engine CADILLAC XLR 2005 1.G User Guide
Page 81 of 438
Automatic Transmission Operation
There are several different positions for your shift lever.
PARK (P):This position locks your rear wheels. It is
the best position to use when you start your engine
because your vehicle cannot move easily.
{CAUTION:
It is dangerous to get out of your vehicle if the
shift lever is not fully in PARK (P) with the
parking brake rmly set. Your vehicle can roll.
Do not leave your vehicle when the engine is
running unless you have to. If you have left the
engine running, the vehicle can move suddenly.
You or others could be injured. To be sure your
vehicle will not move, even when you are on
fairly level ground, always set your parking
brake and move the shift lever to PARK (P).
SeeShifting Into Park (P) on page 2-30.
Be sure the shift lever is fully in PARK (P) before
starting the engine. Your vehicle has an automatic
transmission shift lock control system.
You have to fully apply your regular brakes before you
can shift from PARK (P) when the vehicle is running.
If you cannot shift out of PARK (P), ease pressure on
the shift lever and push the shift lever all the way into
PARK (P) as you maintain brake application. Then move
the shift lever into the gear you wish. SeeShifting Out of
Park (P) on page 2-31.
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REVERSE (R):Use this gear to back up.
Notice:Shifting to REVERSE (R) while your vehicle
is moving forward could damage the transmission.
The repairs would not be covered by your warranty.
Shift to REVERSE (R) only after your vehicle is
stopped.
To rock your vehicle back and forth to get out of snow,
ice or sand without damaging your transmission,
seeIf You Are Stuck: In Sand, Mud, Ice or Snow on
page 5-29.
NEUTRAL (N):In this position, your engine does not
connect with the wheels. To restart when you are
already moving, use NEUTRAL (N) only. Also, use
NEUTRAL (N) when your vehicle is being towed.
{CAUTION:
Shifting into a drive gear while your engine is
running at high speed is dangerous. Unless
your foot is rmly on the brake pedal, your
vehicle could move very rapidly. You could
lose control and hit people or objects. Do not
shift into a drive gear while your engine is
running at high speed.Notice:Shifting out of PARK (P) or NEUTRAL (N)
with the engine running at high speed may damage
the transmission. The repairs would not be covered
by your warranty. Be sure the engine is not running
at high speed when shifting your vehicle.
AUTOMATIC OVERDRIVE (D):This position is for
normal driving.
Notice:Spinning the tires or holding the vehicle in
one place on a hill using only the accelerator pedal
may damage the transmission. If you are stuck, do
not spin the tires. When stopping on a hill, use the
brakes to hold the vehicle in place.
Maximum engine speed is limited to protect driveline
components from improper operation.
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Driver Shift Control
The driver shift control feature gives you more manual
control over the operation of the transmission.
To use this feature,
move the shift lever
from the AUTOMATIC
OVERDRIVE (D) position
to the left and into the
driver shift control gate.
A plus symbol will also appear on the shift console
above the AUTOMATIC OVERDRIVE (D) indicator and
minus symbol will appear below the indicator.
To request an upshift, brie y move the shift lever up
toward the plus symbol. To request a downshift, brie y
move the shift lever down toward the minus symbol.The Head-Up Display (HUD) will display the change in
gear range, though the actual upshift or downshift
may be delayed until the engine speed is correct for the
requested gear range.
The currently selected gear will be remembered as
the selected gear range and will be displayed in
the HUD. SeeHead-Up Display (HUD) on page 3-34.
The gear range indicated in the HUD is only a requested
range of available gears. It does not indicate that the
vehicle will operate only in that speci c gear. The actual
gear the vehicle will choose depends on a combination
of the driver-requested gear range, vehicle speed
and throttle position.
Notice:If you drive your vehicle at high rpms
without upshifting while using Driver Shift Control
(DSC), you could damage your vehicle. Always
upshift when necessary while using DSC.
If you do not upshift as the engine approaches the
redline engine rpm for the selected gear range,
an engine speed limiter will prevent over-revving by
limiting the engine rpm available.
Not all manual downshift requests will be accepted by
the transmission. To prevent over-revving the engine,
each gear range has a maximum vehicle speed
associated with it. Any downshift request above this
speed will be ignored by the transmission.
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Some automatic downshifts may occur to maintain
minimum engine speed. This will only occur if you leave
the vehicle in too high of a gear range for the speed
the vehicle is traveling. For example, if you have been
driving in fth gear range and come to a stop without
manually downshifting, fth gear range will continue to
display in the HUD. The transmission will automatically
downshift to second gear. As you begin to drive
and accelerate, the transmission will automatically
upshift as quickly as possible to the selected fth
gear range.
In higher gear ranges, an automatic downshift will
occur if you press the accelerator pedal to the oor.
This feature provides you with adequate acceleration
capabilities if you forget to downshift manually.
Automatic upshifts and downshifts will not display in
the HUD.
Driver shift control is available while the cruise control is
engaged. The shift behavior of the transmission will
react differently than when cruise control is not engaged.
This is not a malfunction and is necessary to allow
proper operation of the cruise control.
To return to fully automatic operation, move the shift
lever to the right and back into the AUTOMATIC
OVERDRIVE (D).Parking Brake
The parking brake pedal is
located to the left of the
regular brake pedal,
near the driver’s door.
To set the parking brake, hold the regular brake pedal
down with your right foot and push the parking brake
pedal down with your left foot.
If the ignition is on, the parking brake indicator light
on the instrument panel cluster should come on.
If it does not, you need to have your vehicle serviced.
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When you move out of PARK (P) or NEUTRAL (N) and
the engine is running, the parking brake should
release. If the parking brake has not been fully released
and you try to drive off with the parking brake on, the
parking brake indicator light will come on and stay on.
If the parking brake does not fully release, you can
manually release the pedal. However, be sure to read
the following paragraphs:
{CAUTION:
Always shift to PARK (P) before pulling the
manual release lever. If your hand or arm is
in the way of the pedal you could be hurt.
The pedal springs back quickly. Keep your
hand and arm away when you use the manual
release lever.
Before releasing the manual parking brake, be sure to
put the vehicle in PARK (P) and turn the ignition off.Reach under the driver’s side of the instrument panel
and pull down on the manual release lever, which
is located behind the parking brake pedal. Pull down on
the yellow tab as shown by the arrow in the illustration.
If the parking brake does not release, you should
have your vehicle towed to your dealer for service.
Notice:Driving with the parking brake on can
overheat the brake system and cause premature
wear or damage to brake system parts. Verify that
the parking brake is fully released and the brake
warning light is off before driving.
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