Page 7 of 340
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 
ACID  COULD  BATTERY 
CAUSE 
BURNS 
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 
FASTEN  SEAT 
BELTS 
POWER 
WINDOW 
These  symbols 
have  to  do with 
your  lights: 
SIGNALS e e 
TURN 
FOG  LAMPS 
$0 
These  symbols 
are  on some  of 
your  controls: 
WINDSHIELD 
WIPER 
WINDSHIELD  DEFROSTER 
WINDOW 
DEFOGGER 
VENTILATING  FAN 
These  symbols are  used  on 
warning  and 
indicator  lights: 
COOLANT F- 
TEMP -- 
ENGINE 
CHARGING 
I-1 
BATTERY  SYSTEM 
BRAKE 
(a) 
FUEL 
ENGINE  OIL 
PRESSURE 
Wd 
TEMP  OIL 9b 
ANTI-LOCK (@) 
BRAKE 
Here  are  some 
other  symbols 
you  may  see: 
FUSE -%- 
RELEASE 
RADIO 
VOLUME 
CONDITIONING 
A'R 43 
RELEASE TRUNK e 
LIGHTER n 
HORN )tr 
SPEAKER 
b 
V  
     
        
        Page 15 of 340
Safety  Belts:  They’re  for  Everyone 
This part of the  manual tells you how  to use safety belts 
properly.  It  also tells  you some things you should not  do 
with safety belts. 
And  it explains  the Supplemental Restraint  System,  or 
“air bag”  system. 
Your vehicle has  a 
light that comes  on 
as 
a reminder to buckle 
up. (See “Safety Belt 
Warning Light”  in the 
Index.) 
In many states and Canadian provinces, the law says  to 
wear safety belts. Here’s why: 
They work. 
You  never know  if you’ll  be in  a  crash.  If  you  do  have  a 
crash, you don’t 
know if  it will  be a bad one. 
A  few  crashes  are  mild,  and  some  crashes  can  be 
so 
serious  that  even  buckled  up a person  wouldn’t  survive. 
But  most  crashes  are  in  between. 
In many  of  them,  people 
who  buckle  up  can  survive  and  sometimes  walk  away. 
Without  belts  they  could  have  been  badly  hurt  or  killed. 
After  more than 
25 years of safety belts in vehicles, the 
facts are clear. In most crashes buckling 
up does matter 
... a  lot! 
1-7  
     
        
        Page 69 of 340

Ignition  Switch 
A E 
With the key  in the ignition  switch, you can turn the 
switch  to  five  positions: 
ACCESSORY (A): This is an “on”  position in which 
you  can operate some 
of your  electrical power 
accessories. Press  in the ignition switch  as you 
turn the 
top 
of it  toward  you. 
LOCK (B): This  is the only position in which you can 
remove the  key. This  locks  your steering  wheel,  ignition 
and  transaxle  (on automatic  models). 
OFF (C): This position  unlocks  the  steering wheel, 
ignition,  and transaxle  (on automatic  models), but  does 
not send electrical power  to any  accessories. Use this 
position 
if your  vehicle  must be pushed  or  towed,  but 
never  try to push-start  your vehicle. 
A warning  chime 
will  sound  if 
you open the driver’s door when the 
ignition  is 
off and the key is in the ignition. 
RUN (D): This is an “on” position  to which the switch 
returns  after  you start your  engine and release  the 
switch.  The  switch  stays 
in the RUN position when  the 
engine  is  running.  But even when the  engine 
is not 
running, you can use 
RUN to operate  your electrical 
power accessories, and  to display some instrument panel 
warning  lights. 
START (E): Use this for  starting  the  engine.  When the 
engine  starts,  release the key. 
The ignition switch will 
return to 
RUN for  normal  driving. 
Note  that  even 
if the  engine  is not running,  the  positions 
ACCESSORY and RUN are “on” positions  that  allow you 
to  operate  your  electrical  accessories,  such  as  the  radio. 
2-13  
     
