steering BUICK TERRAZA 2005 User Guide

The cruise control lever
is located below the
windshield wiper control
on the right side of
the steering wheel.
QRES + (Resume/Accelerate):Push the lever up to
resume the cruise control speed, or to accelerate
when passing another vehicle.
J(CRUISE CONTROL) ON/OFFq:Press the
button on the end of the lever to turn the cruise control
on. Press it again to turn cruise control off.
RSET — (Set/Coast/Decelerate):Push the lever
down to set the cruise speed. If the cruise speed
is already set this position can be used to coast or
decelerate from a higher speed.
CANCEL
R:Pull the lever to cancel the cruise
control speed.
Cruise control allows a speed of approximately
25 mph (40 km/h) or more to be maintained without
keeping your foot on the accelerator. This is helpful
on long trips. Cruise control does not work at speeds
below about 25 mph (40 km/h).
When the brakes are applied, the cruise control
shuts off.
If the vehicle is in cruise control and the Traction
Control System (TCS) begins to limit wheel spin,
the cruise control will automatically disengage. See
Traction Control System (TCS) on page 4-9. When road
conditions allow, the cruise control can be used again.
3-11

Using Cruise Control on Hills
How well the cruise control will work on hills depends
upon the vehicle’s speed, its load, and the steepness of
the hills. When going up steep hills, the accelerator pedal
might have to be used in order to maintain the vehicle’s
speed. When going downhill, the brakes might have to be
applied, or the transaxle might have to be shifted to a
lower gear to keep the vehicle’s speed down. Doing
either of these things will take the vehicle out of cruise.
It may be better not to use the cruise control if the brakes
constantly have to be applied, or the vehicle continuously
needs to be shifted to a lower gear.
Cancelling Cruise Control
To cancel a cruise control session, pull the cruise
control lever forward, or step lightly on the brake pedal.
Doing either of these things will only end the current
cruise control session, but the set speed will be retained
in memory.
Push the button at the end of the cruise control lever to
turn the system off.
Erasing Speed Memory
When the cruise control or the ignition is turned off,
the cruise control set speed memory is erased.
Exterior Lamps
The control to the left of
the steering column
operates the exterior
lamps.
9(Off):Turn the control to this position to toggle off
all lamps. This is a momentary control that will spring
back to AUTO when released.
This momentary control will turn the automatic
headlamps and/or the Daytime Running Lamps on and
off for U.S. vehicles. For vehicles rst sold in Canada,
this is only true when the transaxle is in PARK (P).
AUTO (Automatic):Turn the control to this position to
set your headlamps in automatic mode. AUTO mode,
if enabled, will turn the exterior lamps on and off
automatically depending on how much light is available
outside the vehicle.
3-14

Interior Lamps Control
The interior lamp control is
located to the right of the
exterior lamp controls
on the instrument panel to
the left of the steering
column.
R(Interior Lamp Override):Turn the outer knob to
this position to have your interior lamps remain off
while any door is open.
1(Door):Turn the outer knob to this position to turn
the interior lamps on while any door is open and
when the ignition key is removed from the ignition.
+(Interior Lamps):Turn the outer knob to
this position to turn the interior lamps on.
Turn the inner knob to adjust the instrument panel
brightness, described earlier in this section.
Dome Lamp
The dome lamp is located in the headliner and has
two buttons to manually turn it on or off. The dome lamp
will come on each time you open a door, unless you
turn on the interior lamps override feature. SeeInterior
Lamps Control on page 3-17.
Entry Lighting
With entry lighting, the interior of your vehicle is
illuminated so that you can see inside before you enter
your vehicle. The lamps will come on for 20 seconds
if you unlock your door using your key or the remote
keyless entry transmitter and the ignition is in LOCK.
After 20 seconds have passed, the interior lamps
will slowly fade out. The lamps will turn off before the
20 seconds if you do one of the following:
Lock all the doors using the key.
Press lock on the power door lock switch.
Press lock on the remote keyless entry transmitter.
When any door is opened, entry lighting is cancelled.
The interior lamps will stay on while any door or
the liftgate is open, and slowly fade out when all
doors and the liftgate are closed.
3-17

Theft-Deterrent Feature
THEFTLOCK®is designed to discourage theft of your
vehicle’s radio. The feature works automatically by
learning a portion of the Vehicle Identication Number
(VIN). If the radio is moved to a different vehicle, it
will not operate and LOCKED will appear on the display.
With THEFTLOCK
®activated, the radio will not
operate if stolen.
Audio Steering Wheel Controls
If your vehicle has this feature, some audio controls can
be adjusted at the steering wheel. They include the
following:
wtux(Seek):Press the up or the down arrow
to go to the next or previous station and stay there.
To scan stations, press and hold either arrow for
two seconds until FREQUENCY SCAN appears on the
display. The radio will go to a station, play for a few
seconds, then go to the next station. Press either arrow
again to stop scanning.
The sound will mute while seeking or scanning. The
radio will only seek or scan stations with a strong signal
that are in the selected band.
When a CD is playing, press either arrow to go to the
previous or next track, if more than eight seconds have
played. If either arrow is held or pressed more than
once, the player will continue moving backward
or forward through the CD.
BAND:Press this button to switch between FM1, FM2,
AM, or XM1 or XM2 (if equipped).
3-112

