Page 1 of 304

Seats and Restraints......... 1-1
Front Seats
.................... 1-2
Rear Seats
.................... 1-7
Safety Belts
................... 1-8
Airbag System
..............1-23
Child Restraints
.............1-37
Keys, Doors and
Windows............................ 2-1
Keys
............................. 2-2
Doors and Locks
............ 2-5
Theft-Deterrent Systems
... 2-7
Windows
......................2-10
Mirrors
.........................2-12
Sunroof
........................2-13
Storage.............................. 3-1
Storage
......................... 3-1
Instruments and
Controls............................. 4-1
Instrument Panel
Overview
.................... 4-2
Warning Lights, Gages,
and Indicators
............4-11Driver Information
Center (DIC)
.............4-26
OnStar
®System
............4-38
Lighting............................. 5-1
Lighting
......................... 5-1
Infotainment...................... 6-1
Audio System(s)
............. 6-1
Climate Controls............... 7-1
Climate Controls
............. 7-1
Driving and Operating....... 8-1
Starting and Operating
Your Vehicle
................ 8-2
Driving Your Vehicle
......8-16
Fuel
............................8-35
Vehicle Service
and Care............................ 9-1
Service
.......................... 9-2
Owner Checks
................ 9-5
Headlamp Aiming
..........9-26
Bulb Replacement
.........9-28
Electrical System
...........9-33
Tires
...........................9-38Tire Changing
...............9-60
Jump Starting
...............9-68
Towing
........................9-72
Appearance Care
..........9-72
Technical Data.................10-1
Vehicle Identi cation
......10-1
Capacities and
Speci cations
............10-2
Customer Information......11-1
Customer Information
.....11-1
Reporting Safety
Defects
...................11-13
Vehicle Data Recording
and Privacy
.............11-15
Index................................... i-1
2008 Saturn Astra Owner ManualM
ProCarManuals.com
Page 34 of 304

Passenger Sensing
System
The vehicle has a passenger
sensing system for the right front
passenger position. The passenger
airbag status indicator will be visible
in the rearview mirror when you start
the vehicle.
The words ON and OFF, or the
symbol for on and off, will be visible
during 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 4-15.
The passenger sensing system will
turn off the right front passenger’s
frontal airbag and seat-mounted
side impact 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 and
seat-mounted side impact 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. United States
Canada
1-30 Seats and Restraints
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Page 61 of 304
Keys, Doors and
Windows
Keys
Keys...................................2-2
Remote Keyless
Entry (RKE) System..........2-3
Remote Keyless
Entry (RKE) System
Operation
..........................2-4
Doors and Locks
Door Locks.........................2-5
Power Door Locks..............2-5
Rear Door Security Locks. . .2-6
Liftgate...............................2-6
Theft-Deterrent Systems
Theft-Deterrent Systems.....2-7
Immobilizer.........................2-7
Immobilizer Operation.........2-8
Content Theft-Deterrent......2-9
Windows
Windows...........................2-10
Power Windows................2-10
Sun Visors........................2-11
Mirrors
Manual Rearview Mirror. . . .2-12
Outside Mirror(s)...............2-12
Outside Power Mirror(s). . . .2-12
Sunroof
Sunroof.............................2-13
Keys, Doors and Windows 2-1
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Page 71 of 304

The window switches are located on
each of the doors.
To lower a window, press the switch
down. To raise a window, pull the
switch up.
Express-Down Window
This feature is on all windows.
It allows you to lower the window
all the way without holding the
switch down.
Press the front of the switch to
the second position and release.
If you want to stop the window as
it is lowering, brie y pull up the
switch.
Press and hold the unlock button on
the Remote Keyless Entry (RKE)
transmitter to lower all of the
windows from outside the vehicle.
Window Lockout
o(Window Lockout):This button
is located on the driver’s door
armrest. Slide the switch forward to
turn the lockout feature on. The
rear windows can only be opened or
closed by the driver window
switches. The light on the button
indicates the feature is in use. Press
again to turn off.
Sun Visors
Pull the visor toward you, or move it
to the side to help reduce glare.
To use the lighted mirror, lift
the cover.
Keys, Doors and Windows 2-11
ProCarManuals.com
Page 72 of 304

