1994 OLDSMOBILE SILHOUETTE wheel

Whatever the condition - smooth ice,
packed, blowing or loose snow
- drive
with caution.
If you have the traction control system,
keep the system on. It will improve your
ability to accelerate when driving on a
slippery road. Even though your vehicle
has a traction control system, you’ll
want to slow down and adjust your
driving to the road conditions. See
Traction Control System in the Index.
If you don’t have the traction control
system, 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 an 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.
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
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
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Towinga Trailer
L
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 Oldsmobile dealer for
important information about
towing a trailer with your vehicle.
Your vehicle can tow a trailer. 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.
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 only 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 if your
trailer will weigh
2,000 pounds (900
kg) or less. You should always use a
sway control if your trailer will weigh
more than
2,000 pounds (900 kg).
You can ask a hitch dealer about sway
controls.
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During your trip, check occasionally to
be sure that the load is secure, and that
the lights and
any trailer brakes are still
working.
Following Distance
Stay at least twice as far behind the
vehicle ahead as you would when
driving your vehicle without a trailer.
This can help you avoid situations that
require heavy braking and sudden
turns.
Passing
You’ll need more passing distance up
ahead when you’re towing a trailer.
And, because you’re a good deal longer,
you’ll need to go much farther beyond
the passed vehicle before you can return
to your lane.
Backing Up
Hold the bottom of the steering wheel
with one hand. Then, to move the
trailer to the left, just move that hand to
the left.
To move the trailer to the right,
move your hand to the right. Always back up
slowly and, if possible, have
someone guide you.
Making Turns
When you’re turning with a trailer,
make wider turns than normal. Do this
so your trailer won’t strike soft
shoulders, curbs, road signs, trees, or
other objects. Avoid jerky or sudden
maneuvers. Signal well in advance.
Turn Signals When Towing a
Trailer
When you tow a trailer, your vehicle has
to have a different turn signal flasher
and extra wiring. The green arrows on
your instrument panel will flash
whenever you signal a turn or lane
change. Properly hooked up, the trailer
lights will
also flash, telling other
drivers you’re about to turn, change
lanes or stop.
When towing a trailer, the green arrows
on your instrument panel will flash for
turns even
if the bulbs on the trailer are
burned out. Thus, you may think
drivers behind you are seeing your signal
when they are not.
It’s important
to check occasionally to be sure the
trailer bulbs are still working.
Driving On Grades
Reduce speed and shift to a lower gear
before you start down a long or steep
downgrade. If you don’t
shift down, you
might have to use your brakes
so much
that they would get hot and
no longer
work well.
On a long uphill grade, shift down and
reduce your speed to around
45 mph
(70 lwh) to reduce the possibility of
engine and transaxle overheating.
If you are towing a trailer that weighs
more than
1,000 pounds (454 kg), and
you have an automatic transaxle with
Overdrive, you may prefer to drive in
D
instead of Overdrive (or, as you need to,
a lower gear). This will minimize heat
build-up and extend the life of your
transaxle.
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Your Driving and the Road
156
Parking on Hills
You really should not park your vehicle,
with a trailer attached, on a hill. If
something goes wrong, your rig could
start to move. People can be injured,
and both your vehicle and the trailer
can be damaged.
But
if you ever have to park your rig on
a hill, here’s how to do it:
1. Apply your regular brakes, but don’t
shift into
P (Park) yet.
2. Have someone place choclts under
the trailer wheels.
3. When the wheel chocks are in place,
release the regular brakes until the
chocks absorb the load.
apply your parking brake, and then
shift to
P (Park).
4. Reapply the regular brakes. Then
5. Release the regular brakes.
When You Are Ready to Leave
Affer Parking on a Hill
1. Apply your regular brakes and hold
the pedal down while
you:
Start your engine;
Shift into a gear; and
Release the parking brake.
2. Let up on the brake pedal.
3. Drive slowly until the trailer is clear
4. Stop and have someone pick up and
of
the chocks.
store the chocks.