Your Driving, the Road, and Your Vehicle..........4-2
Defensive Driving...........................................4-2
Drunken Driving.............................................4-3
Control of a Vehicle........................................4-6
Braking.........................................................4-6
Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS).........................4-7
Braking in Emergencies...................................4-8
Traction Control System (TCS).........................4-9
StabiliTrak
®System......................................4-10
All-Wheel Drive (AWD) System.......................4-12
Steering......................................................4-12
Off-Road Recovery.......................................4-14
Passing.......................................................4-15
Loss of Control.............................................4-16
Driving at Night............................................4-18
Driving in Rain and on Wet Roads..................4-19City Driving..................................................4-22
Freeway Driving...........................................4-23
Before Leaving on a Long Trip.......................4-24
Highway Hypnosis........................................4-25
Hill and Mountain Roads................................4-25
Winter Driving..............................................4-27
If Your Vehicle is Stuck in Sand, Mud,
Ice or Snow..............................................4-31
Rocking Your Vehicle to Get It Out.................4-32
Loading Your Vehicle....................................4-32
Towing..........................................................4-37
Towing Your Vehicle.....................................4-37
Recreational Vehicle Towing...........................4-37
Level Control...............................................4-39
Towing a Trailer...........................................4-39
Section 4 Driving Your Vehicle
4-1

Control of a Vehicle
You have three systems that make your vehicle go where
you want it to go. They are the brakes, the steering, and
the accelerator. All three systems have to do their work at
the places where the tires meet the road.
Sometimes, as when you are driving on snow or ice,
it is easy to ask more of those control systems than the
tires and road can provide. That means you can lose
control of your vehicle.
Braking
Braking action involves perception time and
reaction time.
First, you have to decide to push on the brake pedal.
That is perception time. Then you have to bring up your
foot and do it. That is reaction time.
Average reaction time is about three-fourths of a
second. But that is only an average. It might be less
with one driver and as long as two or three seconds or
more with another. Age, physical condition, alertness,
coordination, and eyesight all play a part. So do alcohol,
drugs, and frustration. But even in three-fourths of a
second, a vehicle moving at 60 mph (100 km/h) travels
66 feet (20 m). That could be a lot of distance in an
emergency, so keeping enough space between
your vehicle and others is important.And, of course, actual stopping distances vary greatly
with the surface of the road, whether it is pavement
or gravel; the condition of the road, whether it is
wet, dry, or icy; tire tread; the condition of your brakes;
the weight of the vehicle; and the amount of brake
force applied.
Avoid needless heavy braking. Some people drive
in spurts — heavy acceleration followed by heavy
braking — rather than keeping pace with traffic. This is
a mistake. Your brakes may not have time to cool
between hard stops. Your brakes will wear out much
faster if you do a lot of heavy braking. If you keep pace
with the traffic and allow realistic following distances,
you will eliminate a lot of unnecessary braking.
That means better braking and longer brake life.
If your engine ever stops while you are driving, brake
normally but do not pump your brakes. If you do,
the pedal may get harder to push down. If your engine
stops, you will still have some power brake assist.
But you will use it when you brake. Once the power
assist is used up, it may take longer to stop and
the brake pedal will be harder to push.
4-6

The anti-lock system can change the brake pressure
faster than any driver could. The computer is
programmed to make the most of available tire and road
conditions. This can help you steer around the obstacle
while braking hard.
As you brake, your computer keeps receiving updates on
wheel speed and controls braking pressure accordingly.Remember: Anti-lock does not change the time you
need to get your foot up to the brake pedal or always
decrease stopping distance. If you get too close to
the vehicle in front of you, you will not have time to apply
your brakes if that vehicle suddenly slows or stops.
Always leave enough room up ahead to stop, even
though you have anti-lock brakes.
Using Anti-Lock
Do not pump the brakes. Just hold the brake pedal
down rmly and let anti-lock work for you. You may feel
a slight brake pedal pulsation or notice some noise,
but this is normal.
Braking in Emergencies
With anti-lock brakes, you can steer and brake at the
same time. In many emergencies, steering can help you
more than even the very best braking.
4-8

