2004 BUICK PARK AVENUE ESP

OFF:Pushing the exterior lamps control all the way in
turns off all lamps and lights.
Parking Lamps:Pulling the exterior lamps control out
to the rst position turns on the parking lamps,
license plate lamps, the sidemarker lamps and the
instrument panel lights.
Headlamps:Pulling the exterior lamps control out to
the second position turns on the headlamps, together
with the previously listed lamps and lights.
For information on the interior lights, seeInterior Lamps
on page 3-15.
Headlamps On Reminder
If you leave the exterior lamp control on, remove the
key from the ignition and open the driver’s door, you will
hear a continuous warning chime. The chime will turn
off when the lamps are turned off.
Daytime Running Lamps
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) can make it easier
for others to see the front of your vehicle during the day.
DRL can be helpful in many different driving conditions,
but they can be especially helpful in the short periods
after dawn and before sunset. Fully functional daytime
running lamps are required on all vehicles rst sold
in Canada.
A light sensor on top of the instrument panel monitors
the exterior light level for the operation of DRL and
Twilight Sentinel
®, so be sure it is not covered.
The DRL system will make your high-beam headlamps
come on at reduced brightness in daylight when the
following conditions are met:
The ignition is on.
The exterior lamps control is off.
The transaxle is not in PARK (P).
When DRL are on, only your high-beam headlamps will
be on. The parking lamps, taillamps, sidemarker and
other lamps will not be on. Your instrument panel will not
be lit up either.
3-13

Perimeter Lighting
When the unlock button on the remote keyless entry
transmitter is pressed, the DRL, parking lamps and
back-up lamps will come on if it is dark enough outside.
This feature will only be activated when the security
feedback feature is programmed to be in Modes 1, 3
or 5 on the transmitter. Modes 0, 2 and 4 do not respond
with exterior lights ashing when unlocking the vehicle
so perimeter lighting will not be active.
This feature can be programmed on or off for each
transmitter.
To turn the feature off do the following:
1. Press and hold LOCK on the driver’s door lock switch
throughout this procedure. All doors will lock.
2. Press the remote alarm button on the transmitter to
enter the programming mode. Perimeter lighting
remains on at this time and the horn will chirp
two times.
3. Press the remote alarm button on the transmitter
again. Perimeter lighting is disabled and the horn
will chirp one time.
4. Release the door lock switch. The perimeter lighting
feature is now off.To turn the feature on do the following:
1. Press and hold LOCK on the driver’s door lock
switch throughout this procedure. All doors will
lock.
2. Press the remote alarm button on the transmitter to
enter the programming mode. Perimeter lighting
remains off at this time and the horn will chirp
one time.
3. Press the remote alarm button on the transmitter
again. Perimeter lighting is now enabled and the
horn will chirp two times.
4. Release the door lock switch. The perimeter lighting
feature is now on.
Perimeter lighting can also be activated through the
DIC. SeeDIC Vehicle Personalization on page 3-51
orDriver Information Center (DIC) on page 3-47.
3-16

Climate Controls Personalization
If your vehicle is equipped with this feature, up to two
drivers are able to store and recall climate control
settings for the temperature, the fan speed and the
direction of the airow.
Memory buttons 1 and 2 are located on the driver’s
door panel and correspond to the numbers 1 or 2 found
on the back of each remote keyless entry transmitter.
To store settings, do the following:
1. Select the desired temperature, fan speed and
airow mode. If desired, a separate temperature
setting may also be selected for the front seat
passenger. For information on how to do this,
seeDual Automatic Climate Control System on
page 3-24.
2. Locate memory buttons 1 and 2 on the driver’s
door panel.3. Press the memory button on the door panel that
corresponds to the number on the back of the
transmitter you are programming, until you hear two
beeps. The beeps conrm that your selection has
been saved and can now be recalled. For more
information on the memory feature, seeMemory
Seat and Mirrors on page 2-51.
Follow these steps each time you want to change the
stored settings.
To recall the climate control settings last stored on your
transmitter, press the unlock button on your remote
keyless entry transmitter and put the ignition in
ACCESSORY or RUN. The settings will be recalled.
3-31

