I
GENERAL MOTORS, GM and the GM Emblem,
Buick, and the Buick Emblem are registered trademarks
of General Motors Corporation.
This manual includes the latest information at the time it
was printed. We reserve the right to make changes in the
product after that time without further notice. For
vehicles first sold in Canada, substitute the name
“General Motors of Canada Limited” for Buick Motor
Division whenever it appears in this manual.
Please keep this manual in your Buick,
so it will be
there
if you ever need it when you’re on the road. If you
sell the vehicle, please leave this manual in it
so the new
owner can use it.
VOLUNTARY TECHNICIAN WE SUPPORT
CERTIFICATION THROUGH
Nacmnal lnstllule for AUTOMOTIVE SERVICE
EXCELLENCE
We support voluntary
technician certification.
For Canadian Owners Who Prefer a
French Language Manual:
Aux proprietaires canadiens: Vous pouvez vous procurer
un exemplaire de ce guide en francais chez votre
concessionaire ou au DGN Marketing Services Ltd.,
1500 Bonhill Rd., Mississauga, Ontario L5T 1C7.
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Battery Replacement
Under normal use, the batteries in your key chain
transmitter should last about two years.
You can tell the batteries are weak
if the transmitter
won’t work at the normal range
in any location. If you
have to get close to your vehicle before the transmitter
works, it’s probably time
to change the batteries.
For battery replacement, use two Duracella
batteries, type
DL-2016, or
a similar type.
To replace the batteries:
1.
2.
Remove the screw from
the back cover.
Lift
off the front cover,
bottom half first.
3. Remove and replace the batteries. Put them in as the
instructions under the batteries indicate.
4. Replace the front cover. Make sure the cover is on
tightly,
so water won’t get in. Replace the screw in
the back cover.
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3. If your engine still won’t start (or starts but then
stops),
it could be flooded with too much gasoline.
Try pushing your accelerator pedal all the way to the
floor and holding
it there as you hold the key in
“Start” for about three seconds. If the car starts
briefly but then stops again, do the same thing, but
this time keep the pedal down for five or
six seconds.
This clears the extra gasoline from the engine. After
waiting about
15 seconds, repeat the normal starting
procedure.
NOTICE:
Your engine is designed to work with the
electronics in your vehicle.
If you add electrical
parts or accessories, you could change the way
the fuel injection system operates. Before adding
electrical equipment, check with your dealer.
If
you don’t, your engine might not perform
properly.
If you ever have to have your vehicle towed, see
the part of this manual that tells how to
do it
without damaging your vehicle. See “Towing
Your Car”
in the Index.
Driving Through Deep Standing
Water
I NOTICE:
If you drive too quickly through deep puddles or
standing water, water can come
in through your
engine’s air intake and badly damage your
engine.
If you can’t avoid deep puddles or
standing water, drive through them very slowly.
Engine Coolant Heater (Engine Block
Heater) (Canada Only)
In very cold weather, 0°F (- 18 “C) or colder, the engine
coolant heater can help. You’ll get easier starting and
better fuel economy during engine warm-up. Usually,
the coolant heater should be plugged
in a minimum of
four hours prior to starting your vehicle.
To use the coolant heater:
1. Turn off the engine.
2. Open the hood and unwrap the electrical cord.
3. Plug it into a normal, grounded 1 10-volt outlet.
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Headlight High-Low Beam
BRIGHT
Windshield Wipers
To change the headlights
from low beam to high or
high to low,
pull the turn
signal lever toward you.
Then release
it. When the
high beams are on, this blue
light on the instrument
panel also will be on. You
control the windshield wipers by turning the band
marked
“WIPER.”
For a single wiping cycle, turn the band to “MIST.”
Hold
it there until the wipers start, then let go. The
wipers will stop after one cycle. If you want more
cycles, hold the band on “MIST” longer.
You can set the wiper speed for a long or short delay
between wipes. This can be very useful
in light rain or
snow. Turn the band to choose the delay time. The
closer to
“LOW,” the shorter the delay.
