2009 CHEVROLET MALIBU Owners Manual

Door Ajar Reminder
A chime will sound and the DOOR AJAR message
will display if one of the doors is not fully closed.
This happens when the ignition is on and the shift
lever is moved out of P (Park) or N (Neutral).
SeeDIC Warnings and Messages on page 3-46.
Delayed Locking
This feature will delay the actual locking of the doors
and arming of the theft-deterrent system for ve seconds
when the power door lock switch or remote keyless
entry transmitter is used to lock the vehicle.
If any door is open when locking the vehicle, three
chimes will sound signaling that the delayed locking
feature is active. Five seconds after the last door
is closed, all of the doors will lock. To cancel the delay
and lock the doors immediately, press the lock button
on the remote keyless entry transmitter or the power
door lock switch a second time. The theft deterrent
system will arm after 30 seconds.
Programmable Automatic Door
Locks
The vehicle is programmed to lock all doors
automatically when the following are met:
All doors are closed.
The ignition is on.
The vehicle is shifted out of (P) Park.
This feature cannot be disabled.
All doors will unlock when the vehicle is shifted into
(P) Park.
The power door unlock function can be programmed
through prompts displayed on the Driver Information
Center (DIC). SeeDIC Vehicle Personalization on
page 3-50.
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Rear Door Security Locks
The vehicle has rear door security locks to prevent
passengers from opening the rear doors from the inside.
Open the rear doors to
access the security locks
on the inside edge of
each door.
To set the locks, insert a key into the slot and turn it to
the horizontal position. The door can only be opened from
the outside with the door unlocked. To return the door to
normal operation, turn the slot to the vertical position.
Lockout Protection
If you press the power door lock switch when the key is
in the ignition and any door is open, all the doors will lock
and then the driver’s door will unlock. Be sure to remove
the key from the ignition when locking your vehicle.
If the remote keyless entry transmitter is used to lock
the doors while the key is in the ignition, a chime
will sound three times. All doors will then lock.
Trunk
Press the trunk release button on the Remote Keyless
Entry (RKE) transmitter for one second to open the
trunk from the outside.
{CAUTION:
Exhaust gases can enter the vehicle if it is driven
with the liftgate, trunk/hatch open, or with any
objects that pass through the seal between the
body and the trunk/hatch or liftgate. Engine exhaust
contains Carbon Monoxide (CO) which cannot be
seen or smelled. It can cause unconsciousness
and even death.
CAUTION: (Continued)
2-12

CAUTION: (Continued)
If the vehicle must be driven with the liftgate, or
trunk/hatch open:
Close all of the windows.
Fully open the air outlets on or under the
instrument panel.
Adjust the Climate Control system to a setting
that brings in only outside air and set the fan
speed to the highest setting. See Climate
Control System in the Index.
If the vehicle is equipped with a power liftgate,
disable the power liftgate function.
For more information about carbon monoxide, see
Engine Exhaust on page 2-35.
Remote Trunk Release
Press the button located
on the driver door near
the map pocket to open
the trunk.
The trunk can only be opened while the vehicle is in
P (Park) or when the ignition is off.
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Trunk Assist Handle
There is an assist handle
located on the inside of
the trunk.
Use the assist handle to lower the trunk lid. The TRUNK
AJAR message will appear if the trunk is not properly
closed. SeeDIC Warnings and Messages on page 3-46
for more information.
Notice:Using the trunk assist handle as a tie-down
or anchor point when securing items in the trunk
may damage it. Use the trunk assist handle only to
help you close the trunk lid.
Emergency Trunk Release Handle
Notice:Do not use the emergency trunk release
handle as a tie-down or anchor point when securing
items in the trunk as it could damage the handle.
The emergency trunk release handle is only intended
to aid a person trapped in a latched trunk, enabling
them to open the trunk from the inside.
There is a glow-in-the-dark emergency trunk release
handle located inside the trunk on the trunk latch.
This handle glows following exposure to light. Pull the
release handle up to open the trunk from the inside.
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Windows
{CAUTION:
Leaving children, helpless adults, or pets in a
vehicle with the windows closed is dangerous.
They can be overcome by the extreme heat and
suffer permanent injuries or even death from heat
stroke. Never leave a child, a helpless adult, or a
pet alone in a vehicle, especially with the windows
closed in warm or hot weather.
2-15

