2004 BUICK PARK AVENUE engine

Instrument Panel Overview...............................3-2
Hazard Warning Flashers................................3-4
Other Warning Devices...................................3-4
Horn.............................................................3-5
Tilt Wheel.....................................................3-5
Turn Signal/Multifunction Lever.........................3-5
Exterior Lamps.............................................3-12
Interior Lamps..............................................3-15
Head-Up Display (HUD).................................3-18
Ultrasonic Rear Parking Assist (URPA)............3-20
Accessory Power Outlets...............................3-22
Ashtrays and Cigarette Lighter........................3-23
Climate Controls............................................3-24
Dual Automatic Climate Control System...........3-24
Outlet Adjustment.........................................3-29
Passenger Compartment Air Filter...................3-30
Steering Wheel Climate Controls.....................3-30
Climate Controls Personalization.....................3-31
Warning Lights, Gages and Indicators.............3-32
Instrument Panel Cluster................................3-33
Speedometer and Odometer...........................3-35
Tachometer.................................................3-35
Safety Belt Reminder Light.............................3-36
Air Bag Readiness Light................................3-36
Battery Warning Light....................................3-37
Brake System Warning Light..........................3-38Anti-Lock Brake System Warning Light.............3-39
Traction Control System (TCS) Warning Light......3-39
Engine Coolant Temperature Gage..................3-40
Malfunction Indicator Lamp.............................3-41
Oil Pressure Light.........................................3-44
Security Light...............................................3-45
Cruise Control Light......................................3-45
Service Vehicle Soon Light............................3-45
Fuel Gage...................................................3-46
Driver Information Center (DIC).......................3-47
DIC Controls and Displays.............................3-47
DIC Warnings and Messages.........................3-50
DIC Vehicle Personalization............................3-51
Audio System(s).............................................3-57
Setting the Time...........................................3-58
Radio with Cassette......................................3-58
Radio with Cassette and CD..........................3-63
Trunk-Mounted CD Changer...........................3-71
Personal Choice Radio Controls......................3-75
Theft-Deterrent Feature..................................3-75
Audio Steering Wheel Controls.......................3-78
Understanding Radio Reception......................3-78
Care of Your Cassette Tape Player.................3-79
Care of Your CDs.........................................3-80
Care of Your CD Player................................3-80
Heated Backlite Antenna................................3-80
Section 3 Instrument Panel
3-1

When it is dark enough outside, your high-beam
headlamps will change to low-beam headlamps at full
brightness. The other lamps that turn on with your
headlamps will also turn on. When it is bright enough
outside, the regular lamps will turn off, and your
high-beam headlamps change to the reduced brightness
of DRL.
To idle your vehicle with the DRL off, shift the transaxle
into PARK (P). The DRL will stay off until you shift
out of PARK (P).
To turn off all exterior lighting at night when you are
parked, turn off the exterior lamp control and slide the
Twilight Sentinel
®control all the way to the left.
When released, the control will return to the Twilight
Sentinel
®minimum delay position and the lights will
turn off.
As with any vehicle, you should turn on the regular
headlamp system when you need it.
Cornering Lamps
The cornering lamps come on when the headlamps or
parking lamps are on and you signal a turn with the
multifunction lever. They provide more light for
cornering.
Twilight Sentinel®
Twilight Sentinel®turns
your headlamps on and off
by sensing how dark it
is outside.
To operate this feature, slide the control to any position
to vary the lamp time-out.
You can set the delay time from only a few seconds to
three minutes. If you move the control all the way to MAX,
your lamps will remain on for three minutes after you turn
off your engine. If you move the control almost all the way
in the other direction, so it is just on, the lamps will go off
quickly when you turn off your engine. Sliding the control
to OFF, turns off the Twilight Sentinel
®feature.
Light Sensor
Your Twilight Sentinel®and DRL work with the light
sensor on top of the instrument panel. Do not cover it
up. If you do, it will sense “dark” and the headlamps will
come on.
3-14

