1993 BUICK CENTURY warning lights

I
Vehicle Symbols
These are some of the symbols you will find on your vehicle.
For example,
these symbols
are used on an
original battery:
POSSIBLE A
CAUTION
INJURY
PROTECT EYES BY
SHIELDING
CAUSTIC
ACID COULD CAUSE
BATTERY
BURNS AVOID
SPARKS
OR
FLAMES
SPARK
OR ,111,
COULD FLAME
EXPLODE BATTERY
These symbols
are important
for. you and
your passengers
whenever your
vehicle
is
driven:
DOOR LOCK
UNLOCK
FASTEN SEAT
4
BELTS
POWER
WINDOW
These symbols
have
to do with
your lights:
SIGNALS e3
TURN
WARNING
A
HAZARD
FLASHER
HIGH BEAM
OR =, =o
FOG LAMPS # 0
These symbols
are on some
of
your controls:
WINDSHIELD ' ' ' 0- 0-
WIPER &
WASHER
t0 @e4 i
WINDSHIELD=
WASHER I
wlNDsHIELDw DEFROSTER
WINDOW
@
REAR
DEFOGGER
VENTILATING FAN
HEADLAMP
-
WIPER -
WASHER zQ
Thes, ,ymbols
are used on
warning and indicator lights:
COOLANT F-
ENGINE
TEMP
--
CHARGING I-1
BATTERY SYSTEM
FUEL
ENGINE OIL wb
PRESSURE
TEMP
OIL &
ANTILOCK BRAKE (i)
Here are some
other symbols
you may see:
FUSE
RADIO
k
VOLUME a
CONDITIONING AIR a
HATCHBACK e
TRUNK
RELEASE
SPEAKER
b
ProCarManuals.com

n
part 2 Features and Controls
Here you can learn about the many standard and optional features on your Buick. and informat\
ion on starting.
shifting and braking . Also explained are the instrument panel and the warning systems that tell you if everything
is working properly-and what to do if you have a problem .
Part 2 includes:
Keys ........................................................................\
........
Locks ........................................................................\
...... 65
Remote Keyless Entry System ........................................................... 66
New Vehicle Break-In ................................................................. 72
Ignition ........................................................................\
..... 73
Starting Your Engine .................................................................. 74
Shifting the Transaxle ........................................... : ..................... 77
parking Brake ........................................................................\
80
ShiftingIntoPark ..................................................................... 81
Windows ........................................................................\
... 84
Horn ........................................................................\
....... 86
TiltSteeringWheel ................................................................... 86
Turn Signal/Headlight Beam Lever ....................................................... 86
Windshield Wipers, Washer ........................................................... 88
CruiseControl ..................................................................... 91
InteriorLights ....................................................................... \
95
Headlights ........................................................................\
.. 95
Mirrors ........................................................................\
..... 98
Instrument Panel ..................................................................... 105
Warning Lights, Gages and Indicators .................................................. 106
63
ProCarManuals.com

Ignition Key Positions Off: Unlocks the steering wheel, ignition, and transaxle,
but does not send electrical power to any accessories.
.Use
this position if your vehicle must be pushed or
towed, but never try to push-start your vehicle.
A
warning chime will sound if you open the driver’s door
when the ignition
is off and the key is in the ignition.
I
Run: An “on” position to which the. switch returns after
you
start your engine and release the switch. The switch
stays in the “Run” position when the engine is running.
But even when the engine is not running, you can use
“Run” to operate your electrical power accessories, and
to display some instrument panel warning lights.
Start: Starts the engine. When the engine starts, release
the key. The ignition switch will return to “Run” for
normal driving.
with the ignition key
h the ignition switch, YOU can turn Note that even if the engine is not running, the positions
the switch to five positions: “Accessory” and “Run” \
are “on” positions that allow
.Accessory: An “on” position in which you can operate you to operate your electrical accessories, such as the
your electrical power accessories. Press
in the ignition ‘ radio.
switch as you
turn the top of it toward you.
Lock: The only position in which you can remove the
key. This locks your steering wheel, ignition
and
transaxle.
ProCarManuals.com

