2018 VAUXHALL ASTRA J GTC brake

138Driving and operatingDriving hints
Control of the vehicle
Never coast with engine not
running (except during Autostop)
Many systems will not function in this
situation (e.g. brake servo unit, power steering). Driving in this manner is a
danger to yourself and others. All
systems function during an Autostop,
but there will be a controlled reduction
in power steering assist and vehicle
speed is reduced.
Stop-start system 3 140.
Idle boost
If charging of the vehicle battery is
required due to battery condition, the
power output of the generator must
be increased. This will be achieved by an idle boost which may be audible.
A message is displayed in the Driver
Information Centre.Pedals
To ensure the pedal travel is
uninhibited, there must be no mats in
the area of the pedals.
Use only floor mats which fit properly and are fixed by the retainers on the
driver's side.
Steering
If power steering assist is lost
because the engine stops or due to a system malfunction, the vehicle can
be steered but may require increased
effort.
Control indicator c 3 87.Caution
Vehicles equipped with hydraulic
power steering:
If the steering wheel is turned until it reaches the end of its travel, and
is held in that position for more
than 15 seconds, damage may
occur to the power steering
system and there may be loss of
power steering assist.
Starting and operating
New vehicle running-in
Do not brake unnecessarily hard for
the first few journeys.
During the first drive, smoke may
occur because of wax and oil
evaporating off the exhaust system.
Park the vehicle in the open for a
while after the first drive and avoid
inhaling the fumes.
During the running-in period fuel and engine oil consumption may be
higher and the cleaning process of the diesel particle filter may take
place more often. Autostop may be
inhibited to allow for charging the
battery.
Diesel particle filter 3 144.

Driving and operating139Ignition switch positions0:ignition off1:steering wheel lock released,
ignition off2:ignition on, for diesel engine:
preheating3:starting
Retained power off
The following electronic systems can
work until the driver's door is opened
or at the latest for ten minutes after the ignition is switched off:
● power windows
● sunroof
● power outlets
Power to the Infotainment system will continue to operate for 30 minutes or
until the key is removed from the ignition switch, regardless of whether
any door will be opened.
Starting the engine
Manual transmission: operate clutch.
Automatic transmission: operate
brake and move the selector lever to
P or N.
Do not operate the accelerator pedal.
Diesel engine: turn the key to position 2 for preheating until control
indicator ! extinguishes.
Turn the key briefly to position 3 and
release: an automatic procedure
operates the starter with a short delay
as long as the engine is running, see
Automatic Starter Control.
Before restarting or to switch off the
engine, turn the key back to position
0 .
During an Autostop, the engine can
be started by depressing the clutch
pedal.
Starting the vehicle at low
temperatures
Starting the engine without additional
heaters is possible down to -25 °С for diesel engines and -30 °C for petrol
engines. Required is an engine oil
with the correct viscosity, the correct
fuel, performed services and a
sufficiently charged vehicle battery.
With temperatures below -30 °C the
automatic transmission needs a
warming phase of approx. five
minutes. The selector lever must be
in position P.

140Driving and operatingAutomatic Starter Control
This function controls the engine
starting procedure. The driver does
not need to hold the key in position 3.
Once applied, the system will go on
starting automatically until the engine
is running. Because of the checking
procedure, the engine starts running
after a short delay.
Possible reasons for a non-starting
engine:
● Clutch pedal not operated (manual transmission).
● Brake pedal not operated or selector lever not in P or N
(automatic transmission).
● Timeout occurred.
Turbo engine warm-up
Upon start-up, engine available
torque may be limited for a short time, especially when the engine
temperature is cold. The limitation is
to allow the lubrication system to fully
protect the engine.Overrun cut-off
The fuel supply is automatically cut off
during overrun, i.e. when the vehicle
is driven with a gear engaged but
accelerator pedal is released.
Depending on driving conditions, the
overrun cut-off may be deactivated.
Stop-start system The stop-start system helps to save
fuel and to reduce the exhaust
emissions. When conditions allow, it
switches off the engine as soon as the
vehicle is at a low speed or at a
standstill, e.g. at a traffic light or in a
traffic jam. It starts the engine
automatically as soon as the clutch is depressed. A battery sensor ensures
that an Autostop is only performed if
the vehicle battery is sufficiently
charged for a restart.
Activation
The stop-start system is available as
soon as the engine is started, the
vehicle starts-off and the conditions
as stated below in this section are
fulfilled.Deactivation
Deactivate the stop-start system
manually by pressing eco. The
deactivation is indicated when the
LED in the button extinguishes.
Autostop If the vehicle is at a low speed or at a
standstill, activate an Autostop as
follows:
● Depress the clutch pedal.
● Move the selector lever to neutral.
● Release the clutch pedal.

