key CHEVROLET ASTRO 2001 Owners Manual

ii
Table of Contents
Windows
Keys and Door Locks
Keyless Entry System (Option)
Hatch
Automatic Transmission
All-Wheel Drive (Option)
Parking Brake
Tilt Wheel (If Equipped)
Turn Signal/Multifunction LeverWindshield Wipers
Cruise Control (Option)
Exterior and Interior Lamps
Mirrors
Storage Compartments
Convenience Net/Luggage Carrier (If Equipped)
Accessory Power Outlets
HomeLink® Transmitter (Option)
Instrument Panel, Warning Lights and Gages Seats and Seat Controls
Safety BeltsAir Bag System
Restraint Systems for Children
Section
1
Section
2
Seats and Restraint Systems
Features and Controls

1-9
Removing the Rear Seats
To remove the rear seats, do the following:
1. If you are removing the
center seat, remove the
right lap
-shoulder belt.
To do this, press the tip
of a key into the release
hole of the safety belt
attachment while pulling
up on the safety belt.
2. If you have a safety belt
guide on your seat, pull
the safety belt all the
way out through
the guide.
3. To store the safety belt while the second row bench
seat is removed, pull the belt out and put both
buckles in the passenger's side rear storage bin.
Route the belt out of the forward edge of the storage
bin. Close the cover to retain the belt.
4. Pull up on the seatback latch on the right rear of the
seat. Push the seatback down until it locks into place.

1-27
The best way to protect the fetus is to protect the
mother. When a safety belt is worn properly, it's more
likely that the fetus won't be hurt in a crash. For
pregnant women, as for anyone, the key to making
safety belts effective is wearing them properly.
Right Front Passenger Position
To learn how to wear the right front passenger's safety belt
properly, see ªDriver Positionº earlier in this section.
The right front passenger's safety belt works the same
way as the driver's safety belt
-- except for one thing.
If you ever pull the lap portion of the belt out all the
way, you will engage the child restraint locking feature.
If this happens, just let the belt go back all the way
and start again.
Air Bag System
This part explains the air bag system.
Your vehicle has air bags
-- one air bag for the driver
and another air bag for the right front passenger.
Frontal air bags are designed to help reduce the risk of
injury from the force of an inflating air bag. But these
air bags must inflate very quickly to do their job and
comply with federal regulations.Here are the most important things to know about the
air bag system:
CAUTION:
You can be severely injured or killed in a crash if
you aren't wearing your safety belt
-- even if you
have air bags. Wearing your safety belt during a
crash helps reduce your chance of hitting things
inside the vehicle or being ejected from it. Air
bags are ªsupplemental restraintsº to the safety
belts. All air bags are designed to work with
safety belts, but don't replace them. Air bags are
designed to work only in moderate to severe
crashes where the front of your vehicle hits
something. They aren't designed to inflate at all
in rollover, rear, side or low
-speed frontal
crashes. And, for unrestrained occupants, air
bags may provide less protection in frontal
crashes than more forceful air bags have
provided in the past. Everyone in your vehicle
should wear a safety belt properly
-- whether or
not there's an air bag for that person.

1-33 Servicing Your Air Bag-Equipped Vehicle
Air bags affect how your vehicle should be serviced.
There are parts of the air bag system in several places
around your vehicle. You don't want the system to
inflate while someone is working on your vehicle. Your
dealer and the service manual have information about
servicing your vehicle and the air bag system. To
purchase a service manual, see ªService and Owner
Publicationsº in the Index.
CAUTION:
For up to 10 minutes after the ignition key is
turned off and the battery is disconnected, an air
bag can still inflate during improper service. You
can be injured if you are close to an air bag when
it inflates. Avoid wires wrapped with yellow tape
or yellow connectors. They are probably part of
the air bag system. Be sure to follow proper
service procedures, and make sure the person
performing work for you is qualified to do so.
The air bag system does not need regular maintenance.
Adding Equipment to Your Air
Bag-Equipped Vehicle
Q:If I add a push bumper or a bicycle rack to the
front of my vehicle, will it keep the air bags
from working properly?
A:As long as the push bumper or bicycle rack is
attached to your vehicle so that the vehicle's basic
structure isn't changed, it's not likely to keep the
air bags from working properly in a crash.
Q:Is there anything I might add to the front of the
vehicle that could keep the air bags from
working properly?
A:Yes. If you add things that change your vehicle's
frame, bumper system, front end sheet metal or
height, they may keep the air bag system from
working properly. Also, the air bag system may not
work properly if you relocate any of the air bag
sensors. If you have any questions about this, you
should contact Customer Assistance before you
modify your vehicle. The phone numbers and
addresses for Customer Assistance are in Step Two of
the Customer Satisfaction Procedure in this manual.
See ªCustomer Satisfaction Procedureº in the Index.

