Page 7 of 444

The 1998 Oldsrnobile  Silhouette  Owner’s  Manual 
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Seats  and  Restraint  Systems 
This section tells you  how to use  your  seats and  safety  belts  properly.  It also explains  the “SRS” system. 
Features  and  Controls 
This section explains  how to start  and operate  your  vehicle. 
Comfort  Controls  and  Audio  Systems 
This section tells  you  how to adjust the  ventilation  and  comfort controls  and  how to operate your audio system. 
Your Driving  and  the  Road 
Here you’ll find helpful information and tips  about the road  and how to drive  under  different conditions. 
Problems  on the  Road 
This section tells  what to do  if  you  have a problem while driving, such as  a flat tire or overheated engine, etc. 
Service  and  Appearance  Care 
Here the manual tells  you  how  to keep your  vehicle  running properly  and  loolung good. 
Maintenance  Schedule 
This section tells  you  when to perform vehicle maintenance  and  what fluids and lubricants to  use. 
Customer  Assistance  Information 
This section tells  you  how to contact Oldsmobile for assistance  and  how to get service  and owner publications. 
It also gives 
you information  on “Reporting Safety Defects”  on page 8-8. 
Index 
Here’s  an  alphabetical listing of almost every subject  in  this manual.  You can use it  to  quickly  find 
something  you  want  to  read. 
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Section 1 Seats  and  Restraint  Systems 
Here you’ll find information about the seats in your Oldsmobile  and  how to use  your safety belts properly.  You can 
also learn about 
some things you should not do  with  air bags and safety belts. 
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1-46 Seats  and Seat  Controls 
Rear  Seats 
Safety Belts: They’re  for Everyone 
Here  Are Questions  Many People Ask About 
Safety Belts 
-- and  the Answers 
How  to Wear  Safety Belts Properly 
Driver Position 
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy 
Right Front Passenger Position 
Supplemental Restraint  Systems (SRS) 
Rear  Seat Passengers 
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1-90 Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides  for Children 
and Small Adults 
Center Passenger Position  (Bench Seat) 
Center Passenger Position (Bucket Seat) 
Children  Built-in  Child Restraint (Option) 
Child Restraints 
Larger Children 
Safety Belt Extender 
Checking  Your Restraint Systems 
Replacing Restraint System Parts  After a Crash 
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Seats and Seat Controls 
This section  tells you about the seats -- how to  adjust 
them,  take  them  out,  put  them  back  in  and  fold  and 
unfold  them. 
Driver’s  4-Way  Manual  Seat 
To raise  the  seat,  pull  up on the  lever on the  front  right 
side 
of the  seat. To lower  the  seat,  push  the  lever  down. 
Use  the  lever  on  the  front  left  side 
of the  seat  to  adjust  the 
seat  forward  or  reatward. 
Pull up  the  lever  on  the  front of 
the  seat  to  unlock  it.  Slide  the  seat  to  where  you  want  it. \
To make  sure  the  seat is locked  into  place,  release  the 
lever  and 
try to  move  the  seat  with  your  body. 
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You  can  lose  control of the  vehicle  if  you  try  to 
adjust  a manual  driver’s  seat  while  the  vehicle  is 
moving.  The  sudden  movement  could  startle  and  confuse  you, 
or make  you  push  a pedal  when  you 
don’t  want  to.  Adjust  the  driver’s  seat  only  when  the  vehicle 
is not  moving. 
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6-Way Power  Seats  (Option) Folding  Driver’s Seatback 
A B C 
To adjust the six-way power  seat: 
Front  Control (A): Raise the front  of the seat  by 
holding the switch up. Hold the switch down  to lower 
the front  of 
the seat. 
Center  Control (B): Move  the  seat  forward or rearward 
by holding the control  to the front  or rear.  Raise  or  lower 
the seat  by holding the control up  or down. 
Rear  Control (C): Raise  the  rear of the seat  by holding 
the switch up. Hold the switch down  to lower the rear  of 
the  seat.  The 
seatback on the  driver’s 
seat 
folds forward  to put 
items behind the seat. Lift 
the lever 
and fold  the 
seatback forward.  The 
seatback will lock into place 
when 
you push it back to 
the upright position. 
