OLDSMOBILE CUTLASS 1997 Owners Manual

2. Turn the ignition to ACC or ON.
3. Turn the radio off.
4. Press the 1 and 4 buttons together. Hold them down
until
--- shows on the display. Next you will use the
secret code number which you have written down.
5. Press MN and 000 will appear on the display.
6. Press MN again to make the last two digits agree
with your code.
7. Press HR to make the first one or two digits agree
with your code.
8. Press AM-FM after you have confinned that the
code matches the secret code you have written down.
The display will show
REP to let you know that you
need to repeat Steps
5 through 7 to confii your
secret code.
9. Press AM-FM and this time the display will show
SEC to let you know that your radio is secure.
Unlocking the Theft-Deterrent Feature After a
Power Loss
Enter your secret code as follows; pause no more than
15 seconds between steps:
1. LOC appears when the ignition is on.
2. Press MN and 000 will appear on the display.
3. Press
MN again to make the last two digits agree
with your code.
4. Press HR to make the first one or two digits agree
5. Press AM-FM after you have confirmed that the
with your code.
code matches the secret code you have written down.
The display will show SEC, indicating the radio is
now operable and secure.
If you enter the wrong code eight times, INOP will
appear on the display. You
will have to wait an hour
with the ignition on before you can try again. When you
try again, you will only have three chances to enter the
correct code before INOP appears.
If you lose or forget your code, contact your retailer.
ProCarManuals.com

Disabling the Theft-Deterrent Feature
Enter your secret code as follows; pause no more than
15 seconds between steps:
1. Turn the ignition to ACC or ON.
2. Turn the radio off.
3. Press the 1 and 4 buttons together. Hold them down
until
SEC shows on the display.
4. Press MN and 000 will appear on the display.
5. Press MN again to make the last two digits agree
with your code.
6. Press HR to make the first one or two digits agree
7. Press AM-FM after you have confirmed that the
with your code.
code matches the secret code you have written down.
The display will show
---, indicating that the radio is
no longer secured.
If the code entered is incorrect, SEC will appear on the
display. The radio will remain secured unti€ the correct
code is entered.
When battery power is removed and later applied to a
secured radio, the radio won’t
turn on and LOC will
appear on the display. To
unlock a secured radio, see “Unlocking the
Theft-Deterrent Feature After a Power
Loss” earlier in
this section.
Understanding Radio Reception
FM Stereo
FM stereo will give you the best sound. But FM signals
will reach only about
10 to 40 miles (16 to 65 km). Tall
buildings or hills can interfere with
FM signals, causing
the sound to come and go.
AM
The range for most AM stations is greater than for FM,
especially at night. The longer range, however, can
cause stations to interfere with each other.
AM can pick
up noise from things like storms and power lines.
Try
reducing the treble to reduce this noise if you ever get it.
Tips About Your Audio System
Hearing damage from loud noise is almost undetectable
until it is too late. Your hearing can adapt to higher
volumes of sound. Sound that seems normal can be loud
and harmful to your hearing. Take precautions by
adjusting the volume control on your radio to a safe
sound level before your hearing adapts to
it.
ProCarManuals.com

To help avoid hearing loss or damage:
0 Adjust the volume control to the lowest setting.
Increase volume slowly until you hear comfortably and clearly.
NOTICE:
Before you add any sound equipment to your
vehicle
-- like a tape player, CB radio, mobile
telephone or two-way radio
-- be sure you can
add what you want.
If you can, it’s very
important to do it properly. Added sound
equipment may interfere with the operation of
your vehicle’s engine, Delco radio or other
systems, and even damage them. Your
vehicle’s systems may interfere with the
operation
of sound equipment that has been
added improperly.
So, before adding sound equipment, check with
your retailer and be sure to check Federal rules
covering mobile radio and telephone units.
Care of Your Cassette Tape Player
A tape player that is not cleaned regularly can cause
reduced sound quality, ruined cassettes or a damaged
mechanism. Cassette tapes should be stored in their
cases away from contaminants, direct sunlight and
extreme heat. If they aren’t, they may not operate
properly or may cause failure
of the tape player.
Your tape player should be cleaned regularly after every
50 hours of use. Your radio may display CLN to indicate
that you have used your tape player for
50 hours without
resetting the tape clean timer.
If this message appears on
the display, your cassette tape player needs to be cleaned. It will still play tapes, but you should clean it as
soon as possible to prevent damage to your tapes and
player.
If you notice a reduction in sound quality, try a
known good cassette to see
if it is the tape or the tape
player at fault.
If this other cassette has no improvement
in sound quality, clean the tape player.
ProCarManuals.com

