2012 OPEL GT Owners Manual

10 5Climate control
V ent ilation
zFor max imum ve ntilation in the head
area: move air distribution rotary
sw i t c h t oM, op en side air vents and
move slats of ce ntre air ve nts to a n
upright pos ition – s ee page 1 02 .
zSet the tem perature to the de sire d
se t ti n g .
zSet the fan to the d esire d setting.
zFor ventila tion to foot well: set air
distribution rotary sw itc h toK.
zFor simultaneous ventilation to the hea d
area and the foot we ll: s et air dis tribution
rotary sw itch toL.Hea ting
The amount of heat is de pe nde nt on the
coolant te mpe rature and is thus not fully
attaine d until the e ngine is warm.
For rapid warming of the p ass enge r
compartme nt:
zSe t air distribution rotary switch to the
de sire d position, prefe ra bly positionJ -
s ee page 1 04 .
zTurn the te mperature rota ry switch
clockwis e as far as it will go.
zSe lect fa n se tting 3.
zOpen side air vents.The c om fort and general well-be ing of the
ve hicle occupants are to a large e xtent
de pende nt on a s uitab le v entilation a nd
hea ting setting.
On order to achieve temp erature
stratifica tion with the pleasant e ffe ct of
"c ool he ad and warm fee t", turn the air
distribution rotary switch toK orJ and
mov e the temp erature rotary sw itc h to any
position (in the mid-range with
te mperature stratification).

106 Climate c ontrol
He ating the foot we ll
zSet air distribution rota ry switch toK.
zTe mpe rature rotary switch in right zone.
zSwitch o n f an .De m ist ing and defr ost ing wind ow s
To clear w indow fogg ing or icing , e. g. in
damp weather, b ecause of wet clothing or
due to low outside te mpe rature s:
zC oolingn on - se e p age 10 7 .
zMove air distribution rotary switch to
J or V.
zTurn the te mperature rota ry switch
clockwis e as far as it will go (warm).zSe t fa n to 3 or 4.
zSwitch on heate d re ar windowÜ.
zOpe n s id e air vents as required and
direct them towards door windows.
F or simultaneous warming of the foot we ll,
set a ir distribution rota ry switch toJ.
9 Warning
F ailure to follow the instructions can lead
to window fogg ing or icing and the refore
accide nts due to lack of vis ib ility .

10 7Climate control
A ir conditioning sy stem
A s well a s th e ef f e ct o f the h ea tin g an d
cooling system, the air conditioning sy stem
als o cools a nd dries the inflowing air.
If no cooling or drying is re quire d, s witch
t h e c oo l i n g s ys t em o ff t o sa ve f u el .
At low outside te mpera ture s, the cooling
unit switche s off automatically .
Coolingn
Ope rate only with the e ngine running and
the fan on:
Control indica tor in b utton.
If the fan is off, the c ontrol indicator will
flash three time s the n go out. Air
conditioning is not available with the fan
off.Air re-c irculat ion sy ste m4
The air re-circulation button4 is
used to se t the ve ntilation system to
re -circ ulation mode (control indica tor
illuminates in button).
I f f u m e s or un p l e a sa nt od ou r s p e ne t r a t e
the passenge r compartme nt from outside,
te mporarily s witch on air re-circulation
system.
To increa se the cooling powe r at high
outside te mperature s, temporarily switch
on air re -circulation system. On = P r e ssn
Of f = P r e ssn ag ain

108 Climate c ontrol
The a ir re-circulation sy ste m minimises
the e ntry of outside air. The hum idity
increases, and the windows can m ist up.
T h e qu a l i t y o f t h e p a s s en g e r co m p a r tm en t
air de teriorates which ma y cause the
ve hic le occupants to fee l drowsy.
Air distrib ution to K, J or V:
air re -circ ulation s ys tem is a utomatically
switched off, to speed up wind ow
de misting a nd avoid fogging. The control
indicator in the b utton goes out.
If air d istribution rotary sw itch is turned
back to positions M or L, the air re -
circulation system is switched ba ck on and
the c ontrol indicator illuminates in the
button.Convenience sett ings
zSe t coolingn as de sire d.
zAir re-c irculation syste m4 off.
zSe t air distribution rotary switch
toMorL.
zSe t temp erature rotary switch to d esired
pos ition.
zSw itch on fan a t des ired spe ed .
zO pen or align a ir vents as require d.
Te mpe rature rotary switch in ce ntre of
adjustme nt range : warme r air will flow into
the foot well a nd cooler air into the upp er
zone , with warm er air coming from the side
air vents and cooler air from the ce ntre air
ven ts .Ma xim um cooling
Brie fly ope n the w indow so that the heate d
air ca n diss ipate quickly.
zCoolingn on.
zActivate air re-circulation sy ste m4.
zSe t air distribution rotary switch toM.
zTurn the temp erature rotary switch anti-
clockwis e as far as it w ill go (cold).
zSe t fa n to 4.
zOpen sid e air vents.

