fuel CHEVROLET MALIBU 2004 5.G User Guide

Service Vehicle Soon Light
This light will come on
briey when you turn
the ignition to ON.
It will stay on, or come on and a chime will sound if it
detects a problem on the vehicle. The Driver Information
Center (DIC) may display a message such as Low
Coolant, Power Steering, Engine Reduced Power, etc.
These messages may help you determine why the
service vehicle soon indicator is on. SeeDIC Warnings
and Messages on page 3-50. If this happens, see
your dealer as soon as possible.
Fuel Gage
Your fuel gage tells you about how much fuel you have
left, when the ignition is on. When the indicator nears
empty, the amber light located left of the pump symbol
will come on and you will hear a chime. You still
have a little fuel left, but you should get more soon.
United StatesCanada
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Here are four things that some owners ask about.
These are normal and do not indicate a problem with
your fuel gage:
At the service station, the gas pump shuts off
before the gage reads full.
It takes a little more or less fuel to ll up than the
gage indicated. For example, the gage may have
indicated the tank was half full, but it actually took
a little more or less than half the tank’s capacity
to ll the tank.
The indicator moves a little when you turn a corner
or speed up.
The gage goes back to empty when you turn off
the ignition.
Driver Information Center (DIC)
The Driver Information Center (DIC) provides the
following:
A way to personalize your vehicle
Trip information and
Warning messagesThe buttons used to
activate the DIC are
located on the left side
of the vehicle’s audio
controls.
The buttons used to activate the DIC are located on
the left side of the vehicle’s audio controls.
INFO (
4):Press this button to scroll through the
vehicle information mode displays.
MENU:Press this button to enter and scroll through
the menu mode.
ENTER (
r):Press this button to select a menu
option or to acknowledge a warning message.
The DIC messages will be read through your audio
system display.Unites States version
shown, Canada similar
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DIC Operation and Displays
The DIC comes on when the ignition is on. If your
vehicle has the uplevel audio system, the time and
outside temperature will be shown on the rst line of
the display and the DIC information will be on the
second line of the display.
The DIC has different modes which can be accessed
by pressing the DIC buttons. The button functions
are detailed in the following.
Information Mode (INFO Button)
Use the INFO button to scroll through the vehicle
information mode displays in the following order:
TRIP Odometer A
TRIP Odometer B
FUEL RANGE (Fuel Range Until Empty)
ECON (Average Fuel Economy)
AV SPEED (Average Vehicle Speed)
OIL LIFE (Oil Life Monitor System)TRIP A or TRIP B:Press the INFO button until TRIP A
or TRIP B is displayed. This shows the current
distance traveled since the last reset for each trip
odometer in either miles or kilometers. Both odometers
can be used at the same time. Each trip odometer
can be reset to zero separately by pressing and holding
the ENTER button for a few seconds while the desired
trip odometer is displayed.
FUEL RANGE:Press the INFO button until FUEL
RANGE appears, to display the remaining distance you
can drive without refueling. It’s based on fuel economy
and the fuel remaining in the tank.
The fuel economy data used to determine fuel range is
an average of recent driving conditions. As your driving
conditions change, this data is gradually updated.
Fuel range cannot be reset.
ECON:Press the INFO button until ECON appears
in the display. Average fuel economy is how many miles
per gallon or liters per 100 kilometers your vehicle is
getting based on current and past driving conditions.
Press and hold the ENTER button while ECON is
displayed to reset the average fuel economy. Average
fuel economy will then be calculated starting from
that point. If the average fuel economy is not reset,
it will be continually updated each time you drive.
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The following display messages may appear on your
vehicle’s audio display by pressing the MENU button:
OIL LIFE RESET:When this option is displayed
you can reset the Oil Life Monitor system. To reset the
system to 100%, press and hold the ENTER button
for at least one second. An ACKNOWLEDGED display
message will appear for three seconds or until the
next button is pressed. This will tell you the system has
been reset.
UNITS:When UNITS appears on the display, press the
ENTER button to move between Metric or English.
When you have made your choice, press the MENU
button to record your selection. The initial setting
from the factory is English.
If you choose English, all information will be displayed
in English units. For example, distance in miles and fuel
economy in miles per gallon is displayed.
If you choose metric, all information will be displayed in
metric units. For example, distance in kilometers and
fuel economy in liters per 100 kilometers is displayed.
