to your location.
If you lock your keys in the vehicle, call OnStar at
1-888-4-ONSTAR and they can send a signal to unlock
your doors. If you need roadside assistance, press
the OnStar button and they can contact Roadside
Service for you.
OnStar service is provided to you subject to the
OnStar Terms and Conditions. You may cancel your
OnStar service at any time by contacting OnStar.A complete OnStar Owner’s Guide and the OnStar
Terms and Conditions are included in the vehicle’s
OnStar Subscriber glove box literature. For more
information, visit onstar.com or onstar.ca, contact
OnStar at 1-888-4-ONSTAR (1-888-466-7827) or
TTY 1-877-248-2080, or press the OnStar button
to speak with an OnStar advisor 24 hours a day,
7 days a week.
Not all OnStar features are available on all vehicles.
To check if your vehicle is equipped to provide the
services described below, or for a full description of
OnStar services and system limitations, see the OnStar
Owner’s Guide in your glove box or visit onstar.com.
OnStar Services
For new vehicles with OnStar, the Safe & Sound Plan,
or the Directions & Connections Plan is included for
one year from the date of purchase. You can extend
this plan beyond the rst year, or upgrade to the
Directions & Connections Plan. For more information,
press the OnStar button to speak with an advisor.
Some OnStar services (such as Remote Door Unlock
or Stolen Vehicle Location Assistance) may not be
available until you register with OnStar.
2-39
@(Recirculation):Press this button to recirculate
cabin air through the vehicle. It can be used to prevent
outside air and odors from entering the vehicle or to
help heat or cool the air inside the vehicle more quickly.
An indicator light will come on in this mode. Operation
in this mode during periods of high humidity and
cool outside temperatures may result in increased
window fogging. If window fogging is experienced,
select the defrost mode.
The recirculation mode cannot be used with oor,
defrost, or defogging modes. If you try to select
recirculation in one of those modes, the indicator
light ashes several times and turns off.
#(Air Conditioning):Press this button to turn the
air conditioning system on or off. When this button
is pressed, an indicator light on the button comes
on to show that the air conditioning is activated.
The air conditioning can be selected in any mode
as long as the fan switch is on.
The air conditioning compressor does not operate
when outside temperatures fall below 38°F (3°C).
The indicator light ashes several times and turns off
when outside conditions affect air conditioning operation.
This is normal.On hot days, open the windows to let hot inside air
escape; then close them. This helps to reduce the time
it takes for the vehicle to cool down. It also helps the
system to operate more efficiently.
For quick cool down on hot days, select the following
settings together:
1. Vent mode.
2. Outside air.
3. Air conditioning.
4. The coolest temperature.
5. The highest fan speed.
6. Once the vehicle’s interior temperature is below the
outside temperature, select recirculation mode for
enhanced cooling.
Using these settings together for long periods of time
may cause the air inside of the vehicle to become
too dry. To prevent this from happening, after the air
inside of the vehicle has cooled, turn the recirculation
mode off.
The air conditioning system removes moisture from the
air, so a small amount of water might drip underneath
the vehicle while idling or after turning off the engine.
This is normal.
((Heated Seats):If your vehicle has heated seats,
seeHeated Seats on page 1-4.
3-20
Defogging and Defrosting
Fog or frost on the inside of windows is a result of high
humidity (moisture) condensing on the cool window
glass. This can be minimized if the climate control
system is used properly.
Use the defog mode to clear the windows of fog or
moisture and warm the passengers. Use the defrost
mode to remove fog or frost from the windshield more
quickly. When either of these modes are selected, the
system runs the air conditioning compressor and cancels
the recirculation mode to dry the air. For best results,
clear all snow and ice from the windshield before
defrosting.
Turn the right knob to select the defog or defrost mode.
-(Defog):This mode directs half of the air to the
windshield and the side window outlets, and half to
the oor outlets.
0(Defrost):This mode directs most of the air to
the windshield and the side window outlets, with some
air directed to the oor outlets.
Rear Window Defogger
The rear window defogger uses a warming grid to
remove fog from the rear window.
The rear window defogger only works when the ignition
is in ON/RUN.
<(Rear):Press this button to turn the rear window
defogger on or off. An indicator light on the button
comes on to show that the rear window defogger is
activated.
The rear window defroster stays on for about 10
minutes if the vehicle remains at slower vehicle speeds
or until the button is pressed, or unless the ignition
is turned to ACC/ACCESSORY or LOCK/OFF. If turned
on again, the defogger only runs for about ve
minutes before turning off again. At higher vehicle
speeds, the defogger may stay on continuously. The
defogger can always be turned off by pressing the
button again or by turning off the ignition.
3-21
If, after several seconds, both status indicator lights
remain on, or if there are no lights at all, there may
be a problem with the lights or the passenger sensing
system. See your dealer/retailer for service.
{CAUTION:
If the airbag readiness light in the instrument
panel cluster ever comes on and stays on,
it means that something may be wrong with
the airbag system. If this ever happens, have
the vehicle serviced promptly, because an
adult-size person sitting in the right front
passenger’s seat may not have the protection
of the airbag(s). SeeAirbag Readiness Light
on page 3-27for more on this, including
important safety information.
Charging System Light
If this light comes on
while you are driving,
you may have a problem
with the charging system.
A charging system Driver Information Center (DIC)
message may also appear. SeeDIC Warnings
and Messages on page 3-49for more information.
This light could indicate that you have problems with
a generator drive belt, or another electrical problem.
Have it checked right away. If you must drive a
short distance with the light on, be certain to turn off all
your accessories, such as the radio and air conditioner.
3-30