steering BUICK RANDEZVOUS 2004 User Guide

Hazard Warning Flashers
Your hazard warning ashers let you warn others.
They also let police know you have a problem. Your
front and rear turn signal lamps will ash on and off.The hazard warning asher
button is located on top of
the steering column.
Your hazard warning ashers work no matter what
position your key is in, and even if the key isn’t in.
Press the button to make the front and rear turn signal
lamps ash on and off. Press the button again to
turn the ashers off.
When the hazard warning ashers are on, the turn
signals won’t work.
3-6

Other Warning Devices
If you carry reective triangles, you can set one up at
the side of the road about 300 feet (100 m) behind your
vehicle.
Horn
You can sound the horn by pressing the center of your
steering wheel.
Tilt Wheel
A tilt wheel allows you to adjust the steering wheel
before you drive. You can raise it to the highest level to
give your legs more room when you exit and enter
the vehicle.
The lever that allows you to tilt the steering wheel is
located on the left side of the steering column.To tilt the wheel, hold the
steering wheel and pull
the lever.
Then move the steering wheel to a comfortable position
and release the lever to lock the wheel in place.
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Turn Signal/Multifunction Lever
The lever on the left side of the steering column
includes the following:
GTurn and Lane-Change Signals
5Headlamp High/Low-Beam Changer
Flash-to-Pass
NWindshield Wipers
LWindshield Washer
ICruise Control
Turn and Lane-Change Signals
The turn signal has two upward (for right) and two
downward (for left) positions. These positions allow you
to signal a turn or a lane change.
To signal a turn, move the lever all the way up or down.
When the turn is nished, the lever will return
automatically.
An arrow on the instrument
panel cluster and the HUD
display will ash in the
direction of the turn or lane
change.
To signal a lane change, just raise or lower the lever
until the arrow starts to ash. Hold it there until you
complete your lane change. The lever will return by itself
when you release it.
As you signal a turn or a lane change, if the arrow
ashes faster than normal, a signal bulb may be burned
out and other drivers will not see your turn signal.
If a bulb is burned out, replace it to help avoid an
accident. If the arrows do not go on at all when you
signal a turn, check for burned-out bulbs and check the
fuse. SeeFuses and Circuit Breakers on page 5-109.
3-8

Exterior Lamps
The control on the left side
of the steering column
operates the exterior
lamps.
The exterior lamp control has three positions:
AUTO (Automatic Headlamp Control/Off):Turning
the control to this position will activate the automatic
headlamps when it is dark enough outside and turn off
all lamps and lights during the day except for the
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL).
<(Parking Lamps):Turning the control to this
position turns on the parking lamps together with the
following:
Taillamps
Instrument Panel Lights
5(Headlamps):Turning the control to this position
turns on the headlamps together with the previously
listed lamps and lights.
Lamps on Reminder
If the driver’s door is opened and you turn the ignition to
OFF while leaving the lamps on, you will hear a
warning chime.
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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 to the left of the
steering wheel on the
instrument panel.
When the HUD is on, the speedometer reading will
always be displayed. The current audio system
information will only be displayed for three seconds after
the radio, tape or CD track status changes. This will
happen whenever one of the radio controls is pressed,
either on the radio or on the audio steering wheel
controls, if equipped.To adjust the HUD so you can see it properly,
do the following:
1. Start your engine and turn the dimmer knob to the
desired HUD image brightness.
The brightness of the HUD image is determined by
the ambient light conditions in the direction your
vehicle is facing and where you have the HUD
dimmer knob set. If you are facing a dark object or a
heavily shaded area, your HUD may anticipate that
you are entering a dark area and may begin to dim.
2. Adjust the driver’s seat. If you change your seat
position, you may have to readjust your HUD.
3. Press the UP or DN buttons until the HUD image is
easy to see and then press the DN button until the
HUD image is as low as possible, but remains
in full view straight ahead near the front bumper.
The HUD image can only be adjusted up and down,
not side-to-side.
4. To turn the image off, turn the dimmer knob
counterclockwise until it stops.
If the sun comes out or it becomes cloudy, you may
need to adjust the HUD brightness again using
the dimmer knob. Polarized sunglasses could make the
HUD image harder to see.
3-23

