
Chevrolet Cruze Limited Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-
9282844) - 2016 - crc - 9/3/15
Introduction 3
Danger, Warning, and
Caution
Warning messages found on vehicle
labels and in this manual describe
hazards and what to do to avoid or
reduce them.
{Danger
Danger indicates a hazard with a
high level of risk which will result
in serious injury or death.
{Warning
Warning indicates a hazard that
could result in injury or death.
Caution
Caution indicates a hazard that
could result in property or vehicle
damage.
A circle with a slash through it is a
safety symbol which means“Do
Not,” “Do not do this,” or“Do not let
this happen.”
Symbols
The vehicle has components and
labels that use symbols instead of
text. Symbols are shown along with
the text describing the operation or
information relating to a specific
component, control, message,
gauge, or indicator.
M: Shown when the owner
manual has additional instructions
or information.
*: Shown when the service
manual has additional instructions
or information.
0: Shown when there is more
information on another page —
“see page.” Vehicle Symbol Chart
Here are some additional symbols
that may be found on the vehicle
and what they mean. For more
information on the symbol, refer to
the Index.
9:
Airbag Readiness Light
#:Air Conditioning
!:Antilock Brake System (ABS)
%:Audio Steering Wheel Controls
or OnStar®(if equipped)
$: Brake System Warning Light
":Charging System
I: Cruise Control
`:Do Not Puncture
^:Do Not Service
B:Engine Coolant Temperature
O:Exterior Lamps
_: Flame/Fire Prohibited
#:Fog Lamps
.:Fuel Gauge
+: Fuses

Chevrolet Cruze Limited Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-
9282844) - 2016 - crc - 9/3/15
Instruments and Controls 93
Instruments and
Controls
Controls
Steering Wheel Adjustment . . . . 94
Steering Wheel Controls . . . . . . . 94
Horn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Windshield Wiper/Washer . . . . . . 95
Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Power Outlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Cigarette Lighter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Ashtrays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Warning Lights, Gauges, and
Indicators
Warning Lights, Gauges, andIndicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Instrument Cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Trip Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Fuel Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Engine Coolant Temperature Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Safety Belt Reminders . . . . . . . . 102
Airbag Readiness Light . . . . . . . 103 Passenger Airbag Status
Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Charging System Light . . . . . . . 104
Malfunction Indicator Lamp (Check Engine Light) . . . . . . . . 104
Brake System Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Antilock Brake System (ABS) Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Up-Shift Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Power Steering Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Traction Off Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
StabiliTrak
®OFF Light . . . . . . . . 108
Traction Control System (TCS)/ StabiliTrak
®Light . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Tire Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Engine Oil Pressure Light . . . . 109
Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . . 110
Security Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Reduced Engine Power Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . 110
Front Fog Lamp Light . . . . . . . . . 111
Lamps On Reminder . . . . . . . . . . 111
Cruise Control Light . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Door Ajar Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Information Displays
Driver Information Center (DIC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Vehicle Messages
Vehicle Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Battery Voltage and ChargingMessages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Brake System Messages . . . . . 116
Compass Messages . . . . . . . . . . 116
Cruise Control Messages . . . . . 116
Door Ajar Messages . . . . . . . . . . 116
Engine Cooling System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Engine Oil Messages . . . . . . . . . 117
Engine Power Messages . . . . . 117
Fuel System Messages . . . . . . . 117
Key and Lock Messages . . . . . . 118
Lamp Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Object Detection System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Ride Control System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Airbag System Messages . . . . . 119
Safety Belt Messages . . . . . . . . 119
Security Messages . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Service Vehicle Messages . . . . 120
Starting the Vehicle Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Tire Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Transmission Messages . . . . . . 121
Vehicle Reminder Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Chevrolet Cruze Limited Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-
9282844) - 2016 - crc - 9/3/15
Instruments and Controls 107
{Warning
The brake system might not be
working properly if the brake
system warning light is on.
Driving with the brake system
warning light on can lead to a
crash. If the light is still on after
the vehicle has been pulled off
the road and carefully stopped,
have the vehicle towed for
service.
If the light comes on while driving, a
chime sounds. Pull off the road and
stop. The pedal might be harder to
push or go closer to the floor.
It might also take longer to stop.
If the light is still on, have the
vehicle towed for service. See
Towing the Vehicle 0293
ii.
Antilock Brake System
(ABS) Warning Light
The Antilock Brake System (ABS)
light comes on briefly when the
engine is started.
If the light does not come on, have it
fixed so it will be ready to warn if
there is a problem.
If the ABS light comes on and stays
on while driving, stop as soon as
possible and turn the ignition off.
Start the engine again to reset the
system. If the light stays on after
driving at a speed above 20 km/h
(13 mph), see your dealer for
service. A chime may also sound
when the light comes on steady.
If the regular brake system warning
light is not on, the vehicle still has
brakes, but not antilock brakes.
If the regular brake system warning light is also on, the vehicle does not
have antilock brakes and there is a
problem with the regular brakes.
See
Brake System Warning Light
0 106
ii.
See Brake System Messages 0116
iifor all brake‐related DIC messages.
Up-Shift Light
For manual transmission vehicles,
there is an up-shift light that comes
on in the lower DIC area. It shows
when to shift to the next higher gear
for best fuel economy.
See Manual Transmission 0196
ii.

