
Vehicle Symbols
These are some of the symbols you may find on your vehicle.
For example,
these symbols
are used
on an
original battery:
POSSIBLE A
CAUTION
INJURY
PROTECT EYES BY
SHIELDING
CAUSTIC
BATTERY
CAUSE
BURNS
ACID COULD
x
AVOID
SPARKS
OR
FLAMES
SPARK
OR ,\I/,
COULD FLAME
EXPLODE BATTERY
These symbols are important
for you and
your passengers whenever your
vehicle
is
driven:
DOOR LOCK
UNLOCK
BELTS
4
These symbols
have
to do with
your lights:
SIGNALS e
TURN
POWER
WINDOW
HIGH LAMPSoR BEAM
= =o
FOG LAMPS $0
These symbols
are on
some of
your controls:
WINDSHIELD
WIPER
1. *td -1
WINDSHIELD c)
WASHER a
WINDSHIELD DEFROSTER
WINDOW
DEFOGGER
VENTILATING FAN
These symbols
are used on
warning and
indicator lights:
COOLANT F-
TEMP --
ENGINE
CHARGING BATTERY
SYSTEM
BRAKE
(0)
RADIATOR COOLANT
a
FUEL
ENGINE OIL
PRESSURE
w4
TEMP OIL 4%
ANTI-LOCK (@)
BRAKE
Here are some other symbols
you may
see:
FUSE
RADIO
VOLUME
AIR
CONDITIONING
TRUNK
e
RELEASE
t
LIGHTER n
SPEAKER
b
X
ProCarManuals.com

To Set Cruise Control
1. Move the cruise control switch to ON.
2. Get up to the speed you want.
3.
4.
Push
in the SET button
at the end of the lever
and release
it. The
CRUISE light on the
instrument panel will
come on.
Take your foot off the
accelerator pedal.
To Resume a Set Speed
Suppose you set your cruise control at a desired speed
and then you apply the brake. This, of course, shuts
off
the cruise control. But you don’t need to reset it.
Once you’re going about
25 mph (40 km/h) or more,
you can move the cruise
control switch from
ON to
WA (Resume/Accelerate)
for about half
a second.
You’ll go right back up to
your chosen speed and
stay there.
To Increase Speed While Using Cruise Control
There are two ways to go to a higher speed. Here’s the
first:
1.
2.
Use the accelerator pedal to get to the higher speed.
Push in the
SET button, then release the button and
the accelerator pedal. You’ll now cruise at the higher
speed.
2-29
ProCarManuals.com

Here’s the second way to go to a higher speed:
Move the cruise switch from ON to FUA. Hold it
there until you get up to the speed you want, and
then release the switch.
0 To increase your speed in very small amounts, move
the switch to
R/A for less than half a second and then
release it. Each time
you do this, your vehicle will go
1 mph (1.6 km/h) faster.
The accelerate feature will
only work after you set the
the cruise control speed by pushing the
SET button.
To Reduce Speed While Using Cruise Control
There are two ways to reduce your speed while using
cruise control:
Push in the SET button until you reach the lower
speed you want, then rele~
~ : it.
To slow down in very small amounts, push the SET
button for less than half
a second. Each time you do
this, you’ll go 1 mph (1.6 km/h) slower.
Passing Another Vehicle While Using Cruise Control
Use the accelerator pedal to increase your speed. When
you take your foot
off the pedal, your vehicle will slow
down to
the cruise control speed you set earlier.
Using Cruise Control on Hills
How well your cruise control will work on hills depends
upon your speed, load and
the steepness of the hills.
When going
up steep hills, you may have to step on the
accelerator pedal to maintain your speed. When going
downhill, you may have to brake or shift to
a lower gear
to keep your speed down. Of course, applying the brake
takes you out of cruise control. Many drivers find this
to
be too much trouble and don’t use cruise control on
steep hills.
To Get Out of Cruise Control
There are two ways to turn off the cruise control:
Step lightly on the brake pedal; OR
2-30 ,. . .
ProCarManuals.com

Instrument Panel Lamps
You can brighten or dim the instrument panel lamps by
moving the PANEL
LAMPS dial. If you turn the dial
past
HI, your courtesy or interior lamps will conle on.
Daytime Running Lamps (Canada Only)
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) can make it easier for
others to see the front of your vehicle during the day.
DRL can be helpful in many different driving
conditions, but they can be especially helpful
in the
short periods after dawn and before sunset.
A light sensor on top of the instrument panel makes the
DRL work,
so be sure it isn’t covered,
The
DRL system will make your low-beam headlamps
come on at a reduced brightness when: When the DRL
are
on, only your low-bearn headlamps
will be on. The taillamps, sidemarker and other lamps
won‘t be
on. Your instrument panel won’t be lit up either.
When it’s dark enough outside, your low-beam
headlamps will change to
full brightness. The other lamps
that come
on with your headlamps will also come on.
When it’s bright enough outside, the regular lamps
will
go off, and your low-beam headlamps change to the
reduced brightness of DRL.
To idle your vehicle with the DRL off, set the parking brake
while the ignition is
in OFF or LOCK. Then start your vehicle.
The
DIU will stay off until you release the parking brake.
As with any vehicle, you should turn on the regular
headlamp system any time you need it.
0 The ignition is on,
0 The headlamp switch is off, and
0 The parking brake is released.
2-32
ProCarManuals.com

