2001 cavalier owner manual

My email address is:. By using this website, you automatically accept that we use cookies. What for? Toggle navigation. Home Workshop Manuals Chevrolet Cavalier. Chevrolet Cavalier The Chevrolet Cavalier is a compact car that was designed and manufactured by General Motors and wa produced from thru , reaching its highest sales in Passengers especially children easily open the doors and fall out of a moving vehicle. Push the lower portion of the switch to lock the doors. Push the upper portion of the switch to unlock the doors.

Unlock the door from the inside. Then open the door from the outside. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: 1 this device may not cause harmful interference, and 2 this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation. In addition, if all doors and the trunk are closed, the headlamps will flash once, the interior lamps will turn off, and the vehicle content theft security system will arm.

Page Battery Replacement Radio Personalization Feature Your vehicle can store different radio preset stations and other settings depending on which keyless entry transmitter you use to unlock the doors. The radio will recall all the stored settings associated with that transmitter.

Any radio setting changes will be assigned to the transmitter last used to unlock the doors. Use a coin or screwdriver to separate the bottom half from the top half of the transmitter.

Remove the battery and replace it with the new one. Page 79 Trunk To unlock the trunk from the outside, insert the key and turn the trunk lock cylinder or use the remote keyless entry transmitter if equipped. When closing the trunk, close from the center to ensure it fully latches. Improper use of the trunk release handle could damage it. If the transmitter LOCK button is pressed again within five seconds, the horn will chirp to confirm that the system had been armed. Your dealer can change the settings to disable the headlamp flash and horn chirp features.

This position locks your steering wheel, ignition, shift lever and transaxle. OFF C : This position unlocks the steering wheel, ignition and transaxle, but does not send electrical power to any accessories. Then turn the key to OFF. While pressing the key release button in, turn the key to LOCK.

Hold the clutch pedal to the floor and start the engine. Starting Your 2. Page 88 Starting Your 2. When the engine starts, let go of the key. The idle speed will go down as your engine warms up.

Turn off the engine. Open the hood and unwrap the electrical cord. On vehicles with a 2. You can use it on very steep hills, or in deep snow or mud. It can help control your speed as you go down steep mountain roads, but then you would also want to use your brakes off and on.

Then, slowly let up on the clutch pedal as you press the accelerator pedal. Let up on the clutch pedal slowly while pressing the accelerator pedal. Page Parking Brake Parking Brake Automatic shown, manual similar The parking brake lever is located between the bucket seats. To set the parking brake, hold the brake pedal down and pull up on the parking brake lever. If the ignition is on, the brake system warning light will come on. To release the parking brake, hold the brake pedal down.

Your vehicle can roll. If you have left the engine running, the vehicle can move suddenly. Your vehicle could move suddenly if the shift lever is not fully in PARK P with the parking brake firmly set. And, if you leave the vehicle with the engine running, it could overheat and even catch fire. But if you ever have to, here are some things to know. Page Tilt Wheel If Equipped A tilt steering wheel allows you to adjust the steering wheel before you drive.

You can also raise it to the highest level to give your legs more room when you exit and enter the vehicle. To tilt the wheel, hold the steering wheel and pull the lever. These positions allow you to signal a turn or a lane change. To signal a turn, move the lever all the way up or down. Page Windshield Wipers Windshield Wipers You control the windshield wipers by moving the stalk with the windshield wiper symbol on it up or down. For a single wiper cycle, push the stalk down to MIST, then release it.

The wipers will stop after one cycle. For more cycles, hold the wiper stalk down longer. Page Windshield Washer Windshield Washer To wash your windshield, pull the stalk with the wiper symbol on it toward you one time.

When you release the stalk, the washers will stop. The wipers continue wiping for approximately three cycles and will either stop or will resume the speed you were using before. Cruise control can be dangerous on slippery roads. On such roads, fast changes in tire traction can cause needless wheel spinning, and you could lose control. Page Resuming a Set Speed Suppose you set your cruise control at a desired speed and then you apply the brake or clutch pedal.

This, of course, shuts off the cruise control. Page Exterior Lamps Using Cruise Control on Hills How well your cruise control will work on hills depends upon your speed, load and the steepness of the hills. When going up a steep hill, you may have to step on the accelerator pedal to maintain your speed. When going downhill, you may have to brake or shift to a lower gear to keep your speed down. During periods of high humidity it may be normal for slight condensation to build up in the lens housing.

Page This indicator light on your instrument panel cluster will come on when the DRL are on. A flashing DRL telltale indicates a possible burned out headlamp, or that the vehicle may need service to repair a stuck DRL relay. When the DRL are on, your high and low headlamps will be on at a reduced brightness.