Maintenance When Trailer Towing
Your vehicle will need service more
often when you’re pulling a trailer. See
the Maintenance Schedule
for more on
this. Things that are especially important in
trailer operation are
automatic transaxle fluid (don’t
overfill), engine oil, belts, cooling
system, and brake adjustment. Each of
these is covered in this manual, and the
Index will help you find them quicltly. If
you’re trailering, it’s a good idea to
review these sections before you start
your trip.
Check periodically to see that all hitch
nuts and bolts are tight.
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Problems on the Road
I62
10. Now start the vehicle with the good
battery and run the engine for a
while.
11. Try to start the vehicle with the
dead battery. If it won’t start after a
few tries,
it probably needs service. w I
12. Remove the cables in reverse order
to prevent electrical shorting. Take
care that they don’t touch each
other or any other metal.
A
8
liowing Your Vehicle
Try to have a GM dealer or a
xofessional towing service tow your
3ldsmobile. The usual towing
:quipment
is:
[A) Sling-type tow truck
[B) Wheel-lift tow truck
:C) Car carrier
f your vehicle has been changed or
nodified since it was factory-new by
idding aftermarket items like fog lamps,
tero skirting, or special tires and
vheels, these instructions and
llustrations may not be correct.
3efore you do anything, turn on the
lazard warning flashers.
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When you call, tell the towing service:
That your vehicle cannot be towed
from the front with sling-type
equipment.
drive.
vehicle.
lever. damaged.
That your vehicle has front-wheel
The make, model, and year of your
Whether you can still move the shift
If there W~S an accident, what was
When the towing service arrives, let the
tow operator know that this manual
contains detailed towing instructions
and illustrations. The operator may
want to see them.
I should be clamped in a straight-ahead
When your vehicle
is being towed, have
the ignition key
off. The steering wheel designed for towing service.
Do not
use
the vehicle’s steering column lock for
this. The transaxle should be in Neutral
and the parking brake released.
Don’t have your vehicle towed on the
front wheels, unless
you must. If the
vehicle must be towed on the front
wheels, don’t go more than
35 mph (56
l or your transaxle will be damaged.
If these
limits must be exceeded, then the front
wheels have to be supported on a dolly.
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Problems on the Road
164
Towing from the Front-Vehicle
Hook-up
Before hooking up to a tow truck, be sure
to read all the information on
Towing
Your Vehicle earlier in this section.
Do not tow with sling-type equipment or
fascia damage will occur. Use wheel-lift
or car carrier equipment. Additional
ramping may be required for car carrier
equipment. Use safety chains and wheel
straps.
NOTICE:
Towing a vehicle over rough
surfaces could damage a vehicle.
Damage can occur from vehicle to
ground or vehicle to wheel-lift
equipment. To help avoid damage,
install a towing dolly and raise
vehicle until adequate clearance
is
obtained between the ground
and/or wheel-lift equipment.
Do not attach winch cables or
J-
hooks to suspension components
when using car carrier equipment.
Always use T-hooks inserted in the
T-hook slots.
1. Attach T-hook chains on both sides
in the slotted holes in the bottom of
the frame rails, about
2 feet behind
the front wheels.
2. Attach a separate safety chain around
the outboard end of each control arm.
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Towing from fhe Rear-Vehicle
HOOk-Up
Before hooking up to a tow truck, be
sure to read all the information
on
Towing Your Vehicle earlier in this
section.
1. Attach T-hook chains on both sides
in the slotted holes in the frame rails
just ahead
of the rear wheels.
I
2. Position the lower sling crossbar
directly under the rear bumper. No
4x4 wood beam is needed.
3. Attach a separate safety chain around
the end of each axle inboard
of the
spring.
4. Be certain your vehicle is towed no
faster than
35 rnph (56 ltm/h) and no
farther than
50 miles (80 ltm) to
avoid damage to your transaxle.
Engine Overheating
You will find a coolant temperature
gage on your Oldsmobile's instrument
panel. See the
Index under Coolant
Temperature Gage.
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