2004 BUICK CENTURY change time

In cold weather, the system will start at reduced fan
speeds to avoid blowing cold air into the vehicle
until warmer air is available. The system will
start out blowing air at the oor but may change
modes automatically as the vehicle warms up
to maintain the chosen temperature setting. The
length of time needed for warm up will depend on
the outside temperature and the length of time
that has elapsed since the vehicle was last driven.
3. Wait for the system to regulate. This may take from
10 to 30 minutes. Then, adjust the temperature, if
necessary.
Do not cover the solar sensor located in the center
of the instrument panel, near the windshield. For
more information on the solar sensor, see
“Solar Sensor” later in this section.
Manual Operation
During daylight hours, the instrument panel brightness
control might need to be adjusted to the highest setting,
in order to see the indicator lights for the various
climate control settings.
OFF:Pressing the OFF button cancels automatic
operation and places the system in manual mode.
Press the AUTO button to return to automatic operation.TEMP (Temperature):To manually adjust the
temperature inside the vehicle, press the up arrow on
the TEMP control to raise the temperature and press the
down arrow to lower the temperature. The display will
show the selection for a few seconds, and then the
outside temperature will be displayed.
When the DUAL light indicator is on, this means the
TEMP control has set the temperature for the driver.
When the DUAL light indicator light is not on, this means
the TEMP control has set the temperature for the
entire cabin.
9FAN:Press the up arrow on the FAN control to
increase fan speed and the down arrow to decrease fan
speed. Pressing the arrows cancels the automatic
operation and places the system in manual mode. Press
the AUTO button to return to automatic operation. If
the airow seems low when the fan is at the highest
setting, the passenger compartment air lter, if
equipped, may need to be replaced. For more
information seePassenger Compartment Air Filter on
page 3-26andScheduled Maintenance on page 6-4.
AIR FLOW:This control has several settings to
control the direction of airow when the system is
not in AUTO.
To access the various modes available, continue to
press the AIR FLOW up or down arrows until the desired
mode, listed below, appears in the display.
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Adjusting the Speakers (Balance/Fade)
AUDIO:To adjust the balance between the right
and the left speakers, push and release AUDIO until
BAL appears on the display. Then turn the AUDIO knob
to move the sound toward the right or the left speakers.
A bar graph with indicators will show how the sound
is balanced.
To adjust the fade between the front and the rear
speakers, push and release AUDIO until FADE appears
on the display. Then turn the AUDIO knob to move
the sound toward the front or the rear speakers. A bar
graph with indicators will show how the sound is
balanced.
To adjust balance or fade to the middle position, select
BAL or FADE. Then push and hold AUDIO for more
than two seconds until you hear a beep. The indicator
will be centered on the display.
To adjust both tone controls and both speaker controls
to the middle position, end out of audio mode by
waiting ve seconds without making any changes. Then
push and hold AUDIO for more than two seconds
until you hear a beep. ALL CENTERED will appear on
the display.
Radio Data System (RDS)
Your audio system is equipped with a Radio Data
System (RDS). RDS features are available for use only
on FM stations that broadcast RDS information.
With RDS, your radio can do the following:
Seek to stations broadcasting the selected type of
programming
Receive announcements concerning local and
national emergencies
Display messages from radio stations
Seek to stations with traffic announcements
This system relies upon receiving specic information
from these stations and will only work when the
information is available. In rare cases, a radio station
may broadcast incorrect information that will cause
the radio features to work improperly. If this happens,
contact the radio station.
While you are tuned to an RDS station, the station
name or the call letters will appear on the display,
instead of the frequency. RDS stations may also provide
the time of day, a program type (PTY) for current
programming, and the name of the program being
broadcast.
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Radio Messages
CAL (CALIBRATE):Your audio system has been
calibrated for your vehicle from the factory. If CAL
appears on the display it means that your radio has not
been congured properly for your vehicle and must
be returned to the dealer for service.
Playing a CD
Insert a CD partway into the slot, label side up. The
player will pull it in. The CD should begin playing. If you
want to insert a CD while the ignition or the radio is
off, rst press the eject or DISP button.
If you turn off the ignition or radio with a CD in the
player, it will stay in the player. When you turn on the
ignition or system, the CD will start playing where
it stopped, if it was the last selected audio source.
As each new track starts to play, the track number will
appear on the display.
The CD player can play the smaller 8 cm single CDs
with an adapter ring. Full-size CDs and the smaller CDs
are loaded in the same manner.
