brake light BUICK REGAL 1995 Owners Manual
Page 12 of 340
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
BATTERY
CAUSE
BURNS
ACID COULD
x
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
BELTS
4
These symbols
have
to do with
your lights:
SIGNALS e
TURN
POWER
WINDOW
HIGH LAMPSoR BEAM
= =o
FOG LAMPS $0
These symbols
are on
some of
your controls:
WINDSHIELD
WIPER
1. *td -1
WINDSHIELD c)
WASHER a
WINDSHIELD DEFROSTER
WINDOW
DEFOGGER
VENTILATING FAN
These symbols
are used on
warning and
indicator lights:
COOLANT F-
TEMP --
ENGINE
CHARGING BATTERY
SYSTEM
BRAKE
(0)
RADIATOR COOLANT
a
FUEL
ENGINE OIL
PRESSURE
w4
TEMP OIL 4%
ANTI-LOCK (@)
BRAKE
Here are some other symbols
you may
see:
FUSE
RADIO
VOLUME
AIR
CONDITIONING
TRUNK
e
RELEASE
t
LIGHTER n
SPEAKER
b
X
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Page 91 of 340
To Set Cruise Control
1. Move the cruise control switch to ON.
2. Get up to the speed you want.
3.
4.
Push
in the SET button
at the end of the lever
and release
it. The
CRUISE light on the
instrument panel will
come on.
Take your foot off the
accelerator pedal.
To Resume a Set Speed
Suppose you set your cruise control at a desired speed
and then you apply the brake. This, of course, shuts
off
the cruise control. But you don’t need to reset it.
Once you’re going about
25 mph (40 km/h) or more,
you can move the cruise
control switch from
ON to
WA (Resume/Accelerate)
for about half
a second.
You’ll go right back up to
your chosen speed and
stay there.
To Increase Speed While Using Cruise Control
There are two ways to go to a higher speed. Here’s the
first:
1.
2.
Use the accelerator pedal to get to the higher speed.
Push in the
SET button, then release the button and
the accelerator pedal. You’ll now cruise at the higher
speed.
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Page 92 of 340
Here’s the second way to go to a higher speed:
Move the cruise switch from ON to FUA. Hold it
there until you get up to the speed you want, and
then release the switch.
0 To increase your speed in very small amounts, move
the switch to
R/A for less than half a second and then
release it. Each time
you do this, your vehicle will go
1 mph (1.6 km/h) faster.
The accelerate feature will
only work after you set the
the cruise control speed by pushing the
SET button.
To Reduce Speed While Using Cruise Control
There are two ways to reduce your speed while using
cruise control:
Push in the SET button until you reach the lower
speed you want, then rele~
~ : it.
To slow down in very small amounts, push the SET
button for less than half
a second. Each time you do
this, you’ll go 1 mph (1.6 km/h) slower.
Passing Another Vehicle While Using Cruise Control
Use the accelerator pedal to increase your speed. When
you take your foot
off the pedal, your vehicle will slow
down to
the cruise control speed you set earlier.
Using Cruise Control on Hills
How well your cruise control will work on hills depends
upon your speed, load and
the steepness of the hills.
When going
up steep hills, you may have to step on the
accelerator pedal to maintain your speed. When going
downhill, you may have to brake or shift to
a lower gear
to keep your speed down. Of course, applying the brake
takes you out of cruise control. Many drivers find this
to
be too much trouble and don’t use cruise control on
steep hills.
To Get Out of Cruise Control
There are two ways to turn off the cruise control:
Step lightly on the brake pedal; OR
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Page 94 of 340
Instrument Panel Lamps
You can brighten or dim the instrument panel lamps by
moving the PANEL
LAMPS dial. If you turn the dial
past
HI, your courtesy or interior lamps will conle on.
Daytime Running Lamps (Canada Only)
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) can make it easier for
others to see the front of your vehicle during the day.
DRL can be helpful in many different driving
conditions, but they can be especially helpful
in the
short periods after dawn and before sunset.
A light sensor on top of the instrument panel makes the
DRL work,
so be sure it isn’t covered,
The
DRL system will make your low-beam headlamps
come on at a reduced brightness when: When the DRL
are
on, only your low-bearn headlamps
will be on. The taillamps, sidemarker and other lamps
won‘t be
on. Your instrument panel won’t be lit up either.
When it’s dark enough outside, your low-beam
headlamps will change to
full brightness. The other lamps
that come
on with your headlamps will also come on.
When it’s bright enough outside, the regular lamps
will
go off, and your low-beam headlamps change to the
reduced brightness of DRL.
To idle your vehicle with the DRL off, set the parking brake
while the ignition is
in OFF or LOCK. Then start your vehicle.
The
DIU will stay off until you release the parking brake.
As with any vehicle, you should turn on the regular
headlamp system any time you need it.
0 The ignition is on,
0 The headlamp switch is off, and
0 The parking brake is released.
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Page 109 of 340
Brake System Warning Light
Your Buick’s hydraulic
brake system is divided into
two parts.
If one part isn’t
working, the other part can
still work and stop you. For
good braking, though, you
need both parts working
well.
If the warning light comes on, there could be a brake
problem. Have your brake system inspected right away.
This light should come on briefly as you start the
vehicle.
If it doesn’t come on then, have it fixed so it
will be ready to warn you if there’s a problem.
If the light comes on while you are driving, pull
off the
road and stop carefully. You may notice that the pedal is
harder to push. Or, the pedal may go closer to the floor.
It may take longer to stop. If the light is still on, or if the
anti-lock brake system warning light is flashing, have
the vehicle towed for service. (See “Anti-Lock Brake
System Warning Light” and “Towing Your Vehicle” in
the Index.
