Black plate (1,1)Cadillac STS Owner Manual - 2011
2011 Cadillac STS Owner ManualM
In Brief. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1
Instrument Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
Initial Drive Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4
Vehicle Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-16
Performance and Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-21
Seats and Restraint System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1
Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
Rear Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Safety Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Child Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-34
Airbag System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-57
Restraint System Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-72
Features and Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1
Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Doors and Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-18
Theft-Deterrent Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-22
Starting and Operating Your Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-25
Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-37
Object Detection Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-41
Universal Home Remote System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-49 Storage Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-56
Sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-57
Vehicle Personalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-59
Instrument Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Instrument Panel Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3
Climate Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-43
Warning Lights, Gauges, and Indicators . . . . . . . . . 4-51
Driver Information Center (DIC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-69
Audio System(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-94
Driving Your Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
Your Driving, the Road, and the Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-29
Service and Appearance Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1
Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Checking Things Under the Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-12
All-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-43
Rear Axle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-44
Front Axle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-45
Headlamp Aiming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-46
Black plate (9,1)Cadillac STS Owner Manual - 2011
Heated Seats (Rear)
If the vehicle has this feature, the controls are on the
rear of the center console.
Press the button once for the highest setting. With each
press of the button, the heated seat will change to the
next lower setting, and then to the off setting. The lights
indicate“3”for the highest setting and “1”for the lowest.
See Heated Seats
on page 2‑14for more information.
Heated and Ventilated Seats
On vehicles with heated and ventilated seats, the
buttons are located on the climate control panel.
z:Press to heat the seat and seatback.
{:Press to ventilate the seat.
For more information see Heated and Ventilated Seats
on page 2‑5.
Head Restraint Adjustment
Do not drive until the head restraints for all occupants
are installed and adjusted properly.
To achieve a comfortable seating position, change the
seatback recline angle as little as necessary while
keeping the seat and the head restraint in the proper
position.
For more information seeHead Restraints
on
page 2‑12and Power Seats on page 2‑2.
1-9
Black plate (11,1)Cadillac STS Owner Manual - 2011
Mirror Adjustment
Exterior Mirrors
Controls for the outside
power mirrors are located
on the driver door.
1. Move the selector switch left or right to choose the driver side or passenger side mirror.
2. Press one of the four arrows located on the control pad to move the mirror to the desired direction.
3. Return the selector switch to the center position when finished adjusting.
The preferred mirror positions can be stored with the
memory option. See Memory Seat, Mirrors and Steering
Wheel on page 3‑75. The dimming feature automatically adjusts the driver
outside mirror for the glare of the headlamps behind
your vehicle. See
Automatic Dimming Rearview Mirroron page 3‑37for more information.
Manually fold the mirrors inward to prevent damage
when going through an automatic car wash. To fold,
push the mirror toward the vehicle. Push the mirror
outward, to return to its original position.
Interior Mirror
The vehicle has an automatic dimming inside rearview
mirror. Automatic dimming reduces the glare of lights
from behind the vehicle. The dimming feature comes on
and the indicator light illuminates each time the vehicle
is started.
See Automatic Dimming Rearview Mirror
on page 3‑37for more information.
1-11
Black plate (13,1)Cadillac STS Owner Manual - 2011
Exterior Lighting
The exterior lamp control is located in the middle of the
turn signal/multifunction lever.
O:Turn the control with this symbol on it to operate the
exterior lamps.
The exterior lamp control has four positions:
O: Turns off all lamps and automatic lighting features,
including Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) and
IntelliBeam
®. AUTO:
Turns the exterior lamps on and off
automatically depending upon how much light is outside
of the vehicle.
;: Turns on the parking lamps together with the
sidemarker, taillamps, license plate lamps, and
instrument panel lights.
5: Turns on the headlamps together with the parking
lamps, sidemarker, taillamps, license plate lamps, and
instrument panel lights.
For more information, see:
.Headlamps on page 4‑27.
.Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) on page 4‑32.
.Fog Lamps on page 4‑33.
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Black plate (14,1)Cadillac STS Owner Manual - 2011
Rear Seats
Heated Seats
{WARNING:
If you cannot feel temperature change or pain to
the skin, the seat heater may cause burns even at
low temperatures. See the Warning underHeated
Seats on page 2‑4.
If the vehicle has this feature, the controls are on the
rear of the center console. The engine must be running
to operate this feature. Press the button once for the highest setting. With each
press of the button, the heated seat will change to the
next lower setting, and then to the off setting. The lights
indicate
“3”for the highest setting and “1”for the lowest.
The heated seats are canceled when the ignition is
turned off.
Rear Seat Pass-Through Door
The vehicle has a pass‐through door that provides
access to the trunk from the rear seats. See “Rear Seat
Pass‐Through Door” underTrunk on page 3‑15.