The unit measurement will also change the trip
odometer, temperature and average fuel economy
displays.REMOTE START:The remote start feature, if
equipped, can be enabled or disabled. When REMOTE
START appears on the display, press the ENTER
button to move between OFF and ON. When you have
made your choice, press the MENU button to record
your selection. The initial setting from the factory is ON.
LOCK HORN:If your vehicle has remote keyless
entry, this feature which allows the vehicle’s horn to
chirp every time the LOCK button on the remote
keyless entry transmitter is pressed, can be enabled or
disabled. When LOCK HORN appears on the display,
press the ENTER button to move between ON and OFF.
When you have made your choice, press the MENU
button to record your selection. The initial setting from
the factory is ON.
UNLOCK HORN:If your vehicle has remote keyless
entry, this feature which allows the vehicle’s horn
to chirp every time the UNLOCK button on the remote
keyless entry transmitter is pressed, can be enabled
or disabled. When UNLOCK HORN appears on
the display, press the ENTER button to move between
ON and OFF. When you have made your choice,
press the MENU button to record your selection.
The initial setting from the factory is OFF.
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DOOR AJAR:This message is displayed if one or
more of the vehicle’s doors are not closed properly.
When this message appears, you should make sure
that the door is closed completely.
ENGINE DISABLED:This message is displayed if the
starting of the engine is disabled. Have y our vehicle
serviced by your dealership immediately.
ENG PWR REDUCED:This message informs you that
the vehicle has reduced engine power to avoid
damaging the engine.
ICE POSSIBLE:This message appears when the
outside air temperature is cold enough to create icy
road conditions.
KEY FOB BATT LOW:This message is displayed if
the remote keyless entry transmitter battery is low.
LOW COOLANT:This message is displayed when
there is a low level of engine coolant. Have the cooling
system serviced by a technician as soon as possible.
LOW FUEL:This message is displayed when your
vehicle is low on fuel. You should rell the tank as soon
as possible. You will also see a low fuel warning light
on the instrument panel cluster.LOW WASHER FLUID:This message is displayed
when your vehicle is low on windshield washer uid.
You should rell the tank as soon as possible.
POWER STEERING:This message is displayed if a
problem has been detected with the electric power
steering. Have your vehicle serviced immediately.
PUSH PARK PEDAL:This message is displayed if
the parking brake is left engaged and you try to
drive away.
SERVICE AIR BAG:There is a problem with the air
bag system when this message appears. Let only
a qualied technician work on your vehicle. Have your
vehicle serviced by your dealership immediately.
TRUNK OR GATE AJAR:This message is displayed
when the trunk lid or liftgate of your vehicle is not closed
completely. You should make sure that the trunk lid or
liftgate is closed completely.
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Once you are moving on the freeway, make certain you
allow a reasonable following distance.
Expect to move slightly slower at night.
When you want to leave the freeway, move to the
proper lane well in advance. If you miss your exit, do
not, under any circumstances, stop and back up. Drive
on to the next exit.
The exit ramp can be curved, sometimes quite sharply.
The exit speed is usually posted. Reduce your speed
according to your speedometer, not to your sense
of motion. After driving for any distance at higher
speeds, you may tend to think you are going slower
than you actually are.
Before Leaving on a Long Trip
Make sure you are ready. Try to be well rested. If you
must start when you are not fresh — such as after
a day’s work — do not plan to make too many miles that
rst part of the journey. Wear comfortable clothing
and shoes you can easily drive in.Is your vehicle ready for a long trip? If you keep it
serviced and maintained, it is ready to go. If it needs
service, have it done before starting out. Of course, you
will nd experienced and able service experts in GM
dealerships all across North America. They will be ready
and willing to help if you need it.
Here are some things you can check before a trip:
Windshield Washer Fluid:Is the reservoir full? Are
all windows clean inside and outside?
Wiper Blades:Are they in good shape?
Fuel, Engine Oil, Other Fluids:Have you checked
all levels?
Lamps:Are they all working? Are the lenses clean?
Tires:They are vitally important to a safe,
trouble-free trip. Is the tread good enough for
long-distance driving? Are the tires all inated to the
recommended pressure?
Weather Forecasts:What is the weather outlook
along your route? Should you delay your trip a
short time to avoid a major storm system?
Maps:Do you have up-to-date maps?
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Put on extra clothing or wrap a blanket around you.
If you have no blankets or extra clothing, make
body insulators from newspapers, burlap bags, rags,
oor mats — anything you can wrap around
yourself or tuck under your clothing to keep warm.
