
1 1 8 D r iv in g an d o p e ra t io n
Mai nt ena nc e
Hav e all maintenance work carried out
at the inte rvals specified by Ope l. W e
recom mend that y ou entrust this work
to your O pel Service Partner, who ha s
prope r equipme nt and trained pers onne l
ava ilab le. Elec tronic te sting s ys tems
pe rmit rapid dia gnos is and rem edy of
faults. This way you can b e certain that
all comp onents of the vehicle’s electric al,
injection and ignition sy ste ms operate
correctly , that your ve hicle has a low leve l
of pollutant e mission and that the c atalytic
converte r s yste m will hav e a long se rvice
life.
You are there by m aking an imp ortant
contrib ution towards kee ping the air cle an
and com plia nc e with e mis sions le gis lation.
The S ervice work include s te sting and
adjusting the fuel injection system and the
ignition system . F or this re ason, hav e a ll
Se rvice work carrie d out at the inte rv als
s p eci f i e d by Op e l ( se e ch a p t er " Ser v ic e,
Maintenance " on page 1 65 ).Drive co n trol systems
Ele ctronic Stab ility P rogram (E SP ) ,
Ele ctronic Stab ility Control (E SC)
Elec tronic S tability C ontrol (ES C) is a
component part of the Ele ctronic S tability
Program (ESP).
ESP im proves driving s tability w he n
ne ces s ary in any driving s ituation,
re gardle ss of the ty pe of road surface or
tyre g rip . It also pre vents the d riv e whe els
from spinning.
The system m onitors vehicle movements.
As soon as the ve hicle starts to swe rve
(understeers/oversteers) engine output is
re duce d (the s ound of the e ngine cha ng es )
and individual whe els are spe cifically
braked . This cons iderab ly improve s the
driving stability of the ve hicle on snow and
ice and on wet or s lippe ry road s urfa ces .E SP is ready for operation as s oon a s the
ignition is s witched on and control
indicator v goes out.
The E SP control proces s is disp la yed b y the
flashing of v.
The vehicle is now in a critical s itua tion;
E SP allows you to ke ep control of the
vehicle a nd reminds you to m atch your
spee d to the road conditions.
9 Wa r nin g
Do not le t this spe cial safety feature
tempt you into ta king risk s w he n driving.
Tra ffic safe ty can only b e ac hie ve d by
adopting a re spons ible d riv ing sty le .

1 2 2 D r iv in g an d o p e ra t io n
Incr ease speed :
W i t h c r ui s e c o nt r o l a c t i v e, ho l d d o w n
button
8 or briefly pres s it repe atedly :
s pee d is incre as ed continuous ly or in ste ps
of 1.6 km/h (1 m ph) without using the
acce lerator pe dal.
W hen button
8 is released, the current
speed is stored and m aintained.
Alternative ly, use the acce lerator pe dal to
increase vehicle speed, press button
9
and rele ase it, then rele ase the acce lerator
pe dal.
W hen button
9 and the acce lerator
pe dal are rele ase d, the current s pee d is
s tore d and m ainta ine d.
Decrease speed:
W i t h c r ui s e c o nt r o l a c t i v e, ho l d d o w n
button
9 or brie fly pres s it rep eate dly:
s pee d is reduce d continuous ly or in s teps
of 1.6 km/h (1 m ph).
W hen button
9 is rele ased, the current
speed is stored and m aintained.
To dea ctiv ate :
Switch off cruis e control whe n not nee de d,
to avoid accid ental activa tion.
Pre ss button m: cruise control is s witched
off, the control indicator in the button goe s
out a nd the ve hicle s lowly d ece lerates .
To continue driv ing , de pres s the
accele rator ped al in the us ua l manner.
For re asons of safe ty, c ruise control
deactiv ates under ce rtain driving
conditions . F or exa mple:
zi f t h e veh i c l e ’s sp e ed d r o p s b el o w
approx . 3 0 km/ h (2 0 mph) or
zif the brake peda l is depre ss ed or
zif the clutch p edal is de pres s ed or
zif the Elec tronic S tability Program (E SP)
come s into a ction, to improve driving
s tability and lim it whee l spin.
Deactivating cruise control does not switch
of f t h e sy st e m .
Resumi ng the stored speed:
Brie fly pre ss button
8 at a spe ed above
30 k m /h ( 2 0 m p h ): s p ee d s el e c t ed b ef o r e
cruis e c ontrol was de activated is re sume d.
The value of the stored speed is deleted
w h en c r u i se c o n t r o l ha s b ee n sw i t c h e d o f f
by pre ss ing button m, and when the
ignition is turne d off.
Brake system
The effectiveness of the brakes is an
important factor for traffic sa fe ty.
To improve effectiveness, do not brake
unnecessarily hard for the first 200 k m
(120 mile s) a fte r new brake pads have
be en fitted .
Brake pad wea r must not e xce ed a
s pec ifie d limit. R egular ma inte na nce as
detailed in the chapter "Service,
Maintenance" on pag e 165 is therefore of
the utm os t importance for traffic safe ty.
Hav e w orn b ra ke p ads replace d by a
workshop. Pads which have be en te ste d
a n d a p p r o ved en s ur e o p t i m u m b ra ke
pe rforma nc e.
Brake pad s that hav e worn to their
minimum thickne ss ge nerate a grinding
noise . C ontinued driving is poss ible.
Hav e the brake pads re placed as soon
as pos sible by a works hop.
9 Warning
Disre gard of thes e ins truc tions may lead
to injuries or e ndanger live s .

