2011 CHEVROLET MALIBU headlamp

Black plate (28,1)Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual - 2011
5-28 Instruments and Controls
Fuel System Messages
CHECK GAS CAP
This message displays if the fuel
cap has not been fully tightened.
Recheck the fuel cap to make sure
that it is on properly. A few driving
trips with the cap properly installed
should turn the message off.
LOW FUEL
This message displays when your
vehicle is low on fuel. Refill the fuel
tank as soon as possible. SeeFuel
Gauge
on page 5‑11, Fuelon
page 9‑37, and Filling the Tankon
page 9‑41for more information.
Key and Lock Messages
KEY FOB BATT (Battery) LOW
This message displays if the
Remote Keyless Entry (RKE)
transmitter battery is low. Replace
the battery in the transmitter. See
“Battery Replacement” under
Remote Keyless Entry (RKE)
System Operation on page 2‑3.
Lamp Messages
AUTO (Automatic)
LIGHTS OFF
This message displays if the
automatic headlamp system is
disabled with the headlamp switch.
See Automatic Headlamp System
on page 6‑3for more information.
AUTO (Automatic) LIGHTS ON
This message displays if the
automatic headlamp system is
enabled with the headlamp switch.
SeeAutomatic Headlamp System
on page 6‑3for more information.
Ride Control System
Messages
ESC (Electronic Stability
Control) ACTIVE
If your vehicle has Electronic
Stability Control (ESC), this
message displays and the ESC/TCS
light on the instrument panel cluster
flashes when ESC is assisting you with directional control of the
vehicle. You may feel or hear the
system working and see this
message displayed in the DIC.
Slippery road conditions may exist
when this message is displayed, so
adjust your driving accordingly. This
message may stay on for a few
seconds after ESC stops assisting
you with directional control of the
vehicle. This is normal when the
system is operating. See
Electronic
Stability Control (ESC)
on
page 9‑32and Electronic Stability
Control (ESC)/Traction Control
System (TCS) Indicator/Warning
Light
on page 5‑20for more
information.
ESC (Electronic Stability
Control) OFF
If your vehicle has Electronic
Stability Control (ESC), this
message displays and the ESC/TCS
light on the instrument panel cluster
comes on solid when ESC is turned
off. Adjust your driving accordingly.

Black plate (31,1)Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual - 2011
Instruments and Controls 5-31
Vehicle Reminder
Messages
ICE POSSIBLE
This message displays when the
outside air temperature is cold
enough to create icy road
conditions. Adjust your driving
accordingly.
Washer Fluid Messages
LOW WASHER FLUID
This message displays when the
vehicle's windshield washer fluid is
low. Fill the windshield washer fluid
reservoir to the proper level as soon
as possible. SeeWasher Fluid
on
page 10‑22.
Vehicle
Personalization
Your vehicle has personalization
capabilities that allow you to
program certain features to a
preferred setting. All of the features
listed may not be available on your
vehicle. Only the features available
will be displayed on the DIC.
The default settings for the features
were set when your vehicle left the
factory, but may have been changed
from their default state since
that time. To change feature settings, use the
following procedure:Entering Personalization Menu
1. Turn the ignition on while the
vehicle is stopped.
To avoid excessive drain on the
battery, it is recommended that
the headlamps are turned off.
2. Press and hold the information and reset buttons at the same
time for one second, then
release to enter the
personalization menu.
If the vehicle speed is greater
than 3 km/h (2 mph), only the
UNITS menu will be accessible.

Black plate (1,1)Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual - 2011
Lighting 6-1
Lighting
Exterior Lighting
Exterior Lamp Controls . . . . . . . . 6-1
Exterior Lamps OffReminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Headlamp High/Low-Beam Changer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Automatic Headlamp System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Delayed Headlamps . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Hazard Warning Flashers . . . . . 6-4
Turn and Lane-Change Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Fog Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Interior Lighting
Instrument Panel Illumination Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Dome Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Reading Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Lighting Features
Entry/Exit Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Parade Dimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Battery Load Management . . . . 6-6
Battery Power Protection . . . . . . 6-7
Exterior Lighting
Exterior Lamp Controls
The band on the lever located on
the left side of the steering column,
operates the exterior lamps.