Headlight “On” Warning
If you open the door while leaving the lights on, you will
hear a warning chime.
Daytime Running Lights (Canada Only)
The Canadian Federal Government has decided that “Daytime Running Lights” (DRL)
are a useful feature, in
that DIU can make your vehicle more visible to
pedestrians and other drivers during daylight hours. DRL
are required on new vehicles sold in Canada.
Your DRL work with a light sensor on top
of the
instrument panel. Don’t cover it up. The low beam
headlights will come on at reduced brightness
in daylight
when:
The ignition is on
The headlight switch is off, and
The parking brake is released.
At dusk, the exterior. lights will come bn &.nomatically
and the low
beams will change to full brightness. At
dawn, the exterior lights will go out and the low beams
will change to
the reduced brightness of DRL (if the
headlight switch is off).
Of course, you may still turn on the headlights any time
you need to.
To idle your vehicle with DRL off, set the parking brake
while the ignition is in the
“Off’ or “Lock” position.
Then start the vehicle. The
DRL will stay off until you
release the parking brake.
Map Light
& Press the switch to turn the
map light on and
off.
MAP
ON
OFF
96
ProCarManuals.com

Speedometer and Odometer
Your speedometer lets you see your speed in both miles per
hour (mph) and kilometers per hour (ludh). Your odometer
shows how
fkr your vehicle has been driven, in either
miles (used
in the U.S.) or kilometers (used in Canada).
Your Buick has a “tamper-resistant odometer? If you can
see silver lines between the numbers, probably someone
has
tried to turn it back. The numbers may not be true.
You
may wonder what happens if a vehicle has to have a
new odometer installed. If possible, the new one has to
be set to the same reading the old one had. If it can’t \
be,
then it’s set at zero, but a label on the driver’s door\
must show the old reading and when the new one was installed.
Trip Odometer
The trip odometer can tell
you how
far your vehicle
has been driven since you last set the trip odometer to
zero.
To set the trip odometer to
zero, press the reset knob to
the right of the trip
odometer.
Warning Lights, Gages and
Indicators
This section describes the warning lights and gages that may
be on your vehicle. The pictures will help you locate them.
Warning lights and gages can signal that something is
wrong before it becomes serious enough to cause an
expensive repair or replacement. Paying attention to your
warning lights and gages could
also save you or others
from injury.
Warning lights go on when there may be or is a problem
with one
of your vehicle’s functions. As you will see in
the details on the next few pages, some warning lights
come on briefly when you
turn the ignition key just to let
you know they’re working. If you are familiar with this
section, you should not be alarmed when this happens.
Gages can indicate when there may be or is a problem
with one of your vehicle’s functions. Often gages and
warning lights work together to let you know when
there’s a problem with your vehicle.
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. Please follow the manual’s advice.
Waiting to do repairs can be costly-and even dangerous.
So please get to know your warning lights and gages.
They’re a big help.
ProCarManuals.com

If necessary, you can use hand signals out the window:
Left arm straight out for a left turn, down for slow or
about-to-stop, and up
for a right turn.
Slowing down. If time allows, tap the brake pedal once
or twice in advance of slowing
or stopping. This warns
the driver behind you.
Disabled. Your four-way flashers signal that your vehicle
is disabled or is a hazard.
See “Hazard Warning
Flashers’’ in the Index.
Traffic Officer
The traffic police officer is also a source of important
information. The officer’s signals govern, no matter what
the traffic lights or other signs say.
The next section discusses some
of the road conditions
you may encounter.
Defensive Driving
The best advice anyone can give about driving is: Drive
defensively.
Please
start with a very important sakty device in your Buick:
Buckle up.
(See “Safety Belts” in the Index.)
Defensive driving really means “be ready for anything:’
On city streets, rural roads, or freeways, it means
“always expect the unexpected:’ Assume that pedestrians
or other drivers are going to be
careless and make mistakes. Anticipate what they might
do. Be ready for their mistakes.
Expect children to dash out from behind parked cars,
often followed by other children. Expect occupants in
parked cars to open doors into traffic. Watch for movement
in parked cars-someone may be about to open
a door.
Expect other drivers to run stop signs when you are on a
through street. Be ready to brake
if necessary as you go
through intersections. You may not have to use the brake,
but if you do, you will be ready.
If you’re driving through a shopping center parking lot
where there are well-marked lanes, directional mows,
and designated parking areas, expect some drivers to
ignore
all these markings and dash straight toward one
part of the lot.
Pedestrians can be careless. Watch for them. In general,
you must give way to pedestrians even if you
know you
have the right of way.
Rear-end collisions
are about the most preventable of
accidents. Yet they are common. Allow enough following
distance. It’s the best defensive driving maneuver, in both
city and rural driving. You never know when the vehicle
in front of you is going
to brake or turn suddenly.
Here’s a final bit of information about defensive driving.
The most dangerous time for driving in the
U.S. is very
142
ProCarManuals.com

