
. 
The 2003 Oldsmobile  Silhouette  Owner Manual 
Seats  and  Restraint  Systems ........................... 1-1 
Front  Seats 
............................................... 1-2 
Rear  Seats 
............................................... 1-7 
Safety  Belts 
............................................. 1-22 
Child  Restraints 
....................................... 1-45 
Air  Bag  Systems 
...................................... 1-69 
Restraint  System  Check 
............................ 1-77 
Features  and  Controls 
..................................... 2-1 
Keys 
........................................................ 2-3 
Doors  and  Locks 
....................................... 2-9 
Windows 
................................................. 2-24 
Theft-Deterrent  Systems 
............................ 2-27 
Starting  and  Operating  Your  Vehicle 
........... 2-32 
Mirrors 
.................................................... 2-45 
Onstar@  System 
...................................... 2-47 
HomeLink@  Transmitter 
......................... 2-49 
Storage  Areas 
......................................... 2-54 
Vehicle  Personalization 
............................. 2-62 
Instrument  Panel  Overview 
.......................... 3-4 
Climate  Controls 
...................................... 3-25 
Warning  Lights,  Gages  and Indicators 
......... 3-39 
Driver  Information  Center  (DIC) 
.................. 3-60 
Instrument  Panel 
............................................. 3-1 
Messaye Center 5-3L n r~ ....................................... 
Audio 
System(s) ....................................... 3-63 
Your  Driving,  the Road, and  Your Vehicle 
..... 4-2 
Towing 
................................................... 4-32 
Service 
..................................................... 5-3 
Fuel 
......................................................... 5-5 
Checking Things  Under the Hood 
............... 5-10 
All-Wheel  Drive 
........................................ 5-50 
Bulb  Replacement 
.................................... 5-52 
Windshield  Wiper Blade Replacement 
......... 5-58 
Tires 
...................................................... 5-60 
Appearance  Care 
..................................... 5-87 
Vehicle  Identification 
................................. 5-95 
Electrical System 
...................................... 5-96 
Capacities and  Specifications 
................... 5-1  03 
Normal Maintenance  Replacement Parts 
...... 5-1  05 
Maintenance Schedule 
................................ 6-2 
Customer Assistance  Information 
.................... 7-1 
Customer Assistance  Information 
.................. 7-2 
Reporting Safety  Defects 
............................ 7-9 
Driving  Your  Vehicle 
....................................... 4-1 
Service  and Appearance  Care 
.......................... 5-1 
Maintenance  Schedule 
..................................... 6-1 
Index 
................................................................ 1  

Safety  Warnings and Symbols 
You will find a  number  of safety cautions  in  this book. 
We  use  a box  and  the  word 
CAUTION to  tell  you  about 
things  that  could  hurt  you  if you  were  to ignore the 
warning. 
These  mean  there 
is something  that could hurt 
you  or  other  people. L 
~~  ~ 
In the  caution  area,  we tell  you  what  the  hazard is. 
Then  we tell you  what  to  do  to  help avoid or  reduce 
the  hazard.  Please  read  these cautions. 
If you don’t, 
you  or  others  could  be  hurt. 
I You  will also  find  a circle 
with a slash  through 
it in 
this  book.  This safety 
symbol  means “Don’t,’’ 
“Don’t  do this”  or  “Don’t  let 
this  happen.” 
... Ill  

Vehicle Damage Warnings 
Also, in this book  you will find these  notices: 
Notice: These  mean there is something  that could 
damage  your vehicle. 
A  notice  will tell you  about  something  that can damage 
your  vehicle.  Many times, this  damage  would  not be 
covered  by your warranty, and  it  could be costly. 
But  the  notice will tell  you  what to do to  help  avoid 
the  damage. 
When  you read other manuals,  you might  see  CAUTION 
and  NOTICE  warnings  in different colors  or in different 
words. 
You’ll  also see warning labels  on your vehicle.  They  use 
the  same  words,  CAUTION  or NOTICE. 
Vehicle Symbols 
Your  vehicle  has  components  and  labels that  use 
symbols  instead 
of text.  Symbols,  used  on  your  vehicle, 
are  shown  along with  the  text describing  the operation 
or  information relating  to a specific  component,  control, 
message,  gage  or  indicator. 
If  you  need  help figuring  out  a  specific  name  of a 
component,  gage  or indicator  reference  the  following 
topics: 
Seats  and  Restraint  Systems in Section 1 
Features and Controls  in Section 2 
Instrument Panel  Overview in Section 3 
Climate Controls in  Section 3 
Warning Lights, Gages  and  Indicators in  Section 3 
Audio System(s) in  Section 3 
Engine  Compartment  Overview  in Section 5 
iv  