You can run the engine to keep warm, but be careful.
{CAUTION:
Snow can trap exhaust gases under your
vehicle. This can cause deadly CO (carbon
monoxide) gas to get inside. CO could
overcome you and kill you. You can not see it
or smell it, so you might not know it is in your
vehicle. Clear away snow from around the
base of your vehicle, especially any that is
blocking your exhaust pipe. And check around
again from time to time to be sure snow does
not collect there.
Open a window just a little on the side of the
vehicle that is away from the wind. This will
help keep CO out.
Run your engine only as long as you must. This saves
fuel. When you run the engine, make it go a little
faster than just idle. That is, push the accelerator
slightly. This uses less fuel for the heat that you get and
it keeps the battery charged. You will need a
well-charged battery to restart the vehicle, and possibly
for signaling later on with your headlamps. Let the
heater run for a while.
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Then, shut the engine off and close the window almost
all the way to preserve the heat. Start the engine
again and repeat this only when you feel really
uncomfortable from the cold. But do it as little as
possible. Preserve the fuel as long as you can. To help
keep warm, you can get out of the vehicle and do
some fairly vigorous exercises every half hour or so until
help comes.
If You Are Stuck: In Sand, Mud, Ice
or Snow
In order to free your vehicle when it is stuck, you will
need to spin the wheels, but you do not want to
spin your wheels too fast. The method known as
“rocking” can help you get out when you are stuck, but
you must use caution.
{CAUTION:
If you let your tires spin at high speed, they can
explode, and you or others could be injured.
And, the transaxle or other parts of the vehicle
can overheat. That could cause an engine
compartment re or other damage. When you
are stuck, spin the wheels as little as possible.
Do not spin the wheels above 35 mph (55 km/h)
as shown on the speedometer.
Notice:Spinning your wheels can destroy parts of
your vehicle as well as the tires. If you spin the
wheels too fast while shifting your transaxle back
and forth, you can destroy your transaxle. See
“Rocking Your Vehicle To Get It Out.”
For information about using tire chains on your vehicle,
seeTire Chains on page 5-64.
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Loading Your Vehicle
Item Description Total
AVehicle Capacity Weight
for Example 3=1,000 lbs (453 kg)
BSubtract Occupant
Weight 200 lbs
(91 kg)×5=1,000 lbs (453 kg)
CAvailable Cargo
Weight=0 lbs (0 kg)
Refer to your vehicle’s Tire and Loading Information
label for specic information about your vehicle’s
capacity weight and seating positions. The combined
weight of the driver, passengers, and cargo should
never exceed your vehicle’s capacity weight.
Certication Label
The other label is the Certication label, found on the rear
edge of the driver’s door. It tells you the gross weight
capacity of your vehicle, called the Gross Vehicle Weight
Rating (GVWR). The GVWR includes the weight of the
vehicle, all occupants, fuel and cargo. Never exceed the
GVWR for your vehicle, or the Gross Axle Weight
Rating (GAWR) for either the front or rear axle.
And, if you do have a heavy load, you should spread it
out. Don’t carry more than 132 lbs. (60 kg) in your trunk. Example 3
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Towing a Trailer
{CAUTION:
If you do not use the correct equipment and
drive properly, you can lose control when you
pull a trailer. For example, if the trailer is too
heavy, the brakes may not work well — or even
at all. You and your passengers could be
seriously injured. You may also damage your
vehicle; the resulting repairs would not be
covered by your warranty. Pull a trailer only if
you have followed all the steps in this section.
Ask your dealer for advice and information
about towing a trailer with your vehicle.Your vehicle can tow a trailer if it is equipped with a 3.5 L
V6 engine and the proper trailer towing equipment. To
identify what the vehicle trailering capacity is for your
vehicle, you should read the information in “Weight of the
Trailer” that appears later in this section. But trailering is
different than just driving your vehicle by itself. Trailering
means changes in handling, durability and fuel economy.
Successful, safe trailering takes correct equipment, and it
has to be used properly.
That’s the reason for this part. In it are many time-tested,
important trailering tips and safety rules. Many of
these are important for your safety and that of your
passengers. So please read this section carefully before
you pull a trailer.
Load-pulling components such as the engine, transaxle,
wheel assemblies and tires are forced to work harder
against the drag of the added weight. The engine
is required to operate at relatively higher speeds and
under greater loads, generating extra heat. What’s more,
the trailer adds considerably to wind resistance,
increasing the pulling requirements.
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