BUICK CENTURY 1999 Owner's Manual

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Illuminated Entry includes a feature called Theater
Dimming. With Theater Dimming, the lamps don't just
turn off at the end of the delay time. Instead, they slowly
dim after the delay time until they go out. The delay
time is canceled if you turn the ignition key to RUN or
START, so the lamps will dim right away.
When the ignition is on, Illuminated Entry is inactive,
which means the courtesy lamps won't come on unless a
door is opened.
Delayed Entry Lighting
Delayed Entry Lighting lights your vehicle's interior for
a period of time after all the doors have been closed.
The ignition must be off for Delayed Entry Lighting to work.
Just after all the doors have been closed, the Delayed Entry
Lighting feature will continue to work until:

the ignition is in RUN, or

the doors are locked or

an illumination period of 25 seconds has elapsed.If during the illumination period a door is opened, the
timed illumination period will be canceled and the
interior lamps will remain on since a door is open.
Delayed Exit Lighting
This feature illuminates your vehicle's interior for a
period of time after the ignition key is removed from
the ignition.
The vehicle's ignition must be off for Delayed Exit
Lighting to work. When the ignition key is removed,
interior illumination will activate and remain on until:

the ignition is in RUN or,

the power door locks are activated or

an illumination period of 25 seconds has elapsed.
If during the illumination period a door is opened, the
timed illumination period will be canceled and the
interior lamps will remain on since a door is open.

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2-42 Rearview Mirror Reading Lamps
Use the switch next to each lamp to turn them on and off.
Dome Lamp (If Equipped)
The dome lamp will come on when you open the doors.
Battery Rundown Protection
Your vehicle has a feature to help prevent you from
draining the battery in case you accidentally leave the
interior courtesy lamps, reading/map lamps, visor vanity
lamps, trunk lamp, underhood lamp or glove box lamps
on. If you leave any of these lamps on, they will
automatically turn off after 20 minutes, if the ignition is
in OFF. The lamps won't come back on again until you:

turn the ignition on,

turn the lamp switch off, then on, or

open a door.
Note that if your vehicle has less than 15 miles (25 km)
on the odometer, the battery saver will turn off the lamps
after only three minutes.
Retained Accessory Power (If Equipped)
With retained accessory power, your power windows,
audio system and sunroof will continue to work up to
10 minutes after the ignition key is turned to OFF and
before any of the doors are opened.
Mirrors
Adjust all the mirrors so you can see clearly when you
are sitting in a comfortable driving position.

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2-43 Electrochromic Automatic Dimming
Rearview Mirror (If Equipped)
Your vehicle may have an electrochromic day/night
rearview mirror. Push the button in the center of the
mirror to turn this feature on. The mirror will darken
gradually to reduce glare from headlamps behind you.
This may take a few moments.
The mirror's two outer buttons operate the lights on the
bottom sides of the mirror.
One photocell on the front of the mirror senses when it
is becoming dark outside. Another photocell, facing
rearward, senses headlamps behind you. To turn the
electrochromic feature off, press the button in the center
of the mirror again.
To keep the photocells operating well, occasionally
clean them with a cotton swab and glass cleaner.
Power Outside Foldaway Mirrors
The power mirror control
switches are located near
the driver's side window, on
the armrest. To choose
either the left or right
outside mirror, move the top
switch from left through
neutral to right. Press any of
the four buttons located
below the top switch to
move the mirrors in the
desired direction.
Adjust each mirror so you can see the side of your
vehicle and the area behind your vehicle.
These mirrors can also be folded rearward manually. This
feature is particularly useful in automatic car washes and
when maneuvering your vehicle in narrow spaces.

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2-44 Automatic Dimming/Heated Outside
Rearview Mirror (If Equipped)
If you have this feature, the driver's side outside mirror
will adjust for the glare of headlamps behind you. This
feature is controlled by the on and off settings on the
electrochromic automatic dimming rearview mirror.
(See ªElectrochromic Automatic Dimming Rearview
Mirrorº) earlier in this section.
The left and right outside mirrors are also heated when
you activate the rear window defogger. (See ªRear
Window Defoggerº in the Index.)
Both outside mirrors can be folded forward or rearward.
This feature is particularly useful in automatic car washes.
Convex Outside Mirror
Your passenger's side mirror is convex. A convex
mirror's surface is curved so you can see more from the
driver's seat.
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.
Storage Compartments
Glove Box
Use the door key to lock and unlock the glove box. To
open, lift the latch.
Front Storage Armrest
To use the storage area, fold down the armrest located in
the center front seat. Press the latch on the front edge
and pull up. Dual oversized cupholders will fold out
from within the storage armrest.