DIC Controls and Displays
When the ignition is turned to ON or START, the DIC
will display the following:
BUICK:BUICK will be displayed for three seconds.
DRIVER #:This message will be displayed for another
three seconds after BUICK appears in the display.
This display lets the driver know which driver’s remote
keyless entry transmitter is being used and the
driver’s customization features.
The DIC controls are
located to the left of the
steering column on
the instrument panel.
The DIC will be in the last mode displayed when the
engine was turned off. To select a different mode, press
MODE. The display will cycle through its options at
each press of MODE.MODE:This button lets you cycle through the options
on the display.
SET:This button is used to select and set the options
to your preference.
The DIC will always display the compass reading and
the outside temperature. If the temperature is below
38°F (3°C), the temperature reading will toggle between
displaying the temperature and the word ICE for two
minutes.
AVG ECONOMY (Average Economy):Average fuel
economy is viewed as a long term approximation of your
overall driving conditions. To learn the average fuel
economy from a new starting point, press and hold the
SET button while the average fuel economy is
displayed on the DIC. The average fuel economy will
set to zero.
INST ECONOMY (Instant Economy):Instant fuel
economy varies with your driving conditions, such as
acceleration, braking and the grade of the road
being traveled.
FUEL RANGE:The fuel range is an estimated distance
that your vehicle can travel on the remaining fuel.
The fuel economy used to calculate the range is based
on your driving history since the last reset of the
average speed.
3-62

Audio Steering Wheel Controls
If your vehicle has this feature, you can control certain
radio functions using the buttons on your steering wheel.
SOURCE:Press this button to play a cassette tape,
CD, or a DVD (if equipped) when listening to the radio.
If a cassette tape, and CD, and/or DVD are loaded,
the system will go to the tape play rst.
MUTE:Press this button to silence the system. Press it
again, or any other radio button, to turn on the sound.
QVOLR(Volume):Press the up or down arrow
to increase or decrease volume.
QSEEKR:Press the up arrow to seek to the next
station and the down arrow to seek to the previous
station. The sound will mute while seeking. When
playing a cassette tape or a CD, press the up arrow to
hear the next selection.
BAND:Press this button to choose FM1, FM2, AM, or
XM1 or XM2 (48 contiguous US states, if equipped).
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
preset stations that are in the selected band and only to
those with a strong signal. Press this button again to
stop scanning.
DVD Distortion
You may experience video distortion when operating
cellular phones, scanners, CB radios, Global Position
Systems (GPS)*, two-way radios, mobile fax, or
walkie talkies.
It may be necessary to turn off the DVD player when
operating one of these devices in or near the vehicle.
*Excludes the OnStar
®System.
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Your Driving, the Road, and Your Vehicle..........4-2
Driver Behavior..............................................4-2
Driving Environment........................................4-2
Vehicle Design...............................................4-3
Defensive Driving...........................................4-3
Drunken Driving.............................................4-4
Control of a Vehicle........................................4-7
Braking.........................................................4-7
Traction Control System (TCS).......................4-11
All-Wheel Drive (AWD) System.......................4-12
Steering......................................................4-13
Off-Road Recovery.......................................4-15
Passing.......................................................4-15
Loss of Control.............................................4-17Driving at Night............................................4-18
Driving in Rain and on Wet Roads..................4-20
City Driving..................................................4-23
Freeway Driving...........................................4-24
Before Leaving on a Long Trip.......................4-25
Highway Hypnosis........................................4-26
Hill and Mountain Roads................................4-26
Winter Driving..............................................4-28
If You Are Stuck: In Sand, Mud, Ice or Snow . . .4-32
Towing..........................................................4-33
Towing Your Vehicle.....................................4-33
Recreational Vehicle Towing...........................4-34
Loading Your Vehicle....................................4-36
Towing a Trailer...........................................4-42
Section 4 Driving Your Vehicle
4-1

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 4-11.
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.
4-7

Remember: Anti-lock does not change the time you
need to get your foot up to the brake pedal or always
decrease stopping distance. If you get too close to
the vehicle in front of you, you will not have time to apply
your brakes if that vehicle suddenly slows or stops.
Always leave enough room up ahead to stop, even
though you have anti-lock brakes.
Using Anti-Lock
Do not pump the brakes. Just hold the brake pedal
down rmly and let anti-lock work for you. You may feel
a slight brake pedal pulsation or notice some noise,
but this is normal.
Braking in Emergencies
At some time, nearly every driver gets into a situation
that requires hard braking.
If you have anti-lock, you can steer and brake at the
same time. However, if you do not have anti-lock, your
rst reaction — to hit the brake pedal hard and hold
it down — may be the wrong thing to do. Your wheelscan stop rolling. Once they do, the vehicle can not
respond to your steering. Momentum will carry it
in whatever direction it was headed when the wheels
stopped rolling. That could be off the road, into the very
thing you were trying to avoid, or into traffic.
If you do not have anti-lock, use a “squeeze” braking
technique. This will give you maximum braking
while maintaining steering control. You can do this by
pushing on the brake pedal with steadily increasing
pressure.
In an emergency, you will probably want to squeeze the
brakes hard without locking the wheels. If you hear or
feel the wheels sliding, ease off the brake pedal.
This will help you retain steering control. If youdohave
anti-lock, it is different. See “Anti-Lock Brake System”
in this section.
In many emergencies, steering can help you more than
even the very best braking.
4-10