1994 BUICK CENTURY Owners Manual

Here are some things you can check before a trip:
Windshield Washer Fluid: Is the reservoir full? Are
all windows clean inside and outside?
0 Wiper Blades: Are they in good shape?
Fuel. Engine Oil. Other Fluids: Have you checked all
levels?
Lights: Are they all working? Are the lenses clean?
0 Tires: They are vitally important to a safe,
trouble-free trip.
Is the tread good enough for
long-distance driving? Are the tires all inflated to the
recommended pressure?
0 Weather Forecasts: What’s the weather outlook along
your route? Should you delay your trip a short time
to avoid
a major storm system?
0 Maps: Do you have up-to-date maps?
Highway Hypnosis
Is there actually such a condition as “highway
hypnosis”? Or is it
just plain falling asleep at the wheel?
Call it highway hypnosis, lack of awareness,
or
whatever. There
is something
about an easy stretch of road with
the same scenery, along with the hum of the tires on the
road, the drone of the engine, and the rush of the wind
against the vehicle that can make you sleepy. Don’t let it
happen to
you! If it does, your vehicle can leave the
road
in less than a second, and you could crash and be
injured.
What can you
do about highway hypnosis? First, be
aware that it can happen.
Then here are some tips:
Make sure your vehicle is well ventilated, with a
comfortably cool interior.
0 Keep your eyes moving. Scan the road ahead and to
the sides. Check your rearview mirrors and your
instruments frequently.
0 If you get sleepy, pull off the road into a rest, service,
or parking area and take a nap, get some exercise, or
both. For safety, treat drowsiness on the highway as
an emergency.
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Hill and Mountain Roads
I.
. ...
Driving on steep hills or mountains is different from
driving in flat or rolling terrain. If you
drive regularly
in steep country, or if you're
planning
to visit there, here are some tips that can make
your trips safer and more enjoyable.
0 Keep your vehicle in good shape. Check all fluid
levels and also the brakes, tires, cooling system and
transaxle. These parts can work hard on mountain
roads.
Know how to go down hills. The most important
thing
to know is this: let your engine do some of the
slowing down. Shift to a lower gear when you go
down a steep or long hill.
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Winter Driving
0
0
0
0
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.
As you go over the top of a hill, be alert. There could be
something in your lane, like
a stalled car or an accident.
You may see highway signs on mountains that warn
of special problems. Examples are long grades,
passing or no-passing zones,
a falling rocks area, or
winding roads. Be alert
to these and take appropriate
action. Here
are some tips for winter driving:
0 Have your Buick in good shape for winter. Be sure
0 You may want to put winter emergency supplies in
your
engine coolant mix is correct.
your vehicle.
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.I. L.
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.
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.
What’s the worst time for this? “Wet ice.” Very cold
snow or ice can be slick and hard to drive
on. But wet
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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 accelerate
too fast, the drive wheels will spin and polish the surface
under the tires even more.
Your anti-lock brakes improve your ability to make a
hard stop on a slippery road. Even though you have the
anti-lock braking system, you’ll want to begin stopping
sooner than
you would on dry pavement. See
“Anti-lock” in
the Index.
Allow greater following distance on any slippery road.
0 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 surface 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.
If You’re Caught in a Blizzard
e
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
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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.
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.
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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 fairly vigorous exercises
every half hour or
so until help comes.
Towing a Trailer
1 NOTICE:
Pulling a trailer improperly can damage your
vehicle and result in costly repairs not covered by your warranty.
To pull a trailer correctly, follow
the advice in this section, and see your Buick
dealer
for important information about towing a
trailer with your vehicle.
Your car can tow a trailer if it is equipped with either the
2.2L L4 engine or the 3 100 SF1 V6 engine and proper
trailer towing equipment.
To identify what the vehicle
trailering capacity
is for your vehicle, you should read
the information in “Weight
of the Trailer” that appears
later in this section. But trailering is different than just
driving your vehicle by itself. Trailering means changes
in handling, durability, and fuel economy. Successful,
safe trailering takes correct equipment, and it has
to be
used properly.
That’s the reason for this section. In
it are many
time-tested, important trailering tips and safety rules. Many of these are important for your safety and that
of
your passengers. So please read this section carefully
before
you pull a trailer.
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Load-pulling components such as the engine, transaxle,
wheel assemblies, and tires are forced
to work harder
against the drag of the added weight. The engine
is
required to operate at relatively higher speeds and under
greater loads, generating extra heat. What’s more, the
trailer adds considerably to wind resistance, increasing
the pulling requirements.
If
You Do Decide To Pull A Trailer
If you do, here are some important points.
There are many different laws having to do with
trailering. Make sure your rig will be legal, not on!y
where you live but also where you’ll be driving. A
good source for
this information can be state or
provincial police.
Consider using a sway control,
You can ask a hitch dealer about sway controls.
Don’t tow a trailer at all during the first 500 miles
(800 km) your new vehicle is driven. Your engine,
axle or other parts could be damaged.
0 Then, during the first 500 miles (800 km) that you
tow
a trailer, don’t drive over 50 mph (80 km/h) and
don’t make starts at full throttle. This helps your
engine and other parts
of your vehicle wear in at the
heavier loads.
Obey speed limit restrictions when towing a trailer.
Don’t drive faster than the maximum posted speed
for trailers (or no more than
55 mph (90 Km/h) to
save wear on your vehicle’s parts.
Three important considerations have to do
with weight:
Weight of the Trailer
Your vehicle can tow normally up to 1,000 pounds
(450kg). If your vehicle has a
3100 V6 engine with a
four-speed automatic transaxle and is equipped with the
optional heavy-duty engine cooling system,
it can tow
up to 2,000 pounds (900 kg).
It depends on how you plan to use your rig. For
example, speed, altitude, road grades, outside
temperature and how much your vehicle is used to pull a
trailer are all important. And,
it can also depend on any
special equipment that
you have on your vehicle.
You can ask your dealer for our trailering information or
advice, or
you can write us at Buick Motor Division,
Customer Assistance Center,
902 E. Hamilton Ave.,
Flint,
MI 48550.
In Canada, write to General Motors
of Canada Limited,
Customer Assistance Center,
1908 Colonel Sam Drive,
Oshawa, Ontario L1H
8P7.
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