
Black plate (67,1)Cadillac STS Owner Manual - 2011
{WARNING:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured or killed if the right front
passenger airbag inflates. This is because the
back of the rear-facing child restraint would be
very close to the inflating airbag. A child in a
forward-facing child restraint can be seriously
injured or killed if the right front passenger airbag
inflates and the passenger seat is in a forward
position.
Even if the passenger sensing system has turned
off the right front passenger frontal airbag, no
system is fail-safe. No one can guarantee that
an airbag will not deploy under some unusual
circumstance, even though the airbag is
turned off.
Secure rear-facing child restraints 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.The passenger sensing system is designed to turn off
the right front passenger frontal airbag if:
.The right front passenger seat is unoccupied.
.The system determines that an infant is present in
a rear-facing infant seat.
.The system determines that a small child is
present in a child restraint.
.The system determines that a small child is
present in a booster seat.
.A right front passenger takes his/her weight off of
the seat for a period of time.
.The right front passenger seat is occupied by a
smaller person, such as a child who has outgrown
child restraints.
.Or, if there is a critical problem with the airbag
system or the passenger sensing system.
When the passenger sensing system has turned off the
right front passenger's frontal airbag, the off indicator
will light and stay lit to remind you that the airbag is off.
See Passenger Airbag Status Indicator on page 4‑55.
If a child restraint has been installed and the on
indicator is lit, turn the vehicle off. Remove the child
restraint from the vehicle and reinstall the child restraint
following the child restraint manufacturer's directions
and refer to Securing a Child Restraint in the Right
Front Seat Position on page 2‑53.
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Black plate (68,1)Cadillac STS Owner Manual - 2011
If, after reinstalling the child restraint and restarting the
vehicle, the on indicator is still lit, check to make sure
that the vehicle's seatback is not pressing the child
restraint into the seat cushion. If this happens, slightly
recline the vehicle's seatback and adjust the seat
cushion if possible. Also make sure the child restraint
is not trapped under the vehicle head restraint. If this
happens, adjust the head restraint. SeeHead
Restraints
on page 2‑12.
Remove any additional material from the seat such as
blankets, cushions, seat covers, seat heaters, or seat
massagers before reinstalling or securing the child
restraint.
If the on indicator is still lit, secure the child in the child
restraint in a rear seat position in the vehicle, and check
with your dealer.
The passenger sensing system is designed to enable
(may inflate) the right front passenger's frontal airbag
anytime the system senses that a person of adult size is
sitting properly in the right front passenger's seat. When
the passenger sensing system has allowed the airbag
to be enabled, the on indicator will light and stay lit to
remind you that the airbag is active. For some children who have outgrown child restraints
and for very small adults, the passenger sensing
system may or may not turn off the right front
passenger's frontal airbag, depending upon the
person's seating posture and body build. Everyone in
your vehicle who has outgrown child restraints should
wear a safety belt properly
—whether or not there
is an airbag for that person.
If a person of adult-size is sitting in the right front
passenger's seat, but the off indicator is lit, it could be
because that person is not sitting properly in the seat.
If this happens, turn the vehicle off, remove any
additional material from the seat, such as blankets,
cushions, seat covers, seat heaters or seat massagers
and ask the person to place the seatback in the fully
upright position, then sit upright in the seat, centered on
the seat cushion, with the person's legs comfortably
extended. Restart the vehicle and have the person
remain in this position for two to three minutes. This will
allow the system to detect that person and then enable
the right front passenger's frontal airbag.
2-68

Black plate (1,1)Cadillac STS Owner Manual - 2011
Section 3 Features and Controls
Keys. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Keyless Access System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Keyless Access System Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
Remote Vehicle Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10
Doors and Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12
Door Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12
Power Door Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-13
Programmable Automatic Door Locks . . . . . . . . . . 3-14
Rear Door Security Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-14
Lockout Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-15
Trunk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-15
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-18
Power Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-19
Sun Visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-21
Theft-Deterrent Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3-22
Theft-Deterrent System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-22
Valet Lockout Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-24
Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-24
Immobilizer Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-24 Starting and Operating Your Vehicle
. . . . . . . . . . . .3-25
New Vehicle Break-In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-25
Ignition Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-26
Retained Accessory Power (RAP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-27
Starting the Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-27
Engine Coolant Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-29
Automatic Transmission Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-30
Parking Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-33
Shifting Into Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-34
Shifting Out of Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-35
Parking Over Things That Burn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-35
Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-36
Running the Vehicle While Parked . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-36
Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-37
Automatic Dimming Rearview Mirror . . . . . . . . . . . 3-37
Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-38
Outside Power Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-39
Outside Automatic Dimming Mirror . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-39
Park Tilt Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-40
Outside Convex Mirror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-40
Outside Heated Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-40
3-1

Black plate (14,1)Cadillac STS Owner Manual - 2011
Programmable Automatic Door
Locks
The vehicle was programmed so when the doors are
closed, the ignition is on, and the shift lever is moved
out of P (Park), all the doors will lock.
The front doors can still be opened from the inside while
the doors are locked. If a rear passenger needs to exit
the vehicle, have that person use the manual knob or
use the power door lock switch on either front door.
When the door is closed again, it will not lock
automatically. Use the manual knob or the power
door lock switch to lock the door.
The doors were also pre-programmed to unlock every
time the shift lever is moved into P (Park).
The power door locks can be programmed through the
radio display. The radio display allows you to choose
various lock and unlock settings. For more information
on programming, seeVehicle Personalization
on
page 3‑59.
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.
3-14

