2003 BUICK CENTURY brake

In many crashes severe enough to in¯ate an air bag,
windshields are broken by vehicle deformation.
Additional windshield breakage may also occur from the
right front passenger air bag.
·Air bags are designed to in¯ate only once. After an
air bag in¯ates, you'll need some new parts for
your air bag system. If you don't get them, the air
bag system won't be there to help protect you
in another crash. A new system will include air bag
modules and possibly other parts. The service
manual for your vehicle covers the need to replace
other parts.
·Your vehicle is equipped with a crash sensing and
diagnostic module, which records information
about the frontal air bag system. The module
records information about the readiness of the
system, when the system commands air bag
in¯ation and driver's safety belt usage at
deployment. The module also records speed,
engine RPM, brake and throttle data.
·Let only quali®ed technicians work on your air bag
systems. Improper service can mean that an air
bag system won't work properly. See your dealer for
service.
Notice:If you damage the covering for the driver's
or the right front passenger's air bag, or the air
bag covering on the driver's seatback, the bag may
not work properly. You may have to replace the
air bag module in the steering wheel, both the air
bag module and the instrument panel for the
right front passenger's air bag, or the air bag
module and seatback for the driver's side impact air
bag. Do not open or break the air bag coverings.
1-61

Keys...............................................................2-2
Remote Keyless Entry System.........................2-4
Remote Keyless Entry System Operation...........2-5
Doors and Locks............................................2-10
Door Locks..................................................2-10
Power Door Locks........................................2-11
Programmable Automatic Door Locks..............2-11
Lockout Protection........................................2-12
Leaving Your Vehicle....................................2-12
Trunk..........................................................2-13
Windows........................................................2-15
Power Windows............................................2-16
Sun Visors...................................................2-16
Theft-Deterrent Systems..................................2-17
PASS-Key
žII ...............................................2-17
Starting and Operating Your Vehicle................2-19
New Vehicle Break-In....................................2-19
Ignition Positions..........................................2-19Starting Your Engine.....................................2-20
Engine Coolant Heater..................................2-21
Automatic Transaxle Operation.......................2-23
Parking Brake..............................................2-26
Shifting Into Park (P).....................................2-26
Shifting Out of Park (P).................................2-29
Parking Over Things That Burn.......................2-29
Engine Exhaust............................................2-30
Running Your Engine While You Are Parked. . . .2-31
Mirrors...........................................................2-32
Manual Rearview Mirror.................................2-32
Manual Rearview Mirror with OnStar
ž..............2-32
Outside Power Mirrors...................................2-33
Outside Convex Mirror...................................2-33
OnStar
žSystem.............................................2-34
Storage Areas................................................2-35
Glove Box...................................................2-35
Convenience Net..........................................2-35
Section 2 Features and Controls
2-1

Delayed Locking
Delayed locking allows the doors to be locked while the
passengers are exiting the vehicle. This feature also
allows a brief time period for you to re-enter the vehicle
after the doors have been closed. Delayed locking is
user programmable for enabling or disabling the feature.
Delayed locking is activated when a door lock switch
is pressed while the key is not in the vehicle's ignition,
and a door is open. The door lock switch may be
either the lock switch on the door or on the remote
keyless entry transmitter. See ªRemote Keyless Entry
System Operationº earlier in this section for more
details. The doors do not lock when the lock switch is
pressed, but instead, three chimes are heard. These
chimes indicate that the delayed locking function
has been activated.
You have three actions possible once delayed locking is
activated:
·Cancel the delayed locking by pressing the unlock
switch or by fully inserting the key in the ignition.
·Override the delayed locking feature and lock the
doors immediately by pressing the lock switch a
second time.
·Let the delayed locking feature complete the locking
of the vehicle.If you wish to let the delayed locking feature complete
the locking of the vehicle, no additional action is
required. The delayed locking feature will lock the doors
automatically after all the doors have been closed for
a period of ®ve seconds. During this ®ve second period,
any door may be reopened, at which time the three
possible actions shown above are again available.
You may also customize your vehicle to activate the
delayed locking feature as described previously, or you
may choose to completely disable the feature at all
times. If disabled, the power door locks will activate
immediately when a power door lock switch is pressed.
The enabled/disabled state of the delayed locking
feature will be toggled when you perform the following
sequence:
1. Close the doors.
2. Move the ignition key to the RUN position.
3. Apply your regular brakes.
4. Press and hold the power door unlock switch. While
holding the door unlock switch, move the shift lever
out of and back into PARK (P).
2-7

