
Horn 
You can sound  the horn by pressing  the  horn symbol  on 
your steering  wheel. 
Tilt  Steering  Wheel 
A tilt steering  wheel  allows  you to  adjust  the  steering 
wheel  before 
you drive. 
You  can  also  raise  it 
to the highest  level to  give  your 
legs  more  room when  you exit and enter  the vehicle. 
To tilt the wheel, hold the  steering  wheel and pull  the 
lever. 
Move  the  steering  wheel 
to a  comfortable  level,  then 
release  the  lever  to lock  the wheel  in place. 
Turn  SignaVMultifunction Lever 
The  lever on the left  side of the steering column 
includes your: 
0 Turn Signal and  Lane  Change Indicator 
0 Headlamp  High-Low  Beam Changer 
Flash-to-Pass  Feature 
Cruise  Control  (Option) 
The  High-Low  Beam  feature 
is discussed under 
Headlamps.  See  “Headlamps” in the  Index. 
2-33  

Here’s how anti-lock  works.  Let’s say the road is wet. 
You’re  driving  safely. Suddenly  an animal  jumps 
out in 
front of you. 
You  slam  on  the  brakes.  Here’s  what happens  with 
ABS. 
A computer  senses that wheels  are  slowing  down. If one 
of the  wheels is about  to stop  rolling,  the computer  will 
separately work the brakes 
at each front wheel and at the 
rear wheels. 
The  anti-lock  system can  change  the brake pressure 
faster  than any driver  could.  The  computer  is 
programmed  to make the  most  of available  tire and road 
conditions. 
You can steer  around the  obstacle while braking hard. 
As you brake, your  computer keeps receiving  updates on 
wheel  speed and  controls braking  pressure accordingly. 
Remember:  Anti-lock  doesn’t  change the time  you  need 
to get your  foot up to the brake pedal. If you  get too 
close  to the vehicle 
in front of you,  you  won’t  have time 
to apply your brakes 
if that vehicle  suddenly  slows or 
stops. Always  leave enough  room  up ahead  to  stop,  even 
though  you  have  anti-lock  brakes. 
4- I  

To Use Anti-Lock 
Don’t pump the brakes. Just hold  the  brake pedal down 
and 
let anti-lock  work  for you. You may feel the system 
working,  or you  may  notice some noise,  but this  is 
normal. 
Braking  in  Emergencies 
Use your anti-lock  braking system  when you need to. 
With  anti-lock,  you  can steer and brake at  the same 
time. 
In many  emergencies, steering can help  you more 
than even the  very best braking. 
Steering 
Power  Steering 
If you  lose power steering assist because  the engine 
stops  or 
the system is not  functioning,  you can steer  but 
it will take  much  more effort. 
Steering Tips 
Driving on Curves 
It’s important to take curves  at a reasonable  speed. 
A lot of the “driver lost control”  accidents mentioned on 
the  news  happen  on  curves. Here’s why:  Experienced  driver or beginner, each 
of  us  is subject to 
the  same  laws 
of physics when driving  on curves.  The 
traction 
of the tires against the road surface makes it 
possible  for the  vehicle to change its  path  when YOLI turn 
the front wheels.  If there’s  no  traction,  inertia  will keep 
the vehicle going  in  the same direction. 
If you’ve ever 
tried  to steer 
a vehicle  on  wet ice, you’ll  understand this. 
The  traction  you  can  get 
in a curve depends on the 
condition  of  your tires and the road  surface, the angle  at 
which  the curve is banked,  and your  speed.  While 
you’re 
in a  curve,  speed is the one  factor  you can 
control. 
Suppose  you’re  steering through 
a sharp  curve. Then 
you  suddenly accelerate.  Both control systems 
-- 
steering  and acceleration -- have to  do their work where 
the  tires  meet  the  road. Adding the sudden acceleration 
can demand too  much of those places.  You can lose 
control. 
What should  you do 
if this ever happens? Ease up on  the 
accelerator pedal, steer the vehicle  the  way  you  want 
it 
to go, and slow down. 
Speed limit signs  near curves  warn 
that you should 
adjust your  speed. Of course,  the posted  speeds are 
based  on 
good weather  and road conditions. Under  less 
favorable conditions  you’ll want to 
go slower. 
4-8  

