1995 Oldsmobile Achieva brake

When it’s bright enough outside, the regular lamps will
go off, and your high and low-beam headlamps change
to the reduced brightness of the
DRL.
To idle your vehicle with the DRL off, set the parking
brake
on a manual transaxle or put the vehicle in PARK
(P) or NEUTRAL (N) on an automatic transaxle, while
the ignition is in the
OFF or LOCK position. Then start
the vehicle. The
DRL will stay off until you release the
parking brake on a manual transaxle or shift out of
PARK (P) or NEUTRAL
(N) on an automatic transaxle.
Front Reading Lamps (Option)
As with any vehicle, you should turn the regular
headlamp system on any time you need it.
These lamps and the interior courtesy lamps will come
on when you open the doors.
To turn on a reading lamp when
the doors are closed,
press the button. Press it again to turn the lamp
off.
2-45

The main components of your instrument panel are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Side Vent
Instrument Panel Intensity Controlflnterior Lamps
Turn SignaVMultifunction Lever
Hazard Warning Flashers Switch
Instrument Cluster
Horn
Windshield WiperNasher Stalk
Center Vents
Climate Control System
Side Vent 11.
Glove
Box
12. Audio System
13. Lighter
14. Gear Shift Lever
15. Ashtray
16. Ignition Switch
17. Tilt Steering Wheel Lever
18. Fuse Panel (Under Instrument Panel)
19. Parking Brake Release Handle
20. Hood Release Lever
2-55

Brake System Warning Light
FASTEN )i
BELTS #e*
BRAKE
Your Oldsmobile’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 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.)
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.
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.
2-62

Anti-Lock Brake System Warning Light
‘A CHECK
OAQES
With the anti-lock
brake system,
this
light will come 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 fiied
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 Oldsmobile 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.
2-63

Engine Coolant Temperature Warning
Light (Standard Cluster) Engine Coolant Temperature Gage
(Gage Cluster)
This light tells you that
your engine coolant
has overheated or your
radiator cooling fan
is I
not working.
-
i 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.
1 See“Engine Overheating” in the Index.
TEMP
BRAKE WASH
FLUID
HN
LOW
COOLANT
LEVEL AIR
BAG
280
This gage shows the engine coolant temperature. If the
gage pointer moves into the red area, your engine is too
hot! It means that your engine coolant has overheated.
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.

1 Section 4 Your Driving and the Road
I I
Here you’ll find information about driving on different
kinds of roads and
in varying weather conditions. We’ve
also included many other useful tips on driving.
Defensive Driving
The best advice anyone can give about driving is: Drive
defensively.
Please start
with a very important safety device in your
Oldsmobile: Buckle up. (See “Safety Belts”
in the
Index.)
Defensive driving really means “be ready for anything.”
On city streets, rural roads, or freeways,
it means
“always expect the unexpected.”
Assume that pedestrians or other drivers are going to be
careless and make mistakes. Anticipate what they might
do. Be ready for their mistakes.
Rear-end collisions are about the most preventable of
accidents. Yet they are common. Allow enough
following distance. It’s the best defensive driving
maneuver,
in both city and rural driving. You never
know when the vehicle
in front of you is going to brake
01- turn suddenly.
4-1

Control of a Vehicle
You have three systems that make your vehicle go where
you want
it to go. They are the brakes, the steering and
the accelerator.
All three systems have to do their work
at the places where the tires meet the road.
Sometimes,
as when you’re driving on snow or ice, it’s
easy to ask more
of those control systems than the tires
and road can provide. That means you can lose control
of your vehicle.
Braking
Braking action involves perception tir7z.e and rzaction time.
First, you have to decide to push on the brake pedal.
That’s
perception time. Then you have to bring up your
foot and do
it. That’s reaction time.
Average reaction time is about 34 of a second. But that’s
only an average. It might be less with one driver and as
long as two or three seconds or more with another. Age,
physical condition, alertness, coordination, and eyesight all
play a
part. So do alcohol, drugs and frustration. But even
in 3/4 of a second, a vehicle moving at 60 mph ( 100 kmh)
travels
66 feet (20 m). That could be a lot of distance in an
emergency,
so keeping enough space between your vehicle
and others is important.
And, of course, actual stopping distances vary greatly
with the surface
of the road (whether it’s pavement or
gravel); the condition of the road (wet, dry, icy); tire
tread; and the condition of your brakes.
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
faster
if you do a lot of heavy braking. If you keep pace
with the traffic and allow realistic following distances,
4-5

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 Oldsrnobile has an advanced electronic braking
system that
will help prevent a braking skid.
I LOCK @)
ANTI-
CHECK
OABES
This light on the
instrument panel
will
come on briefly when
you start your vehicle. When you
start yo~~r 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