tow PONTIAC GRAND PRIX 2007 Owners Manual

Seats and Restraint Systems
....................... 7
Front Seats
.............................................. 8
Rear Seats
............................................. 16
Safety Belts
............................................ 17
Child Restraints
...................................... 39
Airbag System
........................................ 64
Restraint System Check
......................... 80
Features and Controls
................................ 83
Keys
....................................................... 84
Doors and Locks
.................................... 92
Windows
................................................ 98
Theft-Deterrent Systems
....................... 100
Starting and Operating Your Vehicle
..... 105
Mirrors
.................................................. 121
OnStar
®System
................................... 122
Storage Areas
...................................... 126
Sunroof
................................................ 128Instrument Panel
....................................... 129
Instrument Panel Overview
................... 132
Climate Controls
................................... 157
Warning Lights, Gages, and
Indicators
.......................................... 168
Driver Information Center (DIC)
............ 186
Audio System(s)
................................... 233
Driving Your Vehicle
................................. 283
Your Driving, the Road, and
Your Vehicle
..................................... 284
Towing
................................................. 322
Service and Appearance Care
.................. 333
Service
................................................. 336
Fuel
...................................................... 338
Checking Things Under the Hood
......... 344
Headlamp Aiming
................................. 388
Bulb Replacement
................................ 391
2007 Pontiac Grand Prix Owner ManualM
1

Passenger Folding Seatback
{CAUTION:
If you fold the seatback forward to carry
longer objects, such as skis, be sure any
such cargo is not near an airbag. In a
crash, an inating airbag might force that
object toward a person. This could cause
severe injury or even death. Secure objects
away from the area in which an airbag
would inate. For more information, see
Where Are the Airbags? on page 67and
Loading Your Vehicle on page 317.
{CAUTION:
Things you put on this seatback can
strike and injure people in a sudden stop
or turn, or in a crash. Remove or secure
all items before driving.
If the vehicle has this feature, the front passenger
seat can be folded at for more cargo space.
14

Rear Seats
Split Folding Rear Seat
Both sides of the rear seatback can be folded down.
This gives direct access to the trunk. Make sure the
front seats are not reclined. If they are, the rear
seatback(s) may not fold down all the way.
Notice:Folding a rear seat with the safety
belts still fastened may cause damage to the
seat or the safety belts. Always unbuckle
the safety belts and return them to their normal
stowed position before folding a rear seat.
To lower the rear
seatback, pull the tab
located on the outboard
side of the seatback
and fold the seatback
forward.
{CAUTION:
If the seatback is not locked, it could
move forward in a sudden stop or crash.
That could cause injury to the person
sitting there. Always push and pull on the
seatback to be sure it is locked.
To raise the rear seatback, lift the seatback up
until it latches. Push and pull on the seatback to be
sure it is locked in position.
The seatbacks should be kept in the upright,
locked position when they are not being used to
extend the cargo area.
16

{CAUTION:
Never do this.
Here two children are wearing the same
belt. The belt can not properly spread the
impact forces. In a crash, the two children
can be crushed together and seriously
injured. A belt must be used by only
one person at a time.
Q:What if a child is wearing a lap-shoulder
belt, but the child is so small that the
shoulder belt is very close to the child’s
face or neck?
A:If the child is sitting in a seat next to a
window, move the child toward the center of
the vehicle. Also seeRear Safety Belt
Comfort Guides on page 35. If the child is
sitting in the center rear seat passenger
position, move the child toward the safety belt
buckle. In either case, be sure that the
shoulder belt still is on the child’s shoulder, so
that in a crash the child’s upper body would
have the restraint that belts provide.
40

{CAUTION:
The body structure of a young child is
quite unlike that of an adult or older child,
for whom the safety belts are designed. A
young child’s hip bones are still so small
that the vehicle’s regular safety belt may
not remain low on the hip bones, as it
should. Instead, it may settle up around
the child’s abdomen. In a crash, the belt
would apply force on a body area that is
unprotected by any bony structure. This
alone could cause serious or fatal injuries.
Young children always should be secured
in appropriate child restraints.
Child Restraint Systems
An infant car bed (A), a special bed made for use
in a motor vehicle, is an infant restraint system
designed to restrain or position a child on a
continuous at surface. Make sure that the infant’s
head rests toward the center of the vehicle.
45

{CAUTION:
Children can be seriously injured or
strangled if a shoulder belt is wrapped
around their neck and the safety belt
continues to tighten. Secure any unused
safety belts behind the child restraint so
children cannot reach them. Pull the
shoulder belt all the way out of the
retractor to set the lock, if your vehicle
has one, after the child restraint has been
installed. Be sure to follow the instructions
of the child restraint manufacturer.
Notice:Contact between the child restraint or
the LATCH attachment parts and the vehicle’s
safety belt assembly may cause damage to
these parts. Make sure when securing unused
safety belts behind the child restraint that
there is no contact between the child restraint
or the LATCH attachment parts and the
vehicle’s safety belt assembly.Folding an empty rear seat with the safety
belts secured may cause damage to the safety
belt or the seat. When removing the child
restraint, always remember to return the safety
belts to their normal, stowed position before
folding the rear seat.
1. Attach and tighten the lower attachments to
the lower anchors. If the child restraint does
not have lower attachments or the desired
seating position does not have lower anchors,
secure the child restraint with the top tether
and the safety belts. Refer to your child
restraint manufacturer instructions and the
instructions in this manual.
1.1. Find the lower anchors for the desired
seating position.
1.2. Put the child restraint on the seat.
1.3. Attach and tighten the lower
attachments on the child restraint to the
lower anchors.
56

