Seats and Restraint Systems........................... 1-1
Front Seats
............................................... 1-2
Rear Seats
............................................... 1-6
Safety Belts
.............................................. 1-7
Child Restraints
.......................................1-30
Air Bag Systems
......................................1-53
Restraint System Check
............................1-63
Features and Controls..................................... 2-1
Keys
........................................................ 2-2
Doors and Locks
......................................2-10
Windows
.................................................2-15
Theft-Deterrent Systems
............................2-17
Starting and Operating Your Vehicle
...........2-19
Mirrors
....................................................2-32
OnStar
žSystem
......................................2-34
Storage Areas
.........................................2-35
Instrument Panel............................................. 3-1
Instrument Panel Overview
.......................... 3-2
Climate Controls
......................................3-17
Warning Lights, Gages and Indicators
.........3-22
Audio System(s)
.......................................3-39Driving Your Vehicle....................................... 4-1
Your Driving, the Road, and Your Vehicle
..... 4-2
Towing
...................................................4-32
Service and Appearance Care.......................... 5-1
Service
..................................................... 5-3
Fuel
......................................................... 5-5
Checking Things Under the Hood
...............5-10
Headlamp Aiming
.....................................5-49
Bulb Replacement
....................................5-51
Windshield Wiper Blade Replacement
.........5-56
Tires
......................................................5-57
Appearance Care
.....................................5-79
Vehicle Identi®cation
.................................5-87
Electrical System
......................................5-88
Capacities and Speci®cations
.....................5-94
Normal Maintenance Replacement Parts
......5-95
Maintenance Schedule..................................... 6-1
Maintenance Schedule
................................ 6-2
Customer Assistance Information.................... 7-1
Customer Assistance Information
.................. 7-2
Reporting Safety Defects
...........................7-10
Index................................................................ 1
2003 Buick Century Owner ManualM
Remote Keyless Entry System
Operation
Using the remote keyless
entry transmitter, you can
lock and unlock your
doors, or release the trunk
from about 3 feet 1 (m)
and up to 30 feet
9 (m) away.
LOCK:Press the LOCK button to lock all the doors.
UNLOCK:Press the UNLOCK button to unlock
the driver's door and turn on the interior lamps. See
ªIllumination on Remote Activationº later in this section
for more details. Press UNLOCK again to unlock
the passenger's door.
F(Trunk Release):To release the trunk lid, press
the button with the trunk symbol on it. The trunk will only
unlock if your transaxle is in PARK (P).
L(Remote Alarm):Press this button to activate an
alarm. The ignition must be in OFF or ACC for the
remote alarm to work. When you press the remote alarm
button the headlamps will ¯ash, the horn will sound
repeatedly and your interior lamps will turn on, attracting
attention. The alarms will continue until one of the
following occurs:
·You press the remote alarm on the remote keyless
entry transmitter a second time,
·the ignition is moved to RUN, or
·an alarm period of about two minutes has elapsed.
Security Feedback
Security feedback provides audible and/or visible
feedback con®rming that a remote keyless entry lock or
unlock command has been received and executed.
The ignition must be off for this feature to work.
You may select one of four operating modes for reception
of a lock command. You may also select one of four
operating modes for reception of an unlock command.
The selection and programming of the lock and unlock
operating modes are independent of each other.
2-5
Programmable Modes
Your vehicle can be programmed to one of the following
modes.
Mode 1:No Veri®cation
Mode 2:Horn Chirp only
Mode 3:Headlamps Flash only
Mode 4:Horn Chirp and Headlamps Flash
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. Close all doors and turn the ignition key to RUN.
2. Press and hold the power door lock switch in
the lock position.
3. While holding the door lock switch in the lock
position, press and release the remote keyless entry
transmitter LOCK button. This will start the
customization mode. While in the customizationmode, the feature will sound the number of chimes
corresponding to the current lock mode. If you
do not wish to change the current mode, you can
either exit the programming mode by following
the instructions listed here or program the
next feature available on your vehicle.
4. Each additional press of the remote keyless entry
transmitter LOCK button will cause your vehicle to
advance the lock mode by one, starting from
the current lock mode.
5. If cycled beyond Mode 4, the vehicle will enter
Mode 1. When the door lock switch is released,
the vehicle will remain in the most recent lock mode.
The mode you selected is now set. You can either exit
the programming mode by following the previous
instructions or program the next feature available on
your vehicle.
Disconnecting the vehicle's battery for up to a year will
not change the programmed mode for the lock and
unlock security feedback features.
2-6
Mirrors
Manual Rearview Mirror
Adjust all the mirrors so you can see clearly when you
are sitting in a comfortable driving position.
