display Oldsmobile Alero 2001 Owner's Manuals

2-21
Ignition Positions
With the key in the ignition switch, you can turn it to
four different positions.
OFF (A): This is the only position from which you can
remove the key. With an automatic transaxle, the shift
lever must be in PARK (P) with the ignition in OFF to
remove the key. With a manual transaxle, the shift lever
must be in REVERSE (R) with the ignition in OFF to
remove the key. A warning chime will sound if you
open the driver's door when the ignition is off and the
key is in the ignition.
NOTICE:
If your key seems stuck in OFF and you can't
turn it, be sure you are using the correct key; if
so, is it all the way in? Turn the key only with
your hand. Using a tool to force it could break
the key or the ignition switch. If none of this
works, then your vehicle needs service.
ACC (Accessory) (B): This position unlocks the
transaxle. It also lets you use things like the radio and
windshield wipers when the engine is not running. To
use ACC, turn the key clockwise to the first position
Use this position if your vehicle must be pushed or
towed, but never try to push
-start your vehicle.
ON (C): This position is where the key returns to after
you start your engine and release the key. The ignition
switch stays in ON when the engine is running. But even
when the engine is not running, you can use ON to
operate your electrical power accessories and to display
some instrument panel warning lights.
START (D): This position starts the engine. When the
engine starts, release the key. The ignition switch will
return to ON for normal driving.

2-57 Speedometer and Odometer
Your speedometer lets you see your speed in both
miles per hour (mph) and kilometers per hour (km/h).
Your odometer shows how far your vehicle has been
driven, in either miles (used in the United States) or
kilometers (used in Canada).
Your vehicle has a tamper resistant odometer. The
digital odometer will read 999,999 if someone tries to
turn it back.
You may wonder what happens if your vehicle needs a
new odometer installed. If the new one can be set to the
mileage total of the old odometer, then it must be. But
if it can't, then it's set at zero and a label must be put on
the driver's door to show the old mileage reading when
the new odometer was installed.
Trip Odometer
The trip odometer can tell you how far you have driven
since you last reset it.
The reset button is located below the tachometer. To
reset the trip odometer to zero, press and hold briefly
the ribbed side of the button while the trip odometer is
displayed. Also, by pressing this button for less than
one second you can toggle between the odometer and
the trip odometer.
Tachometer
The tachometer shows your engine speed in revolutions
per minute (rpm).
NOTICE:
Do not run your engine at speeds in the red area,
or engine damage may occur.

3-7
Audio Systems
Your audio system has been designed to operate easily
and give years of listening pleasure. You will get the
most enjoyment out of it if you acquaint yourself with it
first. Find out what your audio system can do and how
to operate all its controls, to be sure you're getting the
most out of the advanced engineering that went into it.
Your vehicle has a feature called Retained Accessory
Power (RAP). With RAP, you can play your audio
system even after the ignition is off. See ªRetained
Accessory Powerº in the Index.
Setting the Clock
Press and hold HR until the correct hour appears. The
letters AM or PM may appear on the display for AM or
PM. Then, press and hold MN until the correct minute
appears. The clock may be set with the ignition on or
off. In addition, the clock can also be automatically set,
when tuned to an RDS station that is broadcasting time,
by pressing and holding the HR and the MN button at
the same time. The display will show TIME UPDATED.
If there is no time available, NO UPDATE will
be displayed.
AM-FM Stereo with Compact Disc Player
with Programmable Equalization and
Radio Data System (RDS)
Playing the Radio
VOLUME
-PWR: Press this knob to turn the system
on and off. To increase volume, turn the knob clockwise.
Turn it counterclockwise to decrease volume.

3-8
SCV: Your system has a feature called
Speed
-Compensated Volume (SCV). With SCV,
your audio system adjusts automatically to make up
for road and wind noise as you drive. Set the volume
at the desired level. Press this button to select MIN,
MED or MAX. Each choice allows for more volume
compensation at faster vehicle speeds. Then, as you
drive, SCV automatically increases the volume, as
necessary, to overcome noise at any particular speed.
The volume level should always sound the same to you
as you drive. If you don't want to use SCV, select OFF.
Finding a Station
AM FM: Press this button to switch between AM,
FM1 and FM2. The display shows your selection.
TUNE: Turn this knob to select radio stations.
SEEK: Press the up or down arrow to go to the next
higher or lower station and stay there. The sound will
mute while seeking.SCAN: Press and hold the SEEK button for two seconds
until the SC icon appears on the display and you hear a
beep. Use SCAN to listen to stations for a few seconds.
The radio will go to a station, stop for a few seconds,
then go on to the next station. Press the SEEK button
again to stop scanning. If you press SEEK for more than
four seconds, the radio will change to PRESET SCAN
mode. The sound will mute while scanning.
PUSHBUTTONS: The six numbered pushbuttons let
you return to your favorite stations. You can set up to
18 stations (six AM, six FM1 and six FM2). Just:
1. Turn the radio on.
2. Press AM FM to select the band.
3. Tune in the desired station.
4. Press AUTO EQ to select the equalization that best
suits the type of station selected.
5. Press and hold one of the six numbered buttons
until you hear a beep. Whenever you press that
numbered button, the station you set will return
and the equalization that you selected will also be
automatically selected for that button.
6. Repeat the steps for each pushbutton.