Chevrolet Cruze Limited Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-
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170 Driving and Operating
Driving and
Operating
Driving Information
Distracted Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Defensive Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Drunk Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Control of a Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Driving on Wet Roads . . . . . . . . 174
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . 175
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
If the Vehicle Is Stuck . . . . . . . . 176
Vehicle Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Starting and Operating
New Vehicle Break-In . . . . . . . . . 181
Ignition Positions (KeylessAccess) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Ignition Positions (Key Access) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Starting the Engine . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Engine Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Retained Accessory Power (RAP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Shifting Into Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188 Shifting out of Park . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Parking over Things
That Burn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Engine Exhaust
Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Running the Vehicle WhileParked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Automatic Transmission
Automatic Transmission . . . . . . 192
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Manual Transmission
Manual Transmission . . . . . . . . . 196
Brakes
Antilock BrakeSystem (ABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Parking Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Brake Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Ride Control Systems
Traction Control/Electronic Stability Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Cruise Control
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Driver Assistance Systems
Rear Vision Camera (RVC) . . . 203
Parking Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205 Side Blind Zone
Alert (SBZA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Fuel
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
California FuelRequirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Fuels in Foreign Countries . . . 210
Fuel Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Filling the Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Filling a Portable Fuel Container . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Trailer Towing
General TowingInformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Driving Characteristics and Towing Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Trailer Towing (Fuel Economy Model) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Trailer Towing (Except Fuel Economy Model) . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Towing Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Conversions and Add-Ons
Add-On Electrical Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

Chevrolet Cruze Limited Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-
9282844) - 2016 - crc - 9/3/15
Driving and Operating 173
Curve Tips
.Take curves at a reasonable
speed.
. Reduce speed before entering a
curve.
. Maintain a reasonable steady
speed through the curve.
. Wait until the vehicle is out of
the curve before accelerating
gently into the straightaway.
Steering in Emergencies
.There are some situations when
steering around a problem may
be more effective than braking.
. Holding both sides of the
steering wheel allows you to turn
180 degrees without removing
a hand.
. Antilock Brake System (ABS)
allows steering while braking.
Off-Road Recovery
The vehicle's right wheels can drop
off the edge of a road onto the
shoulder while driving. Follow
these tips:
1. Ease off the accelerator and then, if there is nothing in the
way, steer the vehicle so that it
straddles the edge of the
pavement.
2. Turn the steering wheel about one-eighth of a turn, until the
right front tire contacts the
pavement edge. 3. Turn the steering wheel to go
straight down the roadway.
Loss of Control
Skidding
There are three types of skids that
correspond to the vehicle's three
control systems:
.Braking Skid —wheels are not
rolling.
. Steering or Cornering Skid —
too much speed or steering in a
curve causes tires to slip and
lose cornering force.
. Acceleration Skid —too much
throttle causes the driving
wheels to spin.
Defensive drivers avoid most skids
by taking reasonable care suited to
existing conditions, and by not
overdriving those conditions. But
skids are always possible.
If the vehicle starts to slide, follow
these suggestions:
. Ease your foot off the
accelerator pedal and steer the
way you want the vehicle to go.

