1993 BUICK CENTURY Owners Manual

Know how to go down hills. The most important thing
to know is this: let your engine do some of the slowing
down. Don’t make your brakes do
it all. Shift to a
lower gear when you go down a steep or long hill.
That way, you will slow down without excessive use
of
your brakes.
I A CAUTION:
If you don’t shift down, your brakes could get
so hot that they wouldn’t work well. You would
then have poor braking or even none going
down
a hill. You could crash. Shift down to let
your engine assist your brakes on a steep
downhil lope.
Coasting downhill in
“N” (Neutral) or with the
ignition off is dangerous. Your brakes will have
to do
all the work of slowing down. They could
get
so hot that they wouldn’t work well. You
could crash. Always have your engine running
and your vehicle in gear when you go
downhill.
Know how to go uphill. You may want to shift down to
a lower gear. The lower gears help cool your engine
and transaxle, and you can climb the
hill better.
Stay in your own lane when driving on two-lane roads
in hills or mountains. Don’t swing wide or cut across
the center
of the road. Drive at speeds that let you stay
in your own lane. That way, you won’t be surprised by
a vehicle coming toward you in the same lane.
going uphill. You’ll want to leave extra
room to pass. If
a vehicle is passing you and doesn’t have enough room,
slow down to
make it easier for the other vehicle to get by.
be something in your lane, like a stalled car or an
accident.
It takes longer to pass another vehicle when you’re
As you go over the top of a hill, be alert. There could
You may see highway signs on mountains that warn of
special problems. Examples are long grades, passing or
no-passing zones, a Ming rocks area, or winding
roads. Be alert to these and
take appropriate action.
Winter driving can present special problems. See
“Winter Driving” in the Index.
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Parking on Hills
-
Parking Downhill
Hills and mountains mean spectacular scenery. But
please be careful where you stop if you decide
to look at
the view or take pictures. Look for pull-offs or parking
areas provided for scenic viewing.
Another part of
this manual tells how to use your parking
brake (see “Parking Brake” in the Index). But on a
mountain or steep hill, you can do one more thing. You
can turn your front wheels to keep your vehicle from
rolling downhill or out into traffic.
Here’s how
:
Turn your wheels to the right.
You don’t have to jam your tires against the curb,
if there
is a curb.
A gentle contact is all you need.
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If there is a curb, turn your wheels to the left if the curb
is at
the right side of your vehicle. parking
on the left side, your wheels should point to the
right.
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If there is no curb when you’re parking uphill, turn the
wheels to the right.
If there is no curb when you’re parking uphill on the left
side of
a one-way street, your wheels should be turned to
the left.
Torque Lock
If you are parking on a hill and you don’t shift your
transaxle into
“P” mk) properly, the weight of the
vehicle may put
too much force on the parking pawl in
the transaxle. You may find it difficult to pull the shift
lever out of “I”’ (Park). This is called “torque lock:’ To
prevent torque lock, always be sure to shift into “P”
(Park) properly before you leave the driver’s seat. To find
out how, see “Shifting Into ‘P’ (Park)” in the Index.
When you are ready
to drive, move the shift lever out of
“P” (Park) BEFORE you release the parking brake.
If “torque lock” does occur, you may need to have
another vehicle push yours a little uphill to take some of
the pressure from the transaxle,
so you can pull the shift
lever out of “P” (Park).
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Winter Driving
Here are some tips for winter driving:
Have your Buick in good shape for winter. Be sure
your engine coolant mix is correct.
Snow tires can help in loose snow, but they may give
you less traction on ice than regular tires. If you do not
expect to
be driving in deep snow, but may have to
travel over ice,
you may not want to switch to snow
tires at all.
vehicle.
You may want to put winter emergency supplies in your
Include an ice scraper, a small brush or broom, a
supply of windshield washer fluid, a rag, some winter
outer clothing, a
small shovel, a flashlight, a red cloth,
and a couple of reflective warning triangles.