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2-45 Rear Storage Armrest (If Equipped)
You may also have an armrest located within the center
back seat of your vehicle. It may have a storage area and
cupholders. To open, pull up on the lever at the end of
the armrest and lift. Two cupholders will then be
accessible and you will have access to the storage
compartment area.
Trunk Convenience Net (If Equipped)
Your vehicle may have a convenience net. You'll see it
on the back wall of the trunk.
Put small loads, like grocery bags, behind the net. It can
help keep them from falling over during sharp turns or
quick starts and stops.
The net isn't for larger, heavier loads. Store those in the
trunk as far forward as you can.
You can unhook the net so that it will lie flat when
you're not using it.
Ashtrays and Lighter
The center front ashtray is located on the instrument
panel, just below the comfort controls. To remove the
ashtray, open the lid and lift it out.The rear ashtray is located within a small door at the back
of your vehicle's front seat armrest. Push on the right side
of the door. The ashtray will then rotate to the right for
usage. You can only access the ashtray by pushing on the
door's right side. To remove the ashtray, push down on the
snuffer located in the middle of the ashtray and lift it out.
NOTICE:
Don't put papers and other things that burn into
your ashtrays. If you do, cigarettes or other smoking
materials could set them on fire, causing damage.
To use the lighter, just push it in all the way and let go.
When it's ready, it will pop back by itself.
NOTICE:
Don't hold a cigarette lighter in with your hand
while it is heating. If you do, it won't be able to
back away from the heating element when it's
ready. That can make it overheat, damaging the
lighter and the heating element.

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Sun Visors
To block out glare, you can swing down the visors. You
can also move them from side to side. The visors also
have extenders that you can pull out for added coverage.
Visor Vanity Mirrors
Open the cover to expose the vanity mirror.
If your vehicle has the optional lighted vanity mirrors,
the lamps come on when you open the cover.
Auxiliary Power Connection
(Power Drop)
Your vehicle is equipped
with an auxiliary
power connection.This feature provides power, ground and accessory
wires which can be accessed to add aftermarket
electrical equipment to your vehicle. It is located on the
passenger's side of the vehicle, under the glove box, and
is labeled with a wire function and fuse rating. For
information on accessing the connection and electrical
hookup, please refer to your service manual. To order a
service manual, see ªService Publications, Orderingº in
the Index.
NOTICE:
Adding some electrical equipment to your vehicle
can damage it or keep other things from working
as they should. This wouldn't be covered by your
warranty. Check with your dealer before adding
electrical equipment, and never use anything that
exceeds the fuse rating.
Astroroof (If Equipped)
Your vehicle may be equipped with an express-open
astroroof. It includes a sliding glass panel and a
one
-piece sunshade. The control switch works only
when the ignition or Retained Accessory Power is on.

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See ªRetained Accessory Powerº in the Index. The
control switch is located overhead on the headliner.
To open the astroroof, push the rear (indented part)
of the switch once and the astroroof will open to the
vent position only. You will need to open the sunshade
by hand.
Push the rear of the switch a second time and the
astroroof and sunshade will will open by themselves.
This is the express
-open feature.To close the astroroof, push and hold the front of the
switch until the sunroof motor stops. The sunshade can
only be closed by hand.
OnStar (Option)
Your vehicle's electrical wiring will accommodate
dealer installation of OnStar. The following services are
available 24 hours a day:

Emergency Services Button

Roadside Service with Location

Automatic Notification of Air Bag Deployment

Stolen
-Vehicle Tracking

Remote Door Unlock

Hands
-Free, Voice Activated Cellular Telephone

Concierge/Customer Conveniences Services

Remote Diagnostics

And much more.
For more information, contact your dealer.

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The Instrument Panel -- Your Information System
A. Lamp Controls
B. Instrument Cluster
C. VentsD. Glove Box
E. Audio System
F. Climate Controls

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Instrument Panel Cluster
Standard Cluster: United States Version Shown, Canadian Similar
Your instrument cluster is designed to let you know at a glance how your vehicle is running. You'll know how fast
you're going, about how much fuel is in your tank and many other things you need to drive safely and economically.

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2-50 Speedometer and Odometer
Your speedometer lets you see your speed in both miles
per hour (mph) and kilometers per hour (km/h). Your
odometer shows how far your vehicle has been driven in
either miles (used in the United States) or in kilometers
(used in Canada).
Your vehicle has a tamper
-resistant odometer. If you see
ERROR, you'll know someone has probably tampered
with it and the numbers may not be accurate.
You may wonder what happens if your vehicle needs a
new odometer installed. If the new one can be set to the
mileage total of the old odometer, then that will be done.
But if it can't, then it will be set at zero and a label must
be put on the driver's door to show the old mileage
reading when the new odometer was installed.
Trip Odometer
Your trip odometer tells how far you have driven since
you last reset it. To set it to zero, press the button on the
right side of the instrument cluster.
Your trip/select reset switch will go back and forth
between the odometer and the trip odometer if the
button is pressed and released within 1.5 seconds. If the
button is pressed and held for longer than 1.5 seconds
while in the trip odometer mode, it will be reset to zero.If the button is pressed and held for longer than
1.5 seconds while in the odometer mode, it will have
no effect.
Warning Lights, Gages
and Indicators
This part describes the warning lights and gages that
may be on your vehicle. The pictures will help you
locate them.
Warning lights and gages can signal that something is
wrong before it becomes serious enough to cause an
expensive repair or replacement. Paying attention to
your warning lights and gages could also save you or
others from injury.
Warning lights come on when there may be or is a
problem with one of your vehicle's functions. As you
will see in the details on the next few pages, some
warning lights come on briefly when you start the
engine just to let you know they're working. If you are
familiar with this section, you should not be alarmed
when this happens.
Gages can indicate when there may be or is a problem
with one of your vehicle's functions. Often gages and
warning lights work together to let you know when
there's a problem with your vehicle.