Black plate (17,1)Cadillac STS Owner Manual - 2011
Rear Seat Pass-Through Door
To open the door:1. Pull the rear seat armrest down.
2. If the door is locked, insert the key into the lock and turn it counterclockwise.
3. Press the button above the lock and lower the door.
To open the trunk lid, pull the emergency trunk release
handle located in the trunk on the other side of the door
opening. See “Emergency Trunk Release Handle”
following.
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.
There is a glow-in-the-dark trunk release handle located
inside the trunk near the back of the rear seats. This
handle will glow following exposure to light. Pull down
the release handle to open the trunk from the inside of
the vehicle.
3-17

Black plate (22,1)Cadillac STS Owner Manual - 2011
Theft-Deterrent Systems
This vehicle has theft-deterrent features, however, they
do not make it impossible to steal.
Theft-Deterrent System
Your vehicle has a theft-deterrent alarm system.
The security light is
located on the instrument
panel cluster.
If the ignition is off and a door is open, the security light
will flash, reminding you to arm the theft-deterrent
system.
To arm the system:
.Press the lock button on the keyless access
transmitter. If the door is closed when the lock
button is pressed, the security light will stay
illuminated for 30 seconds. After the security light
goes off, the theft‐deterrent system is armed.
Pressing the lock button twice will arm the system
immediately. If the vehicle is locked using the keyless access
transmitter and the trunk lid, hood or a door is
open or not closed completely, the security light
will flash for 60 seconds and then turn off. The
theft‐deterrent system is armed but the alarm will
not sound if the trunk lid, hood or door that was not
closed completely is tampered with or opened. The
alarm will sound for the trunk lid, hood or a door
that was completely closed at the time the vehicle
was locked using the keyless access transmitter.
.Exit the vehicle and lock the door with the power
door lock switch or lock button on the keyless
access transmitter. The security light should flash.
Close the door. The security light will stop flashing
and stay on. After 30 seconds the light should turn
off, the theft‐deterrent system is armed.
.If Passive Arming is activated through the vehicle
personalization feature, the system will arm
automatically after you close the door and take
at least one keyless access transmitter with you.
The security light will turn on. After 60 seconds the
light should turn off. The theft-deterrent system is
armed. See
Vehicle Personalization
on page 3‑59.
3-22

Black plate (23,1)Cadillac STS Owner Manual - 2011
If a door, hood, or the trunk is opened without the
keyless access transmitter, the horn will sound for
30 seconds and the lamps will flash for two minutes.
The vehicle cannot be started without a keyless access
transmitter.
The Theft-Deterrent system will not arm if :
.The key is used to turn the key cylinder to the lock
position.
.The driver's door is locked using the power door
lock switch after the doors are closed.
The vehicle can be programmed to automatically unlock
the doors and disarm the theft‐deterrent system when
you approach the vehicle and the keyless access
transmitter is with you. See Vehicle Personalization
on
page 3‑59.
Pressing the unlock button on the keyless access
transmitter or using the key to unlock the driver's door
disarms the theft-deterrent system. Unlocking a door
any other way while the system is armed will activate
the alarm.
Testing the Alarm
1. From inside the vehicle, roll down the window, then get out of the vehicle, keeping the door open.
2. From outside of the vehicle, with the door open, lock the vehicle using the power door lock switch
or the keyless access transmitter and close the
door. Wait about 30 seconds until the security light
goes off.
3. Reach in and open the door using the inside door handle. The horn will sound and the exterior lamps
will flash.
You can turn off the alarm by pressing the unlock button
on the keyless access transmitter or by starting the car.
If the alarm does not sound when it should, check to
see if the horn works. The horn fuse may be blown. To
replace the fuse, see Fuses and Circuit Breakers
on
page 6‑115. If the fuse does not need to be replaced,
you may need to have your vehicle serviced.
To reduce the possibility of theft, always arm the
Theft-Deterrent system when leaving your vehicle.
Do not leave the key or device that disarms or
deactivates the theft deterrent system in the vehicle.
3-23

Black plate (24,1)Cadillac STS Owner Manual - 2011
Valet Lockout Switch
The valet lockout switch
is located inside the
glove box.
9 (Off): Press to turn the lockout feature off and allow
the trunk to be opened with either the keyless access
transmitter or the trunk release button located on the
driver's door.
R (On): Press to turn the lockout feature on. The trunk
cannot be unlocked or opened. When the valet lockout
feature is on, the remote start feature and the Universal
Home Remote transmitter will be disabled.
Lock the glove box with the key to further secure the
vehicle.
See Keyless Access System Operation
on page 3‑5andTrunkon page 3‑15for additional information.
Immobilizer
See Radio Frequency Statementon page 8‑20for information regarding Part 15 of the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) rules and
Industry Canada Standards RSS-210/220/310.
Immobilizer Operation
The vehicle has a passive theft-deterrent system.
The system is automatically armed when the ignition is
turned off.
The immobilization system is disarmed when the
ignition is turned to OFF/ACCESSORY or START and
a valid transmitter is found in the vehicle.
You do not have to manually arm or disarm the system.
The security light comes on if there is a problem with
arming or disarming the theft-deterrent system.
The system has one or more keyless access
transmitters that are matched to an immobilizer control
unit in the vehicle. Only a correctly matched keyless
access transmitter starts the vehicle. The vehicle may
not start if the keyless access transmitter is damaged.
If the engine does not start and the security light comes
on, there may be a problem with the immobilizer
system. Press the START button again.
3-24