Turn the thumbwheel up all the way to turn on the interior courtesy lamps. Illuminated Entry When you open either a front door or open a rear door, the lamps inside your vehicle will go on. To turn the lamps on, press the switch.

Press the switch again to turn them off. Turn the control clockwise or counterclockwise to choose the mirror you want to adjust. Then move the control in the direction you want the mirror to move. Adjustment Lever T End B. Lever Slide C. Mirror D. Spring E. Page Ashtrays And Cigarette Lighter Center Console Cupholders There are two cupholders located at the front of the center console, in front of the shift lever. There are also cupholders for the rear seat passengers located under the center console lid.

Open the center console lid all the way to uncover the rear cupholders. You can also swing them to the side. Sunroof If Equipped With the ignition on, press and release the rear of the switch and the glass panel will open to the vent position. Page The main components of your instrument panel are the following: A. Instrument Panel Intensity Control C. Instrument Panel Cluster E. Hazard Warning Flashers Switch F.

Ignition Switch G. Page Instrument Panel Cluster Instrument Panel Cluster Your instrument panel cluster is designed to let you know at a glance how your vehicle is running.

Your odometer shows how far your vehicle has been driven, in either miles used in the United States or kilometers used in Canada. Page Tachometer If Equipped The tachometer displays the engine speed in revolutions per minute rpm.

When one of the warning lights comes on and stays on when you are driving, or when one of the gages shows there may be a problem, check the section that tells you what to do about it. Page Charging System Light This light will come on when you start your vehicle, and it will flash for a few seconds. Then the light should go out.

This means the system is ready. If the air bag readiness light stays on after you start the vehicle or comes on when you are driving, your air bag system may not work properly. For good braking, though, you need both parts working well. If the warning light comes on, there is a brake problem. Have your brake system inspected right away. If the light stays on, turn the ignition to OFF. With the ignition in RUN, this gage shows the engine coolant temperature. If the gage pointer moves into the red area, your engine is too hot!

It means that your engine coolant has overheated. Page This system is called OBD II On Board Diagnostics Second Generation and is intended to assure that emissions are at acceptable levels for the life of the vehicle, helping to produce a cleaner environment. Page This light should come on, as a check to show you it is working, when the ignition is on and the engine is not running.

This light will also come on during a malfunction in one of two ways: Light Flashing A misfire condition has been Page Did you just drive through a deep puddle of water? If so, your electrical system may be wet. The condition will usually be corrected when the electrical system dries out. A few driving trips should turn the light off. Have you recently changed brands of fuel? If so, be sure to fuel your vehicle with quality fuel. Page Oil Pressure Light Oil Pressure Light If you have a low engine oil pressure problem, this light will stay on after you start your engine, or come on when you are driving.

This indicates that your engine is not receiving enough oil. The engine could be low on oil, or could have some other oil problem. It will stay on or come on if it detects a problem on the vehicle.

Passlock Warning Light United States You still have about 1. Be sure to read about the particular systems supplied with your vehicle. Page Comfort Controls Comfort Controls This section tells you how to make your air system work for you.

With these systems, you can control the ventilation and heating in your vehicle. Your vehicle also has the flow through ventilation system described later in this section. Some air is directed through the instrument panel outlets.

Most of the air is directed through the floor ducts and a little to the defrost and side window vents. Page Temperature Knob The center knob changes the temperature of the air coming through the system. Turn this knob toward red clockwise for warmer air. Turn it toward blue counterclockwise for cooler air. Mode Knob The right knob has several settings to control the direction of airflow. Running the compressor will help reduce vehicle interior fogging. Air Conditioning If Equipped On very hot days, open the windows long enough to let hot, inside air escape.

This reduces the time it takes for your vehicle to cook down, which should help fuel economy. Page To defog the side windows, set the right control to level and the fan control to the highest setting.

For both systems, aim the side vents toward the side windows. Page Ventilation System Ventilation System For mild outside temperatures when little heating or cooking is needed, use vent to direct outside air through your vehicle.

Your vehicle also has the flow ventilation system. Outside air will also enter the vehicle when the air conditioning fan is running. Page Audio Systems 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. To increase volume, turn the knob clockwise. Turn it counterclockwise to decrease volume. RCL: Press this knob to recall the station being played or to display the clock.

Turn the radio on. Press AM FM to select the band. Then press and hold the up arrow to move the sound to the right speakers or the down arrow to move the sound to the left speakers. The radio will go to the first preset station stored on your pushbuttons, except those stations with weak reception, stop for a few seconds and flash the station frequency, then go on to B and a zero or T and a zero will appear on the display.

