heater BUICK CENTURY 1998 Owner's Manual

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1-5 Heated Front Seat (Option)
If your vehicle has this
option, the switch is on the
armrest. With the ignition in
ACCESSORY or RUN,
press the button once and
the seat will warm up. The
HI light on the button will
come on.
Press the button a second time and the LO light will
come on. The seat will warm to a lower temperature.
Press the button a third time to turn off the heated seat.
The heater will also turn off automatically when the
ignition is turned off.
Reclining Front Seatbacks
The front seatbacks can be
adjusted by pressing the
vertical control located on
the side of the seat. Push it
forward to bring the seat to
a more upright position.
Push it rearward to recline
the seatback.

2-
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2-1
Section 2 Features and Controls
Here you can learn about the many standard and optional features on your vehicle, and information on starting,
shifting and braking. Also explained are the instrument panel and the warning systems that tell you if everything is
working properly
-- and what to do if you have a problem.
2
-2 Keys
2
-4 Door Locks
2
-8 Remote Keyless Entry System
2
-13 Trunk
2
-14 Theft
2
-15 Universal Theft-Deterrent (Option)
2
-17 PASS-Key
II
2
-18 New Vehicle ªBreak-Inº
2
-19 Ignition Positions
2
-21 Starting Your Engine
2
-23 Engine Coolant Heater (Option)
2
-24 Automatic Transaxle Operation
2
-27 Parking Brake
2
-28 Shifting Into PARK (P)
2
-30 Shifting Out of PARK (P)
2
-31 Parking Over Things That Burn2
-32 Engine Exhaust
2
-32 Running Your Engine While You're Parked
2
-33 Windows
2
-34 Tilt Wheel
2
-35 Turn Signal/Multifunction Lever
2
-40 Exterior Lamps
2
-43 Interior Lamps
2
-46 Mirrors
2
-52 Storage Compartments
2
-58 Accessory Power Outlet
2
-58 OnStar
System (Option)
2
-60 Universal Transmitter (Option)
2
-64 The Instrument Panel - Your
Information System
2
-68 Warning Lights, Gages and Indicators

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Engine Coolant Heater (Option)
In very cold weather, 0
F (-18
C) or colder, the engine
coolant heater can help. You'll get easier starting and
better fuel economy during engine warm
-up. Usually,
the coolant heater should be plugged in a minimum of
four hours prior to starting your vehicle.
To Use the Engine Coolant Heater
1. Turn off the engine.
2. Open the hood and unwrap the electrical cord.
3. Plug it into a normal, grounded 110
-volt AC outlet.
CAUTION:
Plugging the cord into an ungrounded outlet
could cause an electrical shock. Also, the wrong
kind of extension cord could overheat and cause
a fire. You could be seriously injured. Plug the
cord into a properly grounded three
-prong
11 0
-volt AC outlet. If the cord won't reach, use a
heavy
-duty three-prong extension cord rated for
at least 15 amps.
4. Before starting the engine, be sure to unplug and store
the cord as it was before to keep it away from moving
engine parts. If you don't, it could be damaged.
How long should you keep the coolant heater plugged
in? The answer depends on the outside temperature, the
kind of oil you have, and some other things. Instead of
trying to list everything here, we ask that you contact
your dealer in the area where you'll be parking your
vehicle. The dealer can give you the best advice for that
particular area.

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2-43
Interior Lamps
Instrument Panel Brightness
By turning the headlamp knob you can make the
instrument panel lights brighten or dim. See
ªHeadlampsº in the Index.
Courtesy Lamps
When any door is opened, several lamps go on. They
make it easy for you to enter and leave the car. To turn
on these lamps without opening the door, turn the
headlamp knob to the right.
Illuminated Entry
Press the UNLOCK button on the remote keyless entry
transmitter and the interior courtesy lamps will come on
and stay on for up to one minute. The lamps will turn off
immediately when pressing the LOCK button on the
transmitter, starting the ignition or activating the power
door locks.
Delayed Entry Lighting
When you open the door to enter your vehicle, 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. Note that locking the doors will override the
delayed entry lighting feature and the lamps will turn off
right away.
Theater Dimming
This feature allows for a three to five-second fade out of
the courtesy lamps instead of immediate turn off.
Delayed 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 find the door pull handle or
lock switches when you exit the vehicle.
Parade Dimming
This feature prohibits the dimming of your instrument
panel displays during daylight while your headlamps are
on. This feature operates with the light sensor for the
twilight sentinel and is fully automatic. When the light
sensor reads darkness outside, you will be able to dim
your instrument panel displays once again.