Driving and operating141The engine will be switched off whilethe ignition stays on.
An Autostop is indicated by the
needle at the AUTOSTOP position in
the tachometer.
During an Autostop, the heating and
brake performance will be
maintained.
Caution
The power steering assist may be
reduced during an Autostop.
Conditions for an Autostop
The stop-start system checks if each
of the following conditions is fulfilled:
● The stop-start system is not manually deactivated.
● The bonnet is fully closed.
● The driver's door is closed or the driver's seat belt is fastened.
● The vehicle battery is sufficiently charged and in good condition.
● The engine is warmed-up.
● The engine coolant temperature is not too high.
● The engine exhaust temperature is not too high, e.g. after driving
with high engine load.
● The ambient temperature is above -5 °C.
● The climate control system allows an Autostop.
● The brake vacuum is sufficient.
● The self-cleaning function of the diesel particle filter is not active.
● The vehicle was driven at least at
walking speed since the last
Autostop.Otherwise an Autostop will be
inhibited.
Certain settings of the climate control
system may inhibit an Autostop. See
" Climate control " chapter for more
details 3 130.
Immediately after motorway driving,
an Autostop may be inhibited.
New vehicle running-in 3 138.
Vehicle battery discharge protection
To ensure reliable engine restarts,
several battery discharge protection
features are implemented as part of
the stop-start system.
Power saving measures
During an Autostop, several electric
features, e.g. auxiliary electric heater
or heated rear window are disabled or switched into a power saving mode.
The fan speed of the climate control
system is reduced to save power.
Restart of the engine by the driver
Depress the clutch pedal to restart the
engine.

142Driving and operatingThe engine start is indicated by the
needle at the idle speed position in
the tachometer.
If the selector lever is shifted out of
neutral before depressing the clutch
first, control indicator - illuminates
or is shown as a symbol in the Driver Information Centre.
Control indicator - 3 86.
Restart of the engine by the stop- start system
The selector lever must be in neutral
to enable an automatic restart.
If one of the following conditions
occurs during an Autostop, the
engine will be restarted automatically
by the stop-start system:
● The stop-start system is manually deactivated.
● The bonnet is opened.
● The driver's seat belt is unfastened and the driver's door
is opened.
● The engine temperature is too low.● The charging level of the vehiclebattery is below a defined level.
● The brake vacuum is not sufficient.
● The vehicle is driven at least at walking speed.
● The climate control system requests an engine start.
● The air conditioning is manually switched on.
If the bonnet is not fully closed, a warning message is displayed in the
Driver Information Centre.
If an electric accessory, e.g. a
portable CD player, is connected to
the power outlet, a brief power drop during restart might be noticeable.
Parking9 Warning
● Do not park the vehicle on an
easily ignitable surface. The
high temperature of the
exhaust system could ignite the
surface.
● Always apply the parking brake. Activate the manual
parking brake without pressing the release button. Apply as
firmly as possible on a downhill slope or uphill slope. Depress
brake pedal at the same time to
reduce operating force.
For vehicles with electric
parking brake, pull switch m for
approx. one second.
The electric parking brake is
applied when control indicator
m illuminates 3 86.
● Switch off the engine.
● If the vehicle is on a level surface or uphill slope, engage
first gear or set the selector
lever to position P before
removing the ignition key. On
an uphill slope, turn the front
wheels away from the kerb.
If the vehicle is on a downhill
slope, engage reverse gear or
set the selector lever to position
P before removing the ignition

