2014 VAUXHALL ASTRA J ESP

188Driving and operating
Hill and trailer considerations
System performance on hills and
when towing a trailer depends on your
vehicle speed, vehicle load, traffic
conditions and the road gradient. It
may not detect a vehicle in your path
while driving on hills. On steep hills,
you may have to use the accelerator
pedal to maintain your vehicle speed. When going downhill, especially
when towing a trailer, you may have
to brake to maintain or reduce your
speed.
Note that applying the brake
deactivates the system. It is not
recommended to use adaptive cruise
control on steep hills especially when towing a trailer.
Radar unit
The radar unit is mounted behind the
radiator grille below the brand
emblem.
9 Warning
The radar unit was aligned
carefully during manufacture.
Therefore, after a frontal accident, do not use the system. The front
bumper may appear to be intact,
however the sensor behind can be
out of position and react
incorrectly. After an accident,
consult a workshop to verify and
correct the adaptive cruise control
sensor position.
Settings
Settings can be changed in the Auto
collision preparation menu in the
vehicle personalisation, 3 132.
Fault If the adaptive cruise control does not
work due to temporary conditions
(e.g. blockage by ice) or if there is a
permanent system error, then a
message is displayed in the Driver
Information Centre.

192Driving and operating
Deactivation
The system can be deactivated.
Press button V repeatedly until the
following message appears in the
Driver Information Centre.
General information for both
variants of forward collision alert
9 Warning
Forward collision alert is just a
warning system and does not
apply the brakes. When
approaching a vehicle ahead too
rapidly, it may not provide you
enough time to avoid a collision.
The driver accepts full
responsibility for the appropriate
following distance based on traffic, weather and visibility conditions.
The complete attention of the
driver is always required while
driving. The driver must always be
ready to take action and apply the
brakes.
System limitations
The system is designed to warn only for vehicles, but may react also to
other metallic objects.
In the following cases, forward
collision alert may not detect a vehicle ahead or sensor performance is
limited:
■ on winding roads,
■ when weather limits visibility, e.g. fog, rain, or snow,
■ when the sensor is blocked by snow, ice, slush, mud, dirt, or
windscreen damage.
Following distance
indication
The following distance indication
displays the distance to a preceding
moving vehicle. The system uses,
depending on the vehicle equipment,
either the radar behind the radiator
grille or the front camera in the
windscreen to detect the distance of
a vehicle directly ahead in your lane.
It is active at speeds above 25 mph.
When a preceding vehicle is detected
ahead, the distance is indicated in
seconds, displayed on a page in the
Driver Information Centre 3 119.
Press the MENU button on the turn
signal lever to select Vehicle
Information Menu X and turn the
adjuster wheel to choose following distance indication page.

Driving and operating193
The minimum indicated distance is
0.5 s.
If there is no vehicle ahead or the vehicle ahead is out of range, two
dashes will be displayed: -.- s.
Active Emergency Braking
Active emergency braking can help to reduce the damage from crashes with vehicles and obstacles directly
ahead, when a collision can no longer be avoided either by manual braking
or by steering. Before the active
emergency braking applies, the driver
is warned by the forward collision
alert 3 189.
The feature uses various inputs (e.g.
radar sensor, brake pressure, vehicle speed) to calculate the probability ofa frontal collision.
Active emergency braking operates automatically above walking speed,
provided that Auto collision
preparation setting is not deactivated
in the vehicle personalisation menu
3 132.
The system includes: ■ Brake preparation system
■ Emergency automatic braking
■ Forward looking brake assist9 Warning
This system is not intended to
replace the driver responsibility of driving the vehicle and looking
ahead. Its function is limited to
supplemental use only. The driver
shall continue to apply the brake
pedal as the driving situation
dictates.
Brake preparation system
When approaching a vehicle ahead
so quickly that a collision is likely, the brake preparation system slightly
pressurises the brakes. This reduces
the response time, when a manual or automatic braking is requested.
The brake system is prepared so that braking can occur more rapidly.
Emergency automatic braking After the brake preparation and just
before the imminent collision, this
function automatically applies limited
braking to reduce the impact speed of
the collision.
Forward looking brake assist
In addition to brake preparation
system and emergency automatic
braking, the forward looking brake
assist function makes the brake assist more sensitive. In this way,
depressing the brake pedal slightly

Driving and operating195Parking assist
The parking assist makes parking
easier by measuring the distance between the vehicle and obstacles,
and giving acoustic signals. It is the
driver, however, who bears full
responsibility for the parking
manoeuvre.
The system consists of four ultrasonic parking sensors in the rear bumper. If
the vehicle is equipped with a front
parking assist, the system consists of
four additional ultrasonic parking
sensors in the front bumper.
The system uses two different
frequencies for the front and rear
sensors, respectively, each with a
different sound.
Control indicator r 3 116.
Button r or D
Parking assist will be activated and
deactivated by pressing the parking
assist button r. If the vehicle is
additionally equipped with advanced
parking assist 3 198 parking assist is
equipped with button D. In this case
both systems will be operated by
button D.
For activating or deactivating parking
assist push button r or D once
briefly. For activating or deactivating
advanced parking assist push button
r or D for approx. one second.
If one system is active, it can be
switched between both systems by
pushing the button shorter or longer.
Activation
When reverse gear is engaged, the
system is activated automatically.

