Page 108 of 356

Anti-Lock  Brake  System Warning Light 
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 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. 
Vehicle”  in the  Index.) 
, Have  the .vehicle  towed for service.  (See.“Towing  Your 
Your  regular  brake  system  may  not  be  working 
properly 
if the  anti-lock  brake  system  warning 
light  is  flashing.  Driving  with  the  anti-lock  brake  system  warning  light  flashing  can  lead  to  an 
accident.  After  you’ve  pulled 
off the  road  and 
stopped  carefully,  have  the  vehicle  towed 
for  service. 
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. 
The  anti-lock  brake  system  warning  light  should  come 
on  briefly  when  you  turn  the  ignition  key  to 
RUN. If  the 
light  doesn’t  come  on  then, have it fixed 
so it  will  be 
ready 
to warn  you  if  there is  a  problem. 
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'- . 
You have  a gage  that 
(shows  the engine coolant 
temperqture.  If  'the  gage 
pointer'moves  into the  red 
. - . 
area,  your engine  is too  hot! 
.. , _. 
That  reading  means  the sanie thing  as the  warning  iight. 
It  nieans  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  kd 
turn off the engine  as  soon  as  possible. 
In "Problems  on  the Road," this  manual  sh0w.s  what  to 
do.-See  "Engine  Overheating"  in the  Index. 
, ',  
     
        
        Page 113 of 356

Have  you recently changed brands  of fuel? 
If so, be  sure to fuel your  vehicle  with quality fuel (see 
“Fuel”  in the Index).  Poor fuel quality  will cause  your 
engine  not to  run  as efficiently  as designed.  You may 
notice this  as stalling after  start-up, stalling when  you 
put  the vehicle  into gear,  misfiring, hesitation  on 
acceleration or stumbling  on acceleration. (These 
conditions  may go away  once the  engine 
is warmed  up.) 
This  will be detected  by the system  and cause 
the light 
to turn  on. 
If  you  experience 
this condition, change  the  fuel brand 
you  use. 
It will  require at  least  one full tank of the 
proper  fuel to turn the light 
off. 
If none  of the  above steps have  made the light  turn off, 
have  your retailer or qualified service center check  the 
vehicle.  Your  retailer has the proper test equipment  and 
diagnostic tools  to fix  any  mechanical or electrical 
problems that  may have developed. 
Oil Warning  Light c 
If  you  have a problem  with 
your  oil, this light  may  stay 
on  after  you start  your 
engine, or come  on  when 
you  are driving. 
This  indicates  that oil  is  not  going  through  your  engine 
quickly  enough to keep  it lubricated.  The engine could 
be  low  on oil or  could  have some other oil  problem. 
Have it fixed right  away. 
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~  ~~~~ 
~  ~~~  ~ 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,  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 
Your 
vehicle  has  anti-lock  brakes  (ABS).  ABS  is  an 
advanced  electronic  braking  system  that  will  help 
prevent  a  braking  skid. 
When  you  start  your  engine,  or  when  you  begin  to  drive away,  your  anti-lock  brake  system  will  check  itself.  You 
may  hear  a  momentary  motor  or clicking  noise  while 
this  test is going  on,  and  you  may  even  notice  that  your 
brake  pedal  moves  a  little.  This  is  normal. 
If there’s  a  problem  with  the 
anti-lock  brake  system,  this 
warning  light will  stay  on  or 
flash.  See “Anti-Lock 
Brake  System  Warning 
Light”  in  the  Index.  
     
        
        Page 161 of 356

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. 
Driving at Night 
Night driving  is more  dangerous  than  day  driving. 
One  reason  is that  some drivers are  likely  to be 
impaired 
-- by  alcohol  or drugs,  with night  vision 
problems,  or by  fatigue. 
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You,may see highway  signs  on  mountains  that warn of 
special  problems.  Examples  are  long  gmdes,  passing  or 
no-passing  zones,  a  falling  rocks  area  or  winding 
roads.  Be  alert  to  these  and  take  appropriate  action. 
Winter Driving 
Here are some  tips for winter  driving: 
0 Have  your  Oldsmobile  in good  shape for  winter. 
You may  want  to  put  winter  emergency  supplies in 
your  trunk. 
Include  an  ice scraper, 
a small  brush  or broom,  a  supply 
of  windshield  washer  fluid,  a  rag,  some winter  outer 
clothing,  a  small  shovel,  a  flashlight,  a  red  cloth  and  a 
couple  of  reflective  warning  triangles.  And,  if  you  will 
be  driving  under  severe  conditions,  include  a  small  bag 
of  sand,  a  piece  of  old  carpet  or a couple  of burlap  bags 
to  help  provide  traction.  Be sure  you  properly  secure 
these  items  in  your  vehicle. 
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        Page 185 of 356
11111 Section 5 Problems on the Road 
1111 
Here you'll  find  what  to do about some problems  that 
can  occur  on the  road. 
Hazard  Warning Flashers 
Your  hazard  warning  flashers  let  you  warn  others.  They 
also  let  police  know  you  have  a problem.  Your front  and 
rear  turn  signal  lamps  will  flash  on  and  off. 
Press  the  switch  to make  your  front and  rear  turn  signal 
lamps  flash on  and 
off. Your hazard  warning  flashers 
work  no matter  what  position  your  key  is  in,  and  even 
if 
the  key  isn't in. 
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        Page 186 of 356

~~ 
~~~  ~ 
~~~~~  ~  ~~ 
~~~~  ~ To turn  off  the flashers, press  the  switch  again. When 
the  hazard  warning  flashers 
are on,  your  turn  signals 
won’t  work. 
Other Warning Devices 
If you  carry  reflective  triangles,  you  can  set  one  up  at  the  sid\
e 
of  the  road  about 
300 feet (100 m)  behind  your  vehicle. 
Jump Starting 
If your  battery  has run down,  you  may  want  to  use  another 
vehicle  and  some  jumper  cables  to 
start your  Oldsmobile. 
But  please  follow  the  steps  below  to do 
it safely. 
*- ~- 
A CAUTION: 
Batteries  can hurt you. They  can  be 
dangerous  because: 
They  contain  acid  that  can  burn you. 
0 They  contain  gas  that  can  explode or ignite. 
They  contain  enough  electricity  to 
If  you  don’t  follow  these  steps  exactly, some or all 
of  these  things  can  hurt you. 
burn 
you. 
NOTICE: 
Ignoring  these  steps  could  result  in  costly  damage 
to  your  vehicle that wouldn’t  be covered  by your 
warranty.  Trying  to  start  your Oldsmobile  by 
pushing  or pulling  it won’t  work,  and 
it could 
damage  your  vehicle. 
1. Check  the  other  vehicle.  It  must  have  a  12-volt 
battery  with 
a negative  ground  system. 
NOTICE: 
~~  ~ 
If  the  other  system isn’t a 12-volt  system  with a 
negative  ground,  both vehicles  can be damaged. 
5-2