2005 BUICK LESABRE lights

Light Sensor
Your Twilight
Sentinel®and DRL work
with the light sensor
located on top of the
instrument panel.
Do not cover it up. If you do, it will sense darkness and
the Twilight Sentinel
®lighting will turn on.
Exterior Lighting Battery Saver
If the exterior lamp button has been left on, the exterior
lamps will turn off about 10 minutes after the ignition
is turned to LOCK and a door has been opened.
This protects against draining the battery in case you
have accidentally left the headlamps or parking
lamps on. If you need to leave the lamps on for more
than 10 minutes, use the manual control to turn the
lamps back on after the ignition is turned to LOCK and
any door is opened. To delay the lamps from turning
off, seeTwilight Sentinel
®on page 3-16.
Instrument Panel Brightness
The lever for this feature is
located to the left of the
steering column.
The brightness of the instrument panel lights can be
adjusted by sliding the INTERIOR lever from LO to HI.
The instrument panel lights will be on only while the
parking lamps are on. The interior courtesy lamps can
be turned on by sliding the INTERIOR lever all the
way to HI.
Courtesy Lamps
If it is dark enough outside, when any door is opened,
several lamps go on. They make it easy for you to enter
and leave the vehicle. You can also turn these lamps
on by sliding the INTERIOR lever all the way to HI.
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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.
The volume of your vehicle’s warning chimes can be
adjusted. For information seeChime Level Adjustment
on page 3-85.
Instrument Panel Cluster
Your instrument panel cluster is designed to let you
know at a glance how your vehicle is running. You’ll
know how fast you’re going, how much fuel you’re
using, and many other things you’ll need to drive safely
and economically.
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Your vehicle is equipped with one of these instrument panel clusters, which includes indicator warning lights and
gages that are explained on the following pages.
Standard Cluster (United States version shown, Canada similar)
3-34

Security Feedback
By choosing different combinations of these selections,
you can choose the type of transmitter activated
feedback when locking and unlocking your vehicle with
your transmitter. Each time you make a selection by
pressing the ENG/MET button, press the RESET button
to record your choice.
KEYLESS FEEDBACK – OFF/ON
LIGHTS FEEDBACK – OFF/ON
HORN FEEDBACK – OFF/ON
If you choose ON for KEYLESS FEEDBACK you will
also need to choose LIGHTS and/or HORN FEEDBACK.
You can select the following modes:
If you choose OFF for KEYLESS FEEDBACK, you will
receive no security feedback when locking or
unlocking your vehicle.
If you choose ON for KEYLESS FEEDBACK and ON for
LIGHTS FEEDBACK, the exterior lamps will ash
twice when unlocking your vehicle and once when
locking your vehicle.If you choose ON for KEYLESS FEEDBACK and ON for
HORN FEEDBACK, your horn will chirp when all
doors are unlocked and when locking your vehicle.
If you choose ON for KEYLESS, LIGHTS and HORN
FEEDBACK, your exterior lamps will ash twice at
the rst unlock button press, your exterior lamps will
ash twice and the horn will chirp once at the second
unlock button press, and the exterior lamps will ash and
the horn will chirp once when locking your vehicle.
For more information on this feature, see “Security
Feedback” underRemote Keyless Entry System
Operation on page 2-6.
Delayed Locking
This feature, which delays the locking of the vehicle,
can be made active or inactive through the DIC. When
DELAYED LOCKING – OFF/ON appears on the
display, use the ENG/MET button to toggle the
arrow between OFF and ON. When you have made
your choice, press the RESET button to record
your selection.
For more information on this feature, seeDelayed
Locking on page 2-11.
3-54

Perimeter Lighting
Press the unlock button on the remote keyless entry
transmitter to turn on the DRL (high-beams at reduced
intensity), parking lamps and back-up lamps if it is
dark enough according to the Twilight Sentinel
®.
You can control activation of this feature by choosing
OFF or ON when the PERIMETER LIGHTS choice
is displayed on the DIC. Make your choice by pressing
the ENG/MET button and record your choice by
pressing the RESET button. You will then be prompted
to choose a TIMEOUT period. See “Exterior Lights”
following for more information.
For more information on this feature, seePerimeter
Lighting on page 3-18.
Exterior Lights
The EXTERIOR LIGHTS/TIMEOUT feature can be
changed to a desired setting by using the ENG/MET to
toggle from 5 to 30 seconds. Each toggle will increase
the time by ve seconds. Once the desired timeout
is displayed, press RESET to record your choice and
move on to the next personal choice feature.
Memory Seats
If your vehicle has this feature, the memory seat and
mirror positions will be recalled for the identied
driver when the remote keyless entry transmitter is used
to enter the vehicle.
You can program this feature to be active by choosing
ON when the SEAT RECALL choice appears, or
inactive by choosing OFF when the SEAT RECALL
choice appears on the DIC. Make your choices
by pressing the ENG/MET button and store them to
memory by pressing the RESET button.
You can also program this feature to recall your
memory seat position or the exit seat position.
MEMORY:Choose ON when the SEAT RECALL
choice appears, and then choose MEMORY when the
RECALL POSITION choice appears.
EXIT:Choose ON when the SEAT RECALL choice
appears, and then choose EXIT when the RECALL
POSITION choice appears. The seat will move when
you enter the vehicle after unlocking it with a remote
keyless entry transmitter. This will allow for easy entry.
For more information on this feature, seeMemory
Seat and Mirrors on page 2-45.
3-55

