In Brief. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1
Instrument Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
Initial Drive Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4
Vehicle Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-15
Performance and Maintenance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-21
Seats and Restraint System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1
Head Restraints. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
Front Seats. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3
Rear Seats. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10
Safety Belts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Child Restraints. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-33
Airbag System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-58
Restraint System Check. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-74
Features and Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1
Keys. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Doors and Locks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9
Windows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-14
Theft-Deterrent Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-18
Starting and Operating Your Vehicle. . . . . . . . . . . 3-22
Mirrors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-36
Object Detection Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-40
Universal Home Remote System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-48
Storage Areas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-55
Sunroof. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-57
Instrument Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Instrument Panel Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3
Climate Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-36
Warning Lights, Gages, and Indicators. . . . . . . . 4-46
Driver Information Center (DIC). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-61
Audio System(s). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-88
Driving Your Vehicle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
Your Driving, the Road, and the Vehicle. . . . . . . 5-2
Towing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Service and Appearance Care. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1
Service. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Fuel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Checking Things Under the Hood. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-10
Headlamp Aiming. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-40
2010 Cadillac DTS Owner ManualM
Safety Belt
Refer to the following sections for important informationon how to use safety belts properly.
•Safety Belts: They Are for Everyone on page 2-12.
•How to Wear Safety Belts Properly on page 2-17.
•Lap-Shoulder Belt on page 2-26.
•Lap Belt on page 2-32.
•Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH)
on page 2-45.
Sensing System for Passenger
Airbag
The passenger sensing system will turn off the rightfront passenger frontal airbag and seat-mountedside impact airbag under certain conditions. The driverairbags and roof-rail airbags are not affected by this.
The passenger airbag status indicator will be visible onthe overhead console when the vehicle is started.
SeePassenger Sensing System on page 2-67forimportant information.
United StatesCanada
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Airbag System
The vehicle has the following airbags:
•A frontal airbag for the driver.
•A frontal airbag for the right front passenger.
•A seat-mounted side impact airbag for the driver.
•A seat-mounted side impact airbag for the right front
passenger.
The vehicle may also have the following airbags:
•A roof-rail airbag for the driver and the passenger
seated directly behind the driver.
•A roof-rail airbag for the right front passenger and
the passenger seated directly behind the rightfront passenger.
All of the airbags in your vehicle will have the wordAIRBAG embossed in the trim or on an attached labelnear the deployment opening.
For frontal airbags, the word AIRBAG will appear on themiddle part of the steering wheel for the driver andon the instrument panel for the right front passenger.
With seat-mounted side impact airbags, the wordAIRBAG will appear on the side of the seatback closestto the door.
With roof-rail airbags, the word AIRBAG will appearalong the headliner or trim.
Airbags are designed to supplement the protectionprovided by safety belts. Even though today’s airbagsare also designed to help reduce the risk of injuryfrom the force of an inflating bag, all airbags must inflatevery quickly to do their job.
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Here are the most important things to know about theairbag system:
{WARNING:
You can be severely injured or killed in a crash if
you are not wearing your safety belt — even if you
have airbags. Airbags are designed to work with
safety belts, but do not replace them. Also,
airbags are not designed to deploy in every crash.
In some crashes safety belts are your only
restraint. SeeWhen Should an Airbag Inflate? on
page 2-63.
Wearing your safety belt during a crash helps
reduce your chance of hitting things inside the
vehicle or being ejected from it. Airbags are
“supplemental restraints” to the safety belts.
Everyone in your vehicle should wear a safety belt
properly — whether or not there is an airbag for
that person.
{WARNING:
Airbags inflate with great force, faster than the
blink of an eye. Anyone who is up against, or very
close to, any airbag when it inflates can be
seriously injured or killed. Do not sit unnecessarily
close to the airbag, as you would be if you were
sitting on the edge of your seat or leaning forward.
Safety belts help keep you in position before and
during a crash. Always wear your safety belt, even
with airbags. The driver should sit as far back as
possible while still maintaining control of the
vehicle.
Occupants should not lean on or sleep against the
door or side windows in seating positions with
seat-mounted side impact airbags and/or
roof-rail airbags.
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If the vehicle has roof-rail airbags for the driver, rightfront passenger, and second row outboard passengers,they are in the ceiling above the side windows.
{WARNING:
If something is between an occupant and an airbag,
the airbag might not inflate properly or it might force
the object into that person causing severe injury or
even death. The path of an inflating airbag must be
kept clear. Do not put anything between an
occupant and an airbag, and do not attach or put
anything on the steering wheel hub or on or near
any other airbag covering.