Don’t overtake a slowly moving vehicle too rapidly.
Even though the brake lights are not flashing, it
may be
slowing down or starting to turn.
driver to get ahead of you. Perhaps you can ease a little
to the right.
If you’re being passed, make it easy for the following
Loss of Control
Let’s review what driving experts say about what happens
when the three control systems (brakes, steering and
acceleration) don’t have enough friction where the tires
meet the road
to do what the driver has asked.
In any emergency, don’t give up. Keep trying to steer and
constantly
seek an escape route or area of less danger.
Skidding
In a skid, a driver can lose control of the vehicle.
Defensive drivers avoid most skids
by taking reasonable
care suited
to existing conditions, and by not
“overdriving” those conditions. But skids are always
possible.
The three types
of skids correspond to your Buick‘s three
control systems. In the braking skid your wheels aren’t
rolling.
In the steering or cornering skid, too much speed
or steering in a curve causes tires to slip and lose
cornering force. And
in the acceleration skid too much
throttle causes the driving wheels to spin.
I
A cornering skid and an acceleration skid are best
handled by easing your foot
off the accelerator pedal. If
your vehicle starts to slide (as when you turn a corner on
a wet, snow- or ice-covered road), ease your
foot off the
accelerator pedal as soon as you feel the vehicle start to
slide. Quickly steer the way you want the vehicle to go. If
you
start steering quickly enough, your vehicle will
straighten out. As it does, straighten the front wheels.
Of course, traction is reduced when water, snow, ice,
gravel, or other material is on the road.
For safety, you’ll
want to slow down and adjust your driving
to these
conditions. It is important to slow down on slippery
surfaces because stopping distance will be longer and
vehicle control more limited.
While driving on a surfhce
with reduced traction, try
your best to avoid sudden steering, acceleration, or
braking (including engine braking
by shifting to a lower
gear).
Any sudden changes could cause the tires to slide.
You may not realize the surface is slippery until your
vehicle is skidding.
Learn to recognize warning clues-
such as enough water, ice or packed snow on the road
to
make a “mirrored surface”-and slow down when you
have
any doubt.
154
ProCarManuals.com

ahead starts to become less clear or, at night, if the
taillights are harder to see, the fog is probably thickening.
Slow down to give traffic behind you a chance to slow
down. Everybody then has a better chance to avoid hitting the vehicle ahead.
A patch of dense fog may extend only for a few feet
(meters) or for miles (kilometers); you can’t really tell
while you’re in it. You can only treat the situation with
extreme care.
One‘common fog condition-sometimes called mist or
ground fog-can happen in weather that seems perfect,
especially at night or
in the early morning in valley and
low, marshy areas. You can be suddenly enveloped in
thick, wet haze that may even coat your windshield. You
can often spot these fog patches or mist layers with your
headlights. But sometimes they can be waiting for you as
you come over a hill or dip into a shallow valley.
Start
your windshield wipers and washer, to help clear
accumulated
road dirt. Slow down carefully.
Tips on Driving in Fog
If you get caught in fog, turn your headlights on low
beam, even in daytime. You’ll see-and be seen-better.
Don’t use your high beams. The light will bounce
off the
water droplets that make up fog and reflect back at you.
Use your defogger. In high humidity, even a light buildup
of moisture on the inside of the glass will cut down on
your already limited visibility. Run your windshield
wipers and washer occasionally. Moisture can build up
on the outside glass, and what seems to be fog .may
actually be moisture on the outside
of your windshield.
Treat dense fog as an emergency.
Try to find a place to
pull off the road. Of course you want to respect another’s
property, but you might need to put something between
you and moving vehicles-space, trees, telephone poles,
a private driveway, anything that removes you from other
traffic.
If visibility is near zero and you must stop but
are unsure
whether you are away from the road, turn your lights on,
start your hazard warning flashers, and sound your horn
at intervals or when you hear approaching traffic.
Pass other vehicles in fog only if you can see far enough
ahead to pass safely. Even then, be prepared
to delay
your pass if you suspect the fog is worse up ahead.
If
other vehicles try to pass you, make it easy for them.
161
ProCarManuals.com