When the STABILITY SYSTEM ACTIVE message is on,
you should continue to steer in the direction you want
to go. The system is designed to help you in bad
weather or other difficult driving situations by making the
most of whatever road conditions will permit. If the
STABILITY SYSTEM ACTIVE message comes on, you
will know that something has caused your vehicle to
start to spin, so you should consider slowing down.
Tire Pressure Status – 140:If you see the TIRE
PRESSURE LOW message, you should stop as soon
as you can and check all your tires for damage. If a tire
is at, seeIf a Tire Goes Flat on page 5-79. Also check
the tire pressure in all four tires as soon as you can.
SeeInation - Tire Pressure on page 5-69andCheck
Tire Pressure System on page 5-70.
There are times when you will have to reset (calibrate)
the Check Tire Pressure System. SeeCheck Tire
Pressure System on page 5-70.DIC Vehicle Personalization
The DIC is used to program personal choices for up to
two drivers. The drivers are recognized as DRIVER #1
and DRIVER #2. The DIC will identify a person as
UNKNOWN DRIVER if neither DRIVER #1 nor
DRIVER #2 is identied by the system. You will let the
DIC know which driver you are by using your remote
keyless entry transmitter or by pressing one of the
MEMORY buttons located on the driver’s door. Each
remote keyless entry transmitter was pre-programmed to
belong to DRIVER #1 or DRIVER #2 and is numbered
on the back. Each transmitter may be programmed
differently.
After you press the unlock button on your transmitter
with the ignition in RUN, the DIC will display the
identied driver number. The vehicle will recall the
personal choice settings that were last made to
correspond to your transmitter, including your radio
and climate control settings. SeeClimate Controls
Personalization on page 3-31.
3-51

Personal Choice Radio Controls
If your vehicle has this feature it will enable two drivers
to store and recall personal settings for radio presets,
last tuned station, volume, tone, and audio source
(radio, cassette, or CD).
The memory buttons 1 and 2 for this feature are located
on the driver’s door panel and correspond to the
numbers 1 and 2 found on the back of each remote
keyless entry transmitter.
To recall audio sources, press the unlock button on the
remote keyless entry transmitter and turn the ignition
on. The source last listened to will be recalled for
the identied driver 1 or 2.
To program this feature, do the following:
1. Set all radio preferences. For more information see
“Setting Preset Stations” and “Setting the Tone”
listed for your particular radio.
2. Locate the memory buttons on the driver’s door
panel.
3. Press one of the memory buttons 1 or 2 until you
hear two beeps. The beeps conrm that your
selection has been saved and can now be recalled.
Follow these steps each time you want to change the
stored settings.
Theft-Deterrent Feature
THEFTLOCK®is designed to discourage theft of your
radio. It works by using a secret code to disable all radio
functions whenever battery power is interrupted.
If THEFTLOCK
®is active, the THEFTLOCK®indicator
will ash when the ignition is off.
The THEFTLOCK
®feature for the radio may be used or
ignored. If ignored, the system plays normally and the
radio is not protected by the feature. If THEFTLOCK
®is
activated, your radio will not operate if stolen.
When THEFTLOCK
®is activated, the radio will display
LOC to indicate a locked condition anytime battery
power is removed. If your battery loses power for any
reason, you must unlock the radio with the secret
code before it will operate.
Activating the Theft-Deterrent Feature
The instructions which follow explain how to enter
your secret code to activate the THEFTLOCK®system.
Read through all nine steps before starting the
procedure.
If you allow more than 15 seconds to elapse between
any steps, the radio automatically reverts to time
and you must start the procedure over at Step 4.
3-75