134 Self-help, vehicle care
zDo not c onnec t leads to negative
te rminal of discharged battery!
zRoute the le ads so that the y ca nnot
catch on rotating p arts in the engine
com partment.
zStart the e ngine of the ve hicle p rov id ing
th e j u m p s t a r t .
zAfte r 5 minute s, sta rt the other e ngine .
Start attem pts should be made for no
longe r than 15 s econds at an interva l of
1 m i nu t e .
zAfte r the start, allow b oth engines to idle
for 3 minutes with the leads connected.
zIn ord er to av oid ex ces s voltage in the
el ec tr i ca l sy st e m , be f o r e r e m o vi n g a
le ad, switch on an e lectrical cons umer
(e .g. lamps , h ea te d re ar win do w) in th e
vehicle rece iving the jump start.
zReverse above sequence exactly when
re m o v i n g l e a d s .
Towing
Tow ing the vehicl e
Screw the front towing ey e (stowed in a
bag in the lugga ge compartme nt) fully into
the front towing point.
Attac h a tow rope 3 - or b etter still, a tow
ro d 3 - to the towing ey e, neve r to the
bumper or front suspension units.
Plac e the gear s hift le ve r in ne utra l. Switch
on the ignition to re lease the stee ring
colum n lock and to p ermit operation of the
brake lamps , horn and winds cree n wipers . Drive off slowly and avoid jerky
mov eme nts . Impe rm iss ible trac tiv e force s
could da mage the ve hicles .
To prevent the entry of exha ust gases from
the tow ing vehicle , switch on the air re -
circulation sy stem and close the windows.
S ee k the a ss istance of a works hop.
Towi ng serv ice
E ntrust your ve hicle only to the towing
service of your choice and obtain an
e stimate on towing costs be fore e mploying
any tow ing se rvice. In this way y ou avoid
unnecessary c osts and possible insurance
proble ms during claim proce ss ing.
9 Warning
Ne ve r lift the ve hicle using the towing
eye!
9 Wa r nin g
More brake pedal pressure is necessary
w h en b ra ki n g s i n ce t he br a ke s er vo un i t i s
operative only when the engine is
running.
Conside rably greate r ste ering force is
necessary since the power steering unit is
operative only when the engine is
running.

15 1Self-help, vehicle care
Inspection system
In ord er to guarante e economical and sa fe
ve hic le ope ration a nd to maintain the
value of your ve hicle , it is of vital
importance tha t all maintenance work is
carried out at the p rope r intervals as
s p eci f i e d by Op e l ( se e ch a p t er " Ser v ic e,
Maintenance " on page 1 65 ). Tim e or
mile age/ kilome tre intervals - w hiche ver is
r ea c he d f i rs t - d e t er m i n e w he n y o ur v e hi c l e
is due for its nex t Se rv ice.
H a v e t h e Se rv i ce w or k t h a t i s du e ca r r i e d
out within one w eek or 500 km (300 miles).
Hav e this work carried out by a re paire r in
accordance with Ope l’s re comme nd ations ,
using O pe l genuine parts a nd acce ss orie s .The e ngine oil life m onitor lets y ou k now
when to change the e ng ine oil. Base d on
driving conditions , the time or kilom etre /
mileage interva l at which an e ng ine oil
cha ng e will b e indicate d can v ary
cons ide ra bly.
For the system to work properly, it must be
re set e very time the e ngine oil is changed.
See k the as sis tance of a workshop.
When the system has calc ulated that
engine oil life has bee n diminishe d,
"CHAN G E OI L SO ON" ap pears in the drive r
information ce ntre - s ee page 6 9 . Engine
power m ay be de creas e d. C hange e ng ine
oil immed iately.F urthe r information on Se rvice and the
Service Plan can be found in the chapter
"S er vi ce , M a i nt e n a nc e" on p a g e 16 5 .
Hav e mainte na nce work, as well as repairs
to the bodywork a nd equipme nt, carrie d
out b y a p rofessiona l. We recommend y our
O pel Servic e Partner, who is fam ilia r with
O p el veh i cl e s a n d i n p o ss es s io n o f t h e
nec es sary sp ecial tools and the lates t
s ervice ins tructions from Ope l. It is
particularly a dvis able to us e an Ope l
S ervice Partner during the warranty period,
to av oid inv alidation of warranty claims .
See the chapter "Service, Maintenance" on
pag e 165 for further inform ation.
Se pa rate anti-c orrosion se rv ice
Hav e the work pe rform ed a t the interva ls
s p ec if i e d i n t h e c ha p t er "S er vi ce ,
Mainte nance " on pag e 1 6 5.
C HA NGE OIL SOON

