1997 Oldsmobile Achieva Owner's Manuals

GM Participation in an Alternative
Dispute Resolution Program
This program is available in all 50 states and the District
of Columbia. Canadian owners refer to your Warranty
and Owner Assistance Information booklet. General
Motors reserves the right
to change eligibility
limitations and/or to discontinue its participation in
this program.
Both Oldsmobile and your Oldsmobile retailer are
committed to making sure you are completely satisfied
with your new vehicle. Our experience has shown that,
if a
situation arises where you feel your concern has not been
adequately addressed, the Customer Satisfaction Procedure
described earlier
in this section is very successful.
There may be instances where an impartial third party
can assist in arriving at a solution to a disagreement
regarding vehicle repairs
or interpretation of the New
Vehicle Limited Warranty.
To assist in resolving these
disagreements, Oldsmobile voluntarily participates in
BBB AUTO
LINE.
BBB AUTO LINE is an out-of-court program
administered by the Better Business Bureau system to
settle automotive disputes. This program is available
free of charge to customers who currently own or lease
a
GM vehicle.
If you are not satisfied after following the Customer
Satisfaction Procedure, you may contact the BBB using
the toll-free telephone number, or write them at the
following address:
BBB AUTO
LINE
Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc.
4200 Wilson Boulevard
Suite
800
Arlington, VA 22203- 1804
Telephone: 1-800-955-5100
To file a claim, you will be asked to provide your name
and address, your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)
and a statement of the nature
of your complaint.
Eligibility is limited by vehicle age and mileage, and
other factors.

We prefer you utilize the Customer Satisfaction
Procedure before you resort to AUTO
LINE, but you
may contact the BBB at any time. The BBB will attempt
to resolve the complaint serving as an intermediary.
If
this mediation is unsuccessful, an informal hearing will
be scheduled where eligible customers may present their
case
to an impartial third-party arbitrator.
The arbitrator will make a decision which you may
accept or reject. If you accept the decision,
GM will be
bound by that decision. The entire dispute resolution
procedure should ordinarily take about
40 days from the
time you file a claim until a decision is made.
Some state laws may require you to use this program
before filing a claim with
a state-run arbitration program
or in the courts. For further information, contact the
BBB at 1-800-955-5100 or the Oldsmobile Customer
Assistance Network at 1-800-442-6537.
Warranty Information
Your vehicle comes with a separate warranty booklet
that contains detailed warranty information.
REPORTING SAFETY DEFECTS
TO THE UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT
If you believe that your vehicle has a defect which could
cause a crash or could cause injury or death, you should
immediately inform the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA), in addition to
notifying General Motors.
If NHTSA receives similar complaints, it may open an
investigation, and
if it finds that a safety defect exists in
a group
of vehicles, it may order a recall and remedy
campaign. However, NHTSA cannot become involved
in individual problems between you, your retailer or
General Motors.
To contact NHTSA,
you may either call the Auto Safety
Hotline toll-free at 1-800-424-9393 (or 366-0123 in
the Washington, D.C. area) or write to:
NHTSA,
U.S. Department of Transportation
Washington, D.C.
20590
You can also obtain other information about motor
vehicle safety from the Hotline.
8-8

REPORTING SAFETY DEFECTS
TO THE CANADIAN
GOVERNMENT
If you live in Canada, and you believe that your vehicle
has a safety defect, you should immediately notify
Transport Canada, in addition to notifying General
Motors of Canada Limited. You may write
to:
Transport Canada
Box 8880
Ottawa, Ontario
K 1 G 3 52
REPORTING SAFETY DEFECTS
TO GENERAL MOTORS
In addition to notifying NHTSA (or Transport Canada)
in a situation like this, we certainly hope you’ll notify
us. Please call us at 1-800-442-6537 or write:
Oldsmobile Customer Assistance Network
P.O. Box 30095
Lansing, MI 48909
In Canada, please call us at 1-800-263-3777 (English)
or 1-800-263-7854 (French). Or, write:
General Motors
of Canada Limited
Customer Communication Centre 1908 Colonel Sam Drive
Oshawa, Ontario L1H 8P7
Ordering Service and Owner
Publications in Canada
Service manuals, service bulletins, owner’s manuals and
other service literature are available for purchase for all
current and past model General Motors vehicles.
The toll-free telephone number for ordering information
in Canada is 1-800-668-5539.