The traction control system automatically comes on
whenever you start your vehicle. To limit wheel
spin, especially in slippery road conditions, you should
always leave the system on. But you can turn the
traction control system off if you ever need to. You
should turn the system off if your vehicle ever gets stuck
in sand, mud or snow and rocking the vehicle is
required. SeeRocking Your Vehicle to Get It Out on
page 4-32andIf Your Vehicle is Stuck in Sand, Mud,
Ice or Snow on page 4-31.
To turn the system
off, press the traction
control button located
on the center of the
instrument panel.
If the system is limiting wheel spin when you press the
button, the TRACTION CONTROL ACTIVE message
will go off, but the system will not turn off until there
is no longer a current need to limit wheel spin.
The TRACTION CONTROL OFF message will come
on to remind you the system is off. You can turn
the system back on at any time by pressing the button
again. The traction control system warning message
should go off.StabiliTrak®System
Your vehicle may be equipped with StabiliTrak®which
combines anti-lock brake, traction and stability
control systems and helps the driver maintain directional
control of the vehicle in most driving conditions.
When you rst start your vehicle and begin to drive
away, the system performs several diagnostic checks to
insure there are no problems. You may hear or feel
the system working. This is normal and does not mean
there is a problem with your vehicle.
If the system fails to turn on or activate, the SERVICE
STABILITY SYSTEM message will be displayed on
the Driver Information Center (DIC). If the vehicle has
gone through heavy acceleration or braking or multiple
turns during the rst two miles of driving after starting
your vehicle, the STABILITY CONTROL OFF message
may appear on the DIC. If this is the case, your
vehicle does not need servicing. You will need to turn
the vehicle off and then restart it to initialize StabiliTrak
®.
If either message appears on the DIC, and your
vehicle has not gone through hard acceleration, braking
or multiple turns in the rst two miles of driving, your
vehicle should be taken in for service.
The STABILITY CONTROL ACTIVE message will
appear on the DIC only when the system is both on and
activated. It means that an advanced computer-controlled
system has come on to help your vehicle continue
to go in the direction in which you are steering.
4-10

The traction control system may activate on dry or
rough roads or under conditions such as heavy
acceleration while turning or abrupt upshifts/downshifts
of the transmission. When this happens you may
notice a reduction in acceleration, or may hear a noise
or vibration. This is normal.
If your vehicle is in cruise control when the system
activates, the STABILITY CONTROL ACTIVE message
will appear on the DIC and the cruise control will
automatically disengage. When road conditions allow
you to use cruise again, you may re-engage the cruise
control. SeeCruise Control on page 3-10.
StabiliTrak
®may also turn off automatically if it
determines that a problem exists with the system.
If the problem does not clear itself after restarting the
vehicle, you should see your dealer for service.
All-Wheel Drive (AWD) System
If your vehicle has all-wheel drive (AWD), the AWD
system operates automatically without any action
required by the driver. If the front drive wheels begin to
slip, the rear wheels will automatically begin to drive
the vehicle as required. There may be a slight
engagement noise during hard use but this is normal.During heavy AWD applications, the engine torque
may be reduced to protect AWD system components.
If the vehicle is exposed to extended heavy AWD usage,
the AWD system will shut itself off to protect the
system from overheating. When the system cools down,
the AWD system will activate itself again automatically;
this cool-down can take up to 20 minutes depending
on outside temperature and vehicle use.
Steering
Power Steering
If you lose power steering assist because the engine
stops or the system is not functioning, you can steer but
it will take much more effort.
Steering Tips
Driving on Curves
It is important to take curves at a reasonable speed.
A lot of the “driver lost control” accidents mentioned on
the news happen on curves. Here is why:
Experienced driver or beginner, each of us is
subject to the same laws of physics when driving
on curves. The traction of the tires against the road
surface makes it possible for the vehicle to change
its path when you turn the front wheels.
4-12

If there is no traction, inertia will keep the vehicle going
in the same direction. If you have ever tried to steer
a vehicle on wet ice, you will understand this.
The traction you can get in a curve depends on the
condition of your tires and the road surface, the angle at
which the curve is banked, and your speed. While you
are in a curve, speed is the one factor you can control.
Suppose you are steering through a sharp curve.
Then you suddenly apply the brakes. Both control
systems — steering and braking — have to do their work
where the tires meet the road. Unless you have
four-wheel anti-lock brakes, adding the hard braking can
demand too much of those places. You can lose
control.
The same thing can happen if you are steering through
a sharp curve and you suddenly accelerate. Those
two control systems — steering and acceleration — can
overwhelm those places where the tires meet the
road and make you lose control. SeeTraction Control
System (TCS) on page 4-9.
What should you do if this ever happens? Ease up on
the brake or accelerator pedal, steer the vehicle the way
you want it to go, and slow down.
Speed limit signs near curves warn that you should
adjust your speed. Of course, the posted speeds
are based on good weather and road conditions. Under
less favorable conditions you will want to go slower.If you need to reduce your speed as you approach a
curve, do it before you enter the curve, while your front
wheels are straight ahead.
Try to adjust your speed so you can “drive” through the
curve. Maintain a reasonable, steady speed. Wait to
accelerate until you are out of the curve, and then
accelerate gently into the straightaway.
Steering in Emergencies
There are times when steering can be more effective
than braking. For example, you come over a hill and nd
a truck stopped in your lane, or a car suddenly pulls
out from nowhere, or a child darts out from between
parked cars and stops right in front of you. You
can avoid these problems by braking — if you can stop
in time. But sometimes you cannot; there is not room.
That is the time for evasive action — steering around
the problem.
Your vehicle can perform very well in emergencies like
these. First apply your brakes.
SeeBraking on page 4-6. It is better to remove as much
speed as you can from a possible collision. Then
steer around the problem, to the left or right depending
on the space available.
4-13