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        Page 16 of 444
Manual Front Passenger Seats 
To use, pull up the lever on 
the  front  of the  seat  to 
unlock  it. 
Slide  the  seat to where  you want  it. 
To make  sure the 
seat  is locked into place,  release the lever and  try to 
move the seat  with your  body. 
Reclining Front Seatbacks 
All front  seats  recline. 
To adjust  the seatback, 
rotate  this knob.  It 
is easier 
to recline the seat  if  you 
lean  forward,  taking your 
weight  off the seatback. 
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Manual Lumbar  Control 
Turn the  knob on the 
inboard 
side of the 
seat  to adjust the lower 
back  support. 
Head  Restraints 
Slide  the  head restraint  up or down so  that the top of the 
restraint  is closest  to the  top 
of your ears.  This position 
reduces  the chance 
of a neck  injury  in a  crash. 
Rear Seats 
Seat  Controls 
The rear seats in your  vehicle have levers  and straps 
used  to  adjust, remove  and replace  the  seats.  By using 
the  levers and straps,  in the  correct  order, you can easily 
remove the seats from  your vehicle.  When 
you replace the seats  in the vehicle,  be  sure  to 
follow 
the label on the  back of the seat for proper  location. 
Follow this diagram  when the text in this manual tells you 
what  sets of floor  cups  to use for each  seat. 
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Floor Seat Pin  Diagram 
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        Page 19 of 444

Second Row Safety  Belt Stowage 
If your vehicle has  seats in the  third  row, there is  a 
sleeve  on the  second  row outside  safety  belt to  store  the 
safety  belt while  entering and exiting  the  third 
row of 
the vehicle. 
If  your vehicle has  a bench  seat in the  second  row, 
follow  this  procedure: 
0 Pull  the  belt  out  and slide  the  sleeve  along the  belt 
until  it  reaches  the  patch of Velcro@  on the  roof. 
Simply  press  the  sleeve  against  the  Velcro patch to 
bo not have  the  second  row  outside  safety  belt stored if 
someone  is sitting  in the  second  row  outside  position. 
To  release  the second  row outside  safety  belt,  just  pull 
the  sleeve  away from  the Velcro  patch and  use  the safety 
belt as  usual.  The  sleeve  should slide  freely  when  not 
in  use. secure  it 
in place. 
There  is 
also a  clip  on  the  safety  belt  used  to  secure  the 
belt  after  it  is  disconnected 
from the  mini-buckle.  When 
removing  the  second  row  bench  seat,  secure  the  loose  end 
of  the  safety  belt  in  this  clip. 
This will  keep  the  safety  belt 
from  dangling  and  possibly  striking  something. 
Dump and Stow Feature 
The  rear  seats  in your  vehicle,  except the  captain’s 
chairs,  can  be folded  forward.  Use this  feature  for 
exiting  and entering  third  row seats. 
Push  adjustable  head  restraints  fully  down.  Fold  the  seatback 
flat on the seat. If  the seat adjusts,  slide  it  all  the 
way  back.  Release  the  rear  set  of  hooks  from  the  floor 
pins;  hang  on  to  the  straps  as  the  seat  folds  forward. 
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Split Bench Seats 
If you have the  split  bench seat (50/50 or 40/60>, the 
seatbacks  can be  folded  down individually and the 
sections can  be removed individually. The  sections can 
also  be adjusted forward  or rearward individually. 
The  second row 
(40/60) split bench  may be equipped 
with  built-in  child restraint(s).  See “Built-In Child 
Restraint” in the  index. 
Folding or Reclining the Seatbacks 
To fold down the seatback on  either section  of  the split 
bench  seat,  pull  the nylon  strap 
on the back of the seat  or 
lift  up  on  the lever  on the  front 
of the seatback. 
To raise  either seatback, 
pull the nylon  strap 
on the 
back 
of the seat while 
raising  the seatback until 
it 
locks upright. Push  and pull 
on the seatback to check 
that  it  is locked upright. 
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Use the lever on the  front of the seatback to raise  or 
lower the seatback to the desired position. 
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