Black plate (52,1)Cadillac CTS Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
6081492) - 2014 - CRC 2nd Edition - 11/18/13
9-52 Driving and Operating
Forward Collision Alert
(FCA) System
If equipped, the FCA system may
help to avoid or reduce the harm
caused by front-end crashes. When
approaching a vehicle ahead too
quickly, FCA provides a flashing red
alert on the windshield and rapidly
beeps or pulses the Safety Alert
Seat. FCA also lights an amber
visual alert if following another
vehicle much too closely.
FCA detects vehicles within a
distance of approximately 60 m
(197 ft) and operates at speeds
above 40 km/h (25 mph). If the
vehicle has Adaptive Cruise Control
(ACC), it can detect vehicles to
distances of approximately 110 m
(360 ft) and operates at all speeds.
SeeAdaptive Cruise Control on
page 9-37.
{Warning
FCA is a warning system and
does not apply the brakes. When
approaching a slower-moving or
stopped vehicle ahead too rapidly,
or when following a vehicle too
closely, FCA may not provide a
warning with enough time to help
avoid a crash. FCA does not warn
of pedestrians, animals, signs,
guardrails, bridges, construction
barrels, or other objects. Be ready
to take action and apply the
brakes. For more information, see
Defensive Driving on page 9-3.
FCA can be disabled with the FCA
steering wheel control, or if your
vehicle is equipped with Adaptive
Cruise Control (ACC), through
vehicle personalization. See the
“Auto Collision Preparation” portion
of “Collision/Detection Systems”
under Vehicle Personalization on
page 5-48.
Detecting the Vehicle Ahead
FCA warnings will not occur unless
the FCA system detects a vehicle
ahead. When a vehicle is detected,
the vehicle-ahead indicator will
display green. Vehicles may not be
detected on curves, highway exit
ramps, or hills; or due to poor
visibility. FCA will not detect another
vehicle ahead until it is completely
in the driving lane.
{Warning
FCA does not provide a warning
to help avoid a crash, unless it
detects a vehicle. FCA may not
detect a vehicle ahead if the FCA
sensor is blocked by dirt, snow,
(Continued)
Black plate (53,1)Cadillac CTS Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
6081492) - 2014 - CRC 2nd Edition - 11/18/13
Driving and Operating 9-53
Warning (Continued)
or ice, or if the windshield is
damaged. It may also not detect a
vehicle on winding or hilly roads,
or in conditions that can limit
visibility such as fog, rain,
or snow, or if the headlamps or
windshield are not cleaned or in
proper condition. Keep the
windshield, headlamps, and FCA
sensors clean and in good repair.Collision Alert
With Head-Up Display
Without Head-Up Display
When your vehicle approaches
another detected vehicle too rapidly,
the red FCA display will flash on the
windshield. Also, eight high-pitched
beeps will sound from the front,
or both sides of the Safety Alert
Seat will pulse five times.
When this Collision Alert occurs, the
brake system may prepare for driver
braking to occur more rapidly which
can cause a brief, mild deceleration. Continue to apply the brake pedal
as needed. Cruise control may be
disengaged when the Collision Alert
occurs.
Tailgating Alert
The vehicle-ahead indicator will
display amber when you are
following a detected vehicle ahead
much too closely.
Black plate (54,1)Cadillac CTS Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
6081492) - 2014 - CRC 2nd Edition - 11/18/13
9-54 Driving and Operating
Selecting the Alert Timing
With Adaptive Cruise Control
Without Adaptive Cruise ControlThe Collision Alert control is on the
steering wheel. Press
3or[to
set the FCA timing to Far, Medium,
Near, or on some vehicles, Off. The
first button press shows the current
setting on the DIC. Additional button
presses will change this setting. The
chosen setting will remain until it is
changed and will affect the timing of
both the Collision Alert and the
Tailgating Alert features. The timing
of both alerts will vary based on
vehicle speed. The faster the
vehicle speed, the farther away the
alert will occur. Consider traffic and
weather conditions when selecting
the alert timing. The range of
selectable alert timing may not be
appropriate for all drivers and
driving conditions.
