1996 OLDSMOBILE AURORA Owners Manual

Wind-
The lever on the right side of your steering column
controls your windshield wipers.
For a single wiping cycle, move the lever up to MIST.
Hold it there until the wipers start, then let go. The
wipers will stop after one cycle. If
you want more
cycles, hold the lever to
MIST longer.
For steady wiping at low speed, push the lever down
to
the LO position. For high speed wiping, push the lever
down further, to
HI. To stop the wipers, move the lever
to OFF.
You can set the wiper speed for a long or short delay
between wiper cycles. This can be very useful in light
rain or snow. Push the lever down to the first detent,
DELAY. Turn the band closer to the short lines for fewer
wiper passes per minute. As you turn the band toward
the long lines, the wiper cycles per minute will increase.
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.
ProCarManuals.com

Windshield Washer
The lever on the right side of your steering column also
controls your windshield washer. To spray washer fluid
on the windshield, pull the lever toward you. The wipers
will clear the window and then either stop or return to
your preset speed. For more washer cycles, pull and
hold the lever.
If the fluid level in the windshield washer bottle is low,
the message LOW WASHER
FLUID will appear in the
Driver Information Center. See “Windshield Washer
Fluid”
in the Index.
Driving without washer fluid can be dangerous. A bad
mud splash can block your vision.
You could hit another
vehicle or go
off the road. Check your washer fluid
level often.
In freezing weather, don’t use your washer until
the windshield is warmed. Otherwise the washer
fluid can
form ice on the windshield, blocking
your vision.
Lamps
Headlamps
See “Turn Signal/Multifunction Lever” in the Index.
Daytime Running Lamps
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) can make it easier for
others to see the front of your vehicle during the day.
DRL can be helpful in many different driving
conditions, but they can be especially helpful in the
short periods after dawn and before sunset.
A light sensor on top
of the instrument panel makes the
DRL work,
so be sure it isn’t covered.
The DRL system will make your low-beam headlamps
come on at reduced brightness in daylight when:
The ignition is on,
The headlamp switch is off, and
0 The transaxle is not in PARK (P).
ProCarManuals.com

When DRL are on, only your low-beam headlamps will
be on. The parking lamps, taillamps, sidemarker and
other lamps won’t be
on. Your instrument panel won’t
be lit up either.
When it’s dark enough outside, your low-beam
headlamps will change to full brightness. The other
lamps that come on with your headlamps will also come
on. When it’s bright enough outside, the regular lamps
will go
off, and your low-beam headlamps change to the
reduced brightness of DRL.
To idle your vehicle with thk DRL off, shift the
transaxle into PARK (P). The DRL will stay off until
you shift out of PARK (P).
To turn off all exterior lighting at night when you are
parked, turn off the headlamps and move the twilight
sentinel control all the way toward
MIN.
As with any vehicle, you should turn on the regular
headlamp system when you need it.
Fog Lamps
To turn on the fog lamps,
first turn on the parking
lamps or headlamps. Then
press the fog lamp switch. A
light will glow
on the
switch when the switch is
on. To turn off the fog
lamps, press it again.
The fog lamps will also switch off when you turn on
your high-beam headlamps, but will turn on again when
you switch to low beams.
ProCarManuals.com

Cornering Lamps Twilight Sentinel
TWILIGHTSENTINEL
Twilight sentinel turns your
headlamps, taillamps and
parking lamps on and off by
sensing how dark it is
outside.
The cornering lamps are designed to
come on when you
signal a turn. This will provide more light for cornering
at night. To
operate it, leave the headlamp switch off and move
the twilight sentinel control toward MAX.
If you move the control all the way to MAX, your lamps
will remain on for three minutes after you turn off your
engine.
If you move the control toward MIN, the lamps
will
go off quickly when you turn off your engine. You
can set this delay time for only
a few seconds or up to
three minutes.
Light Sensor
Your twilight sentinel and daytime running lamps work
with the light sensor on top
of the instrument panel.
Don’t cover
it up. If you do it will read “dark” and the
headlamps will come on.
- ~~ ~~
~~
ProCarManuals.com