)
The brake system warning light will also come on when
you set your parking brake, and it
will stay on if your
parking brake doesn’t release fully.
If it stays on after
your parking brake is fully released, it means you have
a
brake problem.
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Page 110 of 340
Anti-Lock Brake System Warning Light
-
lo- 0 system, this light will come
With
the anti-lock brake
RPM x1000 on when you start your
engine and it will stay on
for three seconds. That’s
normal. If the light doesn’t
come on, have it fixed
so it
will be ready to warn you
if
there is a problem.
If the light flashes when you’re driving, you don’t have
anti-lock brakes and there could be a problem with your
regular brakes.
Pull off the road and stop carefully. You
may notice that the pedal is harder to push.
Or, the pedal
may go closer to the floor. It may take longer to stop.
Have the vehicle towed for service. (See “Towing Your
Vehicle’’ in the Index.)
If the anti-lock brake system warning light stays on
longer than normal after you’ve started your engine,
turn
the ignition off. Or, if the light comes on and stays on
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, or comes on again
while you’re driving, your Buick needs service. If the
light
is on but not flashing and the regular brake system
warning light isn’t
on, you still have brakes, but you
don’t have anti-lock brakes.
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Page 111 of 340
Anti-Lock Brake System Active Light
When your anti-lock system
is adjusting brake pressure
to help avoid a braking skid,
the
LOW TRAC light will
Engine Loolant Temperature Light
This light tells you that
your engine coolant has
overheated or your radiator
CYL hhh cooling fan is not working.
Slippery road conditions will exist
if this light comes on,
so adjust your driving accordingly. The light will stay on
for
a few seconds after the system stops adjusting brake
pressure.
The
LOW TRAC light also comes on briefly, as a bulb
check, when the engine is started. If the light doesn’t
come on then, have it fixed
so it will be there to tell you
when the system is active. 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.
Hot Coolant Can Burn You Badly!
In “Problems on the Road,” this manual shows what to
do. See “Engine Overheating” in the Index.
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Page 144 of 340
Avoid needless heavy braking. Some people drive
in spurts -- heavy acceleration followed by heavy
braking
-- 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 fidster
if YOLI
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’re driving, brake
normally but don’t 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 Brakes (ABS)
Your Buick has an advanced electronic braking system
that will help prevent
a braking skid.
This light on the instrument
panel
will come on briefly
when you start your vehicle.
When you start your vehicle, or when
you begin to drive
away, you may hear
a momentary motor or clicking
noise. And
you may even notice that your brake pedal
moves
a little while this is going on. This is the ABS
system testing itself.
If there’s a problem with the
anti-lock brake system, the anti-lock brake system
warning light
will stay on or flash.
See ”Anti-Lock Brake System Warning Light”
in the
Index.
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Page 146 of 340
Remember: Anti-lock doesn’t change the time you need
to get your foot up to the brake pedal. If you get too
close to the vehicle in front of you, you won’t 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.
To Use Anti-Lock
Don’t pump the brakes. Just hold the brake pedal down
and let anti-lock work for you. You may feel the system
working, or
you may notice some noise, but this is
normal. When your anti-lock system is adjusting brake
pressure to help avoid a braking skid, the
LOW TRAC
light will come on. See “Anti-Lock Brake System
Active Light”
in the Index.
Braking in Emergencies
Use your anti-lock braking system when you need to.
With anti-lock,
you can steer and brake at the same
time. In many emergencies, steering can help
you more
than even the very best braking.
Steering
Power Steering
If you lose power steering assist because the engine
stops or the system is not functioning, you can steer but
it will take much more effort.
Steering Tips
Driving on Curves
It’s important to take curves at a reasonable speed.
A lot of the “driver lost control” accidents mentioned on
the news happen on curves. Here’s why:
Experienced driver or beginner, each
of us is subject to
the same laws of physics when driving on curves. The
traction
of the tires against the road surface makes it
possible for the vehicle to change its path when you turn
the front wheels. If there’s no traction, inertia will keep
the vehicle going
in the same direction. If you’ve ever
tried to steer
a vehicle on wet ice, you’ll understand this.
The traction you can get in a curve depends on the
condition
of your tires and the road surface, the angle at
which the curve
is banked, and your speed. While
you’re
in a curve, speed is the one factor you can
control.
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Page 150 of 340
Check your mirrors, glance over your shoulder, and
start your left lane change signal before moving out
of the right lane to pass. When you are far enough
ahead
of the passed vehicle to see its front in your
inside mirror, activate your right lane change signal
and move back
into the right lane. (Remember that
your right outside mirror is convex. The vehicle you
just passed may seem
to be farther away from you
than it really is.)
Try not to pass more than one vehicle at a time on
two-lane roads. Reconsider before passing the next
vehicle.
Don’t overtake a slowly moving vehicle too rapidly.
Even though the brake lights are
not flashing, it may
be slowing down or starting to turn.
If you’re being passed, make it easy for the
following driver
to get ahead of you. Perhaps you
can ease
a little to the right.
Loss of Control
Let’s review what driving experts say about what
happens when the three control systems (brakes, steering
and acceleration) don’t have enough friction where the
tires meet the road
to do what the driver has asked.
In any emergency, don’t give up. Keep trying to steer
and constantly seek an escape route or area
of less
danger.
Skidding
In a skid, a driver can lose control of the vehicle.
Defensive drivers avoid most skids by taking reasonable
care suited to existing conditions, and by not
“overdriving” those conditions.
But skids are always
possible.
The three
types of skids correspond to your Buick’s
three control systems. In the braking skid your wheels
aren’t rolling. In the steering or cornering skid,
too
much speed or steering in a curve causes tires to slip and
lose cornering force. And
in the acceleration skid too
much throttle causes the driving wheels to spin.
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