steering VAUXHALL ASTRA J 2014.25 Owner's Guide

154Climate control
Demisting and defrosting
■Press button V: fan automatically
switches to higher speed, the air distribution is directed towards the
windscreen.
■ Set temperature control to warmest
level.
■ Switch on heated rear window Ü.
■ Open side air vents as required and
direct them towards the door
windows.
Air conditioning system
In addition to the heating and
ventilation system, the air
conditioning system has controls for:
n=cooling4=air recirculation
Heated seats ß 3 47, Heated
steering wheel * 3 101.
Cooling n
Press button
n to switch on cooling.
Activation is indicated by the LED in
the button. Cooling is only functional
when the engine is running and
climate control fan is switched on.
Press button n again to switch off
cooling.
The air conditioning system cools and
dehumidifies (dries) as soon as the
outside temperature is slightly above
the freezing point. Therefore
condensation may form and drip from under the vehicle.

156Climate control
Demisting and defrosting the
windows V
■
Press button V: fan automatically
switches to higher speed, the air distribution is directed towards the
windscreen.
■ Switch cooling n on.
■ Set temperature control to warmest
level.
■ Switch on heated rear window Ü.
■ Open side air vents as required and
direct them towards the door
windows.
Notice
If the V button is pressed while the
engine is running, an Autostop will
be inhibited until the V button is
pressed again.
If the V button is pressed while the
engine is in an Autostop, the engine will restart automatically.
Stop-start system 3 165.
Electronic climate control
system
The dual zone climate control allows
different climatisation temperatures
for driver and front passenger side.
In Automatic mode temperature, fan
speed and air distribution are
regulated automatically.
Controls for:
■ Temperature on driver side■ Air distribution
■ Fan speed
■ Temperature on front passenger side
n=coolingAUTO=automatic mode4=manual air recirculationV=demisting and defrosting
Heated rear window Ü 3 35, Heated
seats ß 3 47, Heated steering wheel
* 3 101.

162Driving and operatingDriving and operatingDriving hints............................... 162
Starting and operating ...............163
Engine exhaust .......................... 168
Automatic transmission .............. 169
Manual transmission ..................173
Brakes ........................................ 173
Ride control systems .................176
Driver assistance systems .........181
Fuel ............................................ 211
Trailer hitch ................................ 217Driving hints
Control of the vehicleNever 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 3 165.
Idle boost
If charging of the battery is required
due to battery condition, the power output of the generator has to be
increased. This will be achieved by an
idle boost which may be audible.
On vehicles with Uplevel- or Uplevel- Combi-Display, a message appearsin the Driver Information Centre.Pedals
To ensure the pedal travel is uninhibited, there must be no mats in the area of the pedals.
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 3 116.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.

Driving and operating163Starting 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 3 168.Ignition 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 10 minutes after the
ignition is switched off:
■ Power windows
■ Sunroof
■ Power outlets
Power to the Infotainment system will continue to operate for 30 minutes oruntil 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.

Driving and operating165Stop-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 assoon 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 the eco button.
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
■ set the lever in neutral
■ release the clutch pedal
The engine will be switched off while
the 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 steering assist can be
reduced during an Autostop.

Driving and operating167
■ the driver's seat belt is unfastenedand the driver's door is opened
■ the engine temperature is too low
■ the charging level of the vehicle battery 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.
Parking ■ Do not park the vehicle on an easily
ignitable surface. The high
temperature of the exhaust system
could ignite the surface.■ Always apply parking brake. Apply manual parking brake without
pressing release button. Apply as
firmly as possible on downhill or uphill slopes. Depress the foot
brake at the same time to reduce
operating force.
Apply electric parking brake by pulling switch m for approx.
one second.
■ Switch off the engine and ignition. Turn the steering wheel until the
steering wheel lock engages.
■ If the vehicle is on a level surface or
uphill slope, engage first gear or set the selector lever to P before
switching off the ignition. 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 theselector lever to P before switching
off the ignition. Turn the front
wheels towards the kerb.
■ Lock the vehicle and activate the anti-theft alarm system.Notice
In the event of an accident with
airbag deployment, the engine is
turned off automatically if the vehicle
comes to a standstill within a certain time.

Driving and operating179Interactive driving system
Flex Ride Flex Ride driving system allows the
driver to select between three driving
modes:
■ SPORT mode: press button SPORT , LED illuminates.
■ TOUR mode: press button TOUR,
LED illuminates.
■ NORMAL mode: both buttons SPORT and TOUR are not
pressed, no LED illuminates.
Deactivate SPORT mode and TOUR
mode by pressing corresponding
button once more.
In each driving mode Flex Ride
networks the following electronic systems:
■ Continuous Damping Control.
■ Accelerator Pedal Control.
■ Steering Control.
■ Electronic Stability Control (ESC).
■ Antilock brake system (ABS) with cornering brake control (CBC).
■ Automatic transmission.
SPORT mode
The settings of the systems are
adapted to a sportier driving style:
■ Damping of shock absorbers reacts
more stiffly to provide better contact
with the road surface.
■ The engine reacts more quickly to the accelerator pedal.
■ Steering support is reduced.
■ Shift points of automatic transmission occur later.
■ With SPORT mode activated, the illumination of main instruments
changes from white to red.
TOUR mode
The settings of the systems are
adapted to a comfort driving style:
■ Damping of shock absorbers reacts
more softly.
■ Accelerator pedal reacts with standard settings.
■ Steering support is in standard mode.
■ Shift points of automatic transmission occur in a comfort
mode.
■ Illumination of main instruments is white.
NORMAL mode
All settings of the systems are
adapted to standard values.
Drive mode control
Within each manual selected driving
mode SPORT, TOUR or NORMAL,
the Drive Mode Control (DMC)
detects and analyses continuously
the real driving characteristic,
responses by the driver, and the
active dynamic state of the vehicle. If
necessary, the control unit of DMC

