Chevrolet Impala 2007 User manual

Seats and Restraint Systems ........................ 7
Front Seats .............................................. 9
Rear Seats ............................................. 15
Safety Belts ............................................ 18
Child Restraints ...................................... 41
Airbag System ........................................ 68
Restraint System Check ......................... 84
Features and Controls ................................. 87
Keys ....................................................... 89
Doors and Locks .................................... 98
Windows ............................................... 104
Theft-Deterrent Systems ....................... 107
Starting and Operating Your Vehicle ..... 111
Mirrors .................................................. 126
OnStar
®
System ................................... 128
Universal Home Remote System .......... 132
Storage Areas ...................................... 144
Sunroof ................................................ 145
Instrument Panel ........................................ 147
Instrument Panel Overview ................... 150
Climate Controls ................................... 168
Warning Lights, Gages,
and Indicators ................................... 174
Driver Information Center (DIC) ............ 190
Audio System(s) ................................... 215
Driving Your Vehicle .................................. 247
Your Driving, the Road, and
Your Vehicle ..................................... 248
Towing ................................................. 282
Service and Appearance Care ................... 293
Service ................................................. 296
Fuel ...................................................... 298
Checking Things Under the Hood ......... 304
Headlamp Aiming ................................. 343
Bulb Replacement ................................ 343
Windshield Wiper Blade Replacement ... 349
2007 Chevrolet Impala Owner Manual M
1

Tires ..................................................... 351
Appearance Care .................................. 386
Vehicle Identification ............................. 396
Electrical System .................................. 397
Capacities and Specifications ................ 403
Maintenance Schedule ............................... 405
Maintenance Schedule .......................... 406
Customer Assistance Information ............. 425
Customer Assistance and Information .... 426
Reporting Safety Defects ...................... 440
Vehicle Data Recording and Privacy ..... 443
Index ........................................................... 445
2

GENERAL MOTORS, GM, the GM Emblem,
CHEVROLET, the CHEVROLET Emblem,
the IMPALA Emblem, and the name IMPALA
are registered trademarks of General Motors
Corporation.
This manual includes the latest information at
the time it was printed. We reserve the right
to make changes after that time without further
notice. For vehicles first sold in Canada, substitute
the name “General Motors of Canada Limited”
for Chevrolet Motor Division whenever it appears
in this manual.
This manual describes features that may be
available in this model, but your vehicle may not
have all of them. For example, more than one
entertainment system may be offered or your
vehicle may have been ordered without a front
passenger or rear seats.
Keep this manual in the vehicle, so it will be there
if it is needed while you are on the road. If the
vehicle is sold, leave this manual in the vehicle.
Canadian Owners
A French language copy of this manual can be
obtained from your dealer/retailer or from:
Helm, Incorporated
P.O. Box 07130
Detroit, MI 48207
Litho in U.S.A.
Part No. 15863014 B Second Printing
©
2006 General Motors Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
3

How to Use This Manual
Many people read the owner manual from
beginning to end when they first receive their new
vehicle. If this is done, it can help you learn
about the features and controls for the vehicle.
Pictures and words work together in the
owner manual to explain things.
Index
A good place to quickly locate information about
the vehicle is the Index in the back of the manual.
It is an alphabetical list of what is in the manual
and the page number where it can be found.
Safety Warnings and Symbols
There are a number of safety cautions in this
book. We use a box and the word CAUTION to
tell about things that could hurt you if you were
to ignore the warning.
{CAUTION:
These mean there is something that could
hurt you or other people.
In the caution area, we tell you what the hazard is.
Then we tell you what to do to help avoid or
reduce the hazard. Please read these cautions.
If you do not, you or others could be hurt.
You will also find a
circle with a slash
through it in this book.
This safety symbol
means “Do Not,”
“Do Not do this” or
“Do Not let this happen.”
4

Vehicle Damage Warnings
Also, in this manual you will find these notices:
Notice: These mean there is something
that could damage your vehicle.
A notice tells about something that can damage
the vehicle. Many times, this damage would not be
covered by your vehicle’s warranty, and it could
be costly. But the notice will tell what to do to help
avoid the damage.
When you read other manuals, you might see
CAUTION and NOTICE warnings in different colors
or in different words.
There are also warning labels on the vehicle.
They use the same words, CAUTION or NOTICE.
Vehicle Symbols
The vehicle has components and labels that use
symbols instead of text. Symbols are shown
along with the text describing the operation or
information relating to a specific component,
control, message, gage, or indicator.
If you need help figuring out a specific name of
a component, gage, or indicator, reference
the following topics:
•Seats and Restraint Systems in Section 1
•Features and Controls in Section 2
•Instrument Panel Overview in Section 3
•Climate Controls in Section 3
•Warning Lights, Gages, and Indicators in
Section 3
•Audio System(s) in Section 3
•Engine Compartment Overview in Section 5
5