1997 OLDSMOBILE SERVICE PUBLICATIONS ORDERING INFORMATION
The following publications covering the operation and servicing \
of your vehicle can be purchased by filling out
the Service Publication Order Form in this book and mailing it\
in with your check, money order,
or credit card information to Helm, Incorporated (address below.)
~~
CURRENT PUBLICATIONS FOR 1997 OLDSMOBILE
SERVICE MANUALS
Service Manuals have the diagnosis and repair information
on engines, transmission, axle, suspension, brakes,
electrical, steering, body, etc.
RETAIL SELL PRICE:
$90.00
TRANSMISSION, TRANSAXLE, TRANSFER CASE
UNIT REPAIR MANUAL
This manual provides information on unit repair service
procedures, adjustments and specifications for the
1997 GM transmissions, transaxles and transfer cases.
RETAIL SELL PRICE: $40.00
SERVICE BULLETINS
Service Bulletins give technical service information needed
to knowledgeably service General Motors cars and trucks.
Each bulletin contains instructions
to assist in the
diagnosis and service of your vehicle.
PLEASE COMPLETE THE ORDER FORM SHOWN ON
THE FOLLOWING PAGE AND MAIL TO:
Helm, Incorporated P.O. Box 07130 Detroit, MI 48207
OWNER’S INFORMATION
Owner publications are written directly for Owners and
intended to provide basic operational information about the
vehicle. The owner’s manual will include the Maintenance
Schedule for all models.
In-Portfolio: Includes a Portfolio, Owner’s Manual and
Warranty Booklet. RETAIL SELL PRICE:
$1 5.00
Without Portfolio: Owner’s Manual only.
RETAIL SELL PRICE:
$1 0.00
CURRENT & PAST MODEL ORDER FORMS
Service Publications are available for current and past
model
GM vehicles. To request an order form, please
specify year and model name of the vehicle.
OR ORDER TOLL FREE: 1-800-782-4356
Monday-Friday 8:OO AM - 6:OO PM Eastern Tme
For Credit Card Orders Only (VISA-Mastercard-Discover)

ORDER TOLL FREE
(NOTE: For Credit Card Holders Only)
(Monday-Friday 8:OO AM - 6:OO PM EST)
FAX Orders Only 1-31 3-865-5927
1 -800-782-4356
Orders will be mailed within 10 days of receipt. Please allow ade uate time for postal
service.
If further Information is needed, wrlte to the address s a own below or call
1-800-782-4356. Material cannot be returned for credit without,packing slip with return
information withln 30 days of delivery. On returns, a re-stockma fee may be applied
against the original order.
1- -
PUBLICATION FORM
ITEM DESCRIPTION VEHIC QTY. EACH* PRICE TOTAL
NUMBER NAME YEAR PRICE
Service Manual 1997 $90.00
Car
& Light Truck
Transmission Unit Repair 1997 $40.00
Owner’s Manual In Portfolio 1997
$1 5.00
Owner’s Manual Without Portfolio
1997 $1 0.00
1
9
9
7
G
M
I
S
H
I
P
NOTE: Dealers and Companies please provide dealer or company name, and also the
name of the person to whose attention the shipment should be sent.
Mail completed order form
to:
For purchases outside U.S.A. please write to the above address for quotation.
HELM,
INCORPORATED P.O. Box 07130 Detroit, MI 48207
(CUSTOMER’S NAME) (ATTENTION)
T
0
(STREET ADDRESS-NO P.O. BOX NUMBERS)
(CITY) (STATE) (ZIP CODE)
DAYTIME TELEPHONE NO.
0
AREA CODE
GM-OLD-ORD97 *(Prices are subject to change without notice and without incurring
obligation. Allow ample time for delivery.)
P
A
Y
M
E
N
T
Check or Money
Order payable to
Helm, Inc.
(USA funds
only - do not send cash.)
0 Mastercard
0 VISA
Discover
Michigan Purchasers
add 6% sales tax
U.S. Order Processing
Canadian Postage
(See Note Below)
I
GRAND TOTAL
I
-
Note to Canadian Customers: All listed prices are quoted in US. funds. Canadian residents
are to make checks payable in US. funds. To cover Canadian postage, add $11.50 plus the U.S. order processing.
Account
Number:
Expiration
m
Date mo/yr:
Check here if your billing address
is different from your shipping
address shown.
CUSTOMER SIGNATURE