Chevrolet Cruze Limited Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-
9282844) - 2016 - crc - 9/3/15
Driving and Operating 175
Hill and Mountain Roads
Driving on steep hills or through
mountains is different than driving
on flat or rolling terrain. Tips include:
.Keep the vehicle serviced and in
good shape.
. Check all fluid levels and brakes,
tires, cooling system, and
transmission.
. Shift to a lower gear when going
down steep or long hills.
{Warning
Using the brakes to slow the
vehicle on a long downhill slope
can cause brake overheating, can
reduce brake performance, and
could result in a loss of braking.
Shift the transmission to a lower
gear to let the engine assist the
brakes on a steep downhill slope.
{Warning
Coasting downhill in N (Neutral)
or with the ignition off is
dangerous. This can cause
overheating of the brakes and
loss of steering. Always have the
engine running and the vehicle
in gear.
. Drive at speeds that keep the
vehicle in its own lane. Do not
swing wide or cross the
center line.
. Be alert on top of hills;
something could be in your lane
(e.g., stalled car, accident).
. Pay attention to special road
signs (e.g., falling rocks area,
winding roads, long grades,
passing or no-passing zones)
and take appropriate action.
Winter Driving
Driving on Snow or Ice
Snow or ice between the tires and
the road creates less traction or
grip, so drive carefully. Wet ice can
occur at about 0 °C (32 °F) when
freezing rain begins to fall. Avoid
driving on wet ice or in freezing rain
until roads can be treated.
For Slippery Road Driving:
.Accelerate gently. Accelerating
too quickly causes the wheels to
spin and makes the surface
under the tires slick.
. Turn on Traction Control. See
Traction Control/Electronic
Stability Control 0199
ii.
. The Antilock Brake System
(ABS) improves vehicle stability
during hard stops, but the
brakes should be applied sooner
than when on dry pavement.
See Antilock Brake System
(ABS) 0197
ii.
. Allow greater following distance
and watch for slippery spots. Icy
patches can occur on otherwise

Chevrolet Cruze Limited Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-
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Driving and Operating 197
Neutral :Use this position when
you start or idle the engine. The
shift lever is in Neutral when it is
centered in the shift pattern, not in
any gear.
R (Reverse) : To back up, with the
vehicle at a complete stop, press
down the clutch pedal. Then pull up
the ring on the shift lever, and shift
into R (Reverse). Let up on the
clutch pedal slowly while pressing
the accelerator pedal.
If the gear does not engage, shift
the transmission to Neutral, release
the clutch pedal, and press it back
down. Repeat the gear selection.
{Warning
If you skip a gear when
downshifting, you could lose
control of the vehicle. You could
injure yourself or others. Do not
shift down more than one gear at
a time when downshifting.
Caution
Do not skip gears while
upshifting. This can cause
premature wear in the
transmission. The repairs would
not be covered by the vehicle
warranty.
Brakes
Antilock Brake
System (ABS)
This vehicle has ABS, an advanced
electronic braking system that helps
prevent a braking skid.
When the vehicle begins to drive
away, ABS checks itself.
A momentary motor or clicking noise
might be heard while this test is
going on, and it might even be
noticed that the brake pedal moves
a little. This is normal.
If there is a problem with ABS, this
warning light stays on. See Antilock
Brake System (ABS) Warning Light
0 107
ii.
If driving safely on a wet road and it
becomes necessary to slam on the
brakes and continue braking to

Chevrolet Cruze Limited Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-
9282844) - 2016 - crc - 9/3/15
198 Driving and Operating
avoid a sudden obstacle, a
computer senses the wheels are
slowing down. If one of the wheels
is about to stop rolling, the computer
will separately work the brakes at
each wheel.
ABS can change the brake pressure
to each wheel, as required, faster
than any driver could. This can help
you steer around the obstacle while
braking hard.
As the brakes are applied, the
computer keeps receiving updates
on wheel speed and controls
braking pressure accordingly.
Remember: ABS does not change
the time needed to get a foot up to
the brake pedal or always decrease
stopping distance. If you get too
close to the vehicle in front of you,
there will not be enough time to
apply the brakes if that vehicle
suddenly slows or stops. Always
leave enough room up ahead to
stop, even with ABS.Using ABS
Do not pump the brakes. Just hold
the brake pedal down firmly and let
ABS work. You may hear the ABS
pump or motor operating and feel
the brake pedal pulsate. This is
normal.
Braking in Emergencies
ABS allows you to steer and brake
at the same time. In many
emergencies, steering can help
more than even the very best
braking.
Parking Brake
To apply the parking brake, pull up
on the parking brake handle. It is
not necessary to push in on the
release button while applying the
parking brake. If the ignition is in the
ON/RUN position, the brake system
warning light will come on. See
Brake System Warning Light0106
ii.
To release the parking brake:
1. Hold the brake pedal down.
2. Pull the parking brake handle up until you can press the
release button.
3. Hold the release button in as you move the brake handle all
the way down.
Caution
Driving with the parking brake on
can overheat the brake system
and cause premature wear or
damage to brake system parts.
Make sure that the parking brake
is fully released and the brake
warning light is off before driving.