Loss of Control 
Let’s review  what  driving  experts  say about  what 
happens  when the three  control  systems  (brakes, steering 
and acceleration)  don’t have enough friction  where the 
tires meet the road  to  do what the driver  has asked. 
In 
any emergency, don’t  give up. Keep trying to steer 
and constantly seek  an escape  route or area  of less 
danger. 
Skidding 
In  a skid,  a driver  can  lose  control of the vehicle. 
Defensive  drivers  avoid most skids by taking reasonable 
care  suited 
to existing  conditions,  and by not 
“overdriving” those  conditions. But  skids are always 
possible. 
The three types of skids  correspond  to your 
Oldsmobile’s three control  systems. In the braking skid 
your wheels aren’t rolling.  In the steering  or cornering 
skid,  too  much speed  or steering  in a  curve  causes tires 
to  slip  and lose  cornering  force. And  in  the acceleration 
skid  too much throttle  causes 
the driving wheels to spin. 
A  cornering skid  and  an acceleration  skid  are best 
handled  by easing your  foot off the accelerator pedal.  If 
your vehicle starts  to  slide, 
ease your foot off the 
accelerator  pedal and quickly  steer the way 
you want the 
vehicle to  go. If 
you start steering quickly  enough, your 
vehicle  may straighten out. Always be ready  for  a 
second skid  if it occurs. 
Of  course,  traction  is reduced when water,  snow, ice, 
gravel,  or  other  material 
is on the road. For safety, you’ll 
want  to slow down and adjust your driving  to these 
conditions.  It is  important  to  slow down on slippery 
surfaces because stopping  distance will be longer and 
vehicle control more limited. 
While driving 
on a  surface with reduced traction,  try 
your  best to avoid sudden steering, acceleration,  or 
braking (including  engine braking  by shifting to 
a lower 
gear).  Any sudden changes  could  cause the tires to slide. 
You may  not realize the  surface is slippery until  your 
vehicle  is skidding. Learn 
to recognize warning  clues -- 
such as enough water, ice  or packed  snow on the road to 
make a “mirrored  surface’’ -- and slow down when  you 
have any  doubt. 
Remember:  Any anti-lock  brake system 
(ABS) helps 
avoid only 
the braking  skid. 
4-12 
-  

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. 
4-32  

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 nrns 
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. 
4-36  

Towing Your Vehicle 
Try to have a GM retailer  or a professional  towing 
service  tow your  Oldsmobile.  The usual towing 
equipment  is: 
(A) Sling-type tow truck 
(B) Wheel-lift  tow truck 
(C) Car  carrier  If 
your  vehicle  has been changed or modified  since it 
was  factory-new  by adding  aftermarket  items  like  fog 
lamps,  aero  skirting,  or  special  tires and wheels, these 
instructions  and illustrations  may not be correct. 
Before  you do anything,  turn 
on the hazard warning 
flashers. 
When 
you call,  tell the towing  service: 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
That  your  vehicle  cannot  be towed from the front  or 
rear  with  sling-type  equipment,  as  described  later in 
this  section. 
That  your vehicle  has front-wheel  drive. 
The  make, model and  year 
of your vehicle. 
Whether  you can still move  the 
shift lever. 
If there was an  accident,  what was  damaged. 
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. 
5-7  

If a Tire  Goes Flat 
It’s unusual  for  a tire to “blow  out” while you’re  driving, 
especially  if you  maintain  your tires properly.  If air  goes 
out  of a tire,  it’s much more likely  to leak  out slowly. 
But  if you  should  ever  have  a  “blowout,” here  are  a few 
tips  about  what 
to expect and what to  do: 
If  a  front  tire  fails, the  flat  tire  will create  a  drag that 
pulls the vehicle toward that side. Take  your  foot off the 
accelerator  pedal and grip the steering wheel firmly. 
Steer  to  maintain  lane  position,  then gently brake  to  a 
stop  well  out of the traffic  lane. 
A rear blowout, particularly  on  a  curve, acts much  like  a 
skid and  may require the  same correction  you’d use 
in a 
skid.  In any rear blowout,  remove your foot  from  the 
accelerator pedal. Get the  vehicle under control  by 
steering the  way  you want 
the vehicle to go. It may be 
very bumpy and  noisy, but you  can still steer. Gently 
brake to  a stop,  well  off  the road  if possible. 
If  a tire goes  flat, the next  part shows  how 
to use your 
jacking  equipment  to  change a  flat tire safely. 
Changing  a  Flat Tire 
If a tire goes  flat,  avoid  further  tire and  wheel  damage 
by  driving slowly  to  a level place. Turn on your hazard 
warning flashers. 
5-20 
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