Interior Lamps
Instrument Panel Brightness
Adjust the instrument panel light brightness by turning
the exterior lamps control.
Courtesy Lamps
When any door is opened, several lamps go on.
They make it easy for you to enter and leave your vehicle.
You can also turn these lamps on by turning the exterior
lamps control clockwise all the way past the normal stop.
Entry Lighting
When you open either front door or press the unlock
button on the remote keyless entry transmitter, the lamps
inside your vehicle will turn on. These lamps will turn off
after about 40 seconds. These lamps will also turn off if
you start the engine or activate the power door locks.
Delayed Entry Lighting
When you open the door, the interior lamps will come on.
When you close the door with the ignition off, the interior
lamps will stay on for 25 seconds or until the ignition is
turned to an on position. Locking the doors with thepower door lock switch will override the delayed entry
lighting feature and the lamps will turn off right away.
Using the remote keyless entry transmitter to lock the
door will not cancel delayed lighting.
Theater Dimming
This feature allows for a three to ve-second fade out of
the courtesy lamps instead of immediate turn off.
Delayed Exit Lighting
With this feature, the interior lamps will come on for
25 seconds after you remove the key from the ignition.
This will give you time to nd the door handle or
lock switches.
Parade Dimming
This feature prohibits the dimming of your instrument
panel displays during daylight while your headlamps are
on. This feature operates with the light sensor for the
Twilight Sentinel
®and is fully automatic. When the light
sensor reads darkness outside, you will be able to
dim your instrument panel displays once again.
3-15

Be sure to continue scanning your displays, controls
and driving environment just as you would in a vehicle
without HUD. If you never look at your instrument
panel, you may not see something important, such as a
warning light.
Notice:If you try to use the HUD image as a
parking aid, you may misjudge the distance and
damage your vehicle. Do not use the HUD image as
a parking aid.
The HUD controls are
located in the overhead
console.1. Start your engine and slide the HUD dimmer switch
all the way up.
The brightness of the HUD image is determined by
whether the headlamps are on or off, and where
you have the HUD dimmer switch set.
2. Adjust the seat to a comfortable driving position.
Keep pressing the top arrow on the image height
adjuster to raise the image as far as possible.
3. Keep pressing the bottom arrow on the image
height adjuster to move the image as low as
possible, while still keeping it in full view.
4. Slide the dimmer switch downward until the HUD
image is no brighter than necessary.
To turn the HUD display off, slide the dimmer switch all
the way down.
If the sun comes out, the sky becomes cloudy, or if you
turn your headlamps on, you may need to adjust the
HUD brightness using the dimmer switch. Polarized
sunglasses could make the HUD image harder to see.
To change the display from English to metric units,
push the ENG/MET button located to the left of
the steering column.
3-19

VENT:Pressing the VENT button allows outside air to
ow through your vehicle without the air conditioning
compressor working. To turn off the VENT selection,
push the VENT button again.
Selecting the VENT and AUTO buttons at the same
time allows the system to control the airow
automatically without using the air conditioning
compressor or the recirculation mode.
RECIRC (Recirculation):Press this button to limit the
amount of outside air coming into the vehicle. It can be
used to prevent outside air and odors from entering your
vehicle or to help heat or cool the air inside your vehicle
more quickly. Press this button to turn the recirculation
mode on or off. When the button is pressed, an indicator
light will come on. The recirculation mode cannot be used
with the FRONT defrost or VENT mode.
On hot days, open the windows to let hot air escape; then
close them. This helps to reduce the time it takes for your
vehicle to cool down. It also helps the system to operate
more efficiently.
For quick cool down on hot days, press the AUTO button
and the system will automatically enter recirculation
mode and the temperature will be at the full cold position
for maximum cooling.Using these settings together for long periods of time may
cause the air inside of your vehicle to become too dry.
To prevent this from happening, after the air in your
vehicle has cooled, turn the recirculation mode off.
The air conditioning system removes moisture from the
air, so you may sometimes notice a small amount of
water dripping underneath your vehicle while idling or
after turning off the engine. This is normal.
Sensors
The solar sensor on your vehicle monitors the solar
radiation and the air inside of your vehicle, then uses the
information to maintain the selected temperature by
initiating needed adjustments to the temperature, the fan
speed and the air delivery system. The system may
also supply cooler air to the side of the vehicle facing the
sun. The recirculation mode will also be activated, as
necessary. Do not cover the solar sensor located in the
center of the instrument panel, near the windshield,
or the system will not work properly.
3-26