15 7Self-help, vehicle care
Brak e/clut ch fluid c ha nge
Brake /clutch fluid is hygroscopic, i.e . it
absorbs water. If the brak es be come hot,
s uc h as whe n driving on long downhill
stretches, va pour bubbles can occur in the
water, which can have an extrem ely
adv ers e e ffe ct on braking power
( dep en di n g o n t h e p ro p o r t i o n o f w a t e r) .
The fluid change intervals s pecifie d in the
chapter "Service, Maintenance" on
page 1 65 m us t there fore be obs erve d.
Power steering fluid
The power steering fluid does not require
any additional ma inte na nce than that
detaile d in the c hap te r "S ervice ,
Mainte nance" on page 16 5 .
If the fluid in the re s ervoir falls below the
HOT mark on the dipstick, consult a
work shop.
Windscreen wipers
C lear v is ion is es se ntial for safe driving.
Pe rform re gular check s on the windsc re en
wipe rs to ens ure they are ope rating
correc tly . W e recomme nd wipe r blade
re placem ent at le ast once a year.
If t h e w i n dsc re en i s di r t y, o p er a t e t h e
windscreen washer system b efore
s witching on the winds cree n wipers . This
will av oid wipe r blade wea r.
Do not switch on the windscree n wipers if
the wind scre en is ice d up, as this could
dam age the wipe r blade s or the wipe r
system.
If the wipers b ecome froze n on to the glass,
w e r e c om m e n d th a t th e y b e r e l e a s e d w i t h
t h e a i d o f O p el D e - i cer S p r a y.
S mearing wiper blades c an be cle ane d with
a soft cloth a nd Opel C leaning Solvent and
Antifreez e.
W iper blades whos e lips have be come
harde ne d, crack ed or covere d with s ilicone
mus t be replac ed. This may be nece ss ary
as a re sult of the e ffe cts of ic e, thawing s alt
or hea t, or the incorrect use of cleaning
age nts.
S witc h off the windsc re en w ip ers in
car washe s – s ee page s 15 , 1 6 1.
W indscre en w ip er care – se e p age 163.
9 Wa r ning
We r ec o m m en d t h a t y o u ha v e b r a k e/
clutch fluid change d by a works hop who
is familiar with the req uire ments of the
la w as rega rd s d ispos al of brake /clutch
fluid a nd can thus he lp to protect the
en vi r o n m en t a n d y o ur he a l t h .

15 9Self-help, vehicle care
Ba ttery
T h e b a t t er y i s m a i nt e n a nc e- f r ee .
Re trofitted ele ctric al or ele ctronic
acce ss ories can pla ce an additional loa d
on the battery or even discharge the
batte ry. C onsult a workshop rega rd ing
tec hnical p ossibilitie s, such a s fitting
a m ore powe rful b attery.Lay ing up the v ehicle for m ore than
4 wee ks can lead to batte ry discharge,
which may reduce the service life of the
battery. Disconnect battery from on-board
power s upply b y de taching negative
terminal.
Ensure that the ignition is switche d off
before conne cting battery. Then pe rform
the follow ing actions:
zSe t date and time in the ra dio disp la y –
see section “Infota inm ent system 3” on
page 7 8 .
In order to pre ve nt the batte ry from
d i sc h a r g i n g , so m e c o n su m e r s su c h a s t h e
courte sy lamps automatically switch off
afte r approx . 2 0 minute s.
Protection o f
elec tro nic components
In o r de r t o p r ev en t f a u l t s in el ec tr o n i c
compone nts in the e lectrical system, neve r
connect or d isconnect b attery w ith the
eng ine running or the ignition sw itched on.
N eve r sta rt engine w ith b attery
disconnected, e.g. when starting using
jump le ads.
To av oid damaging the vehic le, d o not
ma ke a ny modifications to the ele ctrical
s ys tem, e. g. connecting ad ditional
consum ers or tampe ring with ele ctronic
control units (chip tuning).
Disconnecting/connecting the b attery
f r o m /t o th e el e c tr i c a l s y st em
Disconne ct the b attery from the ve hic le
e lectrical s ys tem before charging :
F irst de tach the ne gative and then the
positive lea d. Do not reve rse the p ola rity of
the battery, i.e . do not confuse the
te rm ina ls for the positive and ne gative
le ads. W he n connecting, s tart with the
positive le ad a nd the n connect the
neg ative lead.
9 Wa r ning
Have battery changes carrie d out by a
work shop who knows the la ws
concerning the disposal of used ba tteries
a nd t h er ef o r e p r o t ect s t h e e n vi r o nm en t
and your health.
9 Wa r nin g
Electronic ignition systems use a very
hig h voltage. Do not touch the ignition
sy st e m ; d a ng er t o l i f e.

