1995 Oldsmobile Achieva Owner's Manuals

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 newspapers, burlap
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.
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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 headlamps. 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.
Recreational Vehicle Towing
There may be times when you want to tow your
Oldsmobile behind another vehicle for use at your
destination. Be sure to use the proper towing equipment
designed for recreational towing. Follow the instructions
for the towing equipment.
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Towing Your Vehicle from the Front
(Automatic Transaxle) Follow these steps:
1. Put the front wheels on a dolly.
NOTICE:
Do not tow your Oldsmobile with the front
wheels in contact with the ground, or the
automatic transaxle could be damaged.
2. Set the parking brake.
3. Turn the ignition key to OFF to unlock the steering
wheel. See “Ignition” in the Index.
4. Clamp the steering wheel in a straight-ahead
position, with a clamping device designed
for
towing.
5. Release the parking brake.
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Towing Your Vehicle from the Front
(Manual Transaxle) low your vehicle with all four wheels on the ground.
Follow these steps:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Set the parking brake.
Turn the ignition key to
OFF to unlock the steering
wheel and prevent the automatic door locks
from
locking.
Shift your manual transaxle to
NEUTRAL (N).
Release the parking brake.
I
NOTICE:
Make sure that the towing speed does not exceed
55 mph (90 kmh), or your vehicle could be badly
damaged.
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Towing Your Vehicle from the Rear Loading Your Vehicle
8
I NOTICE:
Do not tow your vehicle from the rear. Your
vehicle could be badly damaged and the repairs
would not be covered by your warranty.
Fm OCCUPANTS VEHICLE CAP. WT.
TIRE-LOADING INFORMATION
FRT. CTR.
RR. TOTAL LBS. KG
MAX. LOADING & GVWR SAME AS VEHICLE
CAPACITY WEIGHT XXX COLD TIRE
TIRE
SIZE SPEED PRESSURE
RTG PSI/KPa
FRT.
RR.
SPA.
IF TIRES ARE HOT, ADD 4PS1128KPa
SEE OWNER’S MANUAL FOR ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION
Two labels on your vehicle show how much weight it
may properly carry. The Tire-Loading Information label
found on the rear edge
of the driver’s door tells you the
proper size, speed rating and recommended inflation
pressures for the tires
on your vehicle. It also gives you
important information about the number of people that
can be in your vehicle and the total weight that you can
carry. This weight
is called the Vehicle Capacity Weight
and includes the weight of all occupants, cargo, and all
nonfdctory-installed options.
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f
MFDBYGENERALMOTORSCORP DATE
GVWR GAWR FRT GAWR RR
THIS VEHICLE CONFORMS TO ALL APPLI-
CABLE
U.S. FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE
SAFETY, BUMPER, AND THEFT PREVENTION
STANDARDS IN EFFECT ON THE
DATE OF
MANUFACTURE SHOWN ABOVE.
The other label is the Certification label, found on the
rear edge of
the driver’s door. It tells you the gross
weight capacity
of your vehicle, called the GVWR (Gross
Vehicle Weight Rating). The GVWR includes the weight
of the vehicle, all occupants, fuel and cargo. Never
exceed the
GVWR for your vehicle, or the Gross Axle
Weight Rating (GAWR) for either the front or rear axle. And,
if you
do have a heavy load, you should spread it
out. Don’t carry more than 132 lbs.
(60 kg) in your
trunk.
NOTICE:
Your warranty does not cover parts or
components that fail because of overloading.
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If you put things inside your vehicle -- like suitcases,
tools, packages,
or anything else -- they will go as fast
as the vehicle goes.
If you have to stop or turn quickly,
or if there is a crash, they’ll keep going.
Towing a Trailer
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 Oldsmobile
retailer
for important information about towing
a trailer with your vehicle.
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Do not tow a trailer if your vehicle is equipped with the
2.3L Quad 4 DOHC engines (Code D).
Your vehicle can tow a trailer if it is equipped with the
3.1L V6 (Code M) 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 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.
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 or provincial police.
0 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 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.
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