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3-6 Defogging and Defrosting
Use the FRONT button to quickly remove fog, frost or
ice from the windshield in extremely humid or
cold conditions.
Select the FRONT button to defrost the windshield. By
choosing this button, the airflow will be directed at the
windshield. Adjust your comfort level by pressing the
TEMP up or down arrow. The fan speed will be
controlled by the system. You can change the fan speed
by pressing the top of the FAN button to increase speed,
and the bottom of the button to decrease speed.
Rear Window Defogger
The lines you see on
the rear window warm
the glass. Press the button
to start warming your
window. An indicator light
in the button will glow
while the rear window
defogger is operating.At speeds above 30 mph (48 km/h), the rear defogger
will stay on until you press the REAR defogger button
again. At speeds below 30 mph (48 km/h), the rear
window defogger will turn off automatically after about
10 minutes of use. If you press it again, the defogger
will operate for about five minutes only. You can also
turn the defogger off by turning off the ignition.
NOTICE:
Scraping the inside of your rear window could
cut and damage the heater. Your warranty would
not cover this damage. Don't put decals there
because you might have to scrape them off.

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3-8
Adjust the direction of airflow by moving the louvered
air outlets.You can also adjust the direction of the airflow to the
rear seating area.
Ventilation Tips

Keep the hood and front air inlet free of ice, snow or
any other obstruction such as leaves. The heater and
defroster will work better, reducing the chance of
fogging your windows.

Keep the air path under the front seats clear of
objects. This helps air to circulate throughout
your vehicle.

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CAUTION:
Snow can trap exhaust gases under your vehicle.
This can cause deadly CO (carbon monoxide) gas
to get inside. CO could overcome you and kill
you. You can't see it or smell it, so you might not
know it is in your vehicle. Clear away snow from
around the base of your vehicle, especially any
that is blocking your exhaust pipe. And check
around again from time to time to be sure snow
doesn't collect there.
Open a window just a little on the side of the
vehicle that's away from the wind. This will help
keep CO out.
Run your engine only as long as you must. This saves
fuel. When you run the engine, make it go a little faster
than just idle. That is, push the accelerator slightly. This
uses less fuel for the heat that you get and it keeps the
battery charged. You will need a well
-charged battery to
restart the vehicle, and possibly for signaling later on
with your headlamps. Let the heater run for a while.Then, shut the engine off and close the window almost
all the way to preserve the heat. Start the engine again
and repeat this only when you feel really uncomfortable
from the cold. But do it as little as possible. Preserve the
fuel as long as you can. To help keep warm, you can get
out of the vehicle and do some fairly vigorous exercises
every half hour or so until help comes.
Recreational Vehicle Towing
You can tow your vehicle behind another vehicle for use
at your destination. Be sure to use the proper towing
equipment designed for recreational towing. Follow the
instructions for the towing equipment.

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5-10
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.
If No Steam Is Coming From Your Engine
If you get an engine 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. If your air conditioner is on, turn it off.
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 THIRD (3).
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, idle the engine for
three minutes while you're parked. 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.

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5-11
Cooling System
When you decide it's safe to lift the hood, here's what
you'll see:
A. Radiator Pressure Cap
B. Two Electric Engine Cooling Fans
C. Coolant Recovery Tank
CAUTION:
An electric engine cooling fan under the hood can
start up even when the engine is not running and
can injure you. Keep hands, clothing and tools
away from any underhood electric fan.
If the coolant inside the coolant recovery tank is boiling,
don't do anything else until it cools down.
The coolant level should be at or above FULL COLD. If
it isn't, you may have a leak in the radiator hoses, heater
hoses, radiator, water pump or somewhere else in the
cooling system.

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5-12
CAUTION:
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.
NOTICE:
When adding coolant, it is important that you use
only DEX
-COOL
(silicate-free) coolant.
If coolant other than DEX-COOL is added to the
system, premature engine, heater core or
radiator corrosion may result. In addition, the
engine coolant will require change sooner
-- at
30,000 miles (50 000 km) or 24 months,
whichever occurs first. Damage caused by the use
of coolant other than DEX
-COOL
is not
covered by your new vehicle warranty.
If there seems to be no leak, with the engine on, check to
see if the electric engine cooling fans are running. If the
engine is overheating, both fans should be running. If
they aren't, your vehicle needs service.