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Winter Driving
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 trunk. 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.
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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 tlashers. 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
bags,
rags, tloor 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.
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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.
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.
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Towing a Trailer
advice and information about towing a trailer
with your vehicle.
I’
~ 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 part, and see your Buick 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 traiiering 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 part.
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.
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If You Do Decide To Pull A Trailer
If you do, here are some important points.
0 There are many different laws, including speed limit
restrictions, 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
01- provincial police.
Consider using a sway control.
You can ask a hitch dealer about sway controls.
0
0
0 Don’t tow a trailer at all during the first 1000 miles
(1 600 km) your new vehicle is driven. Your engine,
axle or other parts could be damaged.
Then, during the first 500 miles (800 km) that
you
tow a trailer, don’t drive over 50 mph (80 kmrdh) 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
How heavy can a trailer safely be?
It should never weigh more than 1,000 pounds (450 kg),
unless you have the 2,000-pound (900 kg) trailer towing
option package. But even that can be too heavy.
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
OLI~ trailering information or
advice, or you can write 11s at Buick Motor Division,
Customer Assistance Center, 902
E. Hamilton Avenue,
Flint, MI 48550.
In Canada, write to General Motors of Canada Limited,
Customer Assistance Center, 1908 Colonel Sam Drive,
Oshawa, Ontario
L 1 H 8P7.
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Making Turns
NOTICE:
Making very sharp turns while trailering could
cause the trailer to come in contact with the
vehicle. Your vehicle could be damaged. Avoid
making very sharp turns while trailering.
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 lamps 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 Oefbve 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 km/h) to reduce the
possibility of engine and transaxle overheating.
If you are towing
a trailer that weighs more than
1,000 pounds (450 kg), you may prefer to drive in
THIRD (3) instead of DRIVE (D) (or, as you need to,
a lower gear).
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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
PARK
(P) yet.
2. Have someone place chocks under the trailer wheels.
3. When the wheel chocks are in place, release the
regular brakes until the chocks absorb the load.
4. Reapply the regular brakes. Then apply your parking
brake, and then
shift to PARK (P).
5. Release the regular brakes.
When You Are Ready to Leave After
Parking on a
Hill
I. Apply your regular brakes and hold the pedal down
while you:
Start your engine;
0 Shift into a gear; and
0 Release the parking brake.
2. Let up on the brake pedal.
3. Drive slowly
until the trailer is clear of the chocks.
4. Stop and have someone pick up and 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, belt, cooling system, and brake adjustment.
Each of these is covered in this manual, and
the Index
will help you find them quickly. 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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2. Get the vehicles close enough so the jumper cables
can reach,
but be sure the vehicles aren’t touching
each other.
If they are, it could cause a ground
connection
you don’t want. You wouldn’t be able to
start your Buick, and the bad grounding could
damage the electrical systems.
You could be injured
if the vehicles roll. Set the
parking brake firmly on each vehicle. Put an
automatic transaxle
in PARK (P) or a manual
transaxle
in NEUTRAL (N).
3. Turn off the ignition on both vehicles. Turn off all
iamps that aren’t needed, and radios. This will avoid
sparks and help save both batteries. And
it could
save your radio!
NOTICE:
If you leave your radio on, it could be badly
damaged. The repairs wouldn’t be covered
by
your warranty.
4. Open the hoods and locate the batteries.
A CAUTION:
An electric fan can start up even when the engine
is not running and can injure you. Keep hands,
clothing and tools away from any underhood
electric fan.
5. Find the positive (+) and negative (-) terminals on
each battery. Your Buick has a remote positive
(+)
jump starting terminal. The terminal is on the same
side of
the engine compartment as your battery. You
should
always use the remote positive (+) terminal
instead of the positive
(+) terminal on your battery.
To uncover the remote positive
(+) terminal, lift the
red plastic cap.
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