
Leaving Your Vehicle With the Engine
Running
I
A CAUTION:
It can be dangerous to leave your vehicle with
the engine running. Your vehicle could move
suddenly
if the shift lever is not fully in “P”
(Park) with the parking brake firmly set. And, if
you leave the vehicle with the engine running,
it
could overheat and even catch fire. You or other3
could be injured. Don’t leave your vehicle with
the engine running unless you have to.
If you have to leave your vehicle with the engine
running, be sure your vehicle is in “P” (Park) and your
parking brake is firmly
set before you leave it. After
you’ve moved the shift lever
into the “P” (Park)
position, hold the regular brake pedal down. Then, see if
you can move the shift lever away from “P” (Park)
without first pulling it toward you. If you can, it means
that the shift lever wasn’t fully locked into “P” (Park).
Shifting Out of 46 P $9 (Park)
Your Buick has a brake-transaxle shift interlock. You
have
to fully apply your regular brake before you can
shift from “P” (Park) when the ignition is in the “Run”
position. See “Automatic Transaxle” in the Index.
If you cannot shift out of
“P” (Park), ease pressure on
the shift lever
-- push the shift lever all the way into “P’
(Park) as you maintain brake application. Then move the
shift lever into the gear
you wish. If you ever hold the
brake pedal down but still can’t shift out of “P” (Park),
try this:
I. Turn the key to “Off.” Open and close the driver’s
door to turn off the Retained Accessory Power
feature,
if you have it.
2. Apply and hold the brake until the end of Step 4.
3. Shift to “N” (Neutral).
4. Start the vehicle and then shift to the drive gear you
want.
5. Have the vehicle fixed as soon as you can.
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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.
Fuel Gage
Your fuel gage shows about how much fuel is in your
tank. It works only when the engine is on. When the
indicator nears
“E,” you still have a little fuel left. You
need to
get more fuel right away.
Here are four concerns some owners have had about the
fuel gage. All these situations are normal and indicate
nothing wrong
with the fuel gage.
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This light will also come on when you set your parking
brake, and the light will stay on if your parking brake
doesn’t release fully. If
you try to drive off with the
parking brake set, a chime will also come
on until you
release the parking brake. If the light and chime stay on
after your parking brake is fully released, it means
you
have a brake problem. If the light and chime come on
while driving, pull
off the road and stop carefully. You
may notice that the pedal is harder to .push. Or, the peda
may go closer to the floor. It may take longer
to stop. If
the light
is still on, have the vehicle towed for service.
(See “Towing Your Car” in the Index.)
I -
A CAUTION:
Your brake system may not be working properly
if the brake warning light is on. Driving with the
brake warning light on can lead to an accident.
If
the light is still on after you’ve pulled off the road
and stopped carefully, have the vehicle towed for
service.
1
Anti-Lock Brake System Warning Light
With anti-lock, this light will go on when you start your
engine and may stay on for several seconds or
so. That’s
normal. If the light doesn’t come on, have it fixed
so it
will be ready to warn
you if there is a problem.
If the light stays
on or comes on when you’re driving,
stop as soon as possible and turn the key
off. Then start
the engine
to reset the system. If the light still stays on,
or comes on again while you’re driving, your Buick
needs service. Unless the regular brake system warning
light
is also on, you will still have brakes, but not
anti-lock brakes.
If the regular brake system warning
light
is also on, see “Brake System Warning Light”
earlier
in this part.
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have been operating your vehicle under normal driving
conditions,
you should pull off the road, stop your
vehicle and turn off the engine as soon as possible.
HOT COOLANT CAN BURN YOU BADLY!
In “Problems
on the Road,” this manual shows what to
do. See “Engine Overheating”
in the Index.
Low Coolant Warning Light
I
1
If you have this light and it
comes on, your system
is
low on coolant and the
engine may overheat.
See “Engine Coolant” in the Index and have your
vehicle serviced as soon as you can.
Engine Oil Pressure Light and Gage
0‘ 1
I
This light tells you if there could be a problem with your
engine oil pressure.
If your car has the optional gage cluster, you can read
your oil pressure directly from the gage
on your
instrument panel.
There are three ways this light can come on briefly,
which
is normal and doesn’t show a problem. They are:
The light comes on when you turn your key to
“Run.” It goes off once you turn
it to “Start.” That’s
just a check to be sure the light works. If it doesn’t,
be sure to have it fixed so it will be there to warn you
if something goes wrong.
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If you’re “idling” at a stop sign, the light may blink
on and then
off.
If you make a hard stop, the light may come on for a
moment.
But, when this light comes on and stays on, it means
oil isn’t going through your engine properly.
You could
be low on oil, or you might have some other oil
problem.
A CAUTION:
Don’t keep driving if the oil pressure is low. If
you
do, your engine can become so hot that it
catches fire. You or others could be burned.
Check your oil as soon as possible and have
your vehicle serviced.
NOTICE:
Damage to your engine from neglected oil
problems can be costly and is not covered by
your warranty.