3-9
PRESET SCAN: Press and hold the SEEK button for
more than four seconds, PRESET SCAN will appear on
the display. You will hear a double beep and the ªPº will
blink with the preset number. Use PRESET SCAN to
listen to each of your preset stations for a few seconds.
The radio will go to the first preset station stored on
your pushbuttons, stop for a few seconds, then go
on to the next preset station. Press the SEEK button
again to stop scanning presets.
Setting the Tone
BASS: Press and hold the AUDIO button until BASS
appears on the display. Turn the knob to increase or
decrease bass. When you use this control, the radio's
tone setting will switch to manual.
MID: Press and hold the AUDIO button until MID
appears on the display. Turn the knob to increase or
decrease bass. When you use this control, the radio's
tone setting will switch to manual.TREB: Press and hold the AUDIO button until TREB
appears on the display. Turn the knob to increase or
decrease treble. When you use this control, the radio's
tone setting will switch to manual. If a station is weak
or noisy, you may want to decrease the treble.
AUTO EQ: This feature allows you to choose preset
bass, mid and treble equalization settings designed for
country, jazz, talk, pop, rock and classical stations.
The last setting will appear on the display when you
first press TONE. Each time you press TONE, another
setting will appear on the display. Press TONE again
after TALK appears and MANUAL will appear. Tone
control will return to the BASS, MID and TREB.
Also, if you use BASS, MID, and TREB, control will
return to them and MANUAL will appear on the display.

3-10
Using RDS Mode
Your audio system is equipped with a Radio Data
System (RDS). RDS mode gives you many useful
new features. With RDS, the radio can:

seek only to stations with the types of programs
you want to listen to,

seek to stations with traffic announcements,

receive announcements concerning local and
national emergencies and

receive and display messages from radio stations.
RDS features are only available for use on FM stations
which broadcast RDS information. The RDS features of
your radio rely upon receiving specific RDS information
from these stations. These features will only work when
the RDS information is available. In rare cases, a radio
station may broadcast incorrect information that will
cause the radio features to work improperly. If this
happens, please contact the radio station.
When you are tuned to an RDS station, the station name
will appear on the display, instead of the frequency.
Most RDS stations provide their station name, the
time of day and a Program Type (PTY) for their
current programming.TRAF: Press this button to receive traffic
announcements. The traffic announcement brackets will
appear on the display. TRAF will appear on the display
if the tuned station broadcasts traffic announcements.
If the current tuned station does not broadcast traffic
announcements, the radio will seek to a station that
does. When the radio finds a station that broadcasts
traffic announcements, it will stop. If no station is
found, NONE FOUND will appear on the display.
When a traffic announcement comes on the tuned
radio station or a related network station, you will hear
it, even if the volume is muted or a compact disc is
playing. If the compact disc player was being used,
the compact disc will stay in the player and resume
play at the point where it stopped.
INFO: If the current station has a message, INFO
will appear on the display. Press this button to see
the message. If the whole message does not appear
on the display, parts of the message will appear every
three seconds until the message is completed. To see
the parts of the message faster than every three seconds,
press this button again. A new group of words will
appear on the display. Once the complete message has
been displayed, INFO will disappear from the display
until another new message is received.

3-11
P-TYPE: This button is used to turn on and off
Program Type (PTY) select. The PTY icon and the light
next to the button will turn on. The last selected PTY
will appear on the display for five seconds. Turn the
P
-TYPE knob to select the PTY you want to listen to.
Press SEEK or SCAN to find radio stations of the PTY
you want to listen to. The last PTY selected will be used
for seek or scan modes. If a station with the selected
PTY is not found, NONE FOUND will appear on the
display. If both P
-TYPE and TRAF are on, the radio
will search for stations with traffic announcements and
the selected PTY.
To use the P
-TYPE interrupt feature, press and hold the
P
-TYPE button until you hear a beep on the PTY you
want to interrupt on. When you are listening to compact
disc, the last selected RDS FM station will interrupt play
if that selected PTY format is broadcast.
PUSHBUTTONS: The six numbered pushbuttons
let you return to your favorite Program Types (PTYs).
These buttons have factory PTY presets. You can set
up to 12 PTYs (six FM1 and six FM2). Just:
1. Press P
-TYPE, if it is not already on.
2. Press AM FM to select FM1 or FM2.
3. Turn the SELECT knob to select a PTY.4. Press and hold one of the six numbered buttons until
you hear a beep. Whenever you press that numbered
button, the PTY you set will return.
5. Repeat the steps for each pushbutton.
ALERT!: This type of announcement warns of national
or local emergencies. You will not be able to turn off
alert announcements. ALERT! appears on the display
when an alert announcement plays. When an alert
announcement comes on the tuned radio station, you
will hear it, even if the volume is muted or a compact
disc is playing. If the compact disc player is playing,
play will stop for the announcement and resume when
the announcement is finished.
ALTERNATE FREQUENCY: This feature allows
the radio to switch to a stronger station with the same
program type. Press and hold AM FM for two seconds
to turn alternate frequency on. AF ON will appear on
the display. The radio may switch to stronger stations.
Press and hold AM FM again for two seconds to
turn alternate frequency off. AF OFF will appear on
the display. The radio will not switch to other stations.
When you turn the ignition off and then on again,
the alternate frequency feature will automatically be
turned on.