        
        Page 82 of 340
Parking Brake 
To set  the parking 
brake  hold  the  regular 
brake  pedal  down with 
your  right  foot. Push 
down  the  parking 
brake  pedal with your 
left  foot. 
If the ignition 
is on, the brake system 
warning light will 
come  on. 
To release the parking 
brake 
hold  the regular 
brake pedal down. Pull 
the 
BRAKE 
RELEASE lever. 
I NOTICE: 
Driving  with  the  parking  brake  on  can  cause 
your  rear  brakes  to  overheat.  You  may  have to 
replace  them,  and  you  could  also  damage  other 
parts 
of your  vehicle. 
If  you  are towing  a trailer and  are parking  on a hill see 
“Towing  a Trailer” in the Index. That section shows 
what  to  do  first  to  keep the trailer 
from moving. 
2-26  
     
        
        Page 92 of 340
Lamps On Reminder 
If you open the driver’s door and turn off the ignition 
while leaving the lamps on, 
you will hear  a warning 
chime. 
Flash-to-Pass (Except Canada) 
Flash-to-pass  lets you use your high beam headlamps  to 
signal  a driver 
in front  of you that you want to pass. 
To use it, pull the turn  signal/multifunction  lever  toward 
Headlamp High/Low Beam  Changer you. 
To change the headlamps  from low beam to high  or high If your headlamps  are  off your high beam headlamps 
will  turn 
on. They’ll stay  on as long  as you hold the to low, pull the turn signal  lever all the  way  toward you. 
Then  release  it.  When the high beams  are on,  a blue 
light 
on the instrument panel  also will be on.  lever there. Release 
thelever to turn  them 
off. 
If your headlamps  are  on, there will  be no flash-to-pass 
feature.  Use the lever 
to change between high and low 
beams. 
2-36  
     
        
        Page 111 of 340
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  
     
        
        Page 112 of 340
Instrument  Panel  Clusters 
Your Oldsmobile is equipped with one of these  clusters, 
which includes  indicator warning lights and  gages that 
Standard  Cluster 
are explained on the following  pages. Be sure to read 
them. 
FASTEN& BELTS 
HOT & 
OIL y9 A1 R BAG 
INFORMATION  CENTER  INFORWTION 
CENTER 
1 
2-56  
     
        
        Page 115 of 340

Warning  Lights,  Gages  and 
Indicators 
Warning lights and  gages  can  signal  that  something  is 
wrong  before  it becomes  serious  enough  to  cause  an 
expensive  repair  or  replacement.  Paying  attention  to 
your  warning  lights and  gages  could  also  save  you  or 
others  from injury. 
Warning  lights  come  on  when  there  may  be  or  is a 
problem  with  one  of your  vehicle’s  functions. 
As you 
will  see 
in the  details  on  the  next  few  pages,  some 
warning  lights  come  on  briefly  when  you  start  the  engine  just to let  you  know  they’re  working.  If  you  are 
familiar  with  this  section,  you  should  not  be  alarmed  when  this  happens. 
Gages  can  indicate  when  there  may  be  or  is  a  problem 
with  one of your  vehicle’s  functions.  Often  gages  and 
warning  lights  work  together  to  let  you  know  when 
there’s  a  problem  with  your  vehicle. 
When  one  of the  warning  lights  comes  on  and  stays  on 
when  you  are  driving,  or  when  one of the  gages  shows 
there  may  be  a  problem,  check  the section  that  tells  you 
what  to  do  about  it.  Please  follow  this  manual’s  advice. 
Waiting  to  do  repairs  can  be  costly 
-- and  even 
dangerous. 
So please  get  to  know  your  warning  lights 
and  gages.  They’re  a  big  help. 
Safety  Belt  Warning  Light 
When  the  key  is 
turned  to 
RUN or 
START a  chime  will 
come  on  for about 
eight  seconds  to 
remind  people  to  fasten  their  safety 
belts,  unless  the 
driver’s  safety  belt 
is 
already  buckled. 
The  safety  belt  light will  also  come  on  and  stay  on  for 
about 
20 seconds,  then  it will  flash  for about 55 seconds. 
If the  driver’s  belt  is  already  buckled,  neither  the chime 
nor  the light  will  come  on. 
2-59