
Black plate (89,1)Cadillac DTS Owner Manual - 2011
For a Six-Disc CD Player
This type of radio has a MENU button for setting the
time and date. To set the time and date:1. Turn the radio on.
2. Press the MENU button until
Hoption is displayed.
3. Press the pushbutton located under
Hand the HR,
MIN, MM, DD, YYYY (hour, minute, month, day,
and year) displays.
4. Press the pushbutton located under any one of the tabs that you want to change. Every time the
pushbutton is pressed again, the time or the date if
selected, increases by one.
.Another way to increase the time or date, is to
press the right SEEK arrow or the
\FWD
button.
.To decrease the time or date, press the left
SEEK arrow or the
sREV button. You can
also turn the
aknob, located on the upper
right side of the radio faceplate, to adjust the
selected setting.
Changing the Time and Date Default
Setting
For the Single CD Player
To change the time and date default setting:
1. Change the time default setting from 12 hour to 24 hour or the date default setting from month/day/
year to day/month/year, by pressing the
Hbutton.
2. Once the clock and date settings display along with the forward arrow tab, press the pushbutton
located under the forward arrow tab until the
time 12H and 24H, and the date MM/DD/YYYY
(month, day, and year) and DD/MM/YYYY (day,
month, and year) displays.
3. Press the pushbutton located under the desired option, then press the
Hbutton again to apply the
selected default, or let the screen time out.
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Black plate (92,1)Cadillac DTS Owner Manual - 2011
Finding a Station
BAND:Press to switch between AM, FM, or XM™. The
selection displays.
a(Tune): Turn to select radio stations.
©SEEK¨:Press the arrows to go to the next or to the
previous station and stay there.
To scan stations, press and hold either arrow for
three seconds until a beep sounds. The radio goes to a
station, plays for a few seconds, then goes to the next
station. Press either arrow again to stop scanning.
The radio only seeks and scans stations with a strong
signal that are in the selected band.
4(Information) (XM™ Satellite Radio Service,
MP3/WMA, and RDS Features): Press this button to
display additional text information related to the current
FM-RDS or XM station, or MP3/WMA song. A choice of
additional information such as: Channel, Song, Artist,
CAT (category) can display. Continue pressing the
information button to highlight the desired label,
or press the pushbutton positioned under any one of
the tabs and the information about that tab displays.
When information is not available, No Info displays.
Storing a Radio Station as a Favorite
Drivers are encouraged to set up their radio station
favorites while the vehicle is in P (Park). Tune to
favorite stations using the presets, favorites button,
and steering wheel controls, if the vehicle has this
feature. See Defensive Driving on page 5‑2.
FAV (Favorites): A maximum of 36 stations can be
programmed as favorites using the six pushbuttons
positioned below the radio station frequency tabs and
by using the radio favorites page button. Press the FAV
button to go through up to six pages of favorites, each
having six favorite stations available per page. Each
page of favorites can contain any combination of AM,
FM, or XM stations. To store a station as a favorite:
1. Tune to the desired radio station.
2. Press the FAV button to display the page where you want the station stored.
3. Press and hold one of the six pushbuttons until a beep sounds. When that pushbutton is pressed
and released, the station that was set, returns.
4. Repeat the steps for each pushbutton radio station you want stored as a favorite.
4-92