Power Windows
The power window switches are located on the armrest
on the driver’s door. In addition, there is a switch on
each passenger door.
Express-Down Window
The driver window has an express-down feature. This
switch is labeled AUTO. Press the front all the way down
and release, to automatically lower.
To stop the window while it is lowering, pull the front of
the switch momentarily. To raise the window, pull
and hold the front of the switch.
Express-Up Window
On windows with this feature, pull the switch up to the
second position and release the switch to activate
the express-up feature. To stop the window as it is going
up, pull up or press down briey on the switch again.
Programming the Power Windows
If the battery on the vehicle has been recharged,
disconnected, or is not working, the driver power window
will need to be re-programmed for the express-up
feature to work. Replace or recharge the vehicle’s
battery before reprogramming.
To program the driver window, follow these steps:
1. With the ignition in ACC/ACCESSORY, ON/RUN, or
when Retained Accessory Power (RAP) is active,
close all doors.
2. Press and hold the power window switch until the
window is fully open.
3. Pull the power window switch up until the window is
fully closed.
4. Continue holding the switch up for approximately
two seconds after the window is completely
closed.
The window is now reprogrammed.
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Express Window Anti-Pinch Feature
If any object is in the path of the window when
the express-up is active, the window stops at the
obstruction and auto-reverse to a preset factory position.
Weather conditions such as severe icing may also
cause the window to auto-reverse. The window returns
to normal operation once the obstruction or condition
is removed.
Express Window Anti-Pinch Override
{CAUTION:
If express override is activated, the window will
not reverse automatically. You or others could be
injured and the window could be damaged. Before
you use express override, make sure that all people
and obstructions are clear of the window path.
In an emergency, the anti-pinch feature can be
overridden in a supervised mode. Hold the window
switch all the way up to the second position. The window
rises for as long as the switch is held. Once the switch
is released, the express mode is re-activated.
In this mode, the window can still close on an object in
its path. Use care when using the override mode.
Window Lockout
The driver power window controls also include a lockout
button.
o(Window Lockout):Press the lockout button to stop
the rear passengers from using their window switches.
The driver and front passenger can still operate all the
windows with the lock on. When the red part of the switch
is visible, you have returned to normal window operation.
Sun Visors
To block out glare, you can swing down the visors.
You can also remove them from the center mount and
swing them to the side, to block out glare from the side.
Your vehicle may have lighted visor vanity mirrors
located on the passenger and driver’s side visor.
When you lift the cover, the light will turn on.
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Theft-Deterrent Systems
Vehicle theft is big business, especially in some cities.
This vehicle has theft-deterrent features, however,
they do not make it impossible to steal.
Content Theft-Deterrent
Your vehicle may have a
content theft-deterrent
alarm system.
Arming the System
With the ignition off, press the Remote Keyless
Entry (RKE) transmitter lock button to arm the system.
The system will arm 30 seconds after all the doors
are closed, or 60 seconds with any door open.
If you press the lock button on the transmitter a second
time while all the doors are closed, the system will arm
immediately. The system will still arm in 60 seconds if a
door is open. When the open door is closed, the system
will arm.The security light, located on the instrument panel
cluster, comes on to indicate that arming has been
initiated. Once the system is armed, the security light
ashes once every three seconds.
If the security light is ashing twice per second, this
means that a door is open.
If the system is armed and the key is used to unlock the
vehicle, the alarm will be activated.
If you do not want to arm the content theft system,
lock the vehicle with the manual lock knob on the doors
or with the inside power door lock switches.
The alarm will sound and the exterior lights will ash if
any door is opened while armed.
Disarming the System
To disarm the system, do one of the following:
Press the RKE transmitter unlock button.
Turn the ignition to ON/RUN.
Once the system is disarmed, the security light will stop
ashing.
2-18