3-12
Adjusting the Speakers
BAL
-FADE: The AUDIO button adjusts balance
and fade. To adjust balance, press and hold the AUDIO
button until BAL appears on the display. Turn the
knob to adjust the sound to the left or right speakers.
The middle position balances the sound between the
speakers. To adjust fade, press and hold the AUDIO
button until FAD appears on the display. Turn the
knob to adjust the sound to the front or rear speakers.
The middle position balances the sound between
the speakers.
Playing a Compact Disc
With the ignition on, insert a disc partway into the
slot, label side up. The player will pull it in and the disc
should begin playing. If you want to insert a CD when
the ignition is off, first press EJECT or the RCL knob.
When the disc is inserted, the CD symbol will be
displayed. If you select an EQ setting for your CD,
it will be activated each time you play a CD.
As each new track starts to play, the track number
will appear on the display.If CHECK CD appears on the radio display and the
disc comes out, it could be one of the following:

The road is too rough. The disc should play when
the road is smoother.

The disc is dirty, scratched, wet or upside down.

The air is very humid. If so, wait about an hour
and try again.
If any error occurs repeatedly or if an error can't be
corrected, please contact your dealer. If your radio
displays an error message, write it down and provide
it to your dealer when reporting the problem.
REV (1): Press and hold this button to reverse quickly
within a track. Release it to play the passage. You will
hear sound at a reduced volume. The display will show
elapsed time.
FWD (2):Press and hold this button to advance quickly
within a track. Release it to play the passage. You will
hear sound at a reduced volume. The display will show
elapsed time.
RDM (4):Press this button to hear the tracks in random,
rather than sequential, order. RDM and the track number
will appear on the display.

3-13
AUTO EQ: Press AUTO EQ to select the desired
preset equalization setting while playing a compact disc.
The equalization will be automatically set whenever you
play a compact disc.
SEEK: Press the down arrow while playing a CD to
go to the start of the current track if more than eight
seconds have played. Press the up arrow to go to the
next track. If you hold the button or press it more
than once, the player will continue moving backward
or forward through the disc.
SCAN: Press and hold the SEEK button for more than
two seconds until SCAN appears on the display and you
hear a beep. Use SCAN to listen to each selection for a
few seconds. The disc will go to the next selection, stop
for a few seconds, then go on to the next selection. Press
this button again to stop scanning. The sound will mute
while scanning. SCAN and the track number will appear
on the display.RCL: Press this button to see how long the current track
has been playing. To change what is normally shown
on the display (track or elapsed time), press the button
until you see the display you want, then hold the button
until the display flashes. While elapsed time is showing,
CD TIME will appear on the display.
AM FM: Press this button to play the radio when a
disc is in the player.
CD: With a compact disc in the player, press this button
and the compact disc will begin to play. Press AM FM
to return to the radio when a compact disc is playing.
EJECT: Press this button to remove the disc.
The radio will play. EJECT may be activated with
either the ignition or radio off. CDs may be loaded with
the radio and ignition off if this button is pressed first.

3-14 AM-FM Stereo with Cassette Tape and
Compact Disc Player with Programmable
Equalization and Radio Data System (RDS)
(If Equipped)
Playing the Radio
VOLUME
-PWR: Press this knob to turn the system
on and off. To increase volume, turn the knob clockwise.
Turn it counterclockwise to decrease volume.
SCV: Your system has a feature called
Speed
-Compensated Volume (SCV). With SCV, your
audio system adjusts automatically to make up for road
and wind noise as you drive. Set the volume at the
desired level. Press this button to select MIN, MED
or MAX. Each choice allows for more volume compensation
at faster vehicle speeds. Then, as you drive, SCV
automatically increases the volume, as necessary, to
overcome noise at any particular speed. The volume
level should always sound the same to you as you drive.
If you don't want to use SCV, select OFF.
Finding a Station
AM FM: Press this button to switch between AM,
FM1 and FM2. The display shows your selection.
TUNE: Turn this knob to select radio stations.
SEEK: Press the up or down arrow to go to the next
higher or lower station and stay there. The sound will
mute while seeking.
SCAN: Press and hold the SEEK button for two seconds
until the SC icon appears on the display and you hear a
beep. Use SCAN to listen to stations for a few seconds.
The radio will go to a station, stop for a few seconds,
then go on to the next station. Press the SEEK button
again to stop scanning. If you press SEEK for more than
four seconds, the radio will change to PRESET SCAN
mode. The sound will mute while scanning.