ESP OPEL ZAFIRA C 2014 Manual user

158Climate controlAir conditioning regular
operation In order to ensure continuously
efficient performance, cooling must
be operated for a few minutes once a
month, irrespective of the weather
and time of year. Operation with
cooling is not possible when the
outside temperature is too low.
Service
For optimal cooling performance, it is recommended to annually check the
climate control system, starting
three years after initial vehicle
registration, including:
■ Functionality and pressure test■ Heating functionality
■ Leakage check
■ Check of drive belts
■ Cleaning of condenser and evaporator drainage
■ Performance check

Driving and operating161
Diesel engine: turn the key to position2 for preheating until control
indicator ! extinguishes.
Turn the key briefly to position 3 and
release: an automatic procedure operates the starter with a short delay
as long as the engine is running, see
Automatic Starter Control.
Before restarting or to switch off the
engine, turn the key back to position
0 .
During an Autostop, the engine can
be started by depressing the clutch
pedal.Starting the vehicle at low
temperatures
The start of the engine without
additional heaters is possible down to -25 °С for diesel engines and -30 °C
for petrol engines. Required is an engine oil with the correct viscosity,
the correct fuel, performed services
and a sufficiently charged battery.
With temperatures below -30 °C the
automatic transmission need a
warming phase of approx. 5 minutes.
The selector lever must be in position P .
Automatic Starter Control
This function controls the engine
starting procedure. The driver does
not have to hold the key in position 3.
Once applied, the system will go on starting automatically until the engine
is running. Because of the checking
procedure, the engine starts running
after a short delay.Possible reasons for a non-starting
engine:
■ Clutch pedal not operated (manual transmission)
■ Brake pedal not operated or selector lever not in P or N
(automatic transmission)
■ Timeout occurred
Turbo engine warm-up
Upon start-up, engine available
torque may be limited for a short time, especially when the engine
temperature is cold. The limitation is
to allow the lubrication system to fully
protect the engine.
Overrun cut-off The fuel supply is automatically cut off
during overrun, i.e. when the vehicle
is driven with a gear engaged but accelerator is released.

Driving and operating173Caution
It is not advisable to drive with thehand resting on the selector lever.
Brakes
The brake system comprises two independent brake circuits.
If a brake circuit fails, the vehicle can
still be braked using the other brake
circuit. However, braking effect is
achieved only when the brake pedal
is depressed firmly. Considerably
more force is needed for this. The
braking distance is extended. Seek the assistance of a workshop before
continuing your journey.
When the engine is not running, the
support of the brake servo unit
disappears once the brake pedal has been depressed once or twice.
Braking effect is not reduced, but
braking requires significantly greater
force. It is especially important to bear
this in mind when being towed.
Control indicator R 3 112.
Antilock brake system
Antilock brake system (ABS)
prevents the wheels from locking.ABS starts to regulate brake pressure as soon as a wheel shows a tendency to lock. The vehicle remains
steerable, even during hard braking.
ABS control is made apparent
through a pulse in the brake pedal
and the noise of the regulation
process.
For optimum braking, keep the brake
pedal fully depressed throughout the
braking process, despite the fact that
the pedal is pulsating. Do not reduce
the pressure on the pedal.
After starting off the system performs
a self-test which may be audible.
Control indicator u 3 113.
Adaptive brake light During full braking, all three brake
lights flash for the duration of ABS
control.

Driving and operating177
TC is reactivated by pressing the b
button again.
TC is also reactivated the next time
the ignition is switched on.
Electronic Stability Control Electronic Stability Control (ESC)
improves driving stability when
necessary, regardless of the type of
road surface or tyre grip. It also
prevents the drive wheels from
spinning.
As soon as the vehicle starts to
swerve (understeer/oversteer),
engine output is reduced and the wheels are braked individually. This
considerably improves the driving
stability of the vehicle on slippery road
surfaces.
ESC is operational as soon as the
control indicator b extinguishes.
When ESC is active b flashes.9 Warning
Do not let this special safety
feature tempt you into taking risks
when driving.
Adapt speed to the road
conditions.
Control indicator b 3 114.
Deactivation
For very high-performance driving
ESC can be deactivated: hold button
b depressed for approx. 5 seconds.
Control indicator n illuminates.
ESC is reactivated by pressing the
b button again. If the TC system was
previously disabled, both TC and
ESC are reactivated.
ESC is also reactivated the next time
the ignition is switched on.
Interactive 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.

178Driving and operating
In each driving mode Flex Ride
networks the following electronic systems:
■ Continuous Damping Control.
■ Accelerator Pedal Control.
■ Steering Control.
■ Automatic transmission.
SPORT modeThe 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 modeThe 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 automatically

Driving and operating179
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 3 130.Driver assistance
systems9 Warning
Driver assistance systems are
developed to support the driver
and not to replace his attention.
The driver accepts full
responsibility when driving the
vehicle.
When using driver assistance
systems, always take care
regarding the current traffic
situation.
Cruise control
The cruise control can store and
maintain speeds of approx. 30 to
200 km/h. Deviations from the stored
speeds may occur when driving uphill or downhill.
For safety reasons, the cruise control cannot be activated until the foot
brake has been operated once.
Activation in first gear is not possible.