These are some examples of symbols that may be found on the vehicle:
6

Front Seats ..................................................... 9
Manual Passenger Seat ................................ 9
Power Seats ................................................. 9
Manual Lumbar ........................................... 10
Heated Seats .............................................. 10
Reclining Seatbacks .................................... 11
Head Restraints .......................................... 13
Center Seat ................................................ 14
Rear Seats .................................................... 15
Split Folding Rear Seat ............................... 15
Safety Belts .................................................. 18
Safety Belts: They Are for Everyone ........... 18
Questions and Answers About
Safety Belts ............................................. 22
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly ............. 23
Driver Position ............................................. 24
Shoulder Belt Height Adjustment ................. 32
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy .............. 33
Right Front Passenger Position ................... 33
Center Front Passenger Position ................. 34
Rear Seat Passengers ................................ 35
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides ................ 37
Safety Belt Pretensioners ............................ 40
Safety Belt Extender ................................... 40
Child Restraints ............................................ 41
Older Children ............................................. 41
Infants and Young Children ......................... 43
Child Restraint Systems .............................. 47
Where to Put the Restraint .......................... 52
Lower Anchors and Tethers for
Children (LATCH) .................................... 54
Securing a Child Restraint in a
Rear Seat Position ................................... 61
Securing a Child Restraint in the
Center Front Seat Position ....................... 63
Securing a Child Restraint in the
Right Front Seat Position ......................... 64
Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
7

Airbag System .............................................. 68
Where Are the Airbags? .............................. 71
When Should an Airbag Inflate? .................. 73
What Makes an Airbag Inflate? ................... 75
How Does an Airbag Restrain? ................... 75
What Will You See After an
Airbag Inflates? ........................................ 76
Passenger Sensing System ......................... 77
Servicing Your Airbag-Equipped Vehicle ...... 82
Adding Equipment to Your
Airbag-Equipped Vehicle .......................... 83
Restraint System Check ............................... 84
Checking the Restraint Systems .................. 84
Replacing Restraint System Parts
After a Crash ........................................... 85
Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
8

Front Seats
Manual Passenger Seat
Your vehicle may have a manual passenger seat.
Lift the bar located under the front of the seat to
unlock it. Slide the seat to where you want it
and release the bar. Try to move the seat with your
body to be sure the seat is locked in place.
Power Seats
If the vehicle has power seats, the controls used to
operate them are located on the outboard side of the
seats. To adjust the seat, do any of the following:
•Move the seat forward or rearward by sliding
the control forward or rearward.
•Raise or lower the front part of the seat cushion
by moving the front of the control up or down.
•Raise or lower the rear part of the seat cushion
by moving the rear of the control up or down.
Driver’s Seat with Manual Lumbar,
Power Seat Control, and Power Recline shown
9

Your driver’s seat may have power reclining
seatbacks. See “Power Reclining Seatbacks”
under Reclining Seatbacks on page 11 for
more information.
Manual Lumbar
If your vehicle has manual lumbar, the lever is
located on the outboard side of the driver’s
seat near the front of the seat cushion.
Lift up on the lever repeatedly to increase lumbar
support. Push down on the lever repeatedly to
decrease lumbar support.
Heated Seats
If your vehicle has this
feature, the buttons that
control temperature for
the driver’s and front
passenger’s seats are
located on the climate
control panel. See
Climate Control System
on page 168.
Press the button once to warm the seat to a high
temperature. Both lights below the heated seat
symbol will come on. Press the button a second
time to reduce the seat to a lower temperature. The
bottom light will be lit. Press the button a third time
to turn the heated seat off.
The heated seat feature will need to be turned
on each time the ignition is turned off and back
on again.
Driver’s Seat with Manual Lumbar and
8-way Power Controls shown
10

Reclining Seatbacks
Manual Reclining Seatbacks
{CAUTION:
You can lose control of the vehicle if
you try to adjust a manual driver’s seat
while the vehicle is moving. The sudden
movement could startle and confuse you,
or make you push a pedal when you do
not want to. Adjust the driver’s seat only
when the vehicle is not moving.
{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.
Your vehicle may have a manual recline function
on the front passenger’s seat. There may be
manual recline on the driver’s seat.
To recline the seatback, do the following:
1. Lift the recline lever.
2. Move the seatback to the desired position,
then release the lever to lock the seatback
in place.
3. Push and pull on the seatback to make
sure it is locked.
Passenger’s Seat with Manual Recline and
Power Seat Control shown
11

To return the seatback to an upright position,
do the following:
1. Lift the lever fully without applying pressure
to the seatback and the seatback will return
to the upright position.
2. Push and pull on the seatback to make
sure it is locked.
Power Reclining Seatback
The driver’s seat may have a power reclining
seatback. The control used to operate it is located
on the outboard side of the seat cushion rear of
the horizontal power seat control.
•Press control rearward to recline the seatback.
•Press control forward to raise the seatback.
Driver’s Seat with Manual Lumbar,
Power Seat Control, and Power Recline shown
12