To set all of the tone controls and speaker controls to the middle position, end out of audio mode. Page Playing a Compact Disc Insert a disc partway into the slot, label side up. The player will pull it in. The disc should begin playing. The display will show CD. If you want to insert a compact disc with the ignition off, first press RCL or the eject button.

Page RCL: Press this button to see the current track number or how long the current track has been playing. AM FM: Press this button to play the radio when a disc is in the player. The disc will stop but remain in the player. Press this button to display an RDS station frequency or program type when the radio is on.

With SCV, your audio system adjusts automatically to make up for road and wind noise as you drive. The radio will beep once to confirm. The radio will scan through each of the stations stored on your pushbuttons, except those stations with weak reception. Page AUTO TONE: This feature allows you to choose preset bass and treble equalization settings designed for rock, news, pop, jazz, classical and country music stations.

Each time you press it, another setting will appear on the display. RDS is a system that sends data along with the audio of the FM station you are currently tuned to. You can use RDS to display program information and to control your radio. If the current tuned station does not broadcast traffic announcements, the radio will seek to a station that does.

The traf icon will flash on the display. When the radio finds a station that broadcasts traffic announcements, it will stop. The display will show TAPE and an arrow showing which side of the tape is playing. Page REV 3 : Press this button to reverse the tape rapidly. Press it again to return to playing speed. The radio will play the last selected station while the tape reverses. The station frequency and REV will appear on the display.

Page FWD 4 : Press and hold this button to advance quickly within a track. Press and hold this button for less than two seconds to advance at six times the normal playing speed. Press and hold it for more than two seconds to advance at 17 times the normal playing speed.

Page Personal Choice Radio Controls Personal Choice Radio Controls If Equipped With this feature, your vehicle will recall the latest radio settings as adjusted the last time your vehicle was operated. This feature allows two different drivers to store and recall their own radio settings for AM and FM presets, last tuned station, volume, tone and audio source radio, cassette or CD. 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. Cassette tapes should be stored in their cases away from contaminants, direct sunlight and extreme heat. Turn the radio off. READY will appear on the display for five seconds. Fixed Mast Antenna The fixed mast antenna can withstand most car washes without being damaged. Please start with a very important safety device in your vehicle: Buckle up.

Page Drunken Driving Drunken Driving Death and injury associated with drinking and driving is a national tragedy. Alcohol affects four things that anyone needs to drive a vehicle: Judgment Muscular Coordination Vision A person who consumes food just before or during drinking will have a somewhat lower BAC level.

Page The body takes about an hour to rid itself of the alcohol in one drink. No amount of coffee or number of cold showers will speed that up. A person with even a moderate BAC might not be able to react quickly enough to avoid the collision. They are the brakes, the steering and the accelerator.

All three systems have to do their work at the places where the tires meet the road. 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.

Suddenly an animal jumps out in front of you. You slam on the brakes and continue braking. A computer senses that wheels are slowing down. If one of the wheels is about to stop rolling, the computer will separately work the brakes at each wheel. Page You may feel or hear the system working, but this is normal. This light will also come on when the anti brake system is working.

Page Power Steering Steering Power Steering If you lose power steering assist because the engine stops or the system is not functioning, you can steer but it will take much more effort. Page Steering In Emergencies Steering in Emergencies There are times when steering can be more effective than braking. For example, you come over a hill and find a truck stopped in your lane, or a car suddenly pulls out from nowhere, or a child darts out from between parked cars and stops right in front of you.

If the level of the shoulder is only slightly below the pavement, recovery should be fairly easy. Ease off the accelerator and then, if there is nothing in the way, steer so that your vehicle straddles the edge of the pavement. Keep trying to steer and constantly seek an escape route or area of less danger. One reason is that some drivers are likely to be impaired by alcohol or drugs, with night vision problems, or by fatigue.

Drive defensively. Page What you do in the daytime can also affect your night vision. For example, if you spend the day in bright sunshine you are wise to wear sunglasses.

Your eyes will have less trouble adjusting to night. Page Driving too fast through large water puddles or even going through some car washes can cause problems, too. We reserve the right to make changes after that time without further notice.

Please keep this manual in your vehicle, so it will be there if you ever need it when you're on the road. If you sell the vehicle, please leave this manual in it so the new owner can use it. We support voluntary technician certification. In the notice area, we tell you about something that can damage your vehicle. Many times, this damage would not be covered by your warranty, and it could be costly.