Page 90 of 390
To close the liftgate, pull down on the strap, then firmly
shut the liftgate. Don’t drive with the liftgate open, even
slightly. See “Exhaust” in the Index.
A light on your instrument panel will warn you if the
liftgate is not completely closed (see “Liftgate Ajar
Warning Light” in the Index).
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Page 92 of 390

Key in the Ignition
If you walk away from your vehicle with the keys
inside, it’s an easy target for joy riders or professional
thieves
-- so don’t do it.
New Vehicle ''Break-in"
When you park your Oldsmobile and open the driver’s
door’ you’ll hear a chime reminding you to remove your
key from the ignition and take it with you. Always
do
this. Your steering wheel will be locked, and so will your
ignition and transaxle. And remember to lock the doors.
Parking at Night
Park in a lighted spot, close all windows and lock your
vehicle. Remember to keep your valuables out
of sight.
Put them in a storage area, or take them with you.
Parking Lots
If you park in a lot where someone will be watching
your vehicle, it’s best to lock it up and take your keys.
But what if you have to leave your ignition key? What if
you have
to leave something valuable in your vehicle?
Put your valuables in a storage area, like your glove
box or locking storage bin.
Lock the storage bin.
Lock all the doors except the driver’s.
0 Then take the door key with you.
NOTICE:
Your modern Oldsmobile doesn’t need an
elaborate “break-in.” But it
will perform better
in the long run if you follow these guidelines:
Don’t drive at any one speed -- fast or
slow
-- for the first 500 miles (804 km).
Don’t make full-throttle starts.
200 miles (322 km) or so. During this time
your new brake linings aren’t yet broken
in. Hard stops with new linings can mean
premature wear and earlier replacement.
Follow this “breaking-in” guideline every
time you get new brake linings.
Don’t tow a trailer during “break-in.” See
“Towing
a Trailer” in the Index for more
information.
0 Avoid making hard stops for the first
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Page 93 of 390

Ignition Switch
ACCE
With the ignition key in the ignition switch, you can turn
the switch to five positions.
ACCESSORY An ON position in which you can
operate your electrical power accessories. Press
in the
ignition switch
as you turn the top of it toward you.
LOCK: The only position in which you can remove the
key. This locks your steering wheel, ignition and
transaxle.
OFF: This position unlocks the steering wheel, ignition,
and transaxle, 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: 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.
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Page 97 of 390
Driving Through Deep Standing Water Engine Coolant Heater (Option)
If you drive too quickly through deep puddles or
standing water, water can come in through your
engine's air intake and badly damage your
engine. Never drive through water that is slightly
lower than the underbody
of your vehicle. If you
can't avoid deep puddles or standing water, drive
through them very slowly.
In very cold weather, 0°F (- 18 "C) or colder, the engine
coolant heater can help. You'll get easier starting and
better fuel economy during engine warm-up. Usually,
the coolant heater should be plugged in a minimum
of
four hours prior to starting your vehicle.
To Use the Coolant Heater
1. Turn off the engine.
2. Open the hood and unwrap the electrical cord.
3. Plug it into a normal, grounded 110-volt outlet.
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Page 102 of 390

FIRST GEAR (1): This position gives you even more
power,
but lower fuel economy, than SECOND (2). You
can
use it on very steep hills, or in deep snow or mud. If
the selector lever is put in FIRST
(1), the transaxle
won’t shift into first gear until the vehicle is going
slowly enough.
_-
NOTICE:
If your front wheels can’t rotate, don’t try to
drive. This might happen if you were stuck in
very deep sand or mud
or were up against a solid
object. You could damage your transaxle.
Also, if you stop when going uphill, don’t hold
your vehicle there with only the accelerator
pedal. This could overheat and damage the
transaxle.
Use your brakes or shift into PARK (P)
to hold your vehicle in position on a hill.
Parking Brake
To set the parking brake, hold the regular brake pedal
down with your right foot and push down the parking
brake pedal with your left foot. If the ignition is on, the
brake system warning light will come on. See “Brake
System Warning Light” in the Index.
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Page 112 of 390

Windshield Wipers
The windshield wiper and washer controls are located to
the right of the instrument cluster.
For a single wiper cycle: Press the switch marked
MIST and release. For more cycles, press and hold the
switch.
For pulse delay wiper cycles: The pulse delay cycle
system allows you to set the wiper speed as slow as
20 seconds between cycles, or faster. Pulse delay cycles
are very useful in light rain
or snow. Slide the upper
control to the
DELAY area. The lower the position,
the slower the cycle; the higher the position, the faster
the cycle.
For steady wiper cycles: Slide the upper control either
to the
LO or HI position, depending on the wiper speed
you want.
To turn the wipers off: Slide the upper control to the
OFF position.
Remember that damaged wiper blades may prevent you
from seeing well enough to drive safely. To avoid
damage, be sure to clear ice and snow from the wiper
blades before using them. If they’re frozen to the
windshield, carefully loosen or thaw them. If your
blades do become damaged, get new blades or blade
inserts.
Heavy snow or ice can overload your wipers.
A circuit
breaker will stop them until the motor cools. Clear away
snow
or ice to prevent an overload.
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Page 118 of 390

If you have the 3.1L V6 engine, the accelerate feature
will work whether or not you have set an initial cruise
control speed.
If you have the
3800 V6 engine, the accelerate feature
will only work after you have set the initial cruise
control speed by pushing the
SET button.
To Reduce Speed While Using Cruise
Control
0 Push in the button at the end of the lever until you
reach the lower speed you want, then release
it.
To slow down in very small amounts, push the
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:
0 Step lightly on the brake pedal; OR
0 Move the cruise switch to OFF.
To Erase Cruise Speed Memory
When you turn off the cruise control or the ignition,
your cruise control set speed memory is erased. If
you have the
3800 V6 engine, cruise control memory
will also be erased when you place the transaxle
in
PARK (P).
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Headlamps
PE: Push this switch to turn on:
0 Parking Lamps
0 Sidemarker Lamps
0 Taillamps
Instrument Panel Lamps
Pull the switch to turn
off the lamps.
-‘a- ‘ I : Push this switch to turn on the headlamps, together
with:
0 Parking Lamps
0 Sidemarker Lamps
0 Taillamps
0 Instrument Panel Lamps
Pull the switch
to turn off the lamps.
Instrument Panel Intensity Control
Slide the upper lights control all the way up to increase
the brightness
of the instrument panel lamps, down to
decrease the brightness. Slide the control all the way
down to turn them
off.
Lamps On Reminder
If you turn the ignition key to the OFF or LOCK
position while leaving the lamps on, you will hear a
warning chime.
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