If your vehicle is equipped with
Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC),
changing the FCA timing setting
automatically changes the following
gap setting (Far, Medium, or Near).
Unnecessary Alerts
FCA may provide unnecessary
alerts for turning vehicles, vehicles
in other lanes, objects that are not
vehicles, or shadows. These alerts
are normal operation and the
vehicle does not need service.
Cleaning the System
If the FCA system does not seem to
operate properly, cleaning the
outside of the windshield in front of
the camera sensor on the back of
the rearview mirror, and cleaning the
front of the vehicle where radar
sensors are located, may correct
the issue.
Active Emergency
Braking System
If the vehicle has Adaptive Cruise
Control (ACC) it also has the Active
Emergency Braking System, which
includes Intelligent Brake
Assist (IBA) and the Automatic
Collision Preparation (ACP) System.
These systems can provide a boost
Black plate (65,1)Cadillac CTS Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
6081492) - 2014 - CRC 2nd Edition - 11/18/13
Driving and Operating 9-65
Trailer Towing
General Towing
Information
Only use towing equipment that has
been designed for the vehicle.
Contact your dealer or trailering
dealer for assistance with preparing
the vehicle for towing a trailer. Read
the entire section before towing a
trailer.
For towing a disabled vehicle, see
Towing the Vehicle on page 10-66.
For towing the vehicle behind
another vehicle such as a motor
home, seeRecreational Vehicle
Towing on page 10-67.
Driving Characteristics
and Towing Tips
Driving with a Trailer
When towing a trailer:
.Become familiar with the state
and local laws that apply to
trailer towing.
.Do not tow a trailer during the
first 2 414 km (1500 mi) to
prevent damage to the engine,
axle, or other parts.
.Then during the first 800 km
(500 mi) of trailer towing, do not
drive over 80 km/h (50 mph) and
do not make starts at full throttle.
.Vehicles can tow in D (Drive).
Shift the transmission to a lower
gear if the transmission shifts
too often under heavy loads and/
or hilly conditions.
.Do not use Adaptive Cruise
Control when towing.
.The Automatic Collision
Preparation System should be
set to Off when towing. See
Active Emergency Braking
System on page 9-54.
.Turn off Parking Assist when
towing.
{Warning
When towing a trailer, exhaust
gases may collect at the rear of
the vehicle and enter if the
liftgate, trunk/hatch, or rear-most
window is open.
When towing a trailer:
.Do not drive with the liftgate,
trunk/hatch, or rear-most
window open.
.Fully open the air outlets on
or under the instrument
panel.
.Also adjust the climate
control system to a setting
that brings in only outside air.
See “Climate Control
Systems” in the Index.
For more information about
Carbon Monoxide, see Engine
Exhaust on page 9-22.