Audio Steering Wheel Controls
If your vehicle has this feature, you can control certain
radio functions using the buttons on your steering wheel.
wVOLx(Volume):Press the up or the down arrow
to increase or to decrease volume.
wSEEKx:Press the up or the down arrow to seek
to the next station or to the previous station. When
playing a cassette tape or a CD, press the up arrow to
hear the next selection.AM/FM:Press this button to choose FM1, FM2, or AM.
SCAN:Press this button to scan your radio preset
stations. The radio will scan to the rst preset station
stored on your pushbuttons, play for a few seconds, then
go on to the next preset station. The radio will scan
only to preset stations that are in the selected band and
only to those with a strong signal. Press this button
again to stop scanning.
Understanding Radio Reception
AM
The range for most AM stations is greater than for FM,
especially at night. The longer range, however, can
cause stations to interfere with each other. AM can pick
up noise from things like storms and power lines. Try
reducing the treble to reduce this noise.
FM
FM stereo will give you the best sound, but FM signals
will reach only about 10 to 40 miles (16 to 65 km).
Tall buildings or hills can interfere with FM signals,
causing the sound to come and go.
3-78

But the ability to drive is affected well below a BAC of
0.10 percent. Research shows that the driving skills
of many people are impaired at a BAC approaching
0.05 percent, and that the effects are worse at night.
All drivers are impaired at BAC levels above
0.05 percent. Statistics show that the chance of being
in a collision increases sharply for drivers who have
a BAC of 0.05 percent or above. A driver with a BAC
level of 0.06 percent has doubled his or her chance
of having a collision. At a BAC level of 0.10 percent,
the chance of this driver having a collision is 12 times
greater; at a level of 0.15 percent, the chance is
25 times greater!
The body takes about an hour to rid itself of the alcohol
in one drink. No amount of coffee or number of cold
showers will speed that up. “I will be careful” is not the
right answer. What if there is an emergency, a need
to take sudden action, as when a child darts into
the street? A person with even a moderate BAC might
not be able to react quickly enough to avoid the
collision.There is something else about drinking and driving that
many people do not know. Medical research shows
that alcohol in a person’s system can make crash
injuries worse, especially injuries to the brain, spinal
cord or heart. This means that when anyone who has
been drinking — driver or passenger — is in a crash,
that person’s chance of being killed or permanently
disabled is higher than if the person had not been
drinking.
{CAUTION:
Drinking and then driving is very dangerous.
Your reexes, perceptions, attentiveness and
judgment can be affected by even a small
amount of alcohol. You can have a serious — or
even fatal — collision if you drive after drinking.
Please do not drink and drive or ride with a
driver who has been drinking. Ride home in a
cab; or if you are with a group, designate a
driver who will not drink.
4-5

Control of a Vehicle
You have three systems that make your vehicle go where
you want it to go. They are the brakes, the steering and
the accelerator. All three systems have to do their work at
the places where the tires meet the road.
Sometimes, as when you are driving on snow or ice,
it is easy to ask more of those control systems than the
tires and road can provide. That means you can lose
control of your vehicle. Also seeTraction Control System
(TCS) on page 4-9.
Braking
Braking action involvesperception timeand
reaction time.
First, you have to decide to push on the brake pedal.
That isperception time.Then you have to bring up your
foot and do it. That isreaction time.
Averagereaction timeis about 3/4 of a second.
But that is only an average. It might be less with one
driver and as long as two or three seconds or more with
another. Age, physical condition, alertness, coordination
and eyesight all play a part. So do alcohol, drugs
and frustration. But even in 3/4 of a second, a vehicle
moving at 60 mph (100 km/h) travels 66 feet (20 m).
That could be a lot of distance in an emergency,
so keeping enough space between your vehicle and
others is important.
And, of course, actual stopping distances vary greatly
with the surface of the road (whether it is pavement
or gravel); the condition of the road (wet, dry, icy);
tire tread; the condition of your brakes; the weight of
the vehicle and the amount of brake force applied.
4-6