warning BUICK CENTURY 1996 Owner's Manual

City Driving
One of the biggest problems with city streets is the
amount of traffic on them. You’ll want to watch out for
what the other drivers are doing and pay attention to
traffic signals. Here
are ways to increase your safety
in city driving:
0 Know the best way to get to where you are going. Get
a city map and plan your trip into an unknown part of
the city just
as you would for a cross-country trip.
0 Try to use the freeways that rim and crisscross mo
large cities. You’ll save time and energy. (See the
next part, “Freeway Driving.”) st
0 Treat a green light as a warning signal. A traffic
light is there because the corner
is busy enough to
need it. When a light turns green, and just before
you start to move, check both ways for vehicles tha t
have not cleared the intersection or may be running
the red light.
ProCarManuals.com

W* kter Driving
Here are some tips for winter driving:
Have your Buick in good shape for winter.
You may want to put winter emergency supplies in
your vehicle. Include
an ice scraper, a small brush or broom, a supply
of windshield washer fluid, a rag, some winter outer
clothing, a
small shovel, a flashlight, a red cloth and a
couple of reflective warning triangles. And, if you will
be driving under severe conditions, include a small bag
of sand, a piece of old carpet or a couple of burlap bags
to help provide traction. Be sure you properly secure
these item
in your vehicle.
4-24
ProCarManuals.com

Section 5 Problems on the Road
Here you’ll find what to do about some problems that
can occur on
the road.
Hazard Warning Flashers
Your hazard warning flashers let you warn others. They
also let police know
you have a problem. Your front and
rear turn signal lamps will flash on and off.
Press the button in to make your front and rear turn
signal lamps flash on and
off.
- 5-1
ProCarManuals.com

Your hazard warning flashers work no matter what
position your key is in and even if the key isn’t in.
To turn off the flashers, pull out on the collar. When
the hazard warning flashers are on, your
turn signals
won’t work.
Other Warning Devices
~f you carry reflective triangles, you can set one up
at the side of the road about
300 feet (100 m) behind
your vehicle.
Jump Starting
If your battery has run down, you may want to use
another vehicle and
some jumper cables to start your
Buick. But please use the following steps to do
it safely.
A CAUTION:
Batteries can hurt you. They can be dangerous
because:
They contain acid that can burn you.
They contain gas that can explode or ignite.
They contain enough electricity to burn you.
If you don’t follow these steps exactly, some
or all
of these things can hurt you.
1. Check the other vehicle. It must have a 12-volt
battery with a negative ground system.
ProCarManuals.com

13. Remove the cables in reverse order to prevent
electrical shorting. Take care that they don’t touch
each other
or any other metal.
A. Heavy Metal Engine Part
B. Good Battery
C. Dead Battery
Towing Your Vehicle
Try to have a Buick dealer or a professional towing
service tow your Century. See “Roadside Assistance” in
the index.
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.
Before you do anything, turn on the hazard
warning flashers.
When you call, tell the towing service:
That your vehicle has front-wheel drive.
The make, model and year of your vehicle.
Whether you can still move the shift lever.
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 want
to see them.
ProCarManuals.com

Engine Overheating
You will find a coolant temperature gage or the
warning light about a hot engine on
your Buick’s
instrument panel.
If St1 .-m Is 1 - - ng Fro Your Engine
Steam from an overheated engine can burn you
badly, even if you just open the hood. Stay away
from the engine if you see or hear steam coming
from it. Just turn
it off and get everyone away
from the vehicle until
it cools down. Wait until
there is no sign of steam or coolant before
opening the hood.
If you keep driving when your engine is
overheated, the liquids in it can catch fire. You or
others could be badly burned. Stop your engine if
it overheats, and get out of the vehicle until the
engine is cool.
NOTICE:
If your engine catches fire because you keep
driving with no coolant, your vehicle can be
badly damaged. The costly repairs would not be
covered by your warranty.
5-13
ProCarManuals.com

If No Steam Is Coming From Your Engine
If you get the overheat warning but see or hear no
steam, the problem may not be
too serious. Sometimes
the engine can get a little too hot when you:
Climb a long hill on a hot day.
Stop after high-speed driving.
Idle for long periods in traffic.
Tow a trailer.
If you get the overheat warning with no sign
of steam,
try this for a minute or
so:
1. Turn off your air conditioner.
2. Turn on your heater to full hot at the highest fan
speed and open the window as necessary.
3. If you’re in a traffic jam, shift to NEUTRAL (N);
otherwise, shift to the highest gear while
driving
-- AUTOMATIC OVERDRIVE (@)
or DRIVE (D). If
you no longer have the overheat warning, you
can drive. Just to be safe, drive slower for about
10 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 ofthe 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.
5-14
ProCarManuals.com

A C U-ION:
Heater and radiator hoses, and other engine
parts, can be very hot. Don’t touch them.
If you
do, you can be burned.
Don’t run the engine if there
is a leak. If you run
the engine,
it could lose all coolant. That could
cause an engine fire, and you could be burned.
Get any leak fixed before you drive the vehicle.
NOTICE:
Engine damage from running your engine
without coolant isn’t covered by your warranty.
If there seems to be no leak, with the engine on, check to
see if the electric engine fan is running. If the engine is
overheating, the fan should
be running. If it isn’t, your
vehicle needs service.
How to Add Coolant to the Coolant
Recovery Tank
If you haven’t found a problem yet, but the coolant
level isn’t at ADD, add a
50/50 mixture of clean water
(preferably distilled) and DEX-COOL (orange-colored,
silicate-free) antifreeze at
the coolant recovery tank. (See
“Engine Coolant” in the Index for more information.)
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 50/50 mix of clean
water and DEX-COOL
TM antifreeze.
5-17
ProCarManuals.com

I I
NOTICE:
In cold weather, water can freeze and crack the
engine, radiator, heater core and other
parts.
Use the recommended coolant and the proper
coolant
mix.
. .. .
i.
You can be burned if you spill coolant on hot
engine parts. Coolant contains ethylene glycol
and
it will burn if the engine parts are hot
enough. Don’t spill coolant on a hot engine.
1
When the coolant in the coolant recovery tank is at the
FULL HOT mark, start your vehicle.
If the overheat warning continues, there’s one more
thing
you can try. You can add the proper coolant mix
directly to the raqiator, but be sure the cooling system is:
cool before you do it.
I
5-18
ProCarManuals.com

If a Tire Goes Flat
It’s unusual for a tire to “blow out” while you’re driving,
especially
if you maintain your tires 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:
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 fely.
Steer to maintain lane position, and then gently brake 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 a tire goes flat, the next part shows how to use your
jacking equipment to change a flat tire safely.
Changing a Flat Tire
If a tire goes flat, avoid further tire and wheel damage
by driving slowly to a level place. Turn on your hazard’
warning flashers.
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 firmly.
2. Put the shift lever in PARK (P).
3. ”urn off the engine.
To be even more certain the vehicle won’t ‘move,
you can put blocks at the front and rear of the
tire farthest away from the one being changed.
That would be the tire on the other side of the
vehicle,
at the opposite end.
ProCarManuals.com