How Does an Airbag Restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or near frontal
collisions, even belted occupants can contact the
steering wheel or the instrument panel. In moderate
to severe side collisions, even belted occupants
can contact the inside of the vehicle. Airbags
supplement the protection provided by safety
belts. Airbags distribute the force of the impact
more evenly over the occupant’s upper body,
stopping the occupant more gradually. But the
frontal airbags would not help you in many types
of collisions, including rollovers, rear impacts,
and many side impacts, primarily because an
occupant’s motion is not toward the airbag. Side
impact airbags would not help you in many types of
collisions, including many frontal or near frontal
collisions, rollovers, and rear impacts.
Airbags should never be regarded as anything
more than a supplement to safety belts, and then
only in moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal
collisions for the driver’s and right front passenger’s
frontal airbags, and only in moderate to severe side
collisions for vehicles with side impact airbags.
What Will You See After an Airbag
Inates?
After a frontal airbag inates, it quickly deates, so
quickly that some people may not even realize
the airbag inated. Roof-mounted side impact
airbags may still be at least partially inated
minutes after the vehicle comes to rest. Some
components of the airbag module — the steering
wheel hub for the driver’s airbag, the instrument
panel for the right front passenger’s airbag, or the
garnish trim and ceiling of your vehicle near
the side windows for vehicles with roof–mounted
side impact airbags — may be hot for a short time.
The parts of the airbag that come into contact
with you may be warm, but not too hot to touch.
There may be some smoke and dust coming from
the vents in the deated airbags. Airbag ination
does not prevent the driver from seeing out of the
windshield or being able to steer the vehicle,
nor does it prevent people from leaving the vehicle.
72

You may want to consider not using seat covers or
other aftermarket equipment if your vehicle has the
passenger sensing system. SeeAdding Equipment
to Your Airbag-Equipped Vehicle on page 79for
more information about modications that can affect
how the system operates.
The passenger sensing system may suppress the
airbag deployment when liquid is soaked into
the seat. If this happens, the off indicator in the
passenger airbag status indicator and the
airbag readiness light on the instrument panel will
be lit. The system should resume normal
operation after the seat is allowed to dry. If the
system operates incorrectly after the seat
has dried, have your dealer check the system.
{CAUTION:
Stowing of articles under the passenger’s
seat or between the passenger’s seat
cushion and seatback may interfere with
the proper operation of the passenger
sensing system.
Servicing Your Airbag-Equipped
Vehicle
Airbags affect how your vehicle should be
serviced. There are parts of the airbag system in
several places around your vehicle. You do
not want the system to inate while someone is
working on your vehicle. Your dealer and the
service manual have information about servicing
your vehicle and the airbag system. To purchase a
service manual, seeService Publications
Ordering Information on page 511.
78

Sun Visors
To help block out glare, pull the sun visors down.
Pull on the inside edges of the sun visors to
swing them from the front windshield to the side
window.
Visor Vanity Mirror
Raise the cover on the top of the sun visor to
expose the vanity mirror. If the vehicle has lighted
vanity mirrors, the lamps come on when the
cover is opened.
Theft-Deterrent Systems
Vehicle theft is big business, especially in some
cities. Although your vehicle has a number of
theft-deterrent features, we know that nothing we
put on it can make it impossible to steal.
Content Theft-Deterrent
The vehicle has a content theft-deterrent alarm
system.
A red light located on top
of the instrument panel,
toward the center of the
vehicle and near the
windshield, will ash
slowly when the system
is armed.
The theft-deterrent alarm system needs to be
activated through the Driver’s Information
Center (DIC). See “Theft Deterrent” under the
Personal Programming Mode Screens inDIC
Vehicle Customization on page 226. While armed,
the doors will not unlock with the power door lock
switch. The remote alarm will sound if someone
tampers with the trunk or enters the vehicle without
using the remote keyless entry transmitter or key to
unlock the doors. The horn will sound and the
headlamps will ash for up to two minutes. The
system will also cut off the fuel supply, preventing
the vehicle from being driven.
100

Arming with the Power Lock Switch
The vehicle’s content theft-deterrent alarm system
can be activated when the key is removed from
the ignition and the power door lock switch
of either the driver’s or front passenger’s door is
used to lock the vehicle. The door needs to
be in the open position when pressing the power
door lock switch. The alarm system will not
activate if the door is closed and the power door
lock switch is pressed. This system can be
activated through the Driver’s Information
Center (DIC). See “Lock Switch Arm” under the
Personal Programming Mode Screens inDIC
Vehicle Customization on page 226.
When the doors are locked using the power door
lock switch of either front door, the red light,
on top of the instrument panel will start ashing
indicating that the system is arming. After all
the doors are closed there will be a time delay and
then the red light will begin to ash at a very
slow rate indicating the system is armed.
Arming with the Remote Keyless Entry
Transmitter
The alarm system will arm when the remote keyless
entry transmitter is used to lock the doors after the
key is removed from the ignition. The red light will
come on to indicate that the system is arming. After
all doors are closed and locked, and after a time
delay, the red light will begin ashing at a very slow
rate to show the system is armed.
Arming Conrmation
A red light located on top of the instrument panel,
towards the center of the vehicle and near the
windshield, will ash slowly to conrm when
the system is armed.
Disarming with the Remote Keyless
Entry Transmitter
The alarm system will disarm when the remote
keyless entry transmitter is used to unlock
the doors. The red light will go out to show that
the system is disarmed.
101