Cleaning may be done with a scrubbing action,
non-abrasive cleaning cassette with pads which scrub
the tape head as the hubs of the cleaner cassette turn.
You may also choose
a non-scrubbing action, wet-type
cleaner which uses a cassette with a fabric belt to clean
the tape head. This type of cleaning cassette may not
clean as thoroughly as the scrubbing type cleaner.
After you clean the player, press and hold EJECT for
five seconds to reset the CLN indicator. The radio will
display
--- to show the indicator was reset.
Cassettes
are subject to wear and the sound quality may
degrade over time. Always make sure that the cassette
tape is in good condition before you have your tape
player serviced.
Care of Your Compact Discs
Handle discs carefully. Store them in their original cases
or other protective cases and away from direct sunlight
and dust. If the surface of a disc is soiled, dampen a
clean, soft cloth in a mild, neutral detergent solution and
clean it, wiping from the center to the edge.
Be sure never to touch the signal surface when handling
discs. Pick up &scs by grasping the outer edges or the
edge of the hole and the outer edge.
Fixed Mast Antenna
The fixed mast antenna can withstand most car washes
without being damaged. If the mast should ever become slightly bent, you can straighten it out by hand. If the
mast is badly bent, as it might be by vandals, you should
replace it.
Check every once in a while to be sure the mast is still
tightened to the fender.
3-23
ProCarManuals.com

& NOTES
3-24
ProCarManuals.com

Section 4 Your Driving and the Road
Here you’ll find information about driving on different kinds\
of roads and in varying weather conditions. We’ve also
included many other useful tips on driving.
4-2 4-3
4-6
4-6
4-7
4-9
4-9 4-11
4- 12
4-13 Defensive Driving
Driving Drunk
Having Control of Your Vehicle
Your Braking System Information
Anti-Lock Brake Information
Braking in Emergencies
Steering Tips
Off-Road Recovery Tips
Passing Other Vehicles
Losing Control of Your Vehicle 4-
14
4-16
4-2
1
4-22
4-22
4-24
4-26
4-28
4-30
4-32 Night Driving
Driving
in Rain and on Wet Roads
Tips Before Leaving on a Long Trip
Avoiding Highway Hypnosis
Driving on
Hills and Mountains
Winter Driving If You’re Caught
in a Blizzard
Recreational Vehicle Towing
Loading Your Vehicle
Helpful Hints for Towing a Trailer
4-1
ProCarManuals.com

Defensive Driving
The best advice anyone can give about driving is:
Drive defensively.
Please start with a very important safety device in your Oldsmobile: Buckle up. (See “Safety Belts”
in the Index.)
Defensive driving really means “be ready for anything.”
On city streets, rural roads or freeways, it means
“always expect the unexpected.”
Assume that pedestrians or other drivers are going to be
careless and make mistakes. Anticipate what they might
do. Be ready for their mistakes.
Rear-end collisions are about the most preventable
of
accidents. Yet they are common. Allow enough
following distance. It’s the best defensive driving
maneuver, in both city and rural driving.
You never
know when the vehicle in front of you
is going to brake
or
turn suddenly.
4-2
ProCarManuals.com

