PONTIAC GRAND AM 2003 Owners Manual

Hazard Warning Flashers
Your hazard warning flashers let you warn others. They
also let police know you have a problem. Your front
and rear turn signal lamps will flash on and
off.
The hazard warning flasher is located near the center of
the instrument panel.
Your hazard warning flashers work no matter what
position your key is in, and even
if the key isn’t in.
Press the button to make the front and rear turn signal
lamps flash on and
off. Press the button again to
turn the flashers off.
When the hazard warning flashers are on, your turn
signals won’t work.
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Other Warning Devices
If you carry reflective triangles, you can set one up at
the side
of the road about 300 feet (I00 m) behind your
vehicle.
Horn
You can sound the horn by pressing the horn symbol on
your steering wheel.
Tilt Wheel
The lever that allows you to tilt the steering wheel is
located on the left side of the steering column.
A tilt wheel allows you to adjust the steering wheel
before you drive. You can raise it to the highest level to
give your legs more room when you exit and enter
your vehicle.
To tilt the wheel, hold the wheel and pull the lever
toward you. Then move the wheel
to a comfortable
position and release the lever to
lock the wheel in place.
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Turn Signal/Multifunction Lever The lever on the left side of the steering column
includes the following:
0 Turn and Lane-Change Signals
Headlamp High/Low-Beam Changer
0 Flash-to-Pass
Exterior Lamps Control
For information on the exterior lamps, see Exterior
Lamps
on page 3- 13.
Turn and Lane-Change Signals
The turn signal has two upward (for right) and two
downward
(for left) positions. These positions allow you
to signal a turn or a lane change.
To signal a turn, move the lever
all the way up or down.
When the turn
is finished, the lever will return
automatically.
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An arrow on the instrument
panel cluster will flash in
the direction of the
turn or lane change. Headlamps On Reminder
If you open the driver’s door and turn off the ignition
while leaving the lamps on, you will hear a warning
chime.
Weadlamp High/low-Beam Changer
~~ ~~~
To signal a lane change, just raise or lower the lever
until the arrow starts to flash.
Hold it there until you
complete your lane change. The lever will return by itself
when you release it.
As you signal a turn or a lane change, if the arrows
flash rapidly, a signal bulb may be burned out and other
drivers won’t see your turn signal.
If a bulb is burned out, replace it to help avoid an
accident.
If the arrows don’t go on at all when you signal
a turn, check for burned-out bulbs and then check the
fuse. See
Fuses and Circuit Breakers on page 5-81.
To change the headlamps from low beam to
high beam, push the turn signaVmultifunction lever
away from you.
When the high beams are
on, a light on the
instrument panel cluster
also will be on
if the
ignition is in
ON.
To change the headlamps from high beam to low beam,
pull the turn signal lever toward you.
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Flash-to-Pass
This feature lets you use your high-beam headlamps to
signal
a driver in front of you that you want to pass.
To use it, pull the turn signaVmultifunction lever toward
you until the high-beam headlamps come on, then
release the lever to turn them
off.
Windshield Wipers
You control the windshield wipers by moving the lever
with the wiper symbol on it up or down. For a single wiper cycle,
push the lever down
to MIST,
then release it. For more cycles, hold the lever down
longer.
For steady wiping at low speed, move the lever up
to
the LO position. For high-speed wiping, move the lever
up further, to
HI. To stop the wipers, move the lever
to OFF.
You can set the wiper speed for a long or short delay
between wipes. This can be very useful in light rain
or snow.
Move the lever
to INT (Intermittent), then turn the inner
band, labeled INT
ADJ (Intermittent Adjustment),
and choose the delay you want. Turn the inner band up
for shorter delay times between wiper cycles. Turn
the band down for a longer delay time between wiper
cycles.
Remember that damaged wiper blades may prevent you
from seeing well enough to drive safely.
To avoid
damage, be sure to clear ice and snow from the wiper
blades before using them. If they’re frozen to the
windshield, carefully loosen or thaw them. If your blades
do become damaged, get new blades or blade inserts.
Heavy snow or ice can overload your wiper motor.
A circuit breaker will stop the motor until it cools. Clear
away snow or ice
to prevent an overload.
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Windshield Washer
To wash your windshield, press the button at the end of
the stalk until the washers begin.
In freezing weather, don't use your washer
until the windshield
is warmed. Otherwise the
washer fluid can form ice on the windshield,
blocking your vision.
Cruise Control
When you release the button, the washers will stop, but
the wipers will continue to wipe for about three times
or will resume the speed you were using before.
If your vehicle has this feature, the cruise control
buttons are located on the bottom of the steering wheel.
With cruise control, you can maintain a speed of
about
25 mph (40 km/h) or more without keeping your
foot on the accelerator. This can really help
on long trips.
Cruise control does not work at speeds below
25 mph (40 km/h).