Black plate (1,1)Cadillac CTS Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
6081492) - 2014 - CRC 2nd Edition - 11/18/13
INDEX i-1
A
Accessories andModifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2
Accessory Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-19
Active Emergency Braking System . . . . . . . . 1-18, 9-54
Adaptive Cruise Control . . . . . . . 9-37
Adaptive Forward
Lighting (AFL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Adaptive Forward Lighting (AFL) Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-28
Add-On Electrical Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-70
Additional Information OnStar
®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-5
Adjustments
Lumbar, Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Thigh Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
Air Cleaner/Filter, Engine . . . . . 10-14
Air Filter, Passenger Compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9
Air Vents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-8 Airbag System
Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-34
How Does an Airbag
Restrain? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-27
Passenger Sensing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-28
What Makes an Airbag
Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-26
What Will You See after an Airbag Inflates? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-27
When Should an Airbag
Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-25
Where Are the Airbags? . . . . . . 3-24
Airbags Adding Equipment to theVehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-33
Passenger Status Indicator . . . 5-18
Readiness Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Servicing Airbag-Equipped Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-33
System Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-22
Alarm Vehicle Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Alert Side Blind Zone (SBZA) . . . . . . 9-56
All-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . . . 9-26, 10-26 Antilock Brake
System (ABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-27
Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-23
Appearance Care Exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-69
Interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-74
Armrest Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Assistance Systems for
Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-51
Assistance Systems for Parking and Backing . . . . . . . . . 9-46
Automatic Door Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Headlamp System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-23
Transmission Fluid . . . . . . . . . 10-14
Automatic Transmission Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-25
Shift Lock ControlFunction Check . . . . . . . . . . . 10-27
Black plate (3,1)Cadillac CTS Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
6081492) - 2014 - CRC 2nd Edition - 11/18/13
INDEX i-3
CompartmentsStorage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5 Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-37
Competitive Driving Mode . . . . . 9-33
Connections OnStar
®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-3
Control Traction and ElectronicStability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-30
Control of a Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Convenience Net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4
Convex Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19
Coolant
Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-18
Engine TemperatureGauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Engine Temperature Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-16 Engine Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-39
Courtesy Transportation Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-7
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-34 Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-29
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-38 Cruise Control, Active . . . . . . . . . 9-37
Cupholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Customer Assistance . . . . . . . . . . 13-4
Offices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-3
Text Telephone (TTY)Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-4
Customer Information
Service PublicationsOrdering Information . . . . . . .13-11
Customer Satisfaction Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-1
D
Damage Repair, Collision . . . . . . 13-9
Danger, Warnings, and
Cautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
Data Recorders, Event . . . . . . . 13-13
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Defensive Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Differential, Limited-Slip . . . . . . . 9-34
Distracted Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
Dome Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6 Door
Ajar Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-29
Ajar Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-38
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11
Power Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Rear Seat Pass-Through . . . . . 3-12
Drive Belt Routing, Engine . . . . . 12-4
Drive Systems All-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . 9-26, 10-26
Driver Assistance Systems . . . . 9-45
Driver Information
Center (DIC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-30
Driver Mode Control . . . . . . . . . . . 9-31
Driving Assistance Systems . . . . . . . . . . 9-51
Characteristics and
Towing Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-65
Competitive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-33
Defensive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Drunk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
For Better Fuel Economy . . . . . 1-21
Highway Hypnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-8
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . . . 9-8
If the Vehicle is Stuck . . . . . . . . . 9-10
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Black plate (7,1)Cadillac CTS Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
6081492) - 2014 - CRC 2nd Edition - 11/18/13
INDEX i-7
LightsAirbag Readiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Antilock Brake System
(ABS) Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-23
Brake System Warning . . . . . . . 5-22
Charging System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-19
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-29
Door Ajar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-29
Engine Coolant Temperature Warning . . . . . . . 5-26
Engine Oil Pressure . . . . . . . . . . 5-27
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
High-Beam On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-28
High/Low Beam Changer . . . . . . 6-3
Lane Departure Warning . . . . . . 5-24
Low Fuel Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-27
Safety Belt Reminders . . . . . . . . 5-17
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-28
Service Electric Parking
Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-23
StabiliTrak
®OFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
Traction Control System (TCS)/StabiliTrak
®. . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Traction Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Limited-Slip Differential . . . . . . . . 9-34 Locks
Automatic Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11
Lockout Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Power Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . . . 5-27
Low-Profile Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-43
Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH
System) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-42
Lumbar Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4 Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
M
MaintenanceRecords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-16
Maintenance Schedule Recommended Fluidsand Lubricants . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-13
Malfunction Indicator Lamp . . . . 5-19
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-25
Memory Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8
Memory Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6 Messages
Airbag System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-45
Battery Voltage and
Charging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-37
Brake System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-37
Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-37
Door Ajar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-38
Engine Cooling System . . . . . . . 5-39
Engine Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-39
Engine Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-40
Fuel System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-40
Key and Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-40
Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-41
Object Detection System . . . . . 5-41
Ride Control System . . . . . . . . . . 5-44
Safety Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-45
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-45
Service Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-45
Starting the Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . 5-46
Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-46
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-47
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-36
Vehicle Reminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-47
Vehicle Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-47
Washer Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-47