{CAUTION:
Sitting in a reclined position when your
vehicle is in motion can be dangerous.
Even if you buckle up, your safety belts
cannot do their job when you are reclined
like this.
The shoulder belt cannot do its job
because it will not be against your body.
Instead, it will be in front of you. In a
crash, you could go into it, receiving neck
or other injuries.
The lap belt cannot do its job either. In a
crash, the belt could go up over your
abdomen. The belt forces would be there,
not at your pelvic bones. This could cause
serious internal injuries.
For proper protection when the vehicle is
in motion, have the seatback upright.
Then sit well back in the seat and wear
your safety belt properly.
Do not have a seatback reclined if your vehicle
is moving.
Head Restraints
Adjust the head restraint so that the top of the
restraint is at the same height as the top of
the occupant’s head. This position reduces the
chance of a neck injury in a crash.
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Pull the head restraint
up to raise it. To lower
the head restraint,
press the button,
located on the top of the
seatback, and push
the restraint down.
Center Seat
Your vehicle may have a front center seat. There
are cupholders on the underside of the seat
cushion. To use them, flip the seat cushion
forward. This seat can also be used as a storage
area by lowering the seatback. See Center
Console Storage Area on page 144. The seatback
doubles as an armrest for the driver or front
passenger when the center seat is unoccupied.
For information on safety belts for this position,
see Center Front Passenger Position on page 34.
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Rear Seats
Split Folding Rear Seat
Flip and Fold Feature
If your vehicle has this feature, you can flip the
bottom seat cushion(s) forward and fold the
seatback(s) down for an extended flat cargo area.
To use this feature, do the following:
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.
1. Disconnect the rear
center safety belt
latch from the
mini buckle, if your
vehicle has this,
by using an object
such as a car key.
Insert the key into the slot in the mini buckle
and press the release button.
2. Flip the bottom seat cushion forward by
pulling up on the tab located in the center
of the seat cushion where the seatback meets
the seat cushion. There is a tab on both
rear seats.
Make sure the front seats are not reclined.
If they are, the seat cushion will not flip
forward completely.
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3. Lower the
seatback(s) by
pulling forward on
the tab located
on the outboard side
of the seatback(s).
Make sure the front seats are not reclined.
If they are, the rear seatbacks will not
fold down all the way.
To return the seats to the normal position, do the
following:
{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.
1. Raise the seatback up and make sure it
latches.
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{CAUTION:
A safety belt that is improperly routed,
not properly attached, or twisted will not
provide the protection needed in a crash.
The person wearing the belt could be
seriously injured. After raising the rear
seatback, always check to be sure that
the safety belts are properly routed and
attached, and are not twisted.
2. Ensure that the safety belts are properly
stowed over the seatback in all three positions.
3. Reconnect the
rear center safety
belt latch plate
to the mini buckle,
if your vehicle
has this.
Make sure the safety belt label is facing the
same direction as the release button of
the mini buckle. Make sure the belt is not
twisted. Push and pull on the latch plate to
be sure it is secure.
4. Flip the bottom seat cushion back into place.
Push firmly on the seat cushion to make sure
it is secure.
When the seat is not in use, the seatback should
be placed in upright, locked position, and the
seat cushion should be in the down position.
Under Seat Storage
Your vehicle has under seat storage.
To get to the storage area, lift up on the tab
located in the center of the bottom seat cushion
where the seat cushion meets the seatback.
See Rear Storage Area on page 144 for more
information.
17

Safety Belts
Safety Belts: They Are for Everyone
This part of the manual tells you how to use
safety belts properly. It also tells you some things
you should not do with safety belts.
{CAUTION:
Do not let anyone ride where he or she
cannot wear a safety belt properly. If you
are in a crash and you are not wearing a
safety belt, your injuries can be much
worse. You can hit things inside the
vehicle or be ejected from it. You can be
seriously injured or killed. In the same
crash, you might not be, if you are
buckled up. Always fasten your safety
belt, and check that your passengers’
belts are fastened properly too.
{CAUTION:
It is extremely dangerous to ride in a
cargo area, inside or outside of a vehicle.
In a collision, people riding in these areas
are more likely to be seriously injured or
killed. Do not allow people to ride in any
area of your vehicle that is not equipped
with seats and safety belts. Be sure
everyone in your vehicle is in a seat
and using a safety belt properly.
Your vehicle has indicators to remind you and
your passengers to buckle your safety belts.
See Safety Belt Reminder Light on page 177
and Passenger Safety Belt Reminder Light
on page 177.
In most states and in all Canadian provinces,
the law says to wear safety belts. Here is
why: They work.
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You never know if you will be in a crash.
If you do have a crash, you do not know if
it will be a bad one.
A few crashes are mild, and some crashes can
be so serious that even buckled up, a person
would not survive. But most crashes are in
between. In many of them, people who buckle up
can survive and sometimes walk away. Without
belts they could have been badly hurt or killed.
After more than 40 years of safety belts in
vehicles, the facts are clear. In most crashes
buckling up does matter... a lot!
Why Safety Belts Work
When you ride in or on anything, you go as fast
as it goes.
Take the simplest vehicle. Suppose it is just a
seat on wheels.
19

Put someone on it. Get it up to speed. Then stop the vehicle.
The rider does not stop.
20