2000 Cadillac Catera Owners Manual

DRIVE (D): Use this for normal driving. If you needmore power for passing, and you’re: Going less than 35 mph (55 km/h), push theaccelerator pedal about halfway down. Going about 35 mph (55 km/h) or more,push the accelerator all the way down.The transmission will shift down to the next gear.THIRD (3): This position is not used for normaldriving. It offers more power and lower fuel economythan DRIVE (D).Here are some times you might choose THIRD (3)instead of DRIVE (D): When driving on hilly, winding roads. When towing a trailer, so there is less shiftingbetween gears. When going down a steep hill.SECOND (2): Driving in this position gives you morepower than driving in THIRD (3). Use it on hills. It canhelp control your speed as you go down steep mountainroads, but then you would also want to use the brakesoff and on.FIRST (1): This position gives you more power (butlower fuel economy) than SECOND (2). You can use iton very steep hills. If the shift lever is put in FIRST (1),the transmission won’t shift into first gear until thevehicle is going slowly enough.NOTICE:If the rear wheels can’t rotate, don’t try to drive.This might happen if you were stuck in verydeep sand or mud or you were up against asolid object. You could damage the transmission.Also, if you stop when going uphill, don’t holdyour vehicle there with only the acceleratorpedal. This could overheat and damage thetransmission. Use the brakes to hold yourvehicle in position on a hill.When you start your vehicle and the engine temperatureis below 86 F (30 C), upshifting of the transmissionwill be delayed for about one minute. This is normal.The engine’s catalytic converter is warming up duringthis time.2-23