Do not use seat accessories that block the inflation
path of a seat-mounted side impact airbag.
Never secure anything to the roof of a vehicle with
roof-rail airbags by routing a rope or tie down
through any door or window opening. If you do, the
path of an inflating roof-rail airbag will be blocked.
Driver Side shown, Passenger Side similar
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Your vehicle also has a dual-depth passenger airbagthat adjusts the restraint according to crash severity,seat location, and safety belt status using electronicfrontal sensor(s) and other special sensors which enablethe sensing system to monitor the position of the frontpassenger seat. The passenger airbag inflates to areduced depth when the passenger seat is in a forwardposition. For more rearward front seating positions,the passenger airbag may inflate to an increased depth(a full deployment), based on safety belt status andthe crash severity measured early in the event. (Alwayswear your safety belt, even with frontal airbags.)
Your vehicle has seat-mounted side impact airbags.Your vehicle may have roof-rail airbags. SeeAirbagSystem on page 2-58. Seat-mounted side impact androof-rail airbags are intended to inflate in moderateto severe side crashes. Seat-mounted side impact androof-rail airbags will inflate if the crash severity isabove the system’s designed threshold level. Thethreshold level can vary with specific vehicle design.
Seat-mounted side impact and roof-rail airbags arenot intended to inflate in frontal impacts, near-frontalimpacts, rollovers, or rear impacts. A seat-mounted sideimpact airbag is intended to deploy on the side of thevehicle that is struck. Both roof-rail airbags willdeploy when either side of the vehicle is struck.
In any particular crash, no one can say whether anairbag should have inflated simply because of thedamage to a vehicle or because of what the repair costswere. For frontal airbags, inflation is determined bywhat the vehicle hits, the angle of the impact, and howquickly the vehicle slows down. For seat-mountedside impact and roof-rail airbags, deployment isdetermined by the location and severity of theside impact.
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What Makes an Airbag Inflate?
In a deployment event, the sensing system sends anelectrical signal triggering a release of gas fromthe inflator. Gas from the inflator fills the airbag causingthe bag to break out of the cover and deploy. Theinflator, the airbag, and related hardware are all part ofthe airbag module.
Frontal airbag modules are located inside the steeringwheel and instrument panel. For vehicles withseat-mounted side impact airbags, there are airbagmodules in the side of the front seatbacks closest to thedoor. For vehicles with roof-rail airbags, there areairbag modules in the ceiling of the vehicle, near theside windows that have occupant seating positions.
How Does an Airbag Restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or near frontal collisions,even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel orthe instrument panel. In moderate to severe sidecollisions, even belted occupants can contact the insideof the vehicle.
Airbags supplement the protection provided by safetybelts. Frontal airbags distribute the force of theimpact more evenly over the occupant’s upper body,stopping the occupant more gradually. Seat-mountedside impact and roof-rail airbags distribute the forceof the impact more evenly over the occupant’supper body.
But airbags would not help in many types of collisions,primarily because the occupant’s motion is nottoward those airbags. SeeWhen Should an AirbagInflate? on page 2-63for more information.
Airbags should never be regarded as anything morethan a supplement to safety belts.
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What Will You See After an Airbag
Inflates?
After the frontal airbags and seat-mounted side impactairbags inflate, they quickly deflate, so quickly thatsome people may not even realize an airbag inflated.Roof-rail airbags may still be at least partially inflated forsome time after they deploy. Some components ofthe airbag module may be hot for several minutes. Forlocation of the airbag modules, seeWhat Makes anAirbag Inflate? on page 2-65.
The parts of the airbag that come into contact with youmay be warm, but not too hot to touch. There maybe some smoke and dust coming from the vents in thedeflated airbags. Airbag inflation does not preventthe driver from seeing out of the windshield or beingable to steer the vehicle, nor does it prevent people fromleaving the vehicle.
{WARNING:
When an airbag inflates, there may be dust in the
air. This dust could cause breathing problems for
people with a history of asthma or other breathing
trouble. To avoid this, everyone in the vehicle
should get out as soon as it is safe to do so. If
you have breathing problems but cannot get out of
the vehicle after an airbag inflates, then get fresh
air by opening a window or a door. If you
experience breathing problems following an airbag
deployment, you should seek medical attention.
The vehicle has a feature that may automatically unlockthe doors, turn on the interior lamps and hazardwarning flashers, and shut off the fuel system after theairbags inflate. You can lock the doors, turn off theinterior lamps and hazard warning flashers by using thecontrols for those features.
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