I 'hese are some  examples of vehicle  symbols  you may find on your vehicle: 
POSSIBLE A 
CAUTION 
INJURY 
PROTECT 
EYES BY 
SHIELDING 
CAUSTIC 
BATTERY 
4CID  COULD 
CAUSE 
BURNS 
AVO1  D 
SPARKS 
OR 
FLAMES 
SPARK 
OR 
FLAME '\I/' 
COULD 
EXPLODE 
---I 
BATERY 1 
LATCH  BOTH  LAP  AND  SHOULDER  BELTS  TO 
PROTECT  OCCUPANT  MASTER  ENGINE 
DO  NOT  TWIST  SAFETY 
TEMP 
BELT  WHEN  ATACHING 
FASTEN  SEAT 
BELTS 
MOVE  SEAT  FULLY 
\!$k= 
REARWARD+ /z 
SECURE 
CHILD 
SEAT 
PULL  BELT 
COMPLETELY 
THEN  SECURE 
CHILD  SEAT  AIR  BAG 
DO  NOT  INSTALL  A  REAR-FACING 
CHILD  RESTRAINT  IN  THIS  SEATING 
POSITION DO NOT INSTALLA n I 
TURN 
SIGNALS 
PARKING  LAMPS 
HAZARD 
WARNING  FLASHER 
pf 
COOLANT 
l.fJ 
ACCESS 
ENGINE 
COOLANT  FAN 
OWNERS  MANUAL 
SERVICE 
SERVICE 
a MANUAL 
V  

This switch  is  in front 
of  the driver’s  or  the 
passenger’s  side 
sliding  door. 
The  power sliding  door override switch(es) will  also  stop 
the  door(s)  immediately,  while the door(s)  is  opening 
or  closing,  when  the  override switch(es)  is turned  on. 
The  power sliding  door(s) will only  open  if the  transaxle 
is in  PARK  (P). The  transaxle does  not have  to be  in 
PARK  (P) to close  the door(s). 
if the  power sliding door(s)  is open  or  in  the  process 
of  closing  when you shift  out 
of PARK (P), a buzzer  will 
sound.  This is  a warning  that  the  sliding  door(s)  is 
not  completely  closed. 
If  the  power  to the  sliding  door(s)  is turned 
off, the 
buzzer will  not sound  indicating  the  door(s) is  not 
completely closed. 
If  you  ift  the  transaxle 
t of PAR ~ [P)  and 
accelerate  before  the  power  sliding  door  latches  closed,  the  door  may  reverse to  the 
open  position. 
A child  or  others  could  fall  out 
of  the  vehicle  and  be  injured.  Always  make 
sure  the  power  sliding  door  is  closed  and 
latched  before  you  drive  away. 
2-1 8  

To close the  liftgate,  pull down  on  the  handle, then 
firmly  shut the liftgate.  Don’t drive with the liftgate  open, 
even slightly. See 
Engine Exhaust on page 2-43. 
A message  in your  instrument panel  cluster will warn 
you 
if the  liftgate is not completely  closed. See 
Rear Hatch  Ajar Warning  Message on page 3-58. 
2-23  

B (LOCK): This is the  only  position from which you 
can  remove  the  key.  This  position locks your  ignition, 
steering  wheel  and  transaxle. 
Notice: If  your  key  seems stuck in LOCK and  you 
can’t  turn 
it, be  sure  you  are  using  the  correct  key; 
if 
so, is it all  the  way in?  If it is, then  turn  the 
steering  wheel  left  and  right  while  you  turn  the  key  hard.  Turn  the  key  only  with  your  hand.  Using  a 
tool  to  force 
it could  break  the  key  or  the  ignition 
switch.  If  none 
of these  works,  then  your  vehicle 
needs  service. 
C (OFF): This  position  unlocks  the  ignition, steering 
wheel  and  transaxle  but,  does  not  send power to 
any  accessories.  Use  this  position 
if your vehicle 
must  be pushed  or  towed,  but  never try 
to push-start 
your  vehicle. 
D (RUN): This  is the position to  which the switch returns 
after you  start your engine and release the ignition key. 
This  is the position for driving. Even  when the engine  is 
not  running,  you can  use RUN to  operate  your  electrical 
accessories and 
to display  some instrument panel 
warning lights. 
E (START): This position starts  the  engine. When the 
engine  starts, release the  ignition  key.  The switch 
will  return to  RUN for  normal  driving. 
If  the engine  is not  running,  ACCESSORY  and  RUN 
are  positions that allow you  to operate  your electrical 
accessories, such as the  radio. 
Retained  Accessory  Power  (RAP) 
With RAP,  the power  windows,  power  rear  quarter 
windows,  audio system and the automatic level control 
will continue to work  up to 
10 minutes after  the 
ignition key  is turned  to 
OFF and none  of the doors 
are opened. 
2-33  

Parking  Brake 
The parking brake is 
located on the  driver’s 
side  under the 
instrument panel. 
If the ignition  is on,  the  brake  system warning light will 
come  on. See 
Brake  System  Warning  Light on 
page 3-44. 
To release  the parking brake, hold  the regular  brake 
pedal down with  your right foot  while  you push down on 
the parking brake pedal with  your  left foot. (To release 
the tension  on the  parking brake cable, you will  need to 
apply  about the  same amount  of pressure to  the 
parking brake pedal as you did  when you set  the  parking 
brake.)  When you  remove  your  foot from the  parking 
brake  pedal, 
it will pop  up  to the  released position. 
Notice: Driving with the parking  brake  on  can  cause 
your  rear  brakes to  overheat.  You  may  have to 
replace  them, and you  could  also damage  other 
parts 
of your  vehicle. 
To  set  the  parking brake, hold the  regular brake pedal  If 
you are towing a trailer  and are parking  on any 
hill, 
brake  pedal with  your  left  foot.  what 
to do  first  to keep the trailer  from moving. 
down  with  your  right  foot 
and  push down on the  parking  see 
Towing a Trailer on page 4-36, That section shows 
2-39