CADILLAC XLR 2009 1.G Owners Manual

Map Direction, Change Map Direction:Changes the
vehicle’s direction from North Up to Heading Up or
Heading Up to North Up on the map screen if the map
scale is set to 2 miles (4 km) or less.
Mark, Mark This Point:Marks the location as a
memory point while on the map screen.
Destination Commands
Home, Go Home:Enters the Home destination, if one
is set.
Go To Starting Point, Previous Starting Point:Enters
the last available starting point as a destination.
Guidance Commands
Repeat Guidance, Repeat Voice:Repeats the last
available voice prompt guidance command if a
destination has been set.
Louder:Increases the volume of the navigation voice
prompts if a destination has been set.
Softer:Decreases the volume of the navigation voice
prompts if a destination has been set.
Voice Guidance Off:Turns off the navigation voice
prompts if a destination has been set.Voice Guidance On:Turns on the navigation voice
prompts if a destination has been set.
Open Guidance, Open Guidance Screen, Open
Guide, Open Guide Screen:Opens the Guidance
Appearance menu if a destination has been set.
Close Guidance, Close Guidance Screen, Close
Guide, Close Guide Screen:Closes the Guidance
Appearance menu if a destination has been set.
Arrow Guidance, Arrow Guide, Change To Arrow
Guidance, Change To Arrow Guide:Changes to
Arrow Guidance screen view in the Guidance Menu if a
destination has been set.
Turn List Guidance, Turn List Guide, Change to
Turn List Guidance, Change to Turn List Guide:
Changes to Turn List Guidance screen view in the
Guidance Menu if a destination has been set.
Entire Route, Entire Route Map, Route Overview:
Displays the entire route if a destination has been set.
Reroute:Generates an alternate route to a set
destination while on a planned route.
Detour, Detour Entire Route:Activates the detour
feature when driving a planned route.
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Delete Destination, Cancel Destination:Cancels a
destination if one has been set.
Next Waypoint Map:Displays the map view of the
next waypoint location if one has been set.
First Waypoint Map:Displays the map view of the rst
waypoint location if one has been set.
Second Waypoint Map:Displays the map view of the
second waypoint location if more than one waypoint
has been set.
Third Waypoint Map:Displays the map view of the
third waypoint location if more than two waypoints have
been set.
Fourth Waypoint Map:Displays the map view of the
fourth waypoint location if more than three waypoints
have been set.
Fifth Waypoint Map:Displays the map view of the
fth waypoint location if more than four waypoints have
been set.
Destination Map:Displays the map view of the nal
destination location if one has been set.Point of Interest (POI) Commands
The following commands cause the system to display
icons if they are available on the map screen when the
map scale is set to a half mile (eight-tenths km) or less.
Restaurant, I’m Hungry:Displays restaurant POI icons.
American Restaurant, American Food:Displays
American restaurant POI icons.
Chinese Restaurant, Chinese Food:Displays Chinese
restaurant POI icons.
Continental Restaurant, Continental Food:Displays
Continental restaurant POI icons.
French Restaurant, French Food:Displays French
restaurant POI icons.
Italian Restaurant, Italian Food:Displays Italian
restaurant POI icons.
Japanese Restaurant, Japanese Food:Displays
Japanese restaurant POI icons.
4-78

Mexican Restaurant, Mexican Food:Displays
Mexican restaurant POI icons.
Seafood Restaurant, Seafood:Displays Seafood
restaurant POI icons.
Other Restaurant, Other Food:Displays other types
of restaurant POI icons.
Shopping, Shopping Mall:Displays mall POI icons.
Grocery Store:Displays grocery store POI icons.
Gas Station, Gas:Displays gas station POI icons.
Parking Garage:Displays parking garage POI icons.
Parking Lot:Displays parking lot POI icons.
Rental Car Agency:Displays rental car POI icons.
Automobile Club, Triple A:Displays auto club
POI icons.
Auto Service And Maintenance, Auto Service,
Maintenance:Displays auto service POI icons.
Hotel:Displays hotel POI icons.
Golf Course:Displays golf course POI icons.Ski Resort, Skiing:Displays ski resort POI icons.
Amusement Park:Displays amusement park
POI icons.
Sport Complex, Stadium:Displays sports complex
POI icons.
Casino:Displays casino POI icons.
Marina:Displays marina POI icons.
Tourist Attraction:Displays tourist attraction POI icons.
Winery:Displays winery POI icons.
City Hall:Displays city hall POI icons.
Police Station:Displays police station POI icons.
Library:Displays library POI icons.
Hospital:Displays hospital POI icons.
Park & Recreation, Parks & Recreation:Displays
parks and recreation POI icons.
Civic Center, Community Center:Displays community
center POI icons.
4-79