2-
2-1
Section 2 Features and Controls
Here you can learn about the many standard and optional features on your vehicle, and information on starting,
shifting and braking. Also explained are the instrument panel and the warning systems that tell you if everything is
working properly
-- and what to do if you have a problem.
2
-2 Windows
2
-4 Keys
2
-6 Front Doors
2
-6 Rear Doors
2
-8 Door Locks
2
-11 Keyless Entry System (Option)
2
-14 Sliding Door
2
-17 Hatch
2
-18 Theft
2
-19 Passlock

2-19 New Vehicle ªBreak-Inº
2
-20 Ignition Positions
2
-21 Starting Your Engine
2
-23 Engine Coolant Heater (If Equipped)
2
-24 Automatic Transmission Operation
2
-27 Parking Brake
2
-28 Shifting Into PARK (P)
2
-31 Shifting Out of PARK (P)
2
-31 Parking Over Things That Burn2
-32 Engine Exhaust
2
-32 Running Your Engine While You're Parked
2
-33 Locking Rear Axle (If Equipped)
2
-34 All-Wheel Drive (Option)
2
-34 Horn
2
-34 Tilt Wheel (If Equipped)
2
-35 Turn Signal/Multifunction Lever
2
-41 Exterior Lamps
2
-44 Interior Lamps
2
-45 Mirrors
2
-47 Storage Compartments
2
-55 Ashtrays and Cigarette Lighter
2
-56 Sun Visors
2
-57 Accessory Power Outlets
2
-57 HomeLink
Transmitter (Option)
2
-62 The Instrument Panel - Your
Information System
2
-65 Warning Lights, Gages and Indicators

2-4
Keys
CAUTION:
Leaving children in a vehicle with the ignition
key is dangerous for many reasons. A child or
others could be badly injured or even killed.
They could operate the power windows or other
controls or even make the vehicle move. Don't
leave the keys in a vehicle with children.

2-5
This vehicle has one
double
-sided key for the
ignition and door locks. It
will fit with either side up.
When a new vehicle is delivered, the dealer provides the
owner with a pair of identical keys and a bar
-coded tag.The bar
-coded tag has a code on it that tells your dealer
or a qualified locksmith how to make extra keys. Keep
this tag in a safe place. If you lose your keys, you'll be
able to have new ones made easily using this tag.
NOTICE:
Your vehicle has a number of new features that
can help prevent theft. But you can have a lot of
trouble getting into your vehicle if you ever lock
your keys inside. You may even have to damage
your vehicle to get in. So be sure you have
extra keys.

2-8
Door Locks
CAUTION:
Unlocked doors can be dangerous.

Passengers -- especially children -- can
easily open the doors and fall out of a
moving vehicle. When a door is locked, the
handle won't open it. You increase the
chance of being thrown out of the vehicle in
a crash if the doors aren't locked. So, wear
safety belts properly and lock the doors
whenever you drive.

Young children who get into unlocked
vehicles may be unable to get out. A child
can be overcome by extreme heat and can
suffer permanent injuries or even death
from heat stroke. Always lock your vehicle
whenever you leave it.

Outsiders can easily enter through an
unlocked door when you slow down or stop
your vehicle. Locking your doors can help
prevent this from happening.
There are several ways to lock and unlock your vehicle.
Your vehicle may be equipped with the keyless entry
system. For more information, see ªKeyless Entry
Systemº in the Index.
To unlock your door from the outside, use your key.
To lock the front doors and
sliding side door from the
inside, slide the manual lock
levers down. To unlock the
front doors and the sliding
side door from the inside,
slide the manual lock levers
up. When the red mark on
the lock lever is visible, the
door is unlocked.

2-9 Power Door Locks (If Equipped)
If your vehicle has power
door locks, press the power
door lock switch to lock or
unlock all the doors at once.
The power door lock switch will lock or unlock the rear
hatch and Dutch doors. See ªHatch Releaseº in the Index.
When a door is locked, the inside door handle will not
open the door. This will help stop a door from being
accidentally opened.
If the sliding door is open and you press the power door
lock switch, the sliding door will not lock immediately.
After you close the door, the system comes on and locks
the sliding door in about five seconds.
When the key is in the ignition and the power door lock
switch is pressed with a door open, all doors are locked
while the driver's side door remains unlocked.
Programmable Automatic Door Locks
Your vehicle is equipped with an auto lock/unlock
feature which enables you to program your power
door locks.
Your vehicle left the factory programmed to have no
doors lock and none of the doors unlock. You can set the
automatic lock feature to lock all the doors when the
vehicle speed is greater than 15 mph (24 km/h) for
two seconds, and then unlock the doors you select once
the key is removed from the ignition. The following
instructions detail how to program your door locks.
To enter the program mode you need to do
the following:
1. Begin with the ignition in OFF. Then, pull back on
the turn signal/multifunction lever all the way toward
you and hold it while you perform the next step.
2. Turn your key to ON and OFF twice. Then, with the
key in OFF, release the turn signal/multifunction
lever. Once you do this, you will hear the lock switch
lock and unlock.

2-10
3. You are now ready to program the automatic door
locks. Select one of the following four programming
options and follow the instructions. You will have
thirty seconds to begin programming. If you exceed the
thirty second limit, the locks will automatically lock
and unlock to indicate that you have left the program
mode. If this occurs, repeat the procedure beginning
with Step 1. You can exit the program mode any
time by turning the ignition to ON (the locks will
automatically lock and unlock to indicate that you are
leaving the program mode). If the lock/unlock switches
are not pressed while in the programming mode, the
auto lock/unlock setting will not be modified.
The following is a list of the available programming options:

All doors lock/Only the driver's door unlocks:
Press the lock side of the power lock switch on the
door panel once and then the unlock side once.

All doors lock/All doors unlock: Press the lock side
of the power lock switch on the door panel once, and
then the unlock side twice.
All doors lock/None of the doors unlock: Press the
lock side of the power lock switch on the door panel
once, and then the unlock side three times.

No doors lock/None of the doors unlock: Press the
lock side of the power lock switch on the door panel
twice. This turns off the automatic lock feature
(this is the factory setting).
For more information, see your dealer.
Leaving Your Vehicle
If you are leaving the vehicle, take your keys, open your
door and set the locks from inside. Then get out and
close the door.