180Driving and operating
automatically changes the settings
within the selected driving mode or, when recognising greater variations,
the driving mode is changed for the
length of variation.
If, for example, NORMAL mode is
selected and DMC detects a sporty
driving behaviour, DMC changes
several settings of the Normal mode
into sporty settings. The DMC
changes to SPORT mode in case of
very sporty driving behaviour.
If, for example, TOUR mode is
selected and whilst driving on a
winding road a sudden hard brake is
necessary, DMC will detect the
dynamic vehicle condition and
changes the settings for suspension
to SPORT mode to increase vehicle
stability.
When the driving characteristic or the
dynamic vehicle state returns to
former state, DMC will change the
settings to the preselected driving
mode.Personalised settings in the
Sport mode The driver can select the functions of
the SPORT mode when SPORT
button is pressed. These settings can
be changed in the menu Settings in
the Info-Display. Vehicle
personalisation 3 132.
Flex Ride - VXR Version
The VXR Version of Flex Ride system works in the same way as the
standard Flex Ride system with the
difference that the modes have a
more sporty characteristic.VXR Flex Ride driving system allows
the driver to select between three
driving modes:
■ VXR mode: press button VXR, LED
illuminates.
■ SPORT mode: press button SPORT , LED illuminates.
■ NORMAL mode: neither button SPORT nor VXR is pressed, no
LED illuminates.
Deactivate SPORT mode and VXR
mode by pressing corresponding
button once more.
In each driving mode VXR Flex Ride
networks the following electronic
systems:
■ Continuous Damping Control.
■ Accelerator Pedal Control.
■ Steering Control.
■ Electronic Stability Control (ESC).
■ Antilock brake system (ABS) with cornering brake control (CBC).

194Driving and operatingThe complete attention of the
driver is always required while
driving. The driver must always be ready to take action and apply the
brakes.
System limitations
The system is designed to warn only for vehicles, but may react also to
other metallic objects.
In the following cases, forward
collision alert may not detect a vehicle
ahead or sensor performance is
limited:
■ on winding roads,
■ when weather limits visibility, e.g. fog, rain, or snow,
■ when the sensor is blocked by snow, ice, slush, mud, dirt, or
windscreen damage.
Following distance
indication The following distance indication
displays the distance to a preceding
moving vehicle. The system uses,
depending on the vehicle equipment,
either the radar behind the radiator
grille or the front camera in the
windscreen to detect the distance of
a vehicle directly ahead in your lane.
It is active at speeds above 25 mph.
When a preceding vehicle is detected
ahead, the distance is indicated in
seconds, displayed on a page in the
Driver Information Centre 3 119.
Press the MENU button on the turn
signal lever to select Vehicle
Information Menu X and turn the
adjuster wheel to choose following distance indication page.The minimum indicated distance is
0.5 s.
If there is no vehicle ahead or the vehicle ahead is out of range, two
dashes will be displayed: -.- s.
Active Emergency Braking
Active emergency braking can help to reduce the damage from crashes with vehicles and obstacles directly
ahead, when a collision can no longer be avoided either by manual braking
or by steering. Before the active
emergency braking applies, the driver
is warned by the forward collision
alert 3 191.
The feature uses various inputs (e.g.
radar sensor, brake pressure, vehicle speed) to calculate the probability ofa frontal collision.
Active emergency braking operates automatically above walking speed,
provided that Auto collision
preparation setting is not deactivated
in the vehicle personalisation menu
3 132.

Driving and operating201
The instructions show:■ a hint when driving faster than 18 mph,
■ the demand to stop the vehicle, when a parking slot is detected,
■ the direction of driving during the parking manoeuvre,
■ the steering wheel position during parking,
■ for some of the instructions a progress bar is shown.
A successful parking manoeuvre is
indicated by the End position symbol.If the driver does not stop the vehicle
within 10 metres after a parking slot is
proposed, the system starts to search
for another suitable parking slot.
Changing the parking side
The system is configured to detect
parking slots on the passenger side. To detect parking slots on the driver
side, switch turn indicator to the driver side.
Display priorities
After activating the advanced parking
assist, a message appears on the
Driver Information Centre. Indication
of messages with higher priority like
vehicle messages 3 126 will be
displayed. After approving the
message by pressing the SET/CLR
button, parking assist messages
appear again and parking can be
continued.
Deactivation The system is deactivated by:
■ pushing button D for approx.
one second
■ parking manoeuvre successfully ended
■ driving faster than 18 mph
■ switching off the ignition
Deactivation by the driver or by the
system during manoeuvring will be indicated by Parking Deactivated in
the Driver Information Centre.