For steady wiping at low speed, turn the band away
from you to the
“LOW” position. For high speed
wiping, turn the band further,
to “HIGH.” To stop the
wipers, move the band to “OFF.”
Remember that damaged wiper blades may prevent you
from seeing well enough to drive safely.
To avoid
damage, be sure to clear ice and snow from the wiper
blades before using them. If they’re frozen to
the .
windshield, carefully loosen or thaw them. If your
blades become damaged, get new blades or blade
inserts.
Heavy snow or ice can overload your wiper motor.
A
circuit breaker will stop the motor until it cools. Clear
away snow or ice to prevent an overload.
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Courtesy Lights
When any door is opened, several lights go on. They
make it easy for you
to enter and leave the car. You also
can
turn these lights on by sliding the panel lights lever
to INT (interior).
Time Out Feature
The interior lights will automatically shut off after a 10
minute period if a door is left open. This feature is
designed
to help eliminate battery wear down.
Twilight Sentinel (Option)
Twilight Sentinel turns your
lights on and
off by sensing
how dark it is outside.
To operate
it, leave the light
switch off and move the
Twilight Sentinel control to
any position but MIN. If you
move the control all the way to
MAX, your lights
will remain on
for three minutes after you turn off your
engine.
If you move the control almost all the way in the
other direction,
so it’s just on, the lights will go off
quickly when you turn off your engine. You can change
this delay time from only a few seconds to three
minutes.
Please don’t cover the light
sensor. If you cover the
sensor,
it will read “dark”
~ and your lights will come
on. It is
on top of the
instrument panel, on the
driver’s side
of the
defroster outlets.
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Daytime 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 works 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,
0 The headlight switch is off and,
0 The transaxle is not in “P” (Park). At
dusk, if the Twilight Sentinel feature is turned on, 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, shift the
transaxle into
“P’ (Park). The DRL will stay off until
you shift out
of “P’ (Park).
To turn off all exterior lighting at night when you are
parked, move
the twilight sentinel control from ON to
OFF,
if it was on from the start. Or, move the control
from OFF to
ON, then back to OFF, if it was off from
the start. The lights will come back on when
you move
the transaxle out of PARK.
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Automatic Inside Mirror
Your Buick may have an automatic inside mirror.
The automatic mirror adjusts for the glare of headlights
behind you. It detects changes in light, and then adjusts
for day or night operation.
During the day the mirror reflects all the light from
behind your car. At night, when the glare is too high, it
changes to the night mode. Then, it reflects only part of
the light from behind you. When the mirror changes
to
the night mode, it holds that position until glare is no
longer present.
Automatic Mirror Settings
There is an automatic and an off position. When the
button
on the bottom of the mirror is pressed up and has
a green halo,
the mirror is on automatic. Press again to
turn off.
Time Delay
The mirror delays before changing from the night to the
day position. This delay prevents rapid changing of the
mirror as
you drive under lights and through traffic.
Reverse Gear Day Mode
The reverse mode is another important feature of the
automatic mirror. When
the shift lever is placed in “R”
(Reverse), the mirror changes to the day mode. This
gives you a bright image in the mirror as you back up.
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“Change Oil Soon” Light (Option)
CHANGE
OIL SOON
This light is activated by
the engine oil life monitor
system. The system
determines the condition
o
the engine oil and lets you
know when the oil should
be changed. (See “Engine
Oil” in the Index).
It does this using information about engine speed (revolutions per minute), coolant temperature and
vehicle speed. The system uses this data to determine
how much oil has degraded. of
the oil life has been used and each time the engine is
started after that.
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 to be
lit again for#the bulb check period
of three seconds.
When to change your oil depends on driving habits and
conditions because these directly affect engine speed,
coolant temperature and vehicle speed. Because of this,
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 five seconds as a
bulb check each time the ignition key is turned to the
RUN position. It will stay on for 60 seconds once 90%
f
The reset button is in the glove box. With the ignition
key in the
RUN position push the reset button, hold 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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