Power Door Locks
Your vehicle is equipped
with front power door lock
switches. Press a power
door lock switch to lock or
unlock all doors.
The rear doors do not have power door lock switches.
Programmable Automatic Door
Locks
Programmable automatic power door locks are intended
to provide enhanced security and convenience by
automatically locking and unlocking doors. This feature
provides four operating modes.Mode 1:Doors do not lock or unlock automatically
when the transaxle is shifted out of or into PARK (P).
Mode 2:All doors automatically lock when the transaxle
is shifted out of PARK (P), but do not unlock
automatically when the transaxle is shifted into PARK
(P).
Mode 3:All doors automatically lock when the transaxle
is shifted out of PARK (P) and automatically unlock
when the transaxle is shifted into PARK (P).
Mode 4:All doors automatically lock when the transaxle
is shifted out of PARK (P) but only the driver's door
automatically unlocks when the transaxle is shifted into
PARK (P).
The vehicle was originally programmed to Mode 3. The
mode may have been changed since then. To
determine the current mode, or to change the mode, do
the following:
1. Turn the ignition key to RUN.
2. Close all of the doors.
3. Apply your brakes.
4. Press and hold the power door lock switch in the
lock position.
2-11

Starting and Operating Your
Vehicle
New Vehicle Break-In
Notice:Your vehicle doesn't need an elaborate
ªbreak-in.º But it will perform better in the long run
if you follow these guidelines:
·Don't drive at any one speed Ð fast or
slow Ð for the ®rst 500 miles (805 km). Don't
make full-throttle starts.
·Avoid making hard stops for the ®rst 200 miles
(322 km) or so. During this time your new
brake linings aren't yet broken in. Hard stops
with new linings can mean premature wear and
earlier replacement. Follow this breaking-in
guideline every time you get new brake linings.
·Don't tow a trailer during break-in. See ªTowing
a Trailerº in the Index for more information.
Ignition Positions
With the ignition key in the ignition, you can turn the key
to ®ve different positions:
A (ACCESSORY):This position lets you use the radio
and windshield wipers when the engine is off. To
use ACCESSORY, push in the key and turn it toward
you. Your steering wheel will stay locked.
B (LOCK):This is the only position in which you can
insert or remove the key. This position locks the ignition,
steering wheel and transaxle. It's a theft-deterrent
feature.
2-19

Automatic Transaxle Operation
The shift lever for the automatic transmission is on the
steering column.
The graphic shown above is displayed on your
instrument panel cluster and will indicate the gear your
vehicle is in.
Maximum engine speed is limited on automatic transaxle
vehicles when you're in PARK (P) or NEUTRAL (N) to
protect driveline components from improper operation.
There are several different positions for your shift lever.{CAUTION:
It is dangerous to get out of your vehicle if the
shift lever is not fully in PARK (P) with the
parking brake ®rmly set. Your vehicle can roll.
Don't leave your vehicle when the engine is
running unless you have to. If you have left the
engine running, the vehicle can move
suddenly. You or others could be injured. To
be sure your vehicle won't move, even when
you're on fairly level ground, always set your
parking brake and move the shift lever to
PARK (P). See ªShifting Into Park (P)º in the
Index. If you're pulling a trailer, see ªTowing a
Trailerº in the Index.
PARK (P):This position locks your front wheels.
It's the best position to use when you start your engine
because your vehicle can't move easily.
2-23

