1993 PONTIAC GRAND-PRIX headlights

Here you can learn about the
many standard and optional
features on your Pontiac. and information on starting. shifting and
braking
. Also explained are the
instrument panel and the warning
systems that tetl you if everything is
working properly-and what to
do if
you have a problem .
Features & Controls
Keys ........................................................................\
........................................... 44
Locks ........................................................................\
......................................... 45
Remote Lock Control ........................................................................\
................ 46
Glove Box ........................................................................\
................................... 50
Ignition ........................................................................\
....................................... 52
Starting Your Engine ........................................................................\
................. 54
Engine Block Heater ........................................................................\
.................. 56
Shifting the Transaxle ........................................................................\
................ 57
Second-Gear Start ........................................................................\
..................... 61
Parking Brake ........................................................................\
............................. 64
Shifting into Park ........................................................................\
....................... 65
Windows ........................................................................\
..................................... 70
Turn Signal/Headlight Beam Lever .................................................................. 70
Cruise Control ........................................................................\
............................ 72
Windshield Wipers ........................................................................\
..................... 76
Windshield Washer ........................................................................\
.................... 77
Headlights ........................................................................\
.................................. 78
Interior Lights ........................................................................\
............................ 81
Mirrors ........................................................................\
........................................ 83
Storage Compartments ........................................................................\
.............. 85
Ashtrays and Lighter ........................................................................\
................. 87
Sunroof ........................................................................\
....................................... 90
Instrument Panel ........................................................................\
....................... 92
Warning Lights, Gages and Indicators .............................................................. 95
Driver Information Center ........................................................................\
...... 105
Head-Up Display ........................................................................\
..................... 110
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Features & Controls
“I
Headlights
The main light controls are on the left
side of the instrument panel. Push the
switch marked pf to turn on:
Parking Lights
Running Lights
Your headlights won’t come on. Pull the
switch to turn these lights off.
a
Push the switch marked -:a- to turn on
your headlights together with:
Parking Lights
Running Lights
Taillights
Instrument Panel Lights
Pull the switch to turn them off.
Operation of Lights
Although your vehicle’s lighting system
(headlamps, parking lamps, fog lamps,
side marker lamps and tail lamps) meets
all applicable federal lighting
requirements, certain states and
provinces may apply their own lighting
regulations that may require special
attention before you operate these
lamps. For example, some jurisdictions
may require that you operate your lower
beam lamps with fog lamps at all times,
or that headlamps be turned on
whenever you must use your windshield
wipers. In addition, most jurisdictions prohibit driving solely with parking
lamps, especially at dawn or dusk. It is
recommended that you check with your
own state or provincial highway
authority for applicable lighting
regulations.
Lights On Reminder
If you open the door while leaving the
lights on, you will hear a warning tone.
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Dayfime Running lights
(CANADA ONLY)
The Canadian Federal Government has
decided that “Daytime Running Lights”
(DRL) are a useful feature, in that DRL
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
on
automatically 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 the 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.
Headlighf High-Low Beam
Changer
To change the headlights from low
beam to high or high to low, pull the
turn signal/headlight beam lever all the
way toward
you. Then release it.
When the high beams are on, a blue
light on the instrument panel
also will
be on.
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Features & Controls
Flash-to- Pass
Flash-to-pass lets you use your high
beam headlights to signal a driver in
front of you that you want to pass.
To use it, pull the turn signal/headlight
beam lever toward you.
If Your Headlights are Off:
Your high beam headlights will turn on.
They’ll stay on as long as you hold the
lever there. Release the lever to turn
them off.
If Your Headlights are On:
No flash-to-pass. Use the lever to
change between high and low beams, as
explained under
Headlight High-Low
Beam Changer earlier in this section.
If the fog light switch is on, your fog
lights will go off while the high beams
are
on. When the high beams go off, the
fog lights will come on again.
30
Brightness Intensity Control
You can brighten or dim the instrument
panel lights by sliding the control knob
up or down.
If you slide the knob all the
way up to
INT your courtesy or interior
lights will come on.
To turn instrument
panel lights on to full intensity with the
headlights on, slide the control knob to
HI.
Fog Lights
Use your fog lights for better vision in
foggy or misty conditions.
To turn fog lights on, push the switch.
Pull the parking light switch to turn the
fog lights off.
When using fog lights, the parking lights and/or low beam headlights must
be on.
The fog lights will go off whenever the
high beam headlights come on. When
the high beams go off, the fog lights will
come
on again.
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_1
To adjust the HUD so you can see it
properly:
1. Start your engine and slide the HUD
dimmer control (to the right
of the
steering wheel, below the wiper/
washer control) all the way to
HI.
The brightness of the HUD image is
determined
by whether the headlight
switch is on or off, and where you
have set the HUD dimmer control.
2. Adjust the seat, if necessary, before
setting the height control. Slide the
HUD image height control all the
way toward you, raising the image as
far as possible, Then slide the HUD
image height control away from you
so the image is as low as possible but
in full view.