Warning Lights, Gages and
Indicators
This part describes the warning lights and gages that
may be on your vehicle. The pictures will help you
locate them.
Warning lights and gages can signal that something is
wrong before it becomes serious enough to cause
an expensive repair or replacement. Paying attention
to your warning lights and gages could also save you or
others from injury.
Warning lights come on when there may be or is a
problem with one of your vehicle’s functions. As you
will see in the details on the next few pages, some
warning lights come on briey when you start the
engine just to let you know they are working. If you are
familiar with this section, you should not be alarmed
when this happens.Gages can indicate when there may be or is a problem
with one of your vehicle’s functions. Often gages
and warning lights work together to let you know when
there is a problem with your vehicle.
When one of the warning lights comes on and stays on
when you are driving, or when one of the gages shows
there may be a problem, check the section that tells you
what to do about it. Please follow this manual’s advice.
Waiting to do repairs can be costly — and even
dangerous. So please get to know your warning lights
and gages. They are a big help.
Your vehicle may also have a DIC that works along with
the warning lights and gages. SeeDriver Information
Center (DIC) on page 3-47.
3-32

Speedometer and Odometer
Your speedometer lets you see your speed in both
miles per hour (mph) and kilometers per hour (km/h).
Your odometer shows how far your vehicle has been
driven, in either miles (used in the United States)
or kilometers (used in Canada).
Your vehicle has a tamper-resistant odometer. You may
wonder what happens if your vehicle needs a new
odometer installed. If possible, the new one has to be
set to the same reading the old one had. If it can’t
be, then it’s set at zero and a label must be put on the
driver’s door to show the old mileage reading and
when the new odometer was installed.
Trip Odometer
A trip odometer can tell how far you’ve driven since you
last set it back to zero. To reset it, push the RESET
button. The trip odometer is reset through the Driver
Information Center (DIC) if your vehicle is equipped
with this feature. SeeDIC Controls and Displays
on page 3-47for more information.
Tachometer
The tachometer tells you
how fast the engine is
running. It displays
engine speed in
thousands of revolutions
per minute (rpm).
Notice:If you operate the engine with the
tachometer in the shaded warning area, your vehicle
could be damaged, and the damages would not
be covered by your warranty. Do not operate
the engine with the tachometer in the shaded
warning area.
3-35

Anti-Lock Brake System Warning
Light
With the anti-lock brake
system, the light(s) will
come on when your engine
is started and may stay
on for several seconds.
That’s normal.
If the light stays on and the chime sounds, turn the
ignition to OFF. Or, if the light comes on and the chime
sounds when you’re driving, stop as soon as possible and
turn the ignition off. Then start the engine again to reset
the system. If the light still stays on and the chime
sounds, or the light comes on again while you’re driving,
your vehicle needs service. If the regular brake system
warning light isn’t on, you still have brakes, but you don’t
have anti-lock brakes. If the regular brake system
warning light is also on, you don’t have anti-lock brakes
and there’s a problem with your regular brakes.
SeeBrake System Warning Light on page 3-38.
The anti-lock brake system warning light will come on
briey when you turn the ignition key to RUN. This is
normal. If the light doesn’t come on then, have it xed so
it will be ready to warn you if there is a problem.
Traction Control System (TCS)
Warning Light
If your vehicle has this
feature, this warning light
should come on briey
when the engine is started.
If the warning light doesn’t come on then, have it xed
so it will be ready to warn you if there’s a problem.
If it stays on, or comes on when you’re driving, there
may be a problem with your traction control system
and your vehicle may need service. When this warning
light is on, the system will not limit wheel spin.
Adjust your driving accordingly.
3-39