If playing a CD-R the sound quality may be reduced
due to CD-R quality, the method of recording, the quality
of the music that has been recorded, and the way the
CD-R has been handled. You may experience an
increase in skipping, difficulty in nding tracks, and/or
difficulty in loading and ejecting. If these problems occur
try a known good CD.Do not add paper labels to CDs, they could get caught
in the CD player.
Do not play 3 inch CDs without a standard adapter CD.
If an error appears on the display, see “CD Messages”
later in this section.
1
s(Reverse):Press and hold this pushbutton to
reverse quickly within a track. You will hear sound at a
reduced level. Release it to play the passage. The
display will show the elapsed time of the track.
2
\(Forward):Press and hold this pushbutton to
advance quickly within a track. You will hear sound at a
reduced level. Release it to play the passage. The
display will show the elapsed time of the track.
4 RDM (Random):Press this pushbutton to hear the
tracks in random, rather than sequential, order.
Press RDM again to turn off random play.
DISP (Display):Press this button to see which track is
playing. Press it again within ve seconds to see
how long it has been playing. To change the default on
the display (track or elapsed time), press this button
until you see the display you want, then hold the button
until the display ashes. The selected display will
now be the default.
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Adjusting the Speakers (Balance/Fade)
AUDIO:To adjust the balance between the right
and the left speakers, push and release AUDIO until
BAL appears on the display. Then turn the AUDIO knob
to move the sound toward the right or the left speakers.
A bar graph with indicators will show how the sound
is balanced.
To adjust the fade between the front and the rear
speakers, push and release AUDIO until FADE appears
on the display. Then turn the AUDIO knob to move
the sound toward the front or the rear speakers. A bar
graph with indicators will show how the sound is
balanced.
To adjust balance or fade to the middle position, select
BAL or FADE. Then push and hold AUDIO for more
than two seconds until you hear a beep. The indicator
will be centered on the display.
To adjust both tone controls and both speaker controls
to the middle position, end out of audio mode by
waiting ve seconds without making any changes. Then
push and hold AUDIO for more than two seconds
until you hear a beep. ALL CENTERED will appear on
the display.
Radio Data System (RDS)
Your audio system is equipped with a Radio Data
System (RDS). RDS features are available for use only
on FM stations that broadcast RDS information.
With RDS, your radio can do the following:
Seek to stations broadcasting the selected type of
programming
Receive announcements concerning local and
national emergencies
Display messages from radio stations
Seek to stations with traffic announcements
This system relies upon receiving specic information
from these stations and will only work when the
information is available. In rare cases, a radio station
may broadcast incorrect information that will cause
the radio features to work improperly. If this happens,
contact the radio station.
While you are tuned to an RDS station, the station
name or the call letters will appear on the display,
instead of the frequency. RDS stations may also provide
the time of day, a program type (PTY) for current
programming, and the name of the program being
broadcast.
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Playing a CD
Insert a CD partway into the slot, label side up. The
player will pull it in. The CD should begin playing. If you
want to insert a CD while the ignition or the radio is
off, rst press the eject button or DISP.
If you turn off the ignition or radio with a CD in the
player, it will stay in the player. When you turn on the
ignition or system, the CD will start playing where
it stopped, if it was the last selected audio source.
As each new track start to play, the track number will
appear on the display.
The CD player can play the smaller 8 cm single CDs
with an adapter ring. Full-size CDs and the smaller CDs
are loaded in the same manner.
If playing a CD-R the sound quality may be reduced
due to CD-R quality, the method of recording, the quality
of the music that has been recorded, and the way the
CD-R has been handled. You may experience an
increase in skipping, difficulty in nding tracks, and/or
difficulty in loading and ejecting. If these problems occur
try a known good CD.
Do not add paper labels to CDs, they could get caught
in the CD player.
Do not play 3 inch CDs without a standard adapter CD.
If an error appears on the display, see “CD Messages”
later in this section.1
s(Reverse):Press and hold this pushbutton to
reverse quickly within a track. You will hear sound at a
reduced volume. Release this pushbutton to play
the passage.
2
\(Forward):Press and hold this pushbutton to
advance quickly within a track. You will hear sound at a
reduced volume. Release this pushbutton to play the
passage.
4 RDM (Random):Press this pushbutton to hear the
tracks in random, rather than sequential, order.
Press RDM again to turn off random play.
DISP (Display):Press this button to see which track is
playing. Press it again within ve seconds to see
how long it has been playing. To change the default on
the display (track or elapsed time), press this button
until you see the display you want, then hold the button
until the display ashes. The selected display will
now be the default.
©SEEK¨:Press the left arrow to go to the start of
the current track if more than eight seconds have played.
If you hold the button or press it more than once, the
player will continue moving backward through the CD.
