warning BUICK SKYLARK 1993 Owner's Manual

Move the switch to the
right to make your front
and rear turn' signal lights
flash on and off.
Your hazard flashers work no matter what position your
key is in, and even
if the key isn't in.
To turn off the flashers,
move the switch to the left.
When the hazard warning flashers are on, your turn
signals won't work.
Other Warning Devices
If you carry reflective triangles, you can set one up at
the side
of the road about 300 feet (100 m) behind your
vehicle.

Towing Your Buick
Try to have a GM dealer or a professional towing
service tow your Buick
. The usual towing equipment is
a sling-type
(A) or a wheel-lift (B) or car carrier (C) tow
truck. Before you do anything, turn on the hazard warning
flashers.
When you call, tell the towing service: That your vehicle has front-wheel drive.
0 The make, model, and year of your vehicle.
0 Whether you can still move the shift lever.:,.
0 If there was an accident, what was damaged.
When the towing service arrives, let the tow operator
know that this manual contains detailed towing instructions and illustrations. The operator may wan.t to
see them.
If your vehicle has been changed or modified since it
was factory-new by adding aftermarket items like fog
lamps, aero skirting,
or special tires and wheels, these
instructions and illustrations may not be correct.
193

If you no longer have the overheat warning, you can
drive. Just to be safe, drive slower for about ten minutes.
If the warning doesn’t come back on, you can drive
normally.
If the, warning continues, pull over, stop, and park your
vehicle right away.
If there’s still no sign
of steam, you can idle the engine
for two.or three minutes while you’re parked, to see if
the warning stops. But then, if you still have the
warning, TURN
OFF THE ENGINE AND GET
EVERYONE OUT
OF THE VEHICLE until it cools
down.
You may decide not.to lift the hood but to get service
help right away.
When you decide it’s safe to lift the hood, here’s what \
you’ll see:
0 Coolant surge tank with pressure cap
Electric engine fan
198

1
A CAUTION':
Adding only plain water to your cooling system
can be dangerous. Plain water, or some lother
liquid li~ke alcohol, can boil before tihe proper
coolant
mix will. Your whicl'e's CoOilant warning
You can1 be burned if you spill coolant on hot ,,
engilne ~parts. Coolaint contains ethylene glycol
and lit wil~il burn if the enlgine parts are ,hot
enough. hn't spill coolant
on a hot engine. I
system is set for the proper coolant mix. With
plain water or the wron.g, mix, your engi'ne could8 1
get too h,ot but you wouldn't get thie overheat
warning. Your engine could catclh fire and
you or
others could
be burned. Use ;a 50/50 mix of clean
water and a proper antifreeze.
1
I
1-
1. You can remove the
coolant surge tank
pressure cap when the
cooling system,
including the coolant
surge
tank pressure cap
and upper radiator hose,
is no longer hot. Turn
the pressure cap slowly
i about one-quarter turn
1 to the left and then stop. I
If you hear a hiss, wait for that to stop. A hiss means
there is still some pressure left.
201

.If a Tire Goes Flat Changing a Flat Tire
It’s unusual for a tire to “blow out” while you’re driving,
especially
if you maintain yourtires properly. If air goes
out of a tire, it’s much more likely to leak out slowly.
But if you should ever have a “blowout,” here are a few
tips about what to expect and what to do:
1
If a front tire fails, the flat tire will create a drag that
pulls the vehicle toward that side: Take your foot off the
accelerator pedal and grip the steering wheel firmly. Steer to maintain lane position, then gentlv
I. - to a
stop well out of the traffic lane.
A rear blowout, particularly on a curve, acts much like a
skid and may require the same correction you’d use in a
skid. In any rear blowout, remove your foot from the
accelerator pedal. Get the vehicle under control by steering the way you want the vehicle to go. It may be
very bumpy and noisy, but you can still steer. Gently
brake to
a stop, well off the road if possible.
If your tire goes flat, the next section shows how to use
your jacking equipment to change a flat tire safely.
If a tire goes flat, avoid further tire and wheel damage
by driving slowly
to a level place. Turn on your hazard
warning flashers.
A “-CAUTION:
I Changing a tire can cause an injury. The vehicle
can slip off the jack and roll over you or other
people. You and they could be badly injured. Find
a level place to change your tire.
To help prevent
the vehicle from moving:
1. Set the parking brake K- Ay.
2. Put the shift lever in “P” (Park
3. Turn off the engine.
To be even more certain the vehicle won’t mob
you can put chocks at the front and rear of t
tire farthest away from the one being changed,
I That would be the tire on the oP?r side of the
vehicle, the oppos’-
1 end.
CAUTION: (Continued)

when you are driving with a compact spare. See
“Anti-Lock Brake System Warning Light” in the Index.