Black plate (2,1)Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual - 2011
6-2 Lighting
The exterior lamp control has the
following four positions:
2(Headlamps):Turns on the
headlamps, parking lamps, and
taillamps.
;(Parking Lamps): Turns on the
parking lamps and taillamps only.
AUTO (Automatic Headlamp
System): Automatically turns on
the Daytime Running Lamps during
daytime, and the headlamps,
parking lamps, and taillamps at
night.
P(Off/On): Turn the band to this
position to turn on the Automatic
Headlamp System. In Canada, this
position only works when a vehicle
is in the P (Park) position.
To turn on the Automatic Headlamp
System, turn the switch to off/on.
To turn them off, turn the switch to
off/on again. This is a momentary
control switch that springs back
when released. The Automatic
Headlamp System always turns on
at the beginning of an ignition cycle.
Exterior Lamps Off
Reminder
If the drivers door is opened and the
ignition is turned off while leaving
the lamps on, a warning chime will
sound.
Headlamp High/
Low-Beam Changer
To change the headlamps from low
beam to high beam, push the turn
signal/multifunction lever away
from you.
This instrument panel cluster light
3comes on if the high beam
lamps are turned on while the
ignition is in ON/RUN.
To change the headlamps from high
beam to low beam, pull the turn
signal lever toward you.

Black plate (3,1)Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual - 2011
Lighting 6-3
Flash-to-Pass
This feature lets the high-beam
headlamps be used to signal a
driver in front of you that you want
to pass.
Pull the turn signal/multifunction
lever toward you until the high-beam
headlamps come on, then release
the lever to turn them off.
Daytime Running
Lamps (DRL)
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) can
make it easier for others to see the
front of your vehicle during the day.
Fully functional DRL are required on
all vehicles first sold in Canada. The
vehicle has a light sensor on top of
the instrument panel that controls
the DRL. Do not cover this sensor
or the head lamps will be on when
they are not needed.The DRL system makes the
low-beam headlamps come on at a
reduced brightness when the
following conditions are met:
.The ignition is on.
.The exterior lamps control is
in AUTO.
.The exterior lamps control is in
the parking lamps only position
(This applies only to vehicles
that are first sold in Canada).
.The light sensor detects daytime
light.
.The parking brake is released or
the vehicle is not in P (Park).
When the DRL system is on, the
taillamps, sidemarker lamps,
parking lamps, and instrument panel
lights are not on unless you turn the
exterior lamps control to the parking
lamp position.
The regular headlamp system
should be turned on when they are
needed.
Automatic Headlamp
System
When it is dark enough outside, the
automatic headlamp system turns
on the headlamps at the normal
brightness along with other lamps
such as the taillamps, sidemarker,
parking lamps, and the instrument
panel lights. The radio lights will
also be dim.
The vehicle has a light sensor on
top of the instrument panel that
controls the automatic headlamp
system. Do not cover the sensor or
the automatic headlamp system will
turn on when it is not needed.
There is a delay in the transition
between the daytime and nighttime
operation of the DRL and the
automatic headlamp systems so
that driving under bridges or bright
overhead street lights does not
affect the system. The DRL and
automatic headlamp systems will
only be affected when the light
sensor sees a change in lighting
lasting longer than this delay.