182Driving and operating
The limited speed will flash in the
Driver Information Centre and a
chime sounds during this period.
Release the accelerator pedal and the speed limiter function is
reactivated once a speed lower than
the limit speed is obtained.
Deactivation
Press button y: speed limiter is
deactivated and the vehicle can be
driven without speed limit.
The limited speed is stored and a
corresponding message appears in
the Driver Information Centre.
Resume limit speed
Turn thumb wheel to RES/+. The
stored speed limit will be obtained.
Switching off
Press button L, the speed limit
indication in the Driver Information
Centre extinguishes. The stored
speed is deleted.By pressing button m to activate
cruise control or adaptive cruise
control or by switching off the ignition,
speed limiter is also deactivated and
the stored speed is deleted.
Adaptive cruise control
Adaptive cruise control is an
enhancement to traditional cruise
control with the additional feature of maintaining a certain distance behind the vehicle ahead.
Adaptive cruise control automatically
decelerates the vehicle when
approaching a slower moving vehicle. It then adjusts the vehicle speed to
follow the vehicle ahead at the
selected following distance. The
vehicle speed increases or decreases to follow the vehicle in front, but willnot exceed the set speed. It may
apply limited braking with activated
brake lights.
The adaptive cruise control can store
and maintain speeds over approx.
50 km/h and brakes automatically tofollow a slower vehicle driving ahead
down to a minimum speed of
30 km/h.
Adaptive cruise control uses a radar
sensor to detect the vehicles ahead.
If no vehicle is detected in the driving
path, the adaptive cruise control will
behave like a traditional cruise
control.
For safety reasons, the system
cannot be activated before the brake
pedal has been depressed once after
switching on ignition. Activation in first gear is not possible.
Adaptive cruise control is mainly
advised to be used on long straight
roads, e.g. highways or country roads
with steady traffic. Do not use the
system if it is not advisable to
maintain a constant speed.
Control indicator A 3 116, m 3 116.

Driving and operating185
The selected following distance is
indicated by filled distance bars on
the adaptive cruise control page.
Note that the following distance
setting is shared with the sensitivity
setting of forward collision alert.
Example: If setting 3 (far) is selected,
then the driver is warned sooner
before a possible collision, also if
adaptive cruise control is inactive or
switched off.
9 Warning
The driver accepts full
responsibility for the appropriate
following distance based on traffic, weather and visibility conditions.
Following distance must be
adjusted or the system switched
off when required by the prevailing
conditions.
Detecting the vehicle ahead
The green illuminated "vehicle
ahead" control indicator A is
displayed in the speedometer when the system detects a vehicle in the
driving path.
If this symbol does not display, or
displays briefly, adaptive cruise
control will not respond to vehicles
ahead.
Deactivation
Adaptive cruise control is deactivated by the driver when:
■ button y is pressed,
■ brake pedal is applied,
■ clutch pedal is depressed for more than four seconds,
■ gear selector lever of automatic transmission is moved to N.
The system is also automatically
deactivated when:
■ vehicle speed slows down below 45 km/h or accelerates above
190 km/h,
■ Traction Control system is operating for more than
20 seconds,

Driving and operating187
So if a new vehicle is detected, the
system may accelerate instead of
braking.
■ Adaptive cruise control does ignore
the oncoming traffic.
■ Adaptive cruise control does not brake for stopped vehicles,
pedestrians or animals.
Bends
The adaptive cruise control calculates
a predicted path based on the
centrifugal force. This predicted path
considers the current bend
characteristic, but cannot consider a
future bend change. The system may lose the current vehicle ahead or
consider a vehicle which is not in the
actual lane. This can happen when
entering or exiting a bend or if the
bend gets stronger or weaker. If it no
longer detects any vehicle ahead,
then control indicator A will
extinguish.
If the centrifugal force is too high in a bend, the system slows down the vehicle slightly. This braking level is
not designed to avoid spinning off the bend. The driver is responsible for
reducing the selected speed before
entering a bend and in general to
adapt the speed to the road type and
to existing speed limits.
Motorways
On motorways, adapt the set speed
to the situation and the weather.
Always consider that adaptive cruise
control has a limited visibility range, a
limited braking level and a certain
reaction time to verify if a vehicle is in
the driving path or not. Adaptive
cruise control may not be able to
brake the vehicle in time to avoid a
collision with a much slower vehicle or after a lane change. This is
particularly true if driving fast or if the
visibility is reduced due to weather
conditions.
While entering or exiting a motorway,
adaptive cruise control may lose the
vehicle ahead and accelerate up to
the set speed. For this reason,
decrease the set speed before the
exit or before the entry.
Vehicle path changes
If another vehicle enters your driving
path, adaptive cruise control will first
consider the vehicle when it is
completely in your path. Be ready to
take action and depress the brake
pedal, if you need to brake more
quickly.

188Driving and operating
Hill and trailer considerations
System performance on hills and
when towing a trailer depends on
vehicle speed, vehicle load, traffic
conditions and the road gradient. It
may not detect a vehicle in your path
while driving on hills. On steep hills,
you may have to use the accelerator
pedal to maintain your vehicle speed.
When going downhill, especially
when towing a trailer, you may have
to brake to maintain or reduce your
speed.
Note that applying the brake
deactivates the system. It is not
recommended to use adaptive cruise
control on steep hills especially when towing a trailer.
Radar unit
The radar unit is mounted behind the
radiator grille below the brand
emblem.
9 Warning
The radar unit was aligned
carefully during manufacture.
Therefore, after a frontal accident, do not use the system. The front
bumper may appear to be intact,
however the sensor behind can be
out of position and react
incorrectly. After an accident,
consult a workshop to verify and
correct the adaptive cruise control
sensor position.
Settings
Settings can be changed in the Auto
collision preparation menu in the
vehicle personalisation 3 130.
Fault
If the adaptive cruise control does not
work due to temporary conditions
(e.g. blockage by ice) or if there is a
permanent system error, then a
message is displayed in the Driver
Information Centre.