What you do in the daytime can also affect your night
vision. For example, if you spend the day in bright
sunshine you are wise to wear sunglasses. Your eyes
will have less trouble adjusting to night. But if you
are driving, do not wear sunglasses at night. They may
cut down on glare from headlamps, but they also
make a lot of things invisible.
You can be temporarily blinded by approaching
headlamps. It can take a second or two, or even several
seconds, for your eyes to re-adjust to the dark. When
you are faced with severe glare, as from a driver
who does not lower the high beams, or a vehicle with
misaimed headlamps, slow down a little. Avoid
staring directly into the approaching headlamps.
Keep your windshield and all the glass on your vehicle
clean — inside and out. Glare at night is made much
worse by dirt on the glass. Even the inside of the glass
can build up a lm caused by dust. Dirty glass makes
lights dazzle and ash more than clean glass would,
making the pupils of your eyes contract repeatedly.
Remember that your headlamps light up far less of a
roadway when you are in a turn or curve. Keep
your eyes moving; that way, it is easier to pick out dimly
lighted objects. Just as your headlamps should be
checked regularly for proper aim, so should your eyes
be examined regularly. Some drivers suffer from
night blindness — the inability to see in dim light — and
are not even aware of it.Driving in Rain and on Wet Roads
Rain and wet roads can mean driving trouble. On a wet
road, you cannot stop, accelerate, or turn as well
because your tire-to-road traction is not as good as on
dry roads. And, if your tires do not have much tread
left, you will get even less traction. It is always wise to
go slower and be cautious if rain starts to fall while
you are driving. The surface may get wet suddenly when
your reexes are tuned for driving on dry pavement.
4-17

Passing
You will need more passing distance up ahead when
you are towing a trailer. And, because the vehicle
is a good deal longer, you will need to go much farther
beyond the passed vehicle before you can return to
your lane.
Backing Up
Hold the bottom of the steering wheel with one hand.
Then, to move the trailer to the left, just move that hand
to the left. To move the trailer to the right, move your
hand to the right. Always back up slowly and, if possible,
have someone guide you.
Making Turns
Notice:Making very sharp turns while trailering
could cause the trailer to come in contact with the
vehicle. Your vehicle could be damaged. Avoid
making very sharp turns while trailering.
When you are turning with a trailer, make wider turns
than normal. Do this so your trailer will not strike
soft shoulders, curbs, road signs, trees or other
objects. Avoid jerky or sudden maneuvers. Signal well
in advance.
Turn Signals When Towing a Trailer
When you tow a trailer, your vehicle may need a
different turn signal asher and/or extra wiring. Check
with your dealer. The arrows on your instrument
panel will ash whenever you signal a turn or lane
change. Properly hooked up, the trailer lamps will also
ash, telling other drivers you are about to turn,
change lanes or stop.
When towing a trailer, the arrows on your instrument
panel will ash for turns even if the bulbs on the trailer
are burned out. Thus, you may think drivers behind
you are seeing your signal when they are not. It
is important to check occasionally to be sure the trailer
bulbs are still working.
Your vehicle has bulb warning lights. When you plug a
trailer lighting system into your vehicle’s lighting
system, its bulb warning lights may not let you know if
one of your lamps goes out. So, when you have a trailer
lighting system plugged in, be sure to check your
vehicle and trailer lamps from time to time to be sure
they are all working. Once you disconnect the trailer
lamps, the bulb warning lights again can tell you if one
of your vehicle lamps is out.
4-42

How to Add Fluid
Refer to the Maintenance Schedule to determine
what kind of transaxle uid to use. See
Part D: Recommended Fluids and Lubricants
on page 6-24.
If the uid level is low, add only enough of the proper
uid to bring the level into the cross-hatched area on
the dipstick.
1. Pull out the dipstick.
2. Using a long-neck funnel, add enough uid at the
dipstick hole to bring it to the proper level.
It does not take much uid, generally less than
one pint (0.5 L).Do not overll.
Notice:Use of automatic transaxle uid labeled
other than DEXRON
®-III, Approved for the
H-Specication, may damage your vehicle, and the
damages may not be covered by your warranty.
Always use automatic transaxle uid labeled
DEXRON
®-III, Approved for the H-Specication.
3. After adding uid, recheck the uid level as
described under “How to Check,” earlier in
this section.
4. When the correct uid level is obtained, push the
dipstick back in all the way.
Engine Coolant
The cooling system in your vehicle is lled with
DEX-COOL®engine coolant. This coolant is designed to
remain in your vehicle for 5 years or 150,000 miles
(240 000 km), whichever occurs rst, if you add
only DEX-COOL
®extended life coolant.
The following explains your cooling system and how to
add coolant when it is low. If you have a problem
with engine overheating, seeEngine Overheating on
page 5-26.
A 50/50 mixture of clean, drinkable water and
DEX-COOL
®coolant will:
Give freezing protection down to−34°F (−37°C).
Give boiling protection up to 265°F (129°C).
Protect against rust and corrosion.
Help keep the proper engine temperature.
Let the warning lights and gages work as
they should.
Notice:Using coolant other than DEX-COOL
®may
cause premature engine, heater core or radiator
corrosion. In addition, the engine coolant may
require changing sooner, at 30,000 miles (50 000 km)
or 24 months, whichever occurs rst. Any repairs
would not be covered by your warranty. Always use
DEX-COOL
®(silicate-free) coolant in your vehicle.
5-24