BUICK PARK AVENUE 1996 User Guide
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Vehicle Damage Warnings
Also, in this book you will find these notices:
NOTICE:
These mean there is something that could
damage your vehicle.
In the notice area, we tell you about something that can
damage your vehicle. Many times, this damage would not be covered by
your warranty, and
it could be costly.
But the notice will tell you what
to do to help avoid
the damage.
When you read other manuals,
you might see CAUTION
and NOTICE warnings in different colors or in
different words.
You’ll also see warning labels
on your vehicle. They use
the same words CAUTION or NOTICE.
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Vehicle Symbols
These are some of the symbols you may find on your vehicle.
For example,
these symbols
are used on an
original battery:
POSSIBLE A
CAUTION
INJURY
PROTECT EYES BY
SHIELDING
CAUSTIC
BURNS AVOID
SPARKS
OR
FLAMES
SPARK
OR ,\I/,
COULD FLAME
EXPLODE BATTERY
These symbols
are important
for you and
your passengers
whenever your
vehicle is driven:
DOOR LOCK
UNLOCK
FASTEN SEAT
BELTS
POWER
WINDOW
These symbols
have to do with
your lights:
SIGNALS e e
TURN
WARNING
A
HAZARD
FLASHER
RUNNING
0
DAYTIME -
LAMPS '**
FOG LAMPS $0
These symbols
are on
some of
your controls:
WINDSHIELD
WIPER
WINDSHIELD DEFROSTER
WINDOW
DEFOGGER
VENTILATING FAN
These symbols are used
on
warning and
indicator lights:
COOLANT
TEMP
-
CHARGING I-1
BATTERY
SYSTEM
BRAKE
(0)
ENGINE OIL e,
PRESSURE
ANTI-LOCK
(@)
BRAKES
Here are some
other symbols you may see:
FUSE
I
LIGHTER I
HORN h=r
SPEAKER
b
FUEL n3
X
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Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
Here you’ll find information about the seats in your
Buick and how to use your safety belts properly. You
can also learn about some things you should
not do with
air bags and safety belts.
Seats and Seat Controls
This part tells you about the seats -- how to adjust them,
and also about memory seats, reclining seatbacks and
head restraints.
Manual Seat
You may have a manual seat on the passenger side of
your Park Avenue. Move the lever under the front seat
to unlock it. Slide the seat
to where you want it. Then
release the lever and try to move the seat with your
body, to make sure the seat is locked into place.
Power Seat
Front Tilt Control (F): Raise the front of the seat by
pressing on the left side of the switch. Press on the right
side of the switch to lower the front of the seat.
Center Controls (C): Move the seat forward or back by
pressing the control on the front or back. Raise the seat
by pressing the control on the left. Press the control on
the right to lower the seat.
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Rear Tilt Control (R): Raise the rear of the seat by
pressing the switch on the left. Pressing the switch on
the right lowers the rear of the seat.
Mc or: rnd Mi1 5 (( n)
If your Buick has this option, the control on the driver’s
door armrest looks like this:
You can use this memory function to save your seat and
mirror adjustment settings by using
the following procedure.
Adjust the driver’s seat to a safe and comfortable
driving position. Adjust both outside mirrors to suit
you. See “Outside Mirrors” in the Index.
Press the SET button. You will hear one beep.
Press one of the two MEMORY buttons within
five seconds. You will hear two beeps to confirm
that the mirror and seat positions have been entered
into memory.
Now it’s set. When your Buick
is in PARK (P) with the
ignition on, push the memory button you just stored
and the seat and mirrors will move to the set position.
With the ignition
OFF, the system will work in any shift
lever position.
To set the seat and mirror positions for a second
driver, follow the previous steps, but use the other
MEMORY button.
If you press the wrong MEMORY button, or if there is
a third driver, the seat adjuster will still work.
The
EXIT button allows for easy exit from the vehicle.
Push the
EXIT button while in PARK (P) with the
ignition on, or anytime while the ignition is
OFF and the
seat will move all the way down and
back. You will hear
a beep when the EXIT button is pressed.
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Remote Keyless Entry Personal Choice
Feature (Option)
If your Park Avenue
is equipped with the
Remote Keyless
Entry System, each
transmitter can be
programmed to move the driver’s seat and
outside mirrors to a set
memory position when
the transmitter’s
UNLOCK button
is pressed.
For programming instructions, see “Personal Choice Features” in the Index.
ieated Front Seats (Option)
If your vehicle has this option, the controls are located
to
the side of the driver and front passenger seats.
Push the switch closest to the front
of the driver’s seat
forward and the driver’s seat will start to warm up.
Push the switch closest to the front
of the front
passenger’s seat forward and
the front passenger seat
will begin to warm up.
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The light on top of the switch will turn orange for low or
red for high. Push the switch rearward to stop the seat
from warming.
Reclining Front Seatbacks
To adjust the seatback, lift
the lever on the outer side
of the seat. Release the lever
to lock the seatback where
you want
it. Pull up on the
lever and the seat will
go to
its upright position. If
you have the power
recline option, it works with
the switch on the side
of the
seat. Push it back
to recline
the seat, push it forward
to return the seat to its
upright position.
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I
Sitting in a reclined position when your vehicle is
in motion can be dangerous. Even if you buckle
up, your safety belts can’t do their job when
you’re reclined like this.
The shoulder belt can’t do its job because it
won’t be against your body. Instead, it
will be in
front
of you. In a crash you could go into it,
receiving neck or other injuries.
The lap belt can’t do its job either. In
a crash the
belt could
go up over your abdomen. The belt
forces would be there, not at your pelvic bones.
This could cause serious internal injuries.
For proper protection when the vehicle is in
motion, have the seatback upright. Then sit well
back in the seat and wear your safety belt properly.
But don’t
have a seatback reclined if your vehicle
is
moving.
ead Restrain’-
Slide the head restraint up or down so that the top of the
restraint is closest to the top
of your ears. This position
reduces the chance
of a neck injury in a crash.
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Safety Belts: They’re for Everyone
This part of the manual tells you how to use safety belts
properly. It also tells you some things you should not do
with safety belts.
And
it explains the Supplemental Restraint System
(SRS), or air bag system.
A CAUTIOI..
r -
Don’t let anyone ride where he or she can’t wear
a safety belt properly.
If you are in a crash and
you’re not wearing
a safety belt, your injuries
can be much worse.
You can hit things inside the
vehicle or be ejected from
it. You can be seriously
injured or killed. In the same crash, you might
not be if
you are buckled up. Always fasten your
safety belt, and check that your passengers’ belts
are fastened properly too.
1
Your vehicle has a light
that comes on as a reminder
to buckle up. (See “Safety
Belt Reminder Light” in
the Index.)
In most states and Canadian provinces, the law says to
wear safety belts. Here’s why:
They work.
You never know if you’ll be in a crash. If you do have a
crash, you don’t know if it will be a bad one.
A few crashes are mild, and some crashes can be
so
serious that even buckled up a person wouldn’t survive.
But most crashes are in between.
In many of them,
people who buckle up can survive and sometimes walk
away. Without belts they could have been badly hurt
or killed.
After more than
25 years of safety belts in vehicles,
the facts are clear. In most crashes buckling up does
matter
... a lot!
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Why Safety Belts Work
When you ride in or on anything, you go as fast as
it goes.
Put someone
on it.
Take the simplest vehicle. Suppose it’s
just a seat
on wheels.
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Get it up to speed. Then stop the vehicle. The rider
doesn’t stop. The
person keeps going until stopped by something.
In
a real vehicle, it could be the windshield ...
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