16 5Service, maintenance
Service, maintenanceEuropean service intervals
Main Se rv ice
D ue e ver y 30 ,0 0 0 k m ( 2 0, 00 0 m i l es ) o r
1 year, whicheve r occurs first.
In ternation al service intervals
Inte rim S erv ice
D ue e ver y 15 ,0 0 0 k m ( 1 0, 00 0 m i l es ) .
Main Se rv ice
D ue e ver y 30 ,0 0 0 k m ( 2 0, 00 0 m i l es ) o r
1 year, whicheve r occurs first.
Engine oil life monitor - se e page s 6 3 , 6 9 ,
151.
Confirmations
C onfirmation of Se rvice is re corded in the
s pace s p rov ided in the Se rvice and
W arranty Bookle t. The date and kilome tre/
mile age reading is comp leted with the
s tamp a nd signature of the Se rvicing
Workshop.
Mak e sure that the Se rvice and W arranty
Bookle t is com plete d correctly as
continuous proof of se rvice is e ss e ntial if
any warranty or goodwill claim s a re to be
me t, and is a ls o a benefit w he n you come
to sell the ve hicle .
Service plan
The European s erv ice s ched ule is valid for
the following countries:
A n do rra, A u s tria, Belgiu m, Cy prus ,
C zech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finla nd, Fra nce, Germany, Greece,
Gre enland, H ungary , Ice land, Ireland, Italy,
Latvia, Lithuania , Lux em bourg, Malta,
The Nethe rla nds, Norway, Poland,
P o rtug al, Slo va kia, S lov en ia, Spain ,
S wede n, Switze rland, Unite d Kingdom.
F or all rem aining countries the
Inte rnational s ervice s chedule applies . Eu ro pe an se rvice sc he du le ... .... .... ..... 16 6
In tern atio n al s ervice s che du le .. .... ..... 16 8
A dditio n al s ervicin g. ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... 17 0
Re commende d fluids , and lubricants 17 0

166 Service, maintenanc e
Euro pean service schedule
(Opel GT - Z 20 NHH)
⊕Add it iona l o per at ions.
o Und er extreme o peratin g cond itions a nd if req uired by country-sp ecific co nditio ns, the in terva ls are red uced.
S ervice operations
by y ear 1)
km ( x 1000)1)
miles ( x 1000)1)
1)Wh ic h e v e r o cc u r s fi rs t.
1
30
202
60
403
90
604
120
805
150
1006
180
120
C ontrols , lighting , s igna lling equipme nt and airbags : v isual che ck
s tee ring lock and ignition lock: che ckxxxxxx
Re mote control batte ries: re place Eve ry 2 y ears
Windsc reen w ipers, windscreen washer system: check, correct x x x x x x
C oolant le ve l and antifree ze: check, correct
Hoses: check for tightness and secure seatingxxxxxx
Brak e fluid le vel: check, correct x x x
Batte ry te rmina ls: check for sec ure connections a nd battery ey e x x x x x x
Pollen filter: replacexxx
oM o re o f ten f o r wh en du s t, s an d o r po llen is in th e air A gree me nt w ith c us to mer
Air cleaner element: replace
Every 4 yea rs/60 000 k m/40 000 miles
⊕Spark plugs: replace Every 4 yea rs/60 000 k m/40 000 miles
Ribb ed V -be lt: vis ual check x x x
⊕Re place Every 10 years/150 000 km/100 000 miles
Powe r ste ering s ys tem: check for leaks . F luid le vel: check, correct x x x x x x
E ngine oil and oil filter: replac e
2)
2)En gine oil life monitor may indica te a n earlier engine o il an d oil filter ch ang e is neces sary. See p ag es 63, 69, 15 1.
xxxxxx
Parking b ra ke: check and adjus t
W hee l mounting and s us pe ns ion front and re ar, b rake line s, brake pres s ure
hoses, fuel lines a nd exhaust system: visual checkxxx