2004 Oldsmobile Silhouette engine

Message Center
The message center is located in the instrument panel
cluster. It gives you important safety and maintenance
facts.
Service Traction System Warning
Message
If your vehicle has the traction control system and this
message is displayed when you're driving, there may be
a problem with your traction control system. Your vehicle
may need service.When this message is displayed, the traction control
system will not limit wheel spin. Adjust your driving
accordingly.
The message may appear for the following reasons:
·If there's a brake system problem that is speci®cally
related to traction control, the traction control
system will turn off and the warning message will
come on.
·If your brakes begin to overheat, the traction control
system will turn off and the warning message will
come on until your brakes cool down.
·If the traction control system is affected by an
engine-related problem, the system will turn off and
the warning message will come on.
If the traction control system warning message comes
on and stays on for an extended period of time when the
system is turned on, your vehicle needs service. United States
Canada
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Traction Active Message
If your vehicle has the traction control system, the
TRACTION ACTIVE message will appear when the
traction control system is limiting wheel spin. You may
feel or hear the system working, but this is normal.
Slippery road conditions may exist if this message
appears, so adjust your driving accordingly.
The message will stay on for a few seconds after
the traction control system stops limiting wheel spin.
Engine Coolant Temperature
Warning Message
This message will come on when your engine gets
too hot.
If this message comes on, it means that your engine
coolant has overheated. If you have been operating your
vehicle under normal driving conditions, you should
pull off the road, stop your vehicle and turn off the
engine as soon as possible.
See
Engine Overheating on page 5-25. United States
Canada
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Charging System Indicator Message
The charging system
battery symbol will come
on in the message
center when you turn on
the ignition as a check
to show you it is working.
It will remain on as long as the engine is not running.
It should go out once the engine is running. If it stays
on, or comes on while you are driving, you may have
a problem with the charging system. It could indicate
that you have problems with a generator drive belt,
or another electrical problem. Have it checked
right away. Driving while this indicator appears in the
message center could drain your battery.
If you must drive a short distance with the message
on, be certain to turn off all your accessories, such as
the radio and air conditioner.
Low Oil Pressure Message
Your vehicle is equipped with a low oil pressure warning
message.
Your oil pressure message lets you know when you
may have a problem with your engine oil pressure.
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When the engine is running and this message appears,
the engine oil level may be too low. There may also
be another problem causing low oil pressure.
{CAUTION:
Do not keep driving if the oil pressure is low.
If you do, your engine can become so hot that
it catches ®re. You or others could be burned.
Check your oil as soon as possible and have
your vehicle serviced.
Notice:Lack of proper engine oil maintenance may
damage the engine. The repairs would not be covered
by your warranty. Always follow the maintenance
schedule in this manual for changing engine oil.
Change Engine Oil Message
If this message comes on and stays on after you started
the engine, have the oil changed.
For additional information on when to change the oil
and resetting the system, see
Engine Oil on page 5-13. United States
Canada
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Rear Hatch Ajar Warning Message
This message will come on when the ignition is turned
to RUN or START and the rear hatch is open.
PASS-KeyžIII Security Message
If you are ever driving and this message comes on
and stays on, you will be able to restart your engine
if you turn it off.
Your PASS-Key
žIII system, however, is not working
properly and must be serviced by your dealer. Your
vehicle is not protected by the PASS-Key
žIII system at
this time. SeePASS-KeyžIII on page 2-28for more
information. United States
CanadaUnited StatesCanada
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Audio System(s)
Notice:Before you add any sound equipment to
your vehicle ± like a tape player, CB radio, mobile
telephone or two-way radio ± be sure you can add
what you want. If you can, it's very important to do it
properly. Added sound equipment may interfere with
the operation of your vehicle's engine, radio or other
systems, and even damage them. Your vehicle's
systems may interfere with the operation of sound
equipment that has been added improperly.
So, before adding sound equipment, check with
your dealer and be sure to check federal rules
covering mobile radio and telephone units.
Your audio system has been designed to operate easily
and to give years of listening pleasure. You will get
the most enjoyment out of it if you acquaint yourself with
it ®rst. Figure out which radio you have in your vehicle,
®nd out what your audio system can do and how to
operate all of its controls to be sure you're getting the
most out of the advanced engineering that went into it.
Your vehicle has a feature called Retained Accessory
Power (RAP). With RAP, you can play your audio
system even after the ignition is turned off. See
ªRetained Accessory Power (RAP)º under
Ignition
Positions on page 2-31.
Setting the Time
Your radio may have a button marked with an H or HR
to represent hours and an M or MIN to represent
minutes.
Press and hold the hour button until the correct hour
appears on the display. AM will appear on the display for
morning hours. Press and hold the minute button until
the correct minute appears on the display. The time may
be set with the ignition on or off.
To synchronize the time with an FM station broadcasting
Radio Data System (RDS) information, press and
hold the hour and minute buttons at the same time until
UPDATED appears on the display. If the time is not
available from the station, NO UPDAT will appear on the
display instead.
RDS time is broadcast once a minute. Once you have
tuned to an RDS broadcast station, it may take a
few minutes for your time to update.
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Braking
Braking action involvesperception timeandreaction 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.
Avoid needless heavy braking. Some people drive
in spurts Ð heavy acceleration followed by heavy
braking Ð rather than keeping pace with traffic.
This is a mistake. Your brakes may not have time
to cool between hard stops. Your brakes will wear
out much faster if you do a lot of heavy braking.If you keep pace with the traffic and allow realistic
following distances, you will eliminate a lot of
unnecessary braking. That means better braking
and longer brake life.
If your engine ever stops while you are driving, brake
normally but do not pump your brakes. If you do,
the pedal may get harder to push down. If your engine
stops, you will still have some power brake assist.
But you will use it when you brake. Once the power
assist is used up, it may take longer to stop and
the brake pedal will be harder to push.
Anti-lock Brake System (ABS)
Your vehicle may have anti-lock brakes. ABS is an
advanced electronic braking system that will help
prevent a braking skid.
If your vehicle has anti-lock
brakes, this warning light
on the instrument panel will
come on brie¯y when
you start your vehicle.
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When you start your engine, or when you begin to drive
away, your anti-lock brake system will check itself.
You may hear a momentary motor or clicking noise while
this test is going on, and you may even notice that
your brake pedal moves or pulses a little. This is normal.
Let us say the road is wet and you are driving safely.
Suddenly, an animal jumps out in front of you. You slam
on the brakes and continue braking. Here is what
happens with ABS:A computer senses that wheels are slowing down. If one
of the wheels is about to stop rolling, the computer will
separately work the brakes at each wheel.
The anti-lock system can change the brake pressure
faster than any driver could. The computer is
programmed to make the most of available tire and
road conditions. This can help you steer around
the obstacle while braking hard.
As you brake, your computer keeps receiving updates on
wheel speed and controls braking pressure accordingly.
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