Convention Center, Exhibition Center:Displays
convention center POI icons.
Court House:Displays court house POI icons.
Train Station:Displays train station POI icons.
Airport:Displays airport POI icons.
Bus Station:Displays bus station POI icons.
Commuter Rail Station:Displays commuter rail station
POI icons.
Ferry Terminal:Displays ferry terminal POI icons.
Park & Ride:Displays park & ride POI icons.
Rest Area, Rest Stop:Displays rest area POI icons.
Tourist Information:Displays tourist information
POI icons.Historical Monument:Displays historical monument
POI icons.
Performing Arts:Displays performing arts POI icons.
Museum:Displays museum POI icons.
Bank:Displays bank POI icons.
School:Displays school POI icons.
ATM:Displays ATM POI icons.
Higher Education, University, College:Displays
higher education POI icons.
Business Facility:Displays business facility POI icons.
City Center:Displays city center POI icons.
POI Off:Turns off POIs so they do not appear on the
map screen.
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Your Driving, the Road, and the Vehicle............5-2
Defensive Driving...........................................5-2
Drunk Driving.................................................5-2
Control of a Vehicle........................................5-3
Braking.........................................................5-4
Antilock Brake System (ABS)...........................5-5
Braking in Emergencies...................................5-6
StabiliTrak
®System........................................5-6
Traction Control System (TCS).........................5-8
Magnetic Ride Control™................................5-10
Limited-Slip Rear Axle...................................5-10
Steering......................................................5-10
Off-Road Recovery.......................................5-12
Passing.......................................................5-12
Loss of Control.............................................5-12
Racing or Other Competitive Driving (XLR-V)......5-14Driving at Night............................................5-14
Driving in Rain and on Wet Roads..................5-15
Before Leaving on a Long Trip.......................5-16
Highway Hypnosis........................................5-16
Hill and Mountain Roads................................5-17
Winter Driving..............................................5-18
If Your Vehicle is Stuck in Sand, Mud,
Ice, or Snow.............................................5-20
Rocking Your Vehicle to Get It Out.................5-20
Loading the Vehicle......................................5-21
Towing..........................................................5-26
Towing Your Vehicle.....................................5-26
Recreational Vehicle Towing...........................5-26
Towing a Trailer...........................................5-26
Section 5 Driving Your Vehicle
5-1

Your Driving, the Road, and
the Vehicle
Defensive Driving
Defensive driving means “always expect the
unexpected.” The rst step in driving defensively is to
wear your safety belt — SeeSafety Belts: They Are for
Everyone on page 1-6.
{CAUTION:
Assume that other road users (pedestrians,
bicyclists, and other drivers) are going to be
careless and make mistakes. Anticipate what they
might do and be ready. In addition:
Allow enough following distance between you
and the driver in front of you.
Focus on the task of driving.
Driver distraction can cause collisions resulting in
injury or possible death. These simple defensive
driving techniques could save your life.
Drunk Driving
{CAUTION:
Drinking and then driving is very dangerous. Your
reexes, perceptions, attentiveness, and judgment
can be affected by even a small amount of alcohol.
You can have a serious — or even fatal — collision
if you drive after drinking. Do not drink and drive or
ride with a driver who has been drinking. Ride home
in a cab; or if you are with a group, designate a
driver who will not drink.
Death and injury associated with drinking and driving is
a global tragedy.
Alcohol affects four things that anyone needs to drive a
vehicle: judgment, muscular coordination, vision, and
attentiveness.
5-2