fi NOTES
8-12

Section 9 Index
Accessory Power Outlet ......... ....... 2-54
AirBag
..................................... 1-21
How Does it Restrain .......................... 1-25
How it Works
...... ... ............ 1-23
Location
.................................... 1-23
Readiness Light
......................... 1-22, 2-6 1
Servicing
................................... 1-26
What Makes it Inflate
.......................... 1-24
What Will
You See After it Inflates ............... 1-25
When Should it Inflate
......................... 1-24
Aircleaner
.................................... 6-18
Air Conditioning
................................ 3-3
Air Conditioning Refrigerants
..................... 6-62
Alignment and Balance, Tire
... ................ 6-46
Aluminum Wheels, Cleaning
... .............. 6-53
Antifreeze
..................................... 6-24
Anti-Lock
Brake System Warning Light
................ 2-63, 4-7
Brakes
...................................... 4-7
Anti-Theft, Radio
.............................. 3-19
Appearancecare
............................... 6-48
Appearance Care Materials
....................... 6-55
Arbitration Program
.............................. 8-7
Armrest, Storage
............................... 2-51
Ashtrays
....... .. ................... 2-53 Audio Equipment. Adding
. . ...... 3-21
Audio Systems
........... ........... 3-6
Auto-Down Window
... ...... 2-34
Automatic DoorLocks
................................... 2-5
Overdrive
................................... 2-23
Starting Your Engine
.......................... 2-16
Transaxle
................................... 2-16
Transaxle Check
.................. ........ 7-42
Transaxle Fluid
............................... 6-19
Transaxle Park Mechanism Check
................ 7-44
Automatic Transaxle Operation
.................... 2-21
Shifting
..................................... 2-21
Backing up with a Trailer
..................... 4-40
Battery
..................................... 6-35
Charging System Indicator Light
. . .......... 2-62
Jump Starting
................................. 5-3
Replacement. Remote Lock Control
............... 2-9
Saver
...................................... 2-48
Warnings
.................................... 5-3
BBB Auto Line
................................. 8-7
Better Business Bureau Mediation
................... 8-7
Blizzard
...................................... 4-28
9-1

Brake Adjustment
.................................. 6-34
Fluid
....................................... 6-30
Master Cylinder
.............................. 6-30
Parking
..................................... 2-28
PedalTravel
................................. 6-34
Replacing System Parts
........................ 6-34
System Warning Light
.................... 2-62. 6.31
Trailer
...................................... 4-39
Transaxle Shift Interlock Check
.................. 7-43
Wear
....................................... 6-33
Brake System Warning Light
................. 2.62. 6.31
Brakes. Anti-Lock
............................... 4-7
Bralung
in Emergencies .......................... 4-1 1
Break.In. New Vehicle .......................... 2- I3
Brightness Control
.............................. 2-46
BTSICheck
................................... 7-43
Bulb Replacement
.............................. 6-35
Braking
........................................ 4-6
Canadian Roadside Assistance
.................... 8-6
Capacities and Specifications
...................... 6-62
Carbon Monoxide
.......... 2.10.2.32.2.33.4.29. 4.38
Cassette Deck Service
........................... 7-41
Cassette Tape Player
........................ 3.9. 3. 13
Cassette Tape Player Care
........................ 3-22
Cassette Tape Player Errors
.................. 3- 11. 3.15
CD Player Theft-Deterrent Feature
................. 3- 19
Center Console Cupholder
........................ 2-5 1
Center Console Storage Area ...................... 2-5 I
Center Rear Passenger Position .................... 1-32
Certification Label
.............................. 4-33 Chains. Safety
................................. 4-39
Chains. Tire
................................... 6-47
Changing
a Flat Tire ............................. 5-22
Check Engine Light
............................. 2-66
Check Gages Light
.............................. 2-71
CheckOilLight
................................ 2-70
Checking Your Restraint Systems
.................. 1-47
Chemical Paint Spotting
.......................... 6-54
Child Restraints
................................ 1-36
Securing
in a Rear Outside Seat Position ........... 1-37
Securing
in the Center Rear Seat Position .......... 1-39
Securing
in the Passenger Seat Position ........... 1-41
Securing
in the Right Front Seat Position .......... 1-41
WheretoPut
................................ 1-36
Cigarette Lighter
............................... 2-53
Circuit Breakers and Fuses
....................... 6-57
Cleaner. Air
................................... 6-18
Cleaning Alumlnum Wheels
............................ 6-53
Fabric
...................................... 6-49
Glass
....................................... 6-51
Inside of Your Oldsmobile
...................... 6-48
Instrument Panel
............................. 6-50
Leather
..................................... 6-50
Outside of Your Oldsmobile
.................... 6-52
Special Problems
............................. 6-49
Stains
...................................... 6-49
Tires
....................................... 6-53
Vinyl
....................................... 6-50
Wheels
..................................... 6-53
Windshield
and Wiper Blades ................... 6-51
Climate Control System
........................... 3-2
TopStrap
................................... 1-37
9-2