Black plate (4,1)Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual - 2011
6-4 Lighting
If the vehicle is started in a dark
garage, the automatic headlamp
system comes on immediately.
Once the vehicle leaves the garage,
it takes about one minute for the
automatic headlamp system to
change to DRL if it is light outside.
During that delay, the instrument
panel cluster may not be as bright
as usual. Make sure the instrument
panel brightness control is in the full
bright position. SeeInstrument
Panel Illumination Control
on
page 6‑5.
To idle the vehicle with the
automatic headlamp system off, turn
the ignition on and set the exterior
light switch to the off/on position.
For vehicles first sold in Canada,
the transmission must stay in
P (Park) for this function.
The regular headlamps should be
used when needed.
Delayed Headlamps
The delayed headlamps feature
keeps the headlamps on for
20 seconds after the key is turned to
LOCK/OFF, then the headlamps
automatically turn off.
To override the 20 second delayed
headlamp feature while it is active
turn the turn signal/multifunction
lever up one position and then back
to AUTO.
Hazard Warning Flashers
|
(Hazard Warning Flasher):
Press this button located on the
instrument panel, to make the front
and rear turn signal lamps flash on
and off. This warns others that you
are having trouble.
Press
|again to turn the
flashers off.
Turn and Lane-Change
Signals
An arrow on the instrument panel
cluster flashes in the direction of the
turn or lane change.
Move the lever all the way up or
down to signal a turn.
Raise or lower the lever until the
arrow starts to flash to signal a lane
change. Hold it there until lane
change is complete.
The lever returns to its starting
position when it is released.
If after signaling a turn or lane
change the arrows flash rapidly or
do not come on, a signal bulb could
be burned out.

Black plate (5,1)Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual - 2011
Lighting 6-5
Have the bulbs replaced. If the bulb
is not burned out, check the fuse.
SeeFuses on page 10‑30.
Fog Lamps
For vehicles with fog lamps, the
button for this feature is located on
the instrument panel, to the left of
the steering wheel.
The ignition must be on for the fog
lamps to work.
#:Press to turn the fog lamps on
or off. An indicator light comes on
when the fog lamps are on.
The parking lamps automatically
turn on and off when the fog lamps
are turned on and off.
The fog lamps turn off while the
high-beam headlamps are
turned on.
Some localities have laws that
require the headlamps to be on
along with the fog lamps.
Interior Lighting
Instrument Panel
Illumination Control
The knob for this control is located
on the instrument panel to the left of
the steering column.
D (Instrument Panel
Brightness): Turn the knob
clockwise or counterclockwise to
brighten or dim the lights. Turn the
knob completely clockwise to turn
on the interior lamps.
Dome Lamps
The dome lamps come on when any
door is opened. They turn off after
all the doors are closed.
The dome lamps can also be turned
on by turning the instrument panel
brightness knob, located on the
instrument panel to the left of the
steering column, clockwise to the
farthest position. In this position, the
dome lamps remain on whether a
door is opened or closed.
Reading Lamps
For vehicles with front and rear
reading lamps, press the lens to
turn the lamp on and off, while the
doors are closed. These lamps
come on automatically when any
door is opened.

Black plate (6,1)Chevrolet Malibu Owner Manual - 2011
6-6 Lighting
Lighting Features
Entry/Exit Lighting
The lamps inside the vehicle come
on when any door is opened. These
lamps fade out about 20 seconds
after all of the doors have been
closed or when the ignition is turned
to ON/RUN. They also come on
when the unlock symbol button or
the horn symbol is pressed on the
Remote Keyless Entry (RKE)
system transmitter.
The lamps inside the vehicle stay on
for about 20 seconds after the key is
removed from the ignition to provide
light as you exit.
Parade Dimming
Parade dimming is a separate
lighting mode that comes on while
the parking lamps are turned on
during the day. It prevents the
display lights and indicator lights
from being dim, while the parking
lamps are used during the day.
Battery Load
Management
The vehicle has Electric Power
Management (EPM) that estimates
the battery's temperature and state
of charge. It then adjusts the voltage
for best performance and extended
life of the battery.
When the battery's state of charge
is low, the voltage is raised slightly
to quickly bring the charge back up.When the state of charge is high,
the voltage is lowered slightly to
prevent overcharging. If the vehicle
has a voltmeter gauge or a voltage
display on the Driver Information
Center (DIC), you may see the
voltage move up or down. This is
normal. If there is a problem, an
alert will be displayed.
The battery can be discharged at
idle if the electrical loads are very
high. This is true for all vehicles.
This is because the generator
(alternator) may not be spinning fast
enough at idle to produce all the
power that is needed for very high
electrical loads.
A high electrical load occurs when
several of the following are on, such
as: headlamps, high beams, fog
lamps, rear window defogger,
climate control fan at high speed,
heated seats, engine cooling fans,
trailer loads, and loads plugged into
accessory power outlets.