start PONTIAC GRAND PRIX 2003 Owner's Guide

Low Oil Level Light
LOW OIL
LEVEL
The engine is equipped
with an oil level monitoring
system. When the
ignition key is turned to
RUN, the LOW
OIL LEVEL
light will briefly flash.
If the light does not flash, have it fixed so it will be
ready to warn you
if there is a problem.
If the light stays on, stop the vehicle on a level surface
and turn the engine
off. Check the oil level using the
engine oil dipstick. See Engine
Oil on page 5-18.
The oil level monitoring system only checks the oil
level during the brief period when the ignition key is
between
RUN and START. It does not monitor engine
oil level while the engine is running. Additionally,
an oil level check is only performed
if the engine has
been turned
off for a considerable period of time,
allowing the oil normally in circulation to drain back
into the oil pan.
Security Light
This message is
displayed to monitor
the PASS-Key@
Ill
system. SECURITY
If the SECURITY message is displayed continuously
while driving, there may be a problem with the
PASS-Key@
Ill system. Your vehicle will not be protected
by PASS-Key@
Ill, and you should see your dealer for
service. For more information see
PASS-Key 111
on page 2- 16.
3-36

0 AVG ECON ORANGE
1
3800 V6 Supercharged Engine
When you start the engine, the trip computer, if equipped, will display a mode. A lighted oval will appear to the left
of the mode currently being used.
3-41

Playing a Compact Disc
Insert a disc partway into the slot, label side up.
The player will pull it in. The compact disc symbol will
appear on the display. If the ignition and the radio
are on, the disc will begin playing. CD will appear on
the display next to the compact disc symbol.
If you want
to insert a disc when the ignition is
off, first press the
EJECT button.
The integral CD player can play the smaller
8 cm single
discs with an adapter ring. Full-size compact discs
and the smaller discs are loaded in the same manner.
If an error appears on the display, see “Compact
Disc Messages” later in this section.
1 PREV (Previous): Press this pushbutton to go to the
start
of the current track if more than eight seconds
have played.
If you hold the pushbutton or press it more
than once, the player will continue moving back
through the disc.
2 NEXT: Press this pushbutton to go to the start of
the next track.
If you hold the pushbutton or press
it more than once, the player will continue moving
forward through the disc.
3 RDM (Random): Press this pushbutton to hear the
tracks in random, rather than sequential, order. The
display will show RDM. Press RDM again to turn
off random play.
5 REV (Reverse): Press and hold this pushbutton to
quickly reverse within a track. You will hear sound at a
reduced volume. The display will show elapsed time.
6 FWD (Forward): Press and hold this pushbutton to
quickly advance within a track. You wiil hear sound at a
reduced volume. The display will show elapsed time.
A SEEK v: Press the up or the down arrow to go to
the next or to the previous selection on the tape.
RECALL: Press this button to see what track is
currently playing. Press it again within five seconds
to
see how long the track has been playing. When a
new track starts
to play, the track number will also
appear. Press it
a third time and the time of day will be
displayed.
AM/FM: Press this button to listen to the radio when
a CD is playing. The CD will stop but remain in the
player.
CD/PLAY: Press this button to play a CD when
listening
to the radio.
4 EJECT: Press this button to stop a CD when it is
playing or
to remove a CD when it is not playing.
The EJECT button will work with the radio
off.
3-50

Playing a Compact Disc
Insert a disc partway into the slot, label side up. The
player will pull it in. The compact disc symbol will appear
on the display. If the ignition and the radio are on, the disc
will begin playing. CD will appear on the display next to
the compact disc symbol. If you want to insert a disc
when the ignition is
off, first press the EJECT button.
The integral CD player can play the smaller
8 cm single
discs. Full-size compact discs and the smaller discs
are loaded in the same manner.
If an error appears on the display, see “Compact Disc
Messages” later in this section.
1 PREV (Previous): Press this pushbutton to go to the
start of the current track
if more than eight seconds
have played. If you hold the pushbutton or press it more
than once, the player will continue moving back
through the disc.
2 NEXT: Press this pushbutton to go to the start of
the next track.
If you hold the pushbutton or press
it more than once, the player will continue moving
forward through the disc.
3 RDM (Random): Press this pushbutton to hear the
tracks in random, rather than sequential, order. The
display will show RDM. Press RDM again to turn
off random play.
5 REV (Reversej: Press and hoid this pushbutton to
quickly reverse within a track. You will hear sound at a
reduced volume. The display will show elapsed time.
6 FWD (Forward): Press and hold this pushbutton
to quickly advance forward within a track. You will hear
sound at a reduced volume. The display will show
elapsed time.
A SEEK : Press the up or the down arrow to go to
the next or to the previous track.
RECALL: Press this button to see what track is
currently playing. Press it again within five seconds to
see how long the track has been playing. When
a
new track starts to play, the track number will also
appear. Press it a third time and the time of day will be
displayed.
AM/FM: Press this button to listen to the radio when a
disc is playing. The disc will stop but remain in the
player.
3-53