10 9Climate control
Air intake
The a ir intak es in front of the windsc re en
in the e ngine comp artment must be ke pt
cle ar to allow air intake . Re move any
lea ves , d irt or snow.
No t e
If the windscreen mists up during d amp
weathe r, tem pora rily se t the sy ste m as
described under "Dem isting a nd defrosting
the windows" - see pag e 106.
Cooling functions most efficie ntly whe n the
w i nd ow s a re cl o s ed. If t h e p a ss en g e r
compartme nt has he ated up cons ide ra bly
afte r a long period in dire ct s unlight, briefly
op en the wind ow s so that the hot air can
es cape quickly.
Whe n cooling (air conditioning
compres s or) is s witched on conde nsation
forms, which is expelled from the underside
of the vehicle.
At leas t one air vent mus t be open w hile
cooling (air conditioning comp re ss or) is on,
in orde r to pre vent the ev aporator from
icing up due to lack of air m ov eme nt.
At low outs ide temp eratures the c ooling
unit s witches off automatically.
Maintena nce
In order to ensure continuously efficient
pe rforma nc e, the air conditioning
compre ss or mus t be operate d for a fe w
minutes once a month, irrespectiv e of the
weather and time of yea r. Air conditioning
compre ss or operation is not poss ible whe n
outside temperatures a re low.
In the ev ent of a fault, consult a workshop.

1 1 0 D r iv in g an d o p e ra t io n
Driving and operationD r iv in g h in t s
The first 1000 km (600 miles)
D ri v e y o ur v eh i cl e a t va r i o u s sp e ed s.
Do not use full throttle. Nev er allow
the e ngine to labour at low re vs .
Make good use of all ge ars . De pres s the
accele rator ped al a ma ximum of around
thre e quarters of the available p edal trave l
in all gea rs .
Do not d riv e faster than three quarte rs of
maximum spe ed .
D o no t b r a k e un n ec es sa r i l y ha rd f o r t he
first 200 km (120 miles).
Never coast w ith engine not running
Many units w ill not function in this situation
(e .g. brake se rvo unit, powe r ste ering).
Driv ing in this ma nne r is a dange r to
yo u rs e lf and o the rs.
Brake servo unit
When the engine is not running, the brake
servo unit is no longer effective once the
brake peda l has bee n depre ss e d once or
twice. Braking effe ct is not re duced , but
significantly gre ater force is re quired for
braking. Power steering
If th e po wer ste er in g f ails o r wh en be in g
towe d with the e ngine switched off, the
ve hicle c an still be s tee red, but
consid erably more force is required.
D riv ing in m ount ainous te rrain
The cooling fan is e lectrically op erate d.
Its cooling powe r is the refore inde pende nt
o f t h e en g i n e s p e ed.
S ince a c onsiderab le am ount of heat is
ge nerate d at high e ngine s pee ds and les s
at lowe r s pee ds, do not s hift down whe n
climb ing hills while the ve hic le is s till coping
with the gradient in the hig he r ge ar.
D riv ing wi th a roof loa d
N ot permitte d.
Sw itching off the engi ne
When y ou switch off the e ngine , fans in
the engine com partment m ay continue
running for a while , to c ool the engine .
If the engine te mpe rature is very high, e.g.
afte r driving in mountainous terrain, allow
the e ngine to idle for ap prox . 2 minutes , in
orde r to preve nt heat accumulation.
V eh i cl es w i t h t u r bo ch a r g ed en g i n e:
After running at high eng ine speeds or high
e ng ine loads, op erate the engine brie fly at
a low load or run in neutral for approx.
3 0 se c o n d s b ef o r e sw i t c h i n g o f f , i n o r d er
to protec t the turbocharger. D rivin g h in ts .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... 11 0
Saving fuel, protecting the
en viro n men t . ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... 11 2
F ue ls, ref u ellin g .... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... 11 4
Ca ta lytic converter, exhaust g ases... 116
D rive co n tro l s ys tem s ... .... ..... .... .... ..... 11 8
Brake s ys te m ... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... 12 2
ABS u..... .... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... 12 4
W h ee ls , ty res ... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... 12 5