Make sure the shift lever is fully in PARK (P) before
starting the engine. Your vehicle has an automatic
transaxle shift lock control system. You must fully apply
your regular brakes before you can shift from PARK (P)
when the ignition is in RUN. If you cannot shift out
of PARK (P), increase pressure on the shift lever by
pushing is all the way in to PARK (P) while keeping the
brake pedal pushed down. Then move the shift lever
out of PARK (P). See
Shifting Out of Park (P) on
page 2-29
Notice:
Shifting to REVERSE (R) while your vehicle
is moving forward could damage your transaxle.
Shift to REVERSE (R) only after your vehicle is
stopped.
REVERSE (R):Use this gear to back up.
To rock your vehicle back and forth to get out of snow,
ice or sand without damaging your transaxle, see If
You Are Stuck: In Sand, Mud, Ice or Snow on
page 4-31.
NEUTRAL (N):In this position, your engine doesn't
connect with the wheels. To restart when you're already
moving, use NEUTRAL (N) only. Also, use
NEUTRAL (N) when your vehicle is being towed.
{CAUTION:
Shifting into a drive gear while your engine is
ªracingº (running at high speed) is dangerous.
Unless your foot is ®rmly on the brake pedal,
your vehicle could move very rapidly. You
could lose control and hit people or objects.
Don't shift into a drive gear while your engine
is racing.
Notice:Damage to your transaxle caused by
shifting into a drive gear with the engine racing isn't
covered by your warranty.
Notice:If your vehicle seems to start up rather
slowly, or if it seems not to shift gears as you go
faster, something may be wrong with a transaxle
system sensor. If you drive very far that way, your
vehicle can be damaged. So, if this happens,
have your vehicle serviced right away. Until then,
you can use SECOND (2) when you are driving less
than 35 mph (55 km/h) and AUTOMATIC OVERDRIVE
(
X)for higher speeds.
2-24

AUTOMATIC OVERDRIVE (X): This position is for
normal driving. If you need more power for passing,
and you're:
·Going less than 35 mph (55 km/h), push your
accelerator pedal about halfway down.
·Going about 35 mph (55 km/h) or more, push the
accelerator pedal all the way down.
You'll shift down to the next gear and have more power.
THIRD (3):: This position is also used for normal
driving, but it offers more power and lower fuel economy
than AUTOMATIC OVERDRIVE (
X).
Here are some times you might choose THIRD (3)
instead of AUTOMATIC OVERDRIVE (
X):
·When driving on hilly, winding roads.
·When towing a trailer, so there is less shifting
between gears.
·When going down a steep hill.
·When driving in no-highway scenarios
(i.e. city streets, etc.)
Notice:Don't drive in SECOND (2) for more than
25 miles (40 km), or at speeds over 55 mph
(90 km/h), or you can damage your transaxle. Use
THIRD (3) or AUTOMATIC OVERDRIVE (
X)as much
as possible. Don't shift into SECOND (2) unless
you are going slower than 65 mph (105 km/h) or you
can damage your engine.
SECOND (2): This position gives you more power than
THIRD (3) but lower fuel economy than THIRD (3). You
can use SECOND (2) on hills. It can help control your
speed as you go down steep mountain roads, but then
you would also want to use your brakes off and on.
FIRST (1):This position gives you even more power (but
lower fuel economy) than SECOND (2). You can use it on
very steep hills, or in deep snow or mud. If the shift lever
is put in FIRST (1), the transaxle won't shift into ®rst gear
until the vehicle is going slowly enough.
Notice:If your front wheels won't turn, don't try to
drive. This might happen if you were stuck in
very deep sand or mud or were up against a solid
object. You could damage your transaxle. Also,
if you stop when going uphill, don't hold your
vehicle there with only the accelerator pedal. This
could overheat and damage the transaxle. Use your
brakes to hold your vehicle in position on a hill.
2-25