3. Slide the dimmer control toward
OFF until the HUD image is no
brighter than necessary. To turn the
HUD off, slide the HUD dimmer
control to OFF. If the
sun comes out,
or it becomes cloudy,
or if you turn
on your headlights,
you may need to
adjust the HUD’s brightness
using
the HUD dimmer control. Polarizing
sunglasses could make
the HUD
image harder to see.
If the HUD image is too
1 L bright, or too high in your
field of view, it may take you more
time to see things you need to see
when it’s dark outside. Be sure to
keep the HUD image dim and
placed low in your field of view.
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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.
If you have the anti-lock braking
system, remember: It helps avoid only
the braking skid.
If you do not have
anti-lock, then in a braking skid (where
the wheels are no longer rolling),
release enough pressure on the brakes
to get the wheels rolling again. This
restores steering control. Push the
brake pedal down steadily when you
have to stop suddenly. As long as the
wheels are rolling, you will have steering control. Steer the way you
want to go.
Driving at Night
Night driving is more dangerous than
day driving. One reason is that some
drivers are likely to be impaired-
by alcohol or drugs, with night vision
problems, or by fatigue.
Here are some tips on night driving.
Drive defensively. Remember, this is
the most dangerous time.
Don’t drink and drive. (See the Index
under Drunken Driving for more on
this problem.)
Adjust your inside rearview mirror to
reduce the glare hom headlights
behind you.
II
Since you can’t see as well, you may
need to slow down and keep more
space between you and other vehicles.
It’s hard to tell how fast the vehicle
ahead is going just by looking at its
taillights.
speed roads. Your headlights
can light
up only
so much road ahead.
Slow down, especially on higher
In remote areas, watch for animals.
If you’re tired, pull off the road in a
safe place and rest.
I
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Your Driving and the Road
Night Vision
No one can see as well at night as in the
daytime. But as we get older these
differences increase.
A 50-year-old
driver may require at least twice as
much light to see the same thing at
night as a 20-year-old.
What you do in the daytime can also
affect your night vision. For example, if
you spend the day in bright sunshine
you are wise to wear sunglasses. Your
eyes will have less trouble adjusting to
night.
But if you’re driving, don’t wear
sunglasses at night. They may cut down
on glare from headlights, but they also
make a lot of things invisible that
should remain visible-such as parked
cars, obstacles, pedestrians, or even
trains blocking railway crossings. You
may want to put on your sunglasses
after you have pulled into a brightly-
lighted service or refreshment area.
158
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Eyes shielded from that glare may
adjust more quickly to darkness back
on the road. But be sure to remove your
sunglasses before you leave the service
area.
You can be temporarily blinded by
approaching lights. It can tale a second
or two, or even several seconds, for
your eyes to readjust to the dark. When
you are faced with severe glare (as
from
a driver who doesn’t lower the high
beams, or a vehicle with misaimed
headlights), slow down a little. Avoid
staring directly into the approaching
lights. If there is
a line of opposing
traffic, make occasional glances over the
line of headlights to make certain that
one of the vehicles isn’t starting to
move into your lane. Once you are past
the bright lights, give your eyes time to
readjust before resuming speed.
High Beams
If the vehicle approaching you has its
high beams on, signal by flicking yours
to high and then back to low beam. This
is the usual signal to lower the
headlight beams. If the other driver still
doesn’t lower the beams, resist the
temptation to put your high beams on.
This only makes two half-blinded
drivers.
On a freeway, use your high beams only
in remote areas where you won’t impair
approaching drivers. In some places,
like cities, using high beams is illegal.
When you follow another vehicle on a
freeway or highway, use low beams.
True, most vehicles now have day-night
mirrors that enable the driver to reduce
glare. But outside mirrors are not of this
type and high beams from behind can
bother the driver ahead.
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A Few More Might Driving
Suggestions
Keep your windshield and all the glass
on your vehicle clean-inside and out.
Glare at night is made much worse by
dirt
on the glass. Even the inside of the
glass can build up a film caused
by dust.
Tobacco smoke
also makes inside glass
surfaces very filmy and
can be a vision
hazard
if it’s left there.
Dirty glass makes lights dazzle and
flash more than clean glass would,
making the pupils
of your eyes contract
repeatedly.
You might even want to
keep a cloth
and some glass cleaner in
your vehicle if you need to clean your
glass frequently. Remember
that
pur headlights light up
far less of a roadway when you are in a
turn or curve.
Keep your eyes moving; that way, it’s
easier
to pick out dimly lighted objects.
Just as your headlights should be
checked
regularly for proper aim, so
should your eyes be examined regularly.
Some drivers
suffer from night
blindness-the inability to see in dim
light-and aren’t even aware
of it.
Driving in the Rain
Rain and wet roads can mean driving
trouble. On a wet road you can’t stop,
accelerate or turn as well because your
tire-to-road traction isn’t
as good as on
dry roads. And, if your tires don’t have
much tread left, you’ll get even less
traction.
It’s always wise to
go slower and be
cautious if rain starts to fall while you
are driving. The surface may get wet
suddenly when your reflexes are tuned
for driving on dry pavement.
The heavier the rain, the harder it is
to
see. Even if your windshield wiper
blades are in
good shape, a heavy rain
can male it harder to
see road signs and
traffic signals, pavement markings, the
edge
of the road, and even people
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