Mirrors
Manual Rearview Mirror
Hold the mirror in the center to move
it for a clearer view of behind your
vehicle.
Headlamp Glare
To reduce headlamp glare from
vehicles following from behind, pull
the lever toward you. Push the
lever forward after the vehicle glare
is gone, to return the mirror back
to the original position.
Vehicles with OnStar
®have three
OnStar®control buttons located at
the bottom of the mirror. See your
dealer/retailer for more information
on the system and how to subscribe
to OnStar
®. SeeOnStar®System on
page 4-38.
Cleaning the Mirror
Do not spray glass cleaner directly
on the mirror. Use a soft towel
dampened with glass cleaner.
Outside Mirror(s)
To maximize the viewing area,
adjust each mirror to see the side of
your vehicle and the area beside
and behind your vehicle.
Manually fold the mirrors at against
the side of the vehicle by pushing
them toward the vehicle’s doors.
Outside Power Mirror(s)
hi
(Power Mirrors):Press to
select the driver side or passenger
side mirror. Press the arrows to
move the selected mirror in
the desired direction.
2-12 Keys, Doors and Windows
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Page 73 of 304
Outside Heated Mirrors
The vehicle may have outside
heated mirrors which help clear the
condensation, snow, and ice.
<(Rear Window Defogger):
Press to heat the mirrors. See “Rear
Window Defogger” under,Climate
Control System on page 7-1for
more information.
Sunroof
On vehicles with a sunroof, the
switches are located in the overhead
console. To operate the sunroof,
the ignition must be turned on.
tVent/Open:With the sunroof in
the closed position, press to vent
the sunroof. With the sunroof in the
vent position, press to open the
sunroof. The sunshade will
open automatically with the sunroof.
uClose:Press to close the
sunroof. Press and hold to close
completely.
Sunshade
rSunshade Open:Press to
open the sunshade.
sSunshade Close:Press to
close the sunshade, and press
and hold to close the sunshade
completely.
Keys, Doors and Windows 2-13
ProCarManuals.com
Page 85 of 304

Windshield Wipers
Clear ice and snow from the wiper
blades before using them. If the
wiper blades are frozen to the
windshield, gently loosen or thaw
them. If the blades do become
damaged, install new blades or
blade inserts. SeeWindshield Wiper
Blade Replacement on page 9-21.
Heavy snow or ice can overload the
wiper motor. A circuit breaker will
stop the motor until it cools down.
Clear away snow or ice to prevent
an overload.The lever on the right side of the
steering column operates the
windshield wipers. Push up or pull
down on the lever to place it in
one of the following positions.
[(High):For rapid wiping cycles.
— (Low):For slow, steady wiping
cycles.
-- (Intermittent/RainSense™):
See RainSense™ wipers below.
9(Off):Turns off the wipers.For a single wipe pull the lever
down from the off position. The lever
will return to its original position.
For more cycles, hold the lever
down before releasing it.
RainSense™ Wipers
There is a moisture sensor mounted
on the windshield next to the inside
rearview mirror. When active, the
sensor is able to detect moisture on
the windshield and automatically
control the frequency of the wipes
according to the weather conditions.
To turn on the RainSense feature,
the wipers must be set to the
intermittent delay setting on
the windshield wiper lever.
To turn off RainSense, move the
lever downwards.
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.
Instruments and Controls 4-9
ProCarManuals.com
Page 91 of 304

If the airbag readiness light stays on
after you start the vehicle or comes
on when your are driving, your airbag
system may not work properly. Have
your vehicle serviced right away.
{CAUTION
If the airbag readiness light
stays on after the vehicle is
started, it means the airbag
system may not be working
properly. The airbags in the
vehicle may not in ate in a
crash, or they could even
in ate without a crash.
To help avoid injury, have the
vehicle serviced right away.
Passenger Airbag Status
Indicator
The vehicle has a passenger
sensing system. The rearview
mirror has a passenger airbag
status indicator.
When you start the vehicle, the
passenger airbag status indicator
will light ON and OFF, or the symbol
for on and off, for several seconds
as a system check. Then, after
several more seconds, the status
indicator will light either ON or OFF,
or either the on or off symbol to let
you know the status of the right
front passenger’s frontal and
seat-mounted side impact airbags. United States
Canada
Instruments and Controls 4-15
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