11 1Dr i vi ng and o pe r ati on
Sav e ene rgy – m ore k ilome tre s / mile s
Please observe the running-in hints on
the p re vious page and the tips for s aving
e ne rgy on the following pa ges .
Good, te chnica lly correct and economical
driving e nsures ma ximum durability and
performance for your vehic le.
O verrun
The fue l supply is autom atically s hut off
during overrun, e.g. when the vehicle is
be ing driven down long gradie nts or whe n
braking. To enable the ove rrun cut-off
to take e ffe ct, do not acc elerate during
overrun and do not declutch. To prevent
dam age to the cata ly tic conve rter, ove rrun
cut-off is temp orarily de activate d whe n the
cataly tic conv erte r tempe rature is high.
V eh i cl es w i t h t u r bo ch a r g ed en g i n e:
F l ow -g en er a t e d n o i se s m a y be a ud i bl e
if the a ccele rator is re leas ed quickly, on
account of air flow in the turbocharger. Engine speed
D ri v e i n a l o w en g i n e s p ee d r a n g e f o r ea ch
gear a s m uc h as poss ible.
Wa r m in g u p
Run engine wa rm , do not wa rm up in idle.
Do not a pply full throttle until the
op erating te mperature has b ee n reache d.
Corre ct g ear se le ction
Tra ns mis sion in neutral and without
re vving in the lower gears . S top-a nd -g o
tra ffic a nd driving at a spe ed too hig h for
the s ele cted g ear incre ase s wear and fue l
consumption.
Change dow n!
When decreasing speed, shift down into
the next lowe st ge ar. Do not slip the clutch
with a high-re vving engine. This is
es pecially important when hill climb ing.
Clutch op era tion
Alw ays dep ress the clutch pedal hard to
the floor to prev ent shifting difficultie s and
tra ns mis sion dam age.
Whe n driving, do not us e the ped al as a
foot re st; this will ca us e subs tantial clutch
wear.Cooling fan
The cooling fan is controlle d v ia a
therm os witch and the re fore only runs if
nec essary .
Pedals
Do not place any ob je cts in the foot we ll
which could slip under the ped als and
inhibit the pe dal trav el.
To ensure the pedal travel is uninhibited,
there must be no unre strained mats in the
are a of the p edals .
Bat tery ca re
W hen driving slowly or whe n the v ehicle is
stationary, e.g. in slow urban traffic, stop-
and-go traffic or traffic jams, turn off all
unnecessary electrical load s w here
pos sible (e. g. he ated re ar window).

1 1 2 D r iv in g an d o p e ra t io n
Sa ving fuel, p rotecting th e
environment
T re nd-s et ting te chnology
When dev eloping and manufac turing your
vehicle, Opel used environment-friendly
and prima rily recy clable materials . The
production methods used to ma ke your
vehicle are likewise environmenta lly-
compatible .
Recycling of production wastes keeps the
circulation of material clos ed. Re duction of
energy a nd water requirements a lso help s
to conserve natural resources.
T h e a dva n ced des i g n m a kes i t e a si e r
to dismantle the ve hicle at the end of
its se rvice life and s e parate m aterials
for recy cling .
Mate ria ls s uch as as bes tos and cadmium
a r e n ot us ed . T h e re f r i g er a n t i n t h e a i r
conditioning s ys tem is CF C-free .
Ne w painting te chnique s e mploy water
as a s olve nt. End-of-li fe v e hi cle rec ove ry
Information on end-of-life ve hicle recove ry
centres and the recy cling of end-of-life
vehicle s is av ailable at www.ope l.com.
Dr ive in an energy a nd environment-
consc ious w ay
zHigh fuel consumption, noise lev els and
exhaust em issions are often caused by a
driving s tyle that is not energy and
environment-conscious.
zYou should therefore drive with energy in
mind: "more kilometre s/ miles with le ss
fuel".
Reduce the noise level and exhaust
emissions b y adopting an environment-
consc ious driving s tyle. This is ex treme ly
worthwhile and im proves the quality of
life.
Fuel consum ption d epend s to a great
extent on your own personal d riv ing
style. The following hints are intended to
help you consume fuel at a rate that is as
clos e as poss ible to the spe cified le vels –
s ee page 1 77 .
C heck y our v ehicle’ s fuel consumption
e very time you refuel. This facilitates
e arly de tection of any irre gula ritie s
causing increased fuel consumption. Warm ing up
zFull throttle and w arming up at idle
speed increase w ear, fuel consumption,
ex haust em issions, the amount of
pollutant in the exhaust and the am ount
of noise.
zDriv e off as s oon as poss ible a fte r
st a r t i n g .
Uniform speed
zHectic driving s ignificantly increas e s fuel
consumption, the ex haust emissions, the
proportion of pollutant in the exhaust
g a s es a n d t h e no i s e l eve l .
zDo not accele rate a nd brake
unnecessarily . Drive at uniform speed.
Avoid frequent starting-off and
stopping, e.g. at traffic lights, in short
distance traffic and in que ue s of tra ffic,
by m eans of clev er planning. S ele ct
roa ds with good traffic flow.
I dling
zThe eng ine also consumes fuel when
idling .
zIf yo u h ave to wait f o r mo r e th an
1 minute , it is worthwhile s witching off
the e ng ine . F ive minute s of idling
corre s ponds to ap prox . 1 kilome tre
(0.6 m ile s) of driv ing .