Interior Lamps
Instrument Panel Brightness
1
You can brighten or dim your instrument cluster,
radio and climate control displays and control lights
by rotating the INTERIOR LIGHTS control between
LO and HI when your lights are on. Rotate the control
all the way to HI and you,will turn on the interior
courtesy lamps.
Time Out Feature
The interior lamps will automatically shut off after
10 minutes if a door is left open. This feature is
designed to help eliminate battery wear down.
Courtesy Lamps
When any door is opened, several lamps go on. They
make it easy for you to enter and leave the car.
To turn
on these lamps, rotate the INTERIOR .LIGHTS knob all
the way to HI.
Delayed Illumination
When you open the door, the interior lamps will come
on. When you close the door with
the ignition off, the
interior lamps will stay
on for 25 seconds or until the
ignition is turned to the on position. Please note that
locking the doors will override the delayed illumination
feature and the lights will turn
off right away.
Theater Dimming
This feature allows for a three to five-second fade out of
the courtesy lamps instead of immediate
turn off.
Parade Dimming
This feature prohibits the dimming of your instrument
panel displays during daylight while your headlamps are
on. This feature operates with the light sensor for the
twilight sentinel and is
fully automatic. When the light
sensor reads darkness outside, you will be able to dim
your instrument panel displays once again.
t
ProCarManuals.com

Exit Lighting
With this feature, the interior lamps will come on for
25 seconds after you remove the key from the ignition.
This will give
you time to find the door pull handle or
lock switches.
Illuminated Entry
Press the UNLOCK button on the key transmitter and
the interior courtesy lamps will come on and stay on for
up to a minute. The lamps will turn off immediately by
pressing the
LOCK button on the key transmitter,
starting the ignition or activating the power door locks.
Perimeter Lighting
When the UNLOCK button on the key transmitter is
pressed, the headlamps, parking lamps, back-up lamps
and cornering lamps will come on
if it is dark enough
outside according to the twilight sentinel.
This option can be programmed on or
off for each
transmitter.
To turn the feature offi
1. Press and hold the door lock switch throughout this
procedure. All doors will lock.
2. Press the panic button on the transmitter. Perimeter
lighting remains on at this time and the horn will
chirp two times.
3. Press the panic button on the key transmitter again.
Perimeter lighting is disabled and the horn will chirp
one time.
4. Release the door lock switch. The perimeter lighting
To turn the feature on:
option is now off.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Press and hold the door
lock switch throughout this
procedure. All doors will lock.
Press the panic button on the key transmitter.
Perimeter lighting remains off at this time and the
horn will chirp one time.
Press the panic button on the transmitter again.
Perimeter lighting is now enabled and the horn will
chirp two times.
Release the door
lock switch. The perimeter lighting
option is now on.
ProCarManuals.com

Front Reading Lamps Rear Reading Lamps
These lamps and the interior courtesy lamps will come
on when you open a door. They will turn off when you
turn on the ignition. If the door is
left open, they will
turn off after about
10 minutes.
To turn on the reading lamps when the doors are closed,
press the button behind the lamp you want on. Press
it
again to turn the lamp off.
These lamps work even when the ignition is
off. To avoid
draining your vehicle’s battery, be sure to
turn off all
front and rear reading lamps when leaving your vehicle. These lamps
go on when
you open the doors. You can
also turn them on by pressing the button to the side
of
the lamp. Press it again to turn them off.
Trunk Lamp
When you open the trunk to its full open position, a
lamp will come
on inside the trunk. This lamp will
automatically turn off when the trunk
is closed.
Inadvertent Load Protection
This feature shuts off the courtesy, reading, trunk, glove
box and visor vanity mirror lamps,
if any are left on for
more than
10 minutes when the ignition is off. This will
keep your battery from running
down.
ProCarManuals.com

v11 '--ors
Electulchromic Day, A. ght Rearvir .~rror w
Your vehicle may have an automatic electrochromic
day/night rearview mirror.
This mirror automatically changes
to reduce glare from
headlamps behind you. A photocell on the back of the
mirror senses when it is becoming dark outside. Another
photocell built into the mirror surface, senses when
headlamps are behind you. At
night, when the glare is too high, the mirror will
gradually darken to reduce glare (this change may take a
few seconds). The mirror will return
to its clear daytime
state when the glare is reduced.
Press the button at the base of the mirror to turn on the
automatic feature. The button has an indicator light to
show it is on. Press the button again
to turn the
automatic feature off.
Dt -
The automatic mirror has a time delay feature which
prevents unnecessary switching from the night back to
the day position. This delay prevents rapid changing of
the mirror as you drive under lights and through traffic.
u= Day 1c
The reverse day mode is another important feature
of the electrochromic mirror. When you shift into
REVERSE (R), the mirror changes to the day mode.
This gives you a bright image in the mirror as you
back up.
Use a cotton swab and glass cleaner to clean the
photocells when necessary.
ProCarManuals.com