196Driving and operating
The front parking assist can also be
activated at a low speed by pressing
the parking assist button r or D
briefly.
An illuminated LED in the parking
assist button indicates that the
system is ready to operate.
Indication The system warns the driver withacoustic signals against handicaps in
front of or behind the vehicle.
Depending on which of the sensors
are closer to an obstacle, you will hear a buzzing sound of the respective
sensors. The interval between the
sounds becomes shorter as the
vehicle gets closer to the obstacle.
When the distance is less than
30 cm, the buzzing is continuous.
Additionally the distance to obstacles
can be shown in the Driver
Information Centre 3 119.
On version with Uplevel-Display, the
distance to a front obstacle is
indicated by changing segments.
On version with Uplevel-Combi-
Display, the distance to a front and
rear obstacle is indicated by changing distance lines around the vehicle.
The distance indication in the display
can be inhibited by vehicle messages
with a higher priority. Once the
distance indication was overwritten by a vehicle message, distance is no
more indicated until parking assist is
activated again.
Deactivation
Deactivate the system by pressing
the parking assist button r or D
briefly.
The LED in the button extinguishes
and Park Assist Off will be displayed
in the Driver Information Centre.
The system is deactivated
automatically when exceeding a
certain speed.
If the r or D button is pressed
once within an ignition cycle, the front
parking assist is always reactivated
when the vehicle speed goes below a certain value.

198Driving and operatingAdvanced parking assist
The advanced parking assist system
manoeuvres the driver into a parking slot by giving instructions on the
Driver Information Centre and
acoustic signals. It is the driver,
however, who bears full responsibility for accepting the parking slot
suggested by the system and the
parking manoeuvre.
The system uses the sensors of the
parking assist system in combination
with two additional sensors on both
sides of the front bumper and the rear
bumper.
Button D
Advanced parking assist and parking
assist 3 195 both use the same button
to operate the systems. For activating
or deactivating parking assist push
button once briefly. For activating or
deactivating advanced parking assist
push button D for approx. one
second.
If one system is active, it can be
switched between both systems by
pushing the button shorter or longer.
ActivationWhen looking for a parking slot, the
system has to be activated by
pushing the button D for approx.
one second.
The system can only be activated at
a speed up to 18 mph and the system searches for a parking slot at a speed
up to 18 mph.
The maximum allowed parallel
distance between the vehicle and a
row of parking cars is 1.8 metres.
Notice
Before using the advanced parking
assist the first time, the vehicle has
to be driven at least for 25 miles to
calibrate the system automatically.

Driving and operating201Caution
Performance of the sensor can bereduced when sensors are
covered, e.g. by ice or snow.
Performance of the parking assist
system can be reduced due to
heavy loading.
Special conditions apply if there
are taller vehicles involved (e.g.
off-road vehicles, mini vans,
vans). Object identification in the
upper part of these vehicles
cannot be guaranteed.
Objects with a very small reflection
cross section, like objects of
narrow size or soft materials, may
not be detected by the system.
Parking assist will not detect
objects out of the detection range.
Notice
The parking assist system
automatically detects factory-fitted
towing equipment. It is deactivated
when the connector is plugged in.
It is possible that the sensor detects
a non-existing object (echo
disturbance) caused by external
acoustical or mechanic
disturbances.
Advanced parking assist system
may not respond to changes in the
parking space after initiating a
parallel parking manoeuvre.
Side blind spot alert The Side blind spot alert system
detects and reports objects on either
side of the vehicle, within a specified
"blind spot" zone. The system alerts visually in each exterior mirror, when
detecting objects that may not be
visible in the interior and exterior
mirrors.
The system's sensors are located in
the bumper on the left and right side
of the vehicle.9 Warning
Side blind spot alert does not
replace driver vision.
The system does not detect: ■ Vehicles outside the side blind zones which may be rapidly
approaching.
■ Pedestrians, cyclists or animals.
Before changing a lane, always
check all mirrors, look over the
shoulder and use the turn signal.
When the system detects a vehicle in the side blind zone while driving
forward, either while passing a
vehicle or being passed, an amber warning symbol B will illuminate in
the relevant exterior mirror. If the
driver then activates the turn signal,
the warning symbol B starts flashing
amber as a warning not to change
lanes.

Driving and operating207
■traffic signs are incorrectly mounted
or damaged
■ traffic signs do not comply with the Vienna Convention on traffic signs
(Wiener Übereinkommen über
Straßenverkehrszeichen)Caution
The system is intended to help the driver within a defined speed
range to discern certain traffic
signs. Do not ignore traffic signs
which are not displayed by the
system.
The system does not discern any other than the conventional traffic
signs that might give or end a
speed limit.
Do not let this special feature
tempt you into taking risks when
driving.
Always adapt speed to the road
conditions.
The driver assistance systems do not relieve the driver from full
responsibility for vehicle
operation.
Lane departure warning
The lane departure warning systemobserves the lane markings between
which the vehicle is driving via a front camera. The system detects lane
changes and warns the driver in the
event of an unintended lane change
via visual and acoustic signals.
Criteria for the detection of an
unintended lane change are:
■ no operation of turn signals
■ no brake pedal operation
■ no active accelerator operation or speeding-up
■ no active steering
If the driver is active, no warning will
be issued.
Activation
The lane departure warning system is activated by pressing the ) button.
The illuminated LED in the button
indicates that the system is switched
on. When the control indicator ) in
the instrument cluster illuminates
green, the system is ready to operate.
The system is only operable at
vehicle speeds above 35 mph and if
lane markings are available.