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The cruise control will turn off if any of the following
occur:
The brakes are applied,
the clutch pedal is applied (manual transaxle),
the automatic transaxle is shifted to NEUTRAL (N),
the parking brake is applied, or
e the brake system warning light is on. If your vehicle
is in cruise control when the enhanced
traction control system,
if your vehicle has this feature,
begins
to limit wheel spin, the cruise control will
automatically disengage. See Enhanced Traction
System
(€E) on page 4-9. When road conditions allow
you to safely use it again, you may turn the cruise
control back
on.
Setting Cruise Control
Cruise control can be dangerous where
you can’t drive safely at a steady speed.
So, don’t use your cruise control on
winding roads
or in heavy traffic.
Cruise control can be dangerous on
slippery roads. On such roads, fast
changes
in tire traction can cause
needless wheel spinning, and you could
lose control. Don’t use cruise control on
slippery roads.
If you leave your cruise control on when yc re
not using cruise, you might hit a button and go
into cruise when you don’t want to. You could
be startled and even lose control. Keep the
cruise control switch
off until you want to use
cruise control.
1, Press cruise ON OFF. An indicator light will come
2. Get up to the speed you want.
3. Press the SET COAST button and release it.
4. Take your foot off the accelerator pedal.
on when ON OFF is pressed.
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Resuming a Set Speed
Suppose you set your cruise control at a desired speed
and then you apply the brake.
This, of course, shuts
off the cruise control. But you don’t need to reset
it. Once you’re going about 25 mph (40 km/h) or more,
you can press the cruise control RESUME ACCEL
(Resume/Accelerate) button briefly.
You’ll go right back up
to your chosen speed and stay
there.
If you press the RESUME ACCEL button longer, the
vehicle will keep going faster until you release the button
or apply the brake.
So unless you want to go faster,
don’t hold down the RESUME ACCEL button.
Increasing Speed While Using Cruise
Control
There are two ways to go to a higher speed.
9 Use the accelerator pedal to get to the higher
speed. Press the SET COAST button, then release
the button and the accelerator pedal. You’ll now
cruise at the higher speed.
e Press the RESUME ACCEL button. Hold it there
until you get up
to the speed you want, and then
release the button. To increase your speed in very
small amounts, press the RESUME ACCEL
button briefly and then release it. Each time you do
this, your vehicle will go about
1 mph (1.6 km/h)
faster.
The accelerate feature will only work after you turn on
the cruise control by pressing the SET COAST button.
Reducing Speed While Using Cruise
Control
There are two ways to reduce your speed while using
cruise control:
Press the
SET COAST button until you reach the
lower speed you want, then release it.
e To slow down in very small amounts, press the
SET COAST button briefly. Each time you do
this, you’ll go about 1 mph (1.6 km/h) slower.
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Passing Another Vehicle While Using
Cruise Control
Use the accelerator pedal to increase your speed.
When you take your
foot off the pedal, your vehicle will
slow down
to the cruise control speed you set earlier.
Using Cruise Control on Hills
How well your cruise control will work on hills depends
upon your speed, load and the steepness of the
hills. When going up steep hills, you may have to step
on the accelerator pedal to maintain your speed.
When going downhill, you may have
to brake or shift to
a lower gear to keep your speed down. Of course,
applying the brake takes you out of cruise control. Many
drivers find this to be too much trouble and don’t use
cruise control on steep hills.
Ending Cruise Control
There are four ways to turn off the cruise control:
Step lightly on the brake pedal.
Press the cruise control RESUME ACCEL button
and the SET
COAST buttons at the same time.
Press cruise ON OFF.
Push the clutch pedal if you have a manual
transaxle.
Erasing Speed Memory
When you turn off the cruise control or the ignition, your
cruise control set speed memory is erased.
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Exterior Lamps
The lever on the left side of the steering column
operates the exterior lamps.
-g- (Exterior Lamps): Turn the outside part of the
lever with the symboi on
it, to operate tne iamps.
The exterior lamp control has three positions:
pf (Parking Lamps): Turning the control to this
position turns
on the parking lamps, together with the
following.
0 Sidemarker Lamps
0 Taillamps
e License Plate Lamps
0 Instrument Panel Lights
- - ED (Headlamps): Turning the control to this position
turns on the headlamps, together with the previously
listed lamps and lights.
AUTO: Turning the control to this position turns the
headlamps, taillamps and parking lamps on and
off automatically, while the ignition is on, by sensing
how dark it is outside. For more information see
“Automatic Headlamp System” later in this section.
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL)
nq~time R~Inning l_~~y.np (DRL) r,a.n make it ewier for
others to see the front of your vehicle during the
day. DRL can be helpful in many different driving
conditions, but they can be especially helpful in the short
periods after dawn and before sunset. Fully functional
daytime running lamps are required on all vehicles
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