1996 PONTIAC PONTIAC Owners Manual

Windshield Wipers
You. control the windshield
wipers
by tuning the band
marked WIPER. Fora
single wiping cycle,
turn the
band to
MIST. Hold it there
until
the wipers start; then
let
go. The wipers will stop
dter-one cycle.
If you want.
more. cycles, hold the band
on
MIST longer.
For steady wiping at low speed, turn the band to LO. For
high-speed wiping, turn
the band’ further, to HI. To stop
You can set the wiper speed for a long or short delay
between wipes.
This can be very useful in light rain or
snow. Turn the band to choose the delay time. The
closer
to LO, the shorter the delay.
Be sure to clear ice and snow
from the wiper blades
before using th&n. If they’re Frozen,to the windshield,
carefully loosen or thaw them. If your blades do become
damaged, get new blades or blade inserts.
the wipers, turn the band to OW.

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.
Windshield Washer
At he top of the multifunction lever, there’s a paddle
with the word
PUSH on it. To spray washer fluid on the
windshield,
push the paddle. The wipers will run far
several sweeps and then either stop
or return to your
preset speed.
,
I
In freezing weatll=r, don’t use your washer until
the
windshield is warmed. Otherwise the washer
fluid can form ice on the windshield, blocking
your
vision.
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Cruise Control (Option)
With cruise control, you can maintain a speed of about
25 mph (40km/h) or more without keeping your foot on
the accelerator.
This can really help on long trips. Cniise
control does not work at
speeds below about 25 mph
(40 km/h).
When you apply your brakes, the cruise control- shuts off.
Cruise control can be dangerous where you
can’t drive safely at
a steady speed. So,
don’t use your cruise control on winding
roads or in heavy traffic.
slippery roads. 00 such road& f@t change& ’.
in tire traction can muse neediem wheel
spinning, and you
could lose conirol, Don’t
use cruise. eontrol on slippery roads.
Cruise controi can be dangerous on
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Setting Cruise Control Resuming
a Set Speed
A CAUTION:
If you leave your cruise control switch on when
you’re not
lasing cruise, you might hit a button and
go into cruise when you don’t want to. You could
be startled and even lose control* Keep the cruise
control switch
OFF’ until you want to use it.
1. Move the cruise control switch to ON.
2. Get up to the speed you want.
3.
4.
Push in the SET.button
at
the end of the lever
and release it.
Take
your foot off the
accelerator pedal. Suppose
you set your
cruise control at a desired speed
and then you apply the brake. This, of course, shuts off
the cruise control. But you don’t need to reset it.
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Increasing Speed While Using Cruise Control
There are two ways to go to a higher speed:
0
0
Use the accelerator pedal to get to the higher speed.
Push in the
SET button, then release the button
and the accelerator pedal. You’ll now cruise at the
higher speed.
Move the cruise switch from
ON to WA. Hold it
there until you get up to the speed you want, and
then release the switch.
(To increase your speed in
very small amounts, move the switch to
R/A for
less than half a second and then release it. Each
time you do this, your vehicle will go 1 mph
(1.6 km/h) faster.)
The accelerate feature will only work after
you set the
cruise control speed by pushing the
SET button.
Reducing Speed While Using Cruise Control
There are two ways to reduce your speed while using
cruise control:
Push in the SET button until you reach the lower
speed you want, then release it.
To slow down in very small amounts, push the SET
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.
Ending Cruise Control
There are two ways to turn off the cruise control:
Step lightly on the brake pedal; OR
0 Move the cruise switch to OFF.
Erasing Cruise Speed Memory
When you turn off the cruise control or the ignition, or
shift into
PARK (P) or NEUTRAL (N), your cruise
control set speed memory
is erased.
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Lamps
The lamp controls are on the instrument panel.Vhey
control these systems:
Headlamps
Taillamps
Parking Lamps
0 License Lamps
Sidemarker Lamps
0 Instrument Panel Lights
0 Courtesy Lamps
0 Fog Lamps
-:q- Turn the knob to this symbol (B) to turn on the
headlamps and other operating lamps.
pf Turn the knob to this symbol (A) to turn on the
parking
and other operating lamps without the
headlamps.
Turn the knob to OFF to turn off the lamps.
A warning chime will sound when you turn the ignition
switch to the
OFF, LOCK or ACC position with the
lamps on.
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Daytime Running Lamps (Option)
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 a reduced brightness when:
0 The ignition is on,
0 The headlamp switch is off, and
0 The parking brake is released.
When
the DRL aye on, only your low-beam headlamps
will be on. The 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 out, and your low-beam headlamps will change to
the reduced brightness of DRL.
To idle your vehicle with the DIU off, set the parking
brake while the ignition is in the
OFF or LOCK
position. Then start your vehicle. The DRL will stay
off until you release the parking brake.
As with any vehicle, you should turn on the regular
headlamp system when you need it.
Fog Lamps
To turn the fog lamps on, press the top of the fog lamp
switch
(C). Press the bottom of the switch to turn the fog
lamps
off. Your parking lamps must be on, or your fog
lamps won’t come on.
The fog lamps will
go off whenever you change to
high-beam headlamps. When you return to low beams,
the fog lamps will come on again.
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Interior Lamps
Instrument Panel Brightness Control
You cm brighten or dim the instrument panel lights by
moving the
PANEL dial. If you turn the dial all the way
up, your courtesy or interior lamps will come on.
Courtesy Lamps
When any door is opened, several lamps come on. lltllese
lamps are courtesy lamps. They make it easy for you
to
enter and leave your vehicle. You can also tun these
lamps on by moving the
PANEL dial all the way up.
Some of the lamps have switches
so you can turn them
on, even when the doors are closed. These lamps are
reading lamps. To avoid dtaining your battery, be sure to
turn
off all reading lamps when leaving your vehicle.
Sustained Interior Illumination
Your courtesy lamps will come on and stay on for a set
time whenever
you:
Open a door.
Press UNLOCK on the Remote Lock Control
transmitter (if equipped).
transmitter (if equipped).
Press DOOR on the Remote Lock, Control
If you open a door, the lamps will stay on while it’s open
and then turn off automatically about 18 seconds after
you close
it. If you don”t open a door, the lamps will
turn
off after about 18 seconds, unless you pressed
UNLOCK on the Remote Lock Control transmitter.
If
you pressed UNLOCK and don’t open a door, the lamps
will turn
off after about 55 seconds.
Sustained interior illumination includes a feature called
theater
dimming. With theater dimming, the lamps
don’t just
turn off at the end of the delay time. Instead,
they slowly
dim during the delay time until they go out.
The delay tirne is cancelled if you turn the ignition key to
the
RUN or START position, so the lamps will go out
right away.
When the ignition is
on, sustained interior illumination is
inactive, which means the courtesy lamps won’t come on.
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Rearview Mirror Reading Lamps Roof Console Reading Lamps (Option)
These lamps go on when you open the doors. When the
doors are closed, turn them
on and off with the switches. These
lamps are part
of the optional roof console. They
will
go on when you open the doors. When the doors are
closed, push the button to turn the lamp on and'
off.
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