Drunken Driving
Death and injury associated with drinking and driving is
a national tragedy. It’s the number one contributor to
the highway death toll, claiming thousands of victims
every year.
Alcohol affects four things that anyone needs to drive
a vehicle:
0 Judgment
0 Muscular Coordination
0 Vision
0 Attentiveness.
Police records show that almost half of all motor
vehicle-related deaths involve alcohol. In most cases,
these deaths
are the result of someone who was drinking
and driving. In recent years, some 17,000 annual motor
vehicle-related deaths have been associated with the use
of alcohol, with more than
300,000 people injured.
-Many adults
-- by some estimates, nearly half the
adult population
-- choose never to drink alcohol, so
they never drive after drinking. For persons under 2 1,
it’s against the law in every U.S. state to drink alcohol.
There are good medical, psychological and
developmental reasons for these laws. The
obvious way to solve this highway safety problem
is for people never to drink alcohol and then drive. But
what
if people do? How much is “too much” if the
driver plans to drive? It’s a lot less than many might
think. Although it depends on each person and situation,
here is some general information on the problem.
The Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of someone
who is drinking depends upon four things:
0 The amount of alcohol consumed
0 The drinker’s body weight
0 The amount of food that is consumed before and
during drinking
The length of time it has taken the drinker to
According to the American Medical Association, a 180-lb. (82 kg) person who drinks three 12-ounce
(355 ml) bottles of beer in an hour will end up with a
BAC
of about 0.06 percent. The person would reach the
same BAC by drinking three 4-ounce (120
ml) glasses
of wine or three mixed drinks
if each had 1- 1/2 ounces
(45
ml) of a liquor like whiskey, gin or vodka
consume the alcohol.
4-3
ProCarManuals.com

It’s the amount of alcohol that counts. For example, if
the same person drank three double martinis
(3 ounces
or
90 ml of liquor each) within an hour, the person’s
BAC would be close to
0.12 percent. A person who
consumes food just before or during drinking will have a
somewhat lower BAC level.
There is a gender difference, too. Women generally have
a lower relative percentage of body water than men. Since alcohol
is carried in body water, this means that a
woman generally will reach a higher BAC level than a
man
of her same body weight when each has the same
number of drinks.
The law in many
U.S. states sets the legal limit at a BAC
of 0.10 percent. In a growing number of
US. states, and
throughout Canada, the limit is
0.08 percent. In some
other countries, it’s even lower. The BAC limit for all
commercial drivers in the United States
is 0.04 percent.
The BAC will be over
0.10 percent after three to six
drinks (in one hour).
Of course, as we’ve seen, it
depends on how much alcohol is in the drinks, and how
quickly the person
drinks them.
But the ability to drive is affected well below
a BAC of
0.10 percent. Research shows that the driving skills of
many people
are impaired at a BAC approaching
0.05 percent, and that the effects are worse at night. All
drivers are impaired at BAC levels above
0.05 percent.
Statistics show that the chance of being
in a collision
increases sharply for drivers who have a BAC
of
0.05 percent or above. A driver with a BAC level of
0.06 percent has doubled his or her chance of having a
collision. At a BAC level of
0.10 percent, the chance of
this driver having a collision
is 12 times greater; at a
level of
0.15 percent, the chance is 25 times greater!
ProCarManuals.com

The body takes about an hour to rid itself of the alcohol
in one
drink. No amount of coffee or number of cold
showers will speed that up. “I’ll be careful’’ isn’\
t the
right answer. what if there’s an emergency,
a need to
take sudden action, as when a child darts into the street?
A person with even a moderate BAC might not be able
to react quickly enough to avoid the collision.
There’s something else about drinking and driving that
many people don’t know. Medical research shows that alcohol in a person’s system can make crash injuries
worse, especially injuries to the brain, spinal cord or
heart.
This means that when anyone who has been
drinking
-- driver or passenger -- is in a crash, that
person’s chance of being killed or permanently disabled
is higher than if the person had not been drinking. Drinking and then driving
is very
dangerous.
Your reflexes, perceptions, attentiveness and
judgment can be affected by even a smaIl amount
of alcohol. You can have a serious -- or even
fatal
-- collision if you drive after drinking.
Please don’t drink and drive or ride with
a driver
who has been drinking. Ride home in
a cab; or if‘
you’re with a group, designate a driver who will
not drink.
4-5
ProCarManuals.com