0
0
0
0
0
Give freezing protection down to -34°F (-37 "C) .
Give boiling protection up to 262 F (128 " C) .
Protect against rust and corrosion.
Help keep the proper engine temperature.
Let the warning lights work
as they should.
231

~~~x~~~~ of one-half clean water (preferably
distilled) and one-half antifreeze that meets
“GM
Specification 1825-M,” which won’t damage aluminum
parts. You can also use a recycled coolant conforming to
GM Specification 1825-M with a complete coolant-flush
and refill. Use
GM Engine Coolant Supplement (sealer)
with any complete coolant change. If you use these, you
don’t need to add anything else.
n
1 A CAUTION:
Adding only plain water to your cooling system
can be dangerous. Plain water, or some other
liquid like alcohol, can boil before the proper
coolant mix will. Your vehicle’s coolant warning
system is set for the proper coolant mix. With
plain water or the wrong mix, your engine could
get too hot but you wouldn’t get the overheat
warning. Your engine could catch fire and you or
others could be burned. Use a
50150 mix of clean
water and a proper antifreeze.
I
warrantv. Too much water in the mix can freeze
Adding Coolant
The surge tank is located on
the passenger’s side
of the
engine compartment.
To Check Coolant: When
.your engine is cold, the
coolant level should be at
“FULL COLD,” or a little
higher.

1 Brake Master Cylinder
Your brake master cylinder is here. It is filled with
1 DOT-3 brake fluid. won’t work
at all.
So, it isn’t a good idea to “top off’
your brake fluid. Adding brake. fluid won’t correct a
leak. If you add fluid when your linings are worn, then
you’ll have too much fluid when you get new brake
linings.
You should add (or remove) brake fluid, as
necessary, only when work is done
on the brake
hydraulic system.
I
A CAUTION:
If you have too much brake fluid, it can spill on
the engine. The fluid will burn
if the engine is hot
enough. You or others could be burned, and your
vehicle could be damaged. Add brake fluid only
when work is done on the br,
e hl ‘raulic
system.
1
There are only two reasons why the brake fluid level in
your master cylinder might go down. The first is that the
brake fluid goes down to an acceptable level during
normal brake lining wear. When new linings
are put in,
the fluid level goes back up. The other reason is that
fluid is leaking out
of the brake system. If it is, you
should have your brake system fixed, since a leak means
that sooner or later your brakes won’t work well, or When your brake fluid falls to a low level, your brake
warning light will come on. See “Brake System Warning
Light’’
in the Index.
What to Add:
When you do need brake fluid, use only DOT-3 brake
fluid
-- such as Delco Supreme and regular 11 (GM part
#1052535). Use new brake fluid from a sealed container only.
I
236

(1 112) times as well on the government course as a tire
graded
100. The relative performance of tires depends
upon the actual conditions of their use, however, and
may depart significantly from the norm due to variations
in driving habits, service practices.and differences in
road characteristics and climate.
’Ikaction - A, B, C
The traction grades, from highest to lowest are: A, B,
and C. They represent the tire’s.ability to stop on wet
pavement
as measured under controlled conditions on
specified government test surfaces
of asphalt and
concrete. A tire marked
C may have poor traction
performance.
Warning: The traction grade assigned to this tire is based on braking (straight-ahead) traction tests and does not
include cornering (turning) traction.
Temperature - A, B, C
The temperature grades are A (the highest), B, and C,
representing the tire’s resistance to the generation of
heat and its ability to dissipate heat when tested under controlled conditions on a- specified indoor laboratory
test wheel. Sustained high temperature can cause the
material of the tire to degenerate and reduce tire life, and
excessive temperature can lead to sudden tire failure. The
grade
C corresponds to a level of performance
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
No. 109. Grades
B and A represent higher levels of performance on the
laboratory test wheel than the minimum required by law.
Warning: The temperature grade for this tire is
established for a tire that is properly inflated and not
overloaded. Excessive speed, underinflation, or
excessive loading, either separately or in combination,
can cause heat buildup and possible tire failure.
Those grades are molded on the sidewalls of passenger
car tires.
While the tires available as standard or optional
equipment on General Motors vehicles may vary with
respect to these grades, all such tires meet General
Motors performance standards and have been approved
for use on General Motors vehicles. All passenger type
(P Metric) tires must conform to Federal safety
requirements in addition to these grades.
Wheel Alignment and Tire Balance
The wheels on your vehicle were aligned and balanced
carefully at the factory to give you the longest tire life
and best overall performance.
. which all passenger car tires must meet under the
246