Brake System Warning Light
Your Buick’s hydraulic
brake system is divided into
two parts.
If one part isn’t
working, the other part can
still work and stop you. For
good braking, though, you
need both parts working
well.
If the warning light comes on, there could be a brake
problem. Have your brake system inspected right away.
This light should come on briefly as you start the
vehicle.
If it doesn’t come on then, have it fixed so it
will be ready to warn you if there’s a problem.
If the light comes on while you are driving, pull
off the
road and stop carefully. You may notice that the pedal is
harder to push. Or, the pedal may go closer to the floor.
It may take longer to stop. If the light is still on, or if the
anti-lock brake system warning light is flashing, have
the vehicle towed for service. (See “Anti-Lock Brake
System Warning Light” and “Towing Your Vehicle” in
the Index.
)
The brake system warning light will also come on when
you set your parking brake, and it
will stay on if your
parking brake doesn’t release fully.
If it stays on after
your parking brake is fully released, it means you have
a
brake problem.
2-47
ProCarManuals.com

Anti-Lock Brake System Warning Light
-
lo- 0 system, this light will come
With
the anti-lock brake
RPM x1000 on when you start your
engine and it will stay on
for three seconds. That’s
normal. If the light doesn’t
come on, have it fixed
so it
will be ready to warn you
if
there is a problem.
If the light flashes when you’re driving, you don’t have
anti-lock brakes and there could be a problem with your
regular brakes.
Pull off the road and stop carefully. You
may notice that the pedal is harder to push.
Or, the pedal
may go closer to the floor. It may take longer to stop.
Have the vehicle towed for service. (See “Towing Your
Vehicle’’ in the Index.)
If the anti-lock brake system warning light stays on
longer than normal after you’ve started your engine,
turn
the ignition off. Or, if the light comes on and stays on
when you’re driving, stop as soon as possible and
turn
the ignition off. Then start the engine again to reset the
system.
If the light still stays on, or comes on again
while you’re driving, your Buick needs service. If the
light
is on but not flashing and the regular brake system
warning light isn’t
on, you still have brakes, but you
don’t have anti-lock brakes.
2-48
ProCarManuals.com

Anti-Lock Brake System Active Light
When your anti-lock system
is adjusting brake pressure
to help avoid a braking skid,
the
LOW TRAC light will
Engine Loolant Temperature Light
This light tells you that
your engine coolant has
overheated or your radiator
CYL hhh cooling fan is not working.
Slippery road conditions will exist
if this light comes on,
so adjust your driving accordingly. The light will stay on
for
a few seconds after the system stops adjusting brake
pressure.
The
LOW TRAC light also comes on briefly, as a bulb
check, when the engine is started. If the light doesn’t
come on then, have it fixed
so it will be there to tell you
when the system is active. If
you have been
operating your vehicle under normal
driving conditions, you should pull off the road, stop
your vehicle and turn off the engine as soon as possible.
Hot Coolant Can Burn You Badly!
In “Problems on the Road,” this manual shows what to
do. See “Engine Overheating” in the Index.
2-49
ProCarManuals.com

Avoid needless heavy braking. Some people drive
in spurts -- heavy acceleration followed by heavy
braking
-- rather than keeping pace with traffic. This is a
mistake. Your brakes may not have time to cool between
hard stops. Your brakes will wear out much fidster
if YOLI
do a lot of heavy braking. If you keep pace with the
traffic and allow realistic following distances, you will
eliminate a lot of unnecessary braking. That means
better braking and longer brake life.
If your engine ever stops while you’re driving, brake
normally but don’t pump your brakes. If
you do, the
pedal may get harder to push down. If your engine
stops, you will still have some power brake assist. But
you will use it when you brake. Once the power assist is
used up,
it may take longer to stop and the brake pedal
will be harder to push.
Anti-Lock Brakes (ABS)
Your Buick has an advanced electronic braking system
that will help prevent
a braking skid.
This light on the instrument
panel
will come on briefly
when you start your vehicle.
When you start your vehicle, or when
you begin to drive
away, you may hear
a momentary motor or clicking
noise. And
you may even notice that your brake pedal
moves
a little while this is going on. This is the ABS
system testing itself.
If there’s a problem with the
anti-lock brake system, the anti-lock brake system
warning light
will stay on or flash.
See ”Anti-Lock Brake System Warning Light”
in the
Index.
4-6
ProCarManuals.com