Police records show that almost 40 percent of all motor
vehicle-related deaths involve alcohol. In most cases,
these deaths are the result of someone who was
drinking and driving. In recent years, more than
17,000 annual motor vehicle-related deaths have been
associated with the use of alcohol, with about
250,000 people injured.
For persons under 21, it is against the law in every
U.S. state to drink alcohol. There are good medical,
psychological, and developmental reasons for
these laws.
The obvious way to eliminate the leading highway
safety problem is for people never to drink alcohol
and then drive.
Medical research shows that alcohol in a person’s
system can make crash injuries worse, especially
injuries to the brain, spinal cord, or heart. This meansthat when anyone who has been drinking — driver
or passenger — is in a crash, that person’s chance of
being killed or permanently disabled is higher than if the
person had not been drinking.
Control of a Vehicle
The following three systems help to control your vehicle
while driving — brakes, steering, and accelerator.
At times, as when driving on snow or ice, it is easy to
ask more of those control systems than the tires
and road can provide. Meaning, you can lose control of
your vehicle. SeeTraction Control System (TCS) on
page 5-8andStabiliTrak
®System on page 5-6.
Adding non-dealer/non-retailer accessories can affect
your vehicle’s performance. SeeAccessories and
Modifications on page 6-3.
5-3

Braking
SeeBrake System Warning Light on page 3-47.
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 the 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. The brakes might not have time to cool
between hard stops. The 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 vehicle’s engine ever stops while you are driving,
brake normally but do not pump the brakes. If you do,
the pedal could get harder to push down. If the
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 can take longer to stop and
the brake pedal will be harder to push.
Adding non-dealer/non-retailer accessories can affect
your vehicle’s performance. SeeAccessories and
Modifications on page 6-3.
5-4

Antilock Brake System (ABS)
Your vehicle has the Antilock Brake System (ABS),
an advanced electronic braking system that will
help prevent a braking skid.
When you start the engine and begin to drive away,
ABS will check itself. You might hear a momentary
motor or clicking noise while this test is going on, and
you might even notice that the brake pedal moves
a little. This is normal.
If there is a problem with
ABS, this warning light will
stay on. SeeAntilock Brake
System (ABS) Warning
Light on page 3-48.
Let us say the road is wet and you are driving safely.
Suddenly, an animal jumps out in front of you. You slam
on the brakes and continue braking. Here is what
happens with ABS:
A computer senses that 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 you brake, the computer keeps receiving updates on
wheel speed and controls braking pressure accordingly.
Remember: ABS 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 the brakes
if that vehicle suddenly slows or stops. Always leave
enough room up ahead to stop, even though you
have ABS.
Using ABS
Do not pump the brakes. Just hold the brake pedal
down rmly and let antilock work for you. You might hear
a motor or clicking noise and feel the brake pedal
move a little during a stop, but this is normal.
5-5

Braking in Emergencies
With ABS, you can steer and brake at the same time.
In many emergencies, steering can help more than even
the very best braking.
Brake Assist
This vehicle has a Brake Assist feature designed to
assist the driver in stopping or decreasing vehicle speed
in emergency driving conditions. This feature uses the
stability system hydraulic brake control module to
supplement the power brake system under conditions
where the driver has quickly and forcefully applied
the brake pedal in an attempt to quickly stop or slow
down the vehicle. The stability system hydraulic
brake control module increases brake pressure at each
corner of the vehicle until the ABS activates. Minor
brake pedal pulsations or pedal movement during this
time is normal and the driver should continue to
apply the brake pedal as the driving situation dictates
The Brake Assist feature will automatically disengage
when the brake pedal is released or brake pedal
pressure is quickly decreased.
StabiliTrak®System
The StabiliTrak System is a computer controlled system
that helps the driver maintain directional control of the
vehicle in difficult driving conditions. This is accomplished
by selectively applying any one of the vehicle’s brakes.
The Traction Control
System (TCS)/StabiliTrak
light is located on the
instrument panel.
STABILITRAK ACTIVE comes on the Driver Information
Center (DIC) when the system is working. SeeDIC
Warnings and Messages on page 3-60for more
information. The system may be heard or felt while it is
working. This is normal.
The TCS/StabiliTrak light comes on the instrument panel,
a chime will sound, and SERVICE STABILITRAK comes
on the DIC if there is a problem with the system.
5-6