CD/PLAY: Press this button to play a CD when
listening to the radio.
EJECT: Press this button to stop a CD when it is
playing or to remove a CD when it is not playing.
The EJECT button will work with the radio
off.
Compact Disc Messages
E (Error): If this message and a number appears on
the radio display or
if the disc comes out, it could be for
one of the following reasons:
You’re driving on a very rough road. When the road
becomes smoother, the disc should play.
It’s very hot. When the temperature returns to
normal, the disc should play.
The disc is dirty, scratched, wet or upside down.
The air is very humid. If so, wait about an hour and
try again.
If the CD is not playing correctly, for any other reason,
try a known good
CD.
If any error occurs repeatedly or if an error can’t be
corrected, contact your dealer.
If your radio displays an
error number, write it down and provide it to your
dealer when reporting the problem.
Theft-Deterrent Feature
THEFTLOCK@ is designed to discourage theft of your
radio. It works by using a secret code to disable all radio
functions whenever battery power is interrupted.
The THEFTLOCK feature for the radio may be used or
ignored.
If ignored, the system plays normally and
the radio is not protected by the feature. If THEFTLOCK
is activated, your radio will not operate
if stolen.
When THEFTLOCK is activated, the radio will display
LOC to indicate a locked condition anytime battery
power is removed. If your battery loses power for any
reason, you must unlock the radio with the secret
code before it will operate.
Activating the Theft-Deterrent Feature
The instructions which follow explain how to enter
your secret code to activate the THEFTLOCK system.
Read through all nine steps before starting the
procedure.
If you allow more than 15 seconds to elapse between
any steps, the radio automatically reverts to time
and you must start the procedure over at Step 4.
1. Write down any three or four-digit number from 000
to 1999 and keep it in a safe place separate from
the vehicle.
3-54

AM FM: Press this button to select AM, FMI or FM2.
The band you select will be displayed. The frequency
will also be displayed and,
if the station is in stereo, the
stereo indicator will also be displayed.
If a cassette
tape or compact disc is playing, it will stop and the radio
will play.
SEEK A : Press the up or the down arrow to go to
the next or to the previous radio station and stay there.
If a cassette tape is playing, press the up or the down
arrow to search for the next or the previous selection on
the tape. Your tape must have at least three seconds of
silence between each selection for
SEEK to work. If a
compact disc is playing, press the up arrow to go to the
start of the next track. Press the down arrow to
go to the
start of the current track
if more than eight seconds have
played.
If less than eight seconds have played, press the
down arrow to go to the previous track.
A VOL (Volume) v: Press the up or the down arrow
to increase or to decrease volume.
PLAY: Press this button to play a cassette tape or
compact disc when listening to the radio.
MUTE: Press this button to silence the system. Press it
again, or any other radio button, to turn on the sound.
Understanding Radio Reception
AM
The range for most AM stations is greater than for FM,
especially at night. The longer range, however, can
cause stations to interfere with each other. AM can pick
up noise from things like storms and power lines. Try
reducing the treble to reduce this noise
if you ever get it.
FM stereo will give you the best sound, but
FM signals
will reach only about
10 to 40 miles (1 6 to 65 km).
Tall buildings or hills can interfere with FM signals,
causing the sound to come and go.
3-57

Your Driving, the Road, and
Your
Vehicle
Defensive Driving
The best advice anyone can give about driving is:
Drive defensively.
Please start with a very important safety device in your
vehicle: Buckle up. See Safety Belts: They Are for
Everyone on page
1-7.
Defensive driving really means ”be ready for anything.”
On city streets, rural roads or freeways, it means
“always expect the unexpected.”
Assume that pedestrians or other drivers are going to
be careless and make mistakes. Anticipate what
they might do. Be ready for their mistakes. Rear-end
collisions are about the most preventable of
accidents. Yet they are common. Allow enough following
distance. It’s the best defensive driving maneuver, in
both city and rural driving. You never know when
the vehicle in front of you is going to brake or turn
suddenly.
Defensive driving requires that a driver concentrate on
the driving task. Anything that distracts from the
driving task
- such as concentrating on a cellular
telephone call, reading, or reaching for something on
the floor
- makes proper defensive driving more difficult
and can even cause a collision, with resulting injury.
Ask a passenger to help do things like this, or pull
off the
road in a safe place to do them yourself. These simple
defensive driving techniques could save your life.
4-2