And, if
you will
be driving under severe conditions, include a
small bag of sand, a piece of old carpet or a couple of
burlap bags to help provide traction. Be sure you
properly secure these items in your vehicle.
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Driving on Snow or Ice
Most of the time, those places where your tires meet the
road probably have’good traction.
However, if there is
snow or ice between your tires and
the road, you can have a
very slippery situation. You’ll
have a lot less traction or “grip” and will need to be very
careful.
r
-
I
.. .
What’s the worst time for this? “Wet ice? Very cold snow
or ice can be slick and hard to drive on. But
wet ice can
be even more trouble because it may offer the least traction
of all. You can get “wet ice” when it’s about
freezing
(32°F; OOC) and freezing rain begins to fall. Try
to avoid driving on
wet ice until salt and sand crews can
get there.
Whatever the condition-smooth ice, packed, blowing or
loose snow-drive with caution. Accelerate gently. Try
not to break the fragile traction. If you acceierate too hst, the drive wheels will spin and polish the surface
under the tires even more. You’ll want to brake very
gently, too. Begin stopping sooner than you would on dry
pavement. If you feel your vehicle begin to slide, let up
on the brakes a little. fish the brake pedal down steadily
to get the most traction you can.
Remember, if you brake
so hard that your wheels stop
rolling, you’ll just slide. Brake
so your wheels always
keep rolling and you can still steer.
Allow greater following distance on any slippery road.
Watch for slippery spots. The road might be fine until
you hit a spot that’s covered with ice. On an otherwise
clear road, ice patches may appear
in shaded areas
where the sun can’t reach: around clumps of trees,
behind buildings, or under bridges. Sometimes the
surfixe of a curve or an overpass may remain icy when
the surrounding roads are clear. If you see a patch
of
ice ahead of you, brake before you are on it. Try not to
brake while you’re actually
on the ice, and avoid
sudden steering maneuvers.
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If You’re Caught in a Blizzard
J 1
If you are stopped by heavy snow, you could be in a
serious situation. You should probably stay with your
vehicle unless you
know for sure that you are near help
and you can hike through the snow. Here are some things
to do to summon help and keep yourself and your passengers safe:
Turn on your hazard flashers. Tie a red cloth to your
vehicle to alert police that you’ve been stopped by the
snow.
Put on extra clothing or wrap a blanket around
you. If you have no blankets or extra clothing, make body
insulators from newspapers, burlap bags, rags,
floor
mats-anything you can wrap around yourself or tuck
under your clothing
to keep warm.
You can run the engine to keep
warm, but be careful.
I-
I A CAUTION:
Snow can trap exhaust gases under your
vehicle. This can cause deadly
CO (carbon
monoxide) gas
to get inside. CO could
overcome you and kill you. You can’t see
it or
smell it, so you might not know it is in your
vehicle. Clear away snow from around the
base
of your vehicle, especially any that is
blocking your exhaust pipe.
And check around
again from time to time to be sure snow
doesn’t collect there.
I CAUTION (Continued)
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~ CAUTION (Contlnued)
1 Opien a wlndow Just a llttle on the side of the
vehlcie that’s
away fmm the wind. Thls will
help keep CO out.
I
Run your engine only as long as you must. This saves
fuel. When you run the engine, make it go a little faster
than just idle. That is, push the accelerator slightly. This
uses less
fuel for the heat that you get and it keeps the
battery charged. You
will need a well-charged battery to
restart
the vehicle, and possibly for signaling later on
with your headlights. Let the heater run for awhile.
Then, shut the engine
off and close the window almost
all the way to preserve the heat. Start the engine again
and repeat
this only when you feel really uncomfortable
from the cold. But do it as little as possible. Preserve the
fuel
as long as you can. To help keep warm, you can get
out
of the vehicle and do some fhirly vigorous exercises
every half hour or
so until help comes.
If You’re Stuck in Deep Snow
This manual explains how to get the vehicle out of deep
snow without damaging
it. See “Rocking Your Vehicle”
in the Index.
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