To reduce glare from lamps behind you, pull the lever at
the bottom of the mirror toward you, to the night
position. To return the mirror to the day position, push
the lever away from you.
Manual Rearview Mirror with
OnStar
ž
The vehicle may have a mirror with Onstarž. It has a
lever located at the bottom between the two lamps. To
reduce glare from headlamps behind you while
driving at night, pull the lever towards you, to the night
position. To return the mirror to the day position,
return the lever to its original position.There are two lamps located on the bottom of the
mirror. Press the button located next to each lamp to
turn it on or off.
There are also three OnStar
žbuttons located at the
bottom of the mirror. See your dealer for more
information on the system and how to subscribe to
OnStar
ž. SeeOnStaržSystem on page 2-34for more
information about the services OnStaržprovides.
2-32
To tilt the wheel, hold the
wheel and pull the lever.
Then move the steering
wheel to a comfortable
position and release
the lever to lock the wheel
into place.Turn Signal/Multifunction Lever
The lever located on the left side of the steering column
includes the following:
·Turn and Lane-Change Signals
·Headlamp High/Low-Beam Changer
·Flash-to-Pass
·Windshield Wipers
·Windshield Washer
·Cruise Control
3-5
Turn and Lane-Change Signals
The turn signal has two upward positions for right and
two downward positions for left. These positions
allow you to signal a turn or a lane change.
To signal a turn, move the lever all the way up or down.
When the turn is ®nished, the lever will return
automatically.
An arrow on the instrument
panel cluster will ¯ash in
the direction of the
turn or lane change.
To signal a lane change, just raise or lower the lever
until the arrow starts to ¯ash. Hold it there until you
complete your lane change. The lever will return by itself
when you release it.If the arrow ¯ashes faster than normal as you signal a
turn or a lane change, a signal bulb may be burned
out and other drivers won't see your turn signal.
If a bulb is burned out, replace it to help avoid an
accident. If the arrows don't go on at all when you signal
a turn, check for burned-out bulbs and then check the
fuse. See
Fuses and Circuit Breakers on page 5-89.
A chime will sound if you leave your turn signal on for
more than 3/4 mile (1.2 km).
Headlamp High/Low-Beam Changer
To change your headlamps from low beams to
high beams, or high to low, pull the multifunction lever
all the way toward you. Then release it.
This light, located on the
instrument panel cluster,
will come on while the
high-beam lamps are on.
3-6
Flash-to-Pass
This feature lets you use your high-beam headlamps to
signal the driver in front of you that you want to pass.
It works even if your headlamps are off.
To use it, pull the turn signal lever toward you a little,
but not so far that you hear a click.
If your headlamps are off or on low beam, your
high-beam headlamps will turn on. They'll stay on as
long as you hold the lever toward you and the
high-beam indicator on the dash will come on. Release
the lever to return to normal operation.
Windshield Wipers
To operate the windshield wipers turn the band located
on the multifunction lever upward or downward.
WIPER:Turn this band to control the windshield wipers.
OFF:Turn the band to OFF to turn off the windshield
wipers.
LO (Low Speed):Turn the band away from you to LO
and past the delay settings for steady wiping at low
speed.HI (High Speed):Turn the band away from you, to HI,
and past the delay settings for wiping steady at high
speed.
(Delayed Wiping):Turn the band away from you, just
past OFF, to one of the ®ve sensitivity settings, to
choose the delayed wiping cycle. The further the band
is turned upward, toward LO, the shorter the delay
will be. Use this setting for light rain or snow.
MIST:Turn the band to MIST for a single wiping cycle.
Hold it until the windshield wipers start. Then let it
go. The windshield wipers will stop after one wipe. If
you want more wipes, hold the band on MIST longer.
Be sure to clear ice and snow from the windshield wiper
blades before using them. If they are frozen to the
windshield, carefully loosen or thaw them. If your blades
do become worn or damaged, get new blades or
blade inserts.
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.
3-7
Ending Cruise Control
There are two ways to turn off the cruise control:
·Step lightly on the brake pedal, or
·move the cruise switch to OFF.
Ending 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.
Exterior Lamps
This control, located to the
left of the instrument
panel, operates the
exterior lamps.The exterior lamps control has three positions:
Off:Push the control all the way in to turn off all lamps
and lights.
Parking Lamps:Pull the control out, to the ®rst
position, to turn on the parking lamps together with the
following:
·Taillamps
·License Plate Lamps
·Sidemarker Lamps
·Instrument Panel Lights
Headlamps:Pull the control out all the way, to the
second position, to turn on the headlamps together with
the previously listed lamps and lights.
A warning chime will sound if you open the driver's door
when you turn the ignition switch to OFF, LOCK or
ACCESSORY with the lamps on.
3-11