PONTIAC BONNEVILLE 1996 Owners Manual
Page 91 of 387
Reducing Speed While Using Cruise Control
There are two ways to reduce your speed while using
dse control:
Push in the button at the end.of the lever until you
reach the lower speed you want, then release it.
To slow down in very small amounts, push the
button for less than half
a second. Each time you
do this, you'll go 1 mph (1.6 h/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
fiid this to
be too much trouble and don't use cruise control on
steep hills.
Ending Cruise Control
There are two ways to turn off the. cruise control:
Step lightly on the brake pedal; or
0 Move the 'cruise switch to OFF.
Erasing Speed Memory
When you turn off the cruise control or the ignition,
your cruise control set speed memory is erased.
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Page 92 of 387
Lamps
Headlamps
'Pull the switch to the first stop to
turn on
the:
Parking Lamps
Sidemarker Lamps
Taillamps
Instrument Panel
Lights
I'
Pull the switch out all the way to turn on the headlamps,
together with:
0 Parking Lamps
0 Sidemarker Lamps
0 Taillamps
0 Instrument Panel Lights
Push the switch
in all the way to turn all the lamps off.
Lamps On Reminder
If you open the driver's door while leaving the headlamps
or parking lamps switch
on and the key is removed from
the ignition, you will hear a
warning chime.
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Page 93 of 387
Daytime Running Lamps
Daytime Running Lamps (Dm) 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 monitors
the exterior light level for the operation
of DlU and
twilight sentinel,
so .be sure it isn’t covered. The DRL
system will make your low-beam headlamps come on at
a reduced brightness when:
The ignition is on,
0 The headlamp switch is OFF and
The transaxle is not in PARK (P).
When the DRL are on, only your low-beam headlamps
will
be on. The taillamps, sidemarker and other lamps
won’t be on.
Your instrument panel won’t be lighted 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 DIU off, shift the
transaxle into
PARK (P). The DRL will’ stay off until
YOU Shift Out Qf PARK (P).
At night, you can turn off
all exterior lamps when you
are in PARK (P) by moving
the twilight sentinel control
all the way to
MIN.
If it was on MIN, move the control to the right to turn it
on, then back to
“4. The lamps will come back on
when you put the transaxle
in gear.
Twilight sentinel will keep your headlamps on for up to three minutes, to light your way when you leave
YOU vehicle.
See “Twilight Sentinel” later
in this section to learn how
to operate this feature.
As with any vehicle, you should turn on the regular
headlamp system when you need it.
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Fog Lamps
The switch for your fog
lamps is in front
of the front
reading lamps.
An indicator light in the switch will glow when the fog
lamps are on. Your headlamps must be on low beams
or your parking lamps must be on for your fog lamps
to work.
Twilight Sentinel
Push in the headlamp switch
to
turn your headlamps off.
Turn the twilight sentinel
knob located behind
the headlamp switch
toward
MAX.
At night, you can turn off all exterior lamps when you are
in
PARK (P) by moving the twilight sentinel control all
the way to MIN. If it was on MIN, move the control to the
right to
turn it on, then back to MIN. The lamps will come
back on when you
turn the knob toward MAX.
Twilight sentinel will keep your headlamps on for up
to three minutes, to light your way when you leave your vehicle.
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To operate twilight sentinel, turn the control to MAX for
the three minute delay.
Turn it the other way to reduce
the delay. Turn the control to MIN to turn twilight
sentinel
off.
,. Also, it's possible that your headlamps my go out if
': ,_ .:'. * , . :' you drive from a dark area into a bright area like a
' lighted parking lot. If this happens, turn on your
headlamps with the regular headlamp switch.
Interior Lamps
Instrument Panel .Intensity/Brightness
Control
You can brighten or dim your instrument cluster lights
by
turning the headlamp switch. Turn the switch
clockwise to brighten the instrument cluster lights
and
displays. Turn the switch clockwise all the way t'o turn
on the interior courtesy lamps. Turn the switch
counterclockwise to dim the instrument cluster lights
and displays and to turn off the courtesy lamps.
Delayed Illumination
When you open the door, the interior lamps will come
on. When you
close the door with the ignition off, the
interior lamps will stay on
for 25 seconds or until the
ignition
is turned to an on position. Please note that locking the doors
will override the delayed illumination
feature and the lamps will
turn off right away.
Theater Dimming
This feature allows for a thee to five-second fade out of
the courtesy lamps instead of immediate turn off.
Exit Lighting
With this feature, the interior lamps will come on for
25 seconds after you remove the key from the ignition.