Press the right arrow to go to the next track. If you hold
the button or press it more than once, the player will
continue moving forward through the CD.
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Remember: Anti-lock does not change the time you
need to get your foot up to the brake pedal or always
decrease stopping distance. If you get too close to
the vehicle in front of you, you will not have time to apply
your brakes if that vehicle suddenly slows or stops.
Always leave enough room up ahead to stop, even
though you have anti-lock brakes.
Using Anti-Lock
Do not pump the brakes. Just hold the brake pedal
down rmly and let anti-lock work for you. You may feel
a slight brake pedal pulsation or notice some noise,
but this is normal.
Braking in Emergencies
At some time, nearly every driver gets into a situation
that requires hard braking.
If you have anti-lock, you can steer and brake at the
same time. However, if you do not have anti-lock, your
rst reaction — to hit the brake pedal hard and hold
it down — may be the wrong thing to do. Your wheelscan stop rolling. Once they do, the vehicle can not
respond to your steering. Momentum will carry it
in whatever direction it was headed when the wheels
stopped rolling. That could be off the road, into the very
thing you were trying to avoid, or into traffic.
If you do not have anti-lock, use a “squeeze” braking
technique. This will give you maximum braking
while maintaining steering control. You can do this by
pushing on the brake pedal with steadily increasing
pressure.
In an emergency, you will probably want to squeeze the
brakes hard without locking the wheels. If you hear or
feel the wheels sliding, ease off the brake pedal.
This will help you retain steering control. If youdohave
anti-lock, it is different. See “Anti-Lock Brake System”
in this section.
In many emergencies, steering can help you more than
even the very best braking.
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If other vehicles are lined up to pass a slow vehicle,
wait your turn. But take care that someone is not
trying to pass you as you pull out to pass the slow
vehicle. Remember to glance over your shoulder
and check the blind spot.
Check your mirrors, glance over your shoulder, and
start your left lane change signal before moving out
of the right lane to pass. When you are far
enough ahead of the passed vehicle to see its front
in your inside mirror, activate your right lane
change signal and move back into the right lane.
(Remember that your right outside mirror is convex.
The vehicle you just passed may seem to be
farther away from you than it really is.)
Try not to pass more than one vehicle at a time on
two-lane roads. Reconsider before passing the
next vehicle.
Do not overtake a slowly moving vehicle too rapidly.
Even though the brake lamps are not ashing, it
may be slowing down or starting to turn.
If you are being passed, make it easy for the
following driver to get ahead of you. Perhaps
you can ease a little to the right.
Loss of Control
Let us review what driving experts say about what
happens when the three control systems (brakes,
steering and acceleration) do not have enough friction
where the tires meet the road to do what the driver
has asked.
In any emergency, do not give up. Keep trying to steer
and constantly seek an escape route or area of less
danger.
4-14

Trailering means changes in handling, acceleration,
braking, durability, and fuel economy. Successful, safe
trailering takes correct equipment, and it has to be
used properly.
That is the reason for this part. In it are many
time-tested, important trailering tips and safety rules.
Many of these are important for your safety and that of
your passengers. So please read this section carefully
before pulling a trailer.
Load-pulling components such as the engine, transaxle,
wheel assembly, and tires are forced to work harder
against the drag of the added weight. The engine
is required to operate at relatively higher speeds and
under greater loads, generating extra heat. What
is more, the trailer adds considerably to wind resistance,
increasing the pulling requirements.
If You Do Decide To Pull A Trailer
Here are some important points:
There are many different laws, including speed limit
restrictions, having to do with trailering. Make sure
your rig will be legal, not only where you live
but also where you will be driving. A good source
for this information can be state or provincial police.
Consider using a sway control. Ask a hitch
dealer about sway controls.
Do not tow a trailer at all during the rst 1,000 miles
(1 600 km) the vehicle is driven. The engine, axle or
other parts could be damaged.
Then, during the rst 500 miles (800 km) that the
vehicle tows a trailer, do not drive over 50 mph
(80 km/h) and do not make starts at full throttle.
This helps the engine and other parts of the vehicle
wear in at the heavier loads.
Obey speed limit restrictions when towing a trailer.
Do not drive faster than the maximum posted
speed for trailers, or no more than 55 mph
(90 km/h), to save wear on the vehicle’s parts.
There are three important considerations have to do
with weight:
The weight of the trailer.
The weight of the trailer tongue.
The total weight on the vehicle’s tires.
Weight of the Trailer
How heavy can a trailer safely be?
It should never weigh more than 1,000 lbs (450 kg).
But even that can be too heavy.
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