“Check Oil Level’’ Light (Option)
CHECK
OIL LEVEL
The “Check Oil Level”
light is lit for three seconds
as a bulb check each time
the ignition key is turned
to
the RUN position. If the
light doesn’t come on, have
your vehicle serviced.
If the engine oil is more than one quart low, the light
will come on briefly, then go off for 15-25 seconds, and
then come back
on for 20-40 seconds.
However,
if it has not been more than eight minutes
since the engine was last shut
off, the system will not
register low engine oil condition.
If the “Check Oil Level” light comes back on, the
engine
oil should be checked at the dipstick and then
brought up to the proper level if necessary. See “Engine
Oil” in the Index.
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“Change Oil Soon” Light (Option)
CHANGE
OIL SOON
This light is activated by
the Engine Oil Life
Monitor System. It
indicates that the engine oil
has degraded enough to
require changing. (See
“Engine Oil” in the Index).
This is determined by electronically monitoring engine
speed, coolant temperature and vehicle speed. Since the
change interval is dependent upon driving habits and
conditions, the “Change Oil Soon” light may come on as
early as
2,000 miles or less for harsh conditions.
The “Change Oil Soon” light
is lit for three seconds as a
bulb check each time the ignition key is turned to the
RUN position. If an oil change is required, it will stay
on for
60 seconds each time the engine is started. If the
“Change Oil Soon” light is on continuously, there is a
problem with the Oil Life Monitor System and service is
required. After
changing; the engine oil, the system should be
- reset. This
will cause the “Change Oil Soon” light once
again,
to be lit for just the bulb check period of three
seconds.
The reset button is.inside this hole, which is under the
passenger’s side of the instrument panel, near the door.
With the ignition key in the
RUN position, but the
engine not started, use a pen to push the reset button,
holding
it in for at least 5 seconds but not more than 60
seconds. After 5 seconds, the “Change Oil Soon” light
will flash 4 times and then go off. This indicates that the
Oil Life Monitor System has been reset.
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Malfunction Indicator Lamp
(Service Engine Soon Light)
SERVICE
ENGINE SO0
SERVICE
ENGINE
SOON
A computer monitors operation of your fuel, ignition
and emission control systems. This light should come on
when the ignition is on, but the engine is not running, as
a check to show you it is working. If it does not come on
at all, have
it fixed right away. If it stays on, or it comes
on while you are driving, the computer is indicating that
you have a problem. You should take your vehicle
in for
service soon.
NOTICE:
If you keep driving your vehicle with this light on-
after a while the emission controls won’t work as
1
well, your fuel economy won’t be as good and
your engine may not run as smoothly. This could
lead
to costly rer>airs not covered by your
warranty.
Battery Light
VOLTS
When you turn the key to RUN, this light will come on
briefly, to show that your alternator and battery charging systems are working. If a light stays
on, you need
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Press the PWR button or turn the ignition key off to stop
the disc player. The disc stays in the player and will
resume playing at the point where it stopped.
EJECT
Press EJCT, the disc will eject and the radio will play.
The disc will start at track
1 when you reinsert it.
As a feature to protect the disc,
if you turn the ignition off
with the disc partway out of the slot (after eject), it will be
drawn back into the player in about 30 seconds. The disc
will play at track
1 when the radio is turned on again.
Anti-Theft Feature
Delco-Loc I1 is a security feature for the compact disc
player. It can be used or ignored.
If ignored, the system
plays normally. If it is used, your player won’t be usable
if it’s ever stolen, because it won’t turn on.
The instructions below tell you how to enter your
personal secret code into the system. If your vehicle loses
battery power for any reason, you must unlock the system
with the secret code again before the system will
turn on.
Be sure to read through the entire procedure and become
familiar with
the appropriate buttons and knobs before
starting.
Step
1. Write clown any 6-digit number and keep it in a
safe place. Step
2. Turn
the ignition to the ACC or RUN position.
Step
3. Press PWR to turn the radio off.
Step 4. Press preset 1 and 4 buttons together. Hold them
until
“---” shows on the display (at least 5 seconds).
You are now ready to enter your secret code. If you
pause more than
15 seconds between steps you may
have to start over.
Step
5. Press SET and “000” will appear on the display.
Step 6. Press SEEK and hold
it until the first digit of
your code appears.
Step 7. Rotate the tune knob right or left to make the
next two numbers agree
with your code.
Step
8. Press AM-FM knob and “000” will appear. Now
you are ready to enter the second three digits of the code
according to steps
6 and 7.
Step 9. Press the AM-FM knob. The display will show
“rEP” for
5 seconds, and then “OOO” will appear indicating
that some steps are to
be repeated for verification.
Step
10. Repeat steps 6,7, and 8.
Step 11. Press the AM-FM knob. If the display shows
“SEC”, the verification process was successful and the
system
is SECURE. If the display shows “---”, the
verification steps were not successful and the entire
sequence must be started again.
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