Black plate (95,1)Cadillac DTS Owner Manual - 2011
.Surround (Centerpoint®): Select this screen
button to enable Bose®Centerpoint signal
processing circuitry. Centerpoint produces a full
vehicle surround sound listening experience from a
CD, MP3/WMA, or XM stereo digital audio source
and delivers five independent audio channels from
conventional two channel stereo recordings. (Not
available for AM, FM, or auxiliary sources.) For
more details visit www.bose.com/centerpoint.
DSP is only available on vehicles that have the Bose
Premium audio system.
Finding a Category (CAT) Station
CAT (Category): The CAT button is used to find
XM stations while the radio is in the XM mode. To find
XM channels within a desired category, perform the
following:
1. Press the BAND button until the XM frequency displays. Press the CAT button to display the
category tabs. Continue pressing the CAT button
until the desired category name displays. Another
way to select a category is to press the
sREV
or
\FWD button until the desired category is
selected.
2. Press either of the two pushbuttons below the desired category tab to immediately tune to the
first XM station associated with that category. 3. Turn the
aknob, press the pushbuttons below the
displayed right or left arrows, or press either SEEK
arrow to go to the previous or the next XM station
within the selected category.
4. To exit the category search mode, press the FAV button or BAND button to display your favorites
again.
Undesired XM categories can be removed through the
setup menu. To remove an undesired category: 1. Press the MENU button to display the radio setup menu.
2. Press the pushbutton located below the XM CAT tab.
3. Turn the
aknob to display the category to be
removed.
4. Press the pushbutton located under the Remove tab until the category name along with the word
Removed displays.
5. Repeat the steps to remove more categories.
Removed categories can be restored by pressing the
pushbutton under the Add label when a removed
category is displayed or by pressing the pushbutton
under the Restore All label.
The radio does not let you remove or add categories
while the vehicle is moving faster than 5 mph (8 km/h).
4-95

Black plate (1,1)Cadillac DTS Owner Manual - 2011
Section 5 Driving Your Vehicle
Your Driving, the Road, and the Vehicle. . . . . . . . . .5-2
Defensive Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
Drunk Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
Control of a Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
Antilock Brake System (ABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4
Braking in Emergencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
StabiliTrak
®System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
Traction Control System (TCS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
Magnetic Ride Control™ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Passing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10 Driving at Night . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Driving in Rain and on Wet Roads . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Before Leaving on a Long Trip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Highway Hypnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15
If Your Vehicle is Stuck in Sand, Mud, Ice,
or Snow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Rocking Your Vehicle to Get It Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Loading the Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Towing Your Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Recreational Vehicle Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Towing a Trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
5-1

Black plate (4,1)Cadillac DTS Owner Manual - 2011
Avoid needless heavy braking. Some people drive in
spurts, heavy acceleration followed by heavy braking,
rather than keeping pace with traffic. This is a mistake.
The brakes might not have time to cool between hard
stops. The brakes will wear out much faster with a lot
of heavy braking. Keeping pace with the traffic and
allowing realistic following distances eliminates a lot of
unnecessary braking. That means better braking and
longer brake life.
If the engine ever stops while the vehicle is being
driven, brake normally but do not pump the brakes.
If the brakes are pumped, the pedal could get harder to
push down. If the engine stops, there will still be some
power brake assist but it will be used when the brake is
applied. Once the power assist is used up, it can take
longer to stop and the brake pedal will be harder
to push.
Adding non‐dealer accessories can affect vehicle
performance. SeeAccessories and Modifications
on
page 6‑3.
Antilock Brake System (ABS)
This vehicle has the Antilock Brake System (ABS), an
advanced electronic braking system that helps prevent
a braking skid.
When the engine is started and the vehicle begins to
drive away, ABS checks itself. A momentary motor or
clicking noise might be heard while this test is going on,
and it might even be noticed that the brake pedal
moves a little. This is normal.
If there is a problem with
ABS, this warning light
stays on. See Antilock
Brake System (ABS)
Warning Light
on
page 4‑51.
Let us say the road is wet and you are driving safely.
Suddenly, an animal jumps out in front of you. You slam
on the brakes and continue braking. Here is what
happens with ABS:
A computer senses that the wheels are slowing
down. If one of the wheels is about to stop rolling, the
computer will separately work the brakes at each front
wheel and at both rear wheels.
5-4

