BUICK CENTURY 1996 Owners Manual

a
BUICK
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The 1996 Buick Century Owner’s Manual
Seats and Restraint Systems .............................................................
This section tells you how to use your seats and safety belts properly. It also explains “SRS” system.
This section explains how to start and operate your Buick.
This section tells you how to adjust the ventilation and comfort controls and how to operate your
audio system.
YourDrivingandtheRoad ..............................................................
Here you’ll find helpful information and tips about the road and how to drive under different conditions.
ProblemsontheRoad ..................................................................
This section tells you what to do if you have a problem while driving, such as a flat tire or
overheated engine, etc.
Here the manual tells you how to keep your Buick running properly and looking good.
This section tells you
when to perform vehicle maintenance and what fluids and lubricants to use.
This section tells you how to contact Buick for assistance and how to get service publications. It also
gives you information on “Reporting Safety Defects” on page
8-7.
Here’s an alphabetical listing of almost every subject in this manual. You can use it to quickly find something
you want to read.
FeaturesandControls ..................................................................
Comfort Controls and Audio Systems .....................................................
Service and Appearance Care ............................................................
Maintenanceschedule....... ...........................................................
Customer Assistance Information ........................................................
Index ........................................................................\
........
1-1
2- 1
3- 1
4-1
5-1
6-1
7-1
8-1
9-1
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GENERAL MOTORS, GM and the GM Emblem,
BUICK, the BUICK Emblem and the name
CENTURY are registered trademarks of General
Motors Corporation.
This manual includes the latest information at the time
it
was printed. We reserve the right to make changes in the
product after that time without further notice. For
vehicles first sold in Canada, substitute
the name
“General Motors of Canada Limited” for Buick Motor
Division whenever
it appears in this manual.
Please keep this manual
in your Buick, so it will be there
if you ever need it when you’re
on the road. If you sell
the vehicle, please leave this manual
in it so the new
owner can
use it.
Litho
in USA.
Part
No. 2563 1999 B First Edition
p+ CERTIFIED
WE SUPPORT VOLUNTARY TECHNICIAN
CERTIFICATION THROUGH
National Institute for
AUTOMOTIVE
SERVICE
EXCELLENCE
We support voluntary
technician certification.
For Canadian Owners Who Prefer a
French
Language Manual:
Aux propriktaires canadiens: Vous pouvez vous
procurer
un exemplaire de ce guide en franGais chez
votre concessionaire ou au:
DGN Marketing Services Ltd.
1500 Bonhill Rd.
Mississauga, Ontario
L5T 1 C7
0 Copyright General Motors Corporation 1995
All Rights Reserved
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Walter Marr and Thomas Buick
Buick’s chief engineer, Walter L. Marr (left), and
Thomas
D. Buick, son of founder David Dunbar Buick,
drove the first Flint Buick in a successful Flint-Detroit
round trip in July 1904.
David Buick was building gasoline engines by 1899,
and Marr, his engineer, apparently built
the first auto to
be called
a Buick in 1900. However, Buick traditionally
dates its beginnings
to 1903. That was the year the
company was reorganized, refinanced and moved from
Detroit to Flint. Buick has always been a product
innovator. Buick engineers developed the “valve-in-head”
engine,
a light, powerful and reliable
engine which would eventually influence the entire
automotive industry.
William
C. Durant was instrumental in promoting
Buicks across the country using his Durant-Dort Carriage Co. outlets and salespeople
as the nucleus of a
giant distribution system. He knew the Buick as a
“self-seller.”
If automobiles could be this good, he
thought, maybe
it was time to switch from the horse and
buggy business
to automobiles.
At the 1905 New York
Auto Show, Durant took
orders for
1,000 Buicks
built
40. On Buick’s
before
the company had
success, Durant created
a
holding company,
September 16, 19081.
He
1 called it General Motors.
William C. (Billy) Durant
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Durant also created a racing team that won 500 racing
trophies in 1909 and 1910, including successes at
Indianapolis two years before the Indy
500 began.
The success of Buick engines was visible not only on
the race track, but in endurance tests across the country
and around the world. Buick was the only car to
complete a
1,000-mile Chicago-to-New York race in
1906. And a Buick was the first car to travel across
South America, driven from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
over the Andes to Santiago, Chile in 1914. Buick drew plenty
of attention because it could climb
,
hills and run through mud like no other car. Buick’s
endurance and reliability were world famous.
During World War
I, Buick built Liberty aircraft engines
as well as Red Cross ambulances
so successfully that
one Buick ambulance was awarded the Croix de Guerre
by the French government.
As a builder of premier automobiles, Buick was hard
hit
by the Great Depression. However, new General
Manager Harlow
H. Curtice created popular new models
including
the Special and the Roadmaster. Buick sales
soon flourished.
1911 Model 21 Touring Cur on Buick’s Test Hill
First Buick Factory
V
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In World War 11, Buick built aircraft engines, tanks and
other military hardware. This post-war period brought
great styling and engineering changes which resulted
in
increased sales. The torque converter automatic
transmission, Dynaflow,
was introduced in the 1948
Roadmaster. Buick’s famous “portholes” came along
in
1949.
I
1949 Roadmuter
A high-compression V-8 engine was introduced in 1953.
And Buick’s famous vertical pillar
“toothy” grille,
(introduced
in 1942), became more massive in the
post-war era.
I953 Skylurk
Motor Trend magazine named the 1962 Buick Special
“Car
of the Year.” The first production V-6 engine was
used
in the Special.
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I962 Buick Special
Built inside the walls of the old buildings in Buick’s
former Flint complex, which forrned the cornerstone of
General Motors, Buick City is a state-of-the-art
assembly facility with more than
200 robots and other
high-tech equipment.
It was completed in the fall
of
1985.
Buicks are, and will continue to be, premium American
motorcars with smooth power, high performance, rich
detail and comfortable accommodation.
I
Ed Mertz, General Managel; Buick Motor Division
Our mission is simple:
“Buick will provide Premium American Motorcars
backed with services that exceed our customers’
expectations, throughout the purchase, ownership, service and repurchase experience.”
Buicks are SUBSTANTIAL.
Buicks are DISTINCTIVE.
Buicks are POWERFUL.
Buicks are MATURE.
vii
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How to Use This Manual
Many people read their owner’s manual from beginning
to end when they first receive their new vehicle.
If
you do this, it will help you learn about the features
and controls for your vehicle. In this manual, you’ll
find that pictures and words work together to explain
things quickly.
Index
A good place to look for what you need is the Index in
the back of the manual. It’s an alphabetical list
of all
that’s in the manual, and the page number where you’ll
find
it.
Safety Warnings and Symbols
You will find a number of safety cautions in this book.
We use a box and the word
CAUTION to tell you
about things that could hurt you if you were to ignore
the warning.
I A CAUTION:
These mean there is something that could hurt
you or other people.
In the caution area, we tell you what the hazard is. Then
we tell you what to do to help avoid or reduce the
hazard. Please read these cautions. If you don’t, you or
others could be hurt.
You will also find a circle
~ with a slash through it in
this book. This safety
symbol means “Don’t,’’
“Don’t
do this,” or “Don’t
let this happen.”
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