This will give you time to fhd the door pull handle or
lock switches.
Illuminated Entry (Option)
When you lift the handle of either front door, a Imp
will glow around the door lock. This will help you insert
the door key at night.
The lamps inside your vehicle will also go on. These
lamps will
go off after about 25 seconds, or when you
start
your engine. These lamps will also go on when
you press any button on the optional Remote Keyless
Entry transmitter.
If a door is left ajar, your interior lamps will turn off
after 10 minutes to save your battery.
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Front Reading Lamps Rear Reading Lamps
/
These lamps and the interior
These overhead lamps and
courtesy lamps
will come on the
interior courtesy lamps
when you open the doors. will come on when you
open the
doors,
To turn on a reading lamp when the doors are closed, To turn on the reading lamp when the door is closed,
press either switch. Press
it again to turn the lamp off. slide the switch up. Slide it down to turn off the lamp.
TO avoid draining your vehicle’s battery, be sure to turn Inadvertent Load Protection
off the reading lamps when leaving your vehicle. This feature shuts
off the courtesy, reading, trunk, glove
box and visor variity mirror lamps, if any are left on for
more than 10 minutes when the ignition is OFF. This
will keep your battery from running down.
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Mirrors
Iwide Day/Night Manual Rearview Mirror Electrochromic Day/Night Rearview
Mirror
(Option)
When you are sitting in a comfortable driving position,
adjust the mirror
so you can see clearly behind your car.
Grip
the mirror in the center tomove it up or down and
side to side. The day-night adjustment allows you to
adjust
the mirror to avoid glare from the headlamps
behind you.
Pull the tab f6mard for daytime use. Push it
back for night use.
Your Pontiac may have an automatic electrochromic
day/night rearview
mirror.
This mirror automatically changes to reduce glare from
headlamps behind
you A photocell on the back of the
mirror senses when it is becoming dark outside. Another
photocell built into the mirrur surface, senses when
headlamps
are behind you.
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At night, when the glare is too high, the mirror will
gradually darken to reduce glare (this change may take a
few seconds). The mirror
will return to its clear daytime
state when the glare is reduced.
Press the button at the base
of the mirror to turn on the
automatic feature. The button has an indicator light to
show
it is on. Press the button again to turn the
automatic off.
Time Delay
The automatic mirror has a time delay feature which
prevents unnecessary switching from the night back
to
the day position. This delay prevents rapid changing of
the mirror as
you drive under lights ind through traffic.
Cleaning the Photocells
Use a cotton swab and glass cleaner to clean the
photocells when necessary.
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Manual Remote Control. Mirror
The outside rearview mirror should be adjusted so you
can just see the side of your vehicle when you are sitting
in a comfortable driving position.
Adjust the driver's side outside mirror with the control lever on the driver's door.
To adjust your passenger's side mirror, sit in the driver's
seat and have a passenger adjust the mirror for you.
Reverse Gear Day Mode
The reverse day mode is another important feature
of the electrochromic mirror. When you shift into
REVERSE (R), the mirror changes to the day mode.
This gives you a bright image in the mirror as you
back up.
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Power Remote Control Mirrors (Option)
A control lever on the ’
driver’s door controls both
outside rearview mirrors.
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Turn the lever to the left to select the driver’s side
rearview mirror,
or to the right to select the passenger’s
side rearview mirror.
Then push the lever in the
direction
of the desired movement to adjust each &ur
so that you can see the side of the vehicle when you are
sittirag
in a comfortable driving position.
To lock the control, turn the lever to the center position.
This will keep the mirror &om moving if. the switch is
accidentally
bumped.
Convex Outside Mirror
You passenger’s ‘side mirror is convex. A convex
mirror’s. surface is curved
so you can see more from the
driver’s seat.
A CAUTION:
A convex mirror can make things (like other
vehicles) look farther away than they really are.
If you cut too sharply into the right lane, you
could hit a vehicle on your right. Check your
inside mirror or glance over your shoulder before
changing lanes.
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Storage Compartments
Glove Box
Use the door key to lock and unlock the glove box. To
open, lift the latch release
on the left side of the glove
box door.
Card Holder (Option) Center Console Cupholder/Coinholder
(Option)
Press the button at the front edge to open the armrest
storage area for cassette tapes, gloves, etc.
A cupholder
flips forward for use.
The front doors on some vehicles have a card holder for
convenient storage
of business cards or parking lot ticket
stubs. The card holder has space for
up to five regular
business cards.
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