Black plate (5,1)Cadillac DTS Owner Manual - 2011
ABS can change the brake pressure to each wheel, as
required, faster than any driver could. This can help the
driver steer around the obstacle while braking hard.
As the brakes are applied, the computer keeps
receiving updates on wheel speed and controls braking
pressure accordingly.
Remember: ABS does not change the time needed to
get a foot up to the brake pedal or always decrease
stopping distance. If you get too close to the vehicle in
front of you, there will not be enough time to apply the
brakes if that vehicle suddenly slows or stops. Always
leave enough room up ahead to stop, even with ABS.
Using ABS
Do not pump the brakes. Just hold the brake pedal
down firmly and let antilock work. The antilock pump or
motor operating might be heard and the brake pedal
might be felt to pulsate, but this is normal.
Braking in Emergencies
ABS allows the driver to steer and brake at the same
time. In many emergencies, steering can help more
than even the very best braking.
Brake Assist
This vehicle has a Brake Assist feature designed to
assist the driver in stopping or decreasing vehicle
speed in emergency driving conditions. This feature
uses the stability system hydraulic brake control module
to supplement the power brake system under conditions
where the driver has quickly and forcefully applied the
brake pedal in an attempt to quickly stop or slow down
the vehicle. The stability system hydraulic brake control
module increases brake pressure at each corner of
the vehicle until the ABS activates. Minor brake pedal
pulsations or pedal movement during this time is normal
and the driver should continue to apply the brake pedal
as the driving situation dictates The Brake Assist
feature will automatically disengage when the brake
pedal is released or brake pedal pressure is quickly
decreased.
5-5

Black plate (15,1)Cadillac DTS Owner Manual - 2011
.Stay in your own lane. Do not swing wide or cut
across the center of the road. Drive at speeds that
let you stay in your own lane.
.Top of hills: Be alert—something could be in your
lane (stalled car, accident).
.Pay attention to special road signs (falling rocks
area, winding roads, long grades, passing or
no-passing zones) and take appropriate action.
Winter Driving
Driving on Snow or Ice
Drive carefully when there is snow or ice between the
tires and the road, creating less traction or grip. Wet ice
can occur at about 0°C (32°F) when freezing rain
begins to fall, resulting in even less traction. Avoid
driving on wet ice or in freezing rain until roads can be
treated with salt or sand.
Drive with caution, whatever the condition. Accelerate
gently so traction is not lost. Accelerating too quickly
causes the wheels to spin and makes the surface under
the tires slick, so there is even less traction. Try not to break the fragile traction. If you accelerate too
fast, the drive wheels will spin and polish the surface
under the tires even more.
The
Traction Control System (TCS)
on page 5‑6improves the ability to accelerate on slippery roads,
but slow down and adjust your driving to the road
conditions. When driving through deep snow, turn off
the traction control system to help maintain vehicle
motion at lower speeds.
TheAntilock Brake System (ABS)
on page 5‑4improves vehicle stability during hard stops on a
slippery roads, but apply the brakes sooner than when
on dry pavement.
Allow greater following distance on any slippery road
and watch for slippery spots. Icy patches can occur on
otherwise clear roads in shaded areas. The surface
of a curve or an overpass can remain icy when the
surrounding roads are clear. Avoid sudden steering
maneuvers and braking while on ice.
Turn off cruise control, if equipped, on slippery surfaces.
5-15

Black plate (32,1)Cadillac DTS Owner Manual - 2011
3. When the wheel chocks are in place, release thebrake pedal until the chocks absorb the load.
4. Reapply the brake pedal. Then apply the parking brake and shift the transmission into P (Park).
5. Release the brake pedal.
Leaving After Parking on a Hill
1. Apply and hold the brake pedal while you:
.start the engine,
.shift into a gear, and
.release the parking brake.
2. Let up on the brake pedal.
3. Drive slowly until the trailer is clear of the chocks.
4. Stop and have someone pick up and store the chocks.
Maintenance When Trailer Towing
The vehicle needs service more often when pulling a
trailer. See Scheduled Maintenanceon page 7‑3for
more information. Things that are especially important
in trailer operation are automatic transmission fluid,
engine oil, belts, cooling system and brake system. It is
a good idea to inspect these before and during the trip.
Check periodically to see that all hitch nuts and bolts
are tight.
Engine Cooling When Trailer Towing
The cooling system may temporarily overheat during
severe operating conditions. See Engine Overheating
on page 6‑29.
Changing a Tire When Trailer Towing
If the vehicle gets a flat tire while towing a trailer, be
sure to secure the trailer and disconnect it from the
vehicle before changing the tire.
5-32