Your vehicle may be equipped with StabiliTrak which combines anti-lock brake, traction and stability control systems and helps the driver maintain directional control of the vehicle in most driving conditions.

When you first start your vehicle and begin to drive away, the system performs several diagnostic checks to insure there are no problems. You may hear or feel the system working. This is normal and does not mean there is a problem with your vehicle.

If the system fails to turn on or activate, the SERVICE STABILITY SYSTEM message will be displayed on the Driver Information Center (DIC). If the vehicle has gone through heavy acceleration or braking or multiple turns during the first two miles of driving after starting your vehicle, the STABILITY CONTROL OFF message may appear on the DIC. If this is the case, your vehicle does not need servicing. You will need to turn the vehicle off and then restart it to initialize StabiliTrak. If either message appears on the DIC, and your vehicle has not gone through hard acceleration, braking or multiple turns in the first two miles of driving, your vehicle should be taken in for service.

The STABILITY CONTROL ACTIVE message will appear on the DIC only when the system is both on and activated. It means that an advanced computer-controlled system has come on to help your vehicle continue to go in the direction in which you are steering. StabiliTrak activates when the computer senses that your vehicle is just starting to spin, as it might if you hit a patch of ice or other slippery spot on the road. When the system activates, you may hear a noise or feel a vibration in the brake pedal. This is normal. When the STABILITY CONTROL ACTIVE message is on, you should continue to steer in the direction you want to go. The system is designed to help you in bad weather or other difficult driving situations by making the most of whatever road conditions will permit. For more information on the stability messages, see Driver Information Center (DIC) .

If the StabiliTrak system turns off, the traction control system warning light will illuminate, and the STABILITY CONTROL OFF message will appear on the DIC to warn the driver that StabiliTrak is no longer available to assist you with directional control of the vehicle. Adjust your driving accordingly.

To realize the full benefits of the stability enhancement system, you should normally leave StabiliTrak on, but it may be necessary to turn the system off if your vehicle is stuck in sand, mud, ice or snow, and you want to "rock" your vehicle to attempt to free it. See Rocking Your Vehicle to Get It Out and If Your Vehicle is Stuck in Sand, Mud, Ice, or Snow .

The traction control system is part of the StabiliTrak system. Traction control limits wheel spin by reducing engine power to the wheels (engine speed management) and by applying brakes.

The traction control system is enabled automatically when you start your vehicle. It will activate and display the TRACTION CONTROL ACTIVE message in the DIC if it senses that one or both of the front wheels are spinning or beginning to lose traction while driving.

If the brake traction-control system activates constantly or if the brakes have heated up due to high-speed braking, brake traction-control will be disabled and the TRACTION CONTROL ACTIVE message will be displayed. In the limited mode, the traction control system will only use engine traction-control and is limited in its ability to provide optimal performance since the system will not utilize brake traction-control to control slip on the drive wheels. The system will return to normal operation after the brakes have cooled. This can take up to two minutes or longer depending on brake usage.

The traction control system may activate on dry or rough roads or under conditions such as heavy acceleration while turning or abrupt upshifts/downshifts of the transaxle. When this happens you may notice a reduction in acceleration, or may hear a noise or vibration. This is normal.

If your vehicle is in cruise control when the system activates, the STABILITY CONTROL ACTIVE message will appear on the DIC and the cruise control will automatically disengage. When road conditions allow you to use cruise again, you may re-engage the cruise control. See Cruise Control .

StabiliTrak may also turn off automatically if it determines that a problem exists with the system. If the problem does not clear itself after restarting the vehicle, you should see your dealer/retailer for service.