146Driving and operatingIn automatic mode, the driving
programme is indicated by D in the
Driver Information Centre.
R indicates reverse gear.
N indicates neutral position.
P indicates park position.
Midlevel display: in manual mode the
number of the selected gear is
indicated.
Uplevel display: in manual mode, M
and the number of the selected gear
is indicated.
Selector leverP:park position, press release
button, wheels are locked,
engage only when the vehicle is
stationary and parking brake is
appliedR:reverse gear, press release
button, engage only when
vehicle is stationaryN:neutralD:automatic modeM:manual mode: move selector
lever from D to the left.<:manual mode upshifting: move
selector lever in position M and
tap upwards]:manual mode downshifting:
move selector lever in position
M and tap rearwards
The selector lever is locked in P and
can only be moved when the ignition
is on and the brake pedal is applied.
Without brake pedal applied, the
control indicator j illuminates.
If the selector lever is not in P when
the ignition is switched off, the control
indicators j and P flash.
To engage P or R, press the release
button.

Driving and operating147The engine can only be started with
the lever in position P or N. When
position N is selected, press the brake
pedal or apply the parking brake
before starting.
Do not accelerate while engaging a
gear. Never depress the accelerator
pedal and brake pedal at the same
time.
When a gear is engaged, the vehicle
slowly begins to creep when the
brake is released.
Engine braking To utilise the engine braking effect,select a lower gear in good time when
driving downhill, see manual mode.
Rocking the vehicle Rocking the vehicle is only
permissible if the vehicle is stuck in
sand, mud or snow. Move the selector
lever between D and R in a repeat
pattern. Do not race the engine and
avoid sudden acceleration.Parking
Apply the parking brake and engageP .
The ignition key can only be removed
when the selector lever is in position
P .
Manual mode
Move selector lever out of position D
towards the left to select manual
mode M.
Tap selector lever
forwards <:shift to a higher gearbackwards ]:shift to a lower gearThe selected gear is indicated in the
instrument cluster.
If a higher gear is selected when
vehicle speed is too low, or a lower
gear when vehicle speed is too high,
the shift is not executed. This can
cause a message in the Driver
Information Centre.
In manual mode, no automatic
shifting to a higher gear takes place
at high engine revolutions.
Electronic driving programmes
● Following a cold start, the operating temperature
programme increases engine
speed to quickly bring the
catalytic converter to the required
temperature.
● The automatic neutral shift function automatically shifts to
idling when the vehicle is stopped with a forward gear engaged andthe brake pedal is pressed.

148Driving and operating● When SPORT mode is engaged,
the vehicle shifts at higher engine
speeds (unless cruise control is
on). SPORT mode 3 155.
● Special programmes automatically adapt the shiftingpoints when driving up inclines or down hills.
● When starting off in snowy or icy conditions or on other slippery
surfaces, the electronic
transmission control selects a
higher gear automatically.
Kickdown
If the accelerator pedal is pressed
down completely in automatic mode,
the transmission shifts to a lower gear
depending on engine speed.
Fault
In the event of a fault, control indicator g illuminates. Additionally, a code
number or a vehicle message is
displayed in the Driver Information
Centre. Vehicle messages 3 97.The transmission no longer shifts
automatically. Continued travel is
possible with manual shifting.
Only the highest gear is available.
Depending on the fault, 2nd gear may also be available in manual mode.
Shift only when vehicle is at a
standstill.
Have the cause of the fault remedied by a workshop.
Interruption of power supply In the event of an interruption of
power supply, the selector lever
cannot be moved out of the P
position. The ignition key cannot be removed from the ignition switch.
If the vehicle battery is discharged,
start the vehicle using jump leads
3 244.
If the vehicle battery is not the cause
of the fault, release the selector lever.
1. Apply the parking brake.
2. Release the selector lever trim from the centre console at the
front, fold it upwards and rotate it
to the left.