And, of course, actual stopping distances vary greatly
with the surface of the road (whether it’s pavement
or gravel); the condition of the road (wet, dry, icy);
tire tread; the condition of your brakes; the weight of the
vehicle and the amount of brake force applied.
Avoid needless heavy braking. Some people drive in
spurts
- heavy acceleration followed by heavy
braking
- rather than keeping pace with traffic. This is
a mistake. Your brakes may not have time
to cool
between hard stops. Your brakes will wear out much
faster
if you do a lot of heavy braking. If you keep pace
with the traffic and allow realistic following distances,
you will eliminate a lot of unnecessary braking.
That means better braking and longer brake life.
If your engine ever stops while you’re driving, brake
normally but don’t pump your brakes.
If you do,
the pedal may get harder to push down. If your engine
stops, you will still have some power brake assist.
But you will use it when you brake. Once the power
assist is used up, it may take longer to stop and
the brake pedal will be harder to push.
Anti-lock Brake System (ABS)
Your vehicle may have anti-lock brakes. ABS is an
advanced electronic braking system that will help
prevent a braking skid.
If your vehicle has anti-lock
brakes, this warning light
on the instrument panel will
come on briefly when
you start your vehicle.
When you start your engine, or when you begin to
drive away, your anti-lock brake system will check itself.
You may hear a momentary motor or clicking noise
while this test is going on, and you may even notice that
your brake pedal moves or pulses a little.
This is normal.
4-7

Traction Control System (TCS)
If your vehicle has the 3800 supercharged V6 engine it
has a traction control system that limits wheel spin.
This is especially useful in slippery road conditions. The
system operates only
if it senses that one or both of
the front wheels are spinning or beginning to lose
traction. When this happens, the system works the front
brakes and reduces engine power to limit wheel spin.
LOW
TRAC
This light will come on
when your traction control
system is limiting wheel
spin. See Traction Control
System (TCS) Warning
Light on page 3-29.
You may feel or hear the system working, but this
is normal.
If your vehicle is in cruise control when the traction
control system begins to limit wheel spin, the cruise
control will automatically disengage. When road
conditions allow you to safely use it again, you may
reengage the cruise control. See “Cruise Control” under
Turn SignaVMultifunction Lever on page 3-5.
TCS
OFF
This light should come on
briefly when you start the
engine.
If it stays on or
comes on while you
are driving, there is a
problem with your traction
control system.
See Traction Control System (TCS) Warning Light on
page 3-29. When this warning light
is on, the system will
not limit wheel spin. Adjust your driving accordingly.
The traction control system automatically comes
on whenever you start your vehicle.
To limit wheel spin,
especially in slippery road conditions, you should
always leave the system on. But you can turn the
traction control system
off if you ever need to. You
should turn the system
off if your vehicle ever gets stuck
in sand, mud or snow and rocking the vehicle is
required. See “Rocking Your Vehicle to Get It Out”
under
If You Are Stuck: In Sand, Mud, Ice or Snow
on page
4-32.
4-1 0

Do not get too close to the vehicle you want to
pass while you’re awaiting an opportunity.
For one thing, following too closely reduces your
area of vision, especially
if you’re following a larger
vehicle. Also, you won’t have adequate space
if
the vehicle ahead suddenly slows or stops.
Keep back a reasonable distance.
When it looks like a chance to pass is coming up,
start to accelerate but stay in the right lane and don’t
get too close. Time your move
so you will be
increasing speed as the time comes to move into the
other lane.
If the way is clear to pass, you will have a
“running start” that more than makes up for the
distance you would lose by dropping back. And
if
something happens to cause you to cancel your
pass, you need only slow down and drop back again
and wait for another opportunity.
If other vehicles are lined up to pass a slow vehicle,
wait your turn. But take care that someone isn’t trying
to pass you as you pull out to pass the slow vehicle.
Remember to glance over your shoulder and check
the blind spot.
Check your mirrors, glance over your shoulder, and
start your left lane change signal before moving out
of the right lane to pass. When you are far enough
ahead of the passed vehicle to see its front in your inside mirror, activate
your right lane change signal
and move back into the right lane. (Remember that
your right outside mirror
is convex. The vehicle you
just passed may seem to be farther away from you
than it really is.)
Try not to pass more than one vehicle at a time on
two-lane roads. Reconsider before passing the next
vehicle.
Don’t overtake a slowly moving vehicle too rapidly.
Even though the brake lamps are not flashing, it may
be slowing down or starting to turn.
If you’re being passed, make it easy for the following
driver to get ahead of you. Perhaps you can ease
a
little to the right.
Loss of Control
Let’s review what driving experts say about what happens
when the three control systems (brakes, steering and
acceleration) don’t have enough friction where the tires
meet the road to do what the driver has asked.
In any emergency, don’t give up. Keep trying to steer
and constantly seek an escape route or area of
less danger.
4-1 6