Safety Belts
Safety Belts: They Are for Everyone
This section of the manual describes how to use safety
belts properly. It also describes some things not to do
with safety belts.
{WARNING:
Do not let anyone ride where a safety belt cannot
be worn properly. In a crash, if you or your
passenger(s) are not wearing safety belts, the
(Continued)
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Black plate (6,1)Cadillac STS Owner Manual - 2011
Other conditions can affect the performance
of the transmitter. SeeKeyless Access Systemon
page 3‑4.
Q(Lock): Press once to lock the doors. The light on
the front doors comes on and the turn signals flash.
If
Qis pressed twice, the horn will also sound.
See “Lights Flash at Lock” and“Horn Chirps at Lock”
under Vehicle Personalization
on page 3‑59to change
the feedback feature.
K(Unlock): Press once to unlock the driver door.
The turn signals flash twice. Press
Ktwice within
five seconds to unlock all the doors. The interior
lamps may come on. See
“Lights Flash at Unlock” and“Ext. (Exterior) Lights
at Unlock” underVehicle Personalization
on page 3‑59to change the feedback feature.
Vehicles with the memory feature can be programmed
to recall memory settings when
Kis pressed on the
keyless access transmitter. See Memory Seat, Mirrors
and Steering Wheel
on page 3‑75for more information.
/(Remote Start): Press to operate the remote start
feature. See Remote Vehicle Starton page 3‑10.
V(Trunk):Press and hold to unlock the trunk. If the
engine is running, the shift lever must be in P (Park).
L(Vehicle Locator/Panic Alarm): Press and release
to locate the vehicle. The horn sounds three times and
the turn signal lamps flash three times. Press and hold
Lfor three seconds to sound the panic alarm. The
horn sounds and the turn signal lamps flash for
30 seconds. Press and release
Lagain to cancel the
panic alarm.
The vehicle comes with two transmitters. Each
transmitter will have a number on top of it, “1”or“2”.
These numbers correspond to the driver of the vehicle.
For example, the memory seat position for driver 1 will
be recalled when using the transmitter labeled “1”,
if enabled through the vehicle personalization. See
Memory Seat, Mirrors and Steering Wheel
on
page 3‑75and Vehicle Personalizationon page 3‑59for more information.
3-6
Black plate (37,1)Cadillac STS Owner Manual - 2011
WARNING: (Continued)
death. Never run the engine in an enclosed area
that has no fresh air ventilation. For more
information, seeEngine Exhaust on page 3‑36.
{WARNING:
It can be dangerous to get out of the vehicle if the
automatic transmission shift lever is not fully in
P (Park) with the parking brake firmly set. The
vehicle can roll. Do not leave the vehicle when the
engine is running unless you have to. If you have
left the engine running, the vehicle can move
suddenly. You or others could be injured. To be
sure the vehicle will not move, even when you are
on fairly level ground, always set the parking
brake after you move the shift lever to P (Park).
Follow the proper steps to be sure the vehicle will not
move. See Shifting Into Park on page 3‑34.
If parking on a hill and pulling a trailer, see Towing a
Trailer on page 5‑31.
Mirrors
Automatic Dimming Rearview Mirror
The vehicle may have an inside rearview mirror with
automatic dimming and OnStar®controls; or it may
have OnStar®and a compass display. See the OnStar®
owner guide and/or Compasson page 3‑38for more
information.
O(On/Off): Press to turn the dimming feature on or off.
Automatic Dimming Mirror Operation
Automatic dimming reduces the glare of lights from
behind the vehicle. The dimming feature comes on and
the indicator light illuminates each time the vehicle is
started.
Cleaning the Mirror
Do not spray glass cleaner directly on the mirror. Use a
soft towel dampened with water.
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Black plate (41,1)Cadillac STS Owner Manual - 2011
Object Detection Systems
Ultrasonic Rear Parking
Assist (URPA)
For vehicles with the URPA system, it operates at
speeds less than 3 mph (5 km/h), and assists the driver
with parking and avoiding objects while in R (Reverse).
The sensors on the rear bumper are used to detect the
distance to an object up to 5 feet (1.5 m) behind the
vehicle and at least 10 inches (25.4 cm) off the ground.
{WARNING:
The Ultrasonic Rear Parking Assist (URPA)
system does not replace driver vision. It cannot
detect:
.Objects that are below the bumper,
underneath the vehicle, or too close or far
from the vehicle
.Children, pedestrians, bicyclists, or pets.(Continued)
WARNING: (Continued)
If you do not use proper care before and while
backing, vehicle damage, injury, or death could
occur. Even with URPA, always check behind the
vehicle before backing up. While backing, be sure
to look for objects and check the vehicle's mirrors.
The display is located in
the dome lamp and can
be seen by looking over
your right shoulder.
URPA uses three color-coded lights to provide distance
and system information.
3-41