mirror BUICK REGAL 1997 Owners Manual

Section 2 Features and Controls
Here you can learn about the many standard and optional features on your Buick, 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.
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2-4
2-9
2-15
2-16
2- 17
2-18
2-18
2-20
2-2 1
2-22
2-28
2-29
2-3
1
2-3 1
2-32
2-3 2
2-33 Keys
Door
Locks
Remote Keyless
Entry
Trunk
Theft
PASS-Key@
I1
New Vehicle “Break-In”
Ignition Positions
Starting Your Engine
Engine Coolant Heater Automatic Transaxle Operation
Parking Brake Shifting Into PARK
(P)
Shifting Out of PARK (P)
Parking Over Things That Burn
Engine Exhaust
Running Your Engine While You’re Parked
Windows 2-34
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2-35
2-4
1
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2-47
2-49
2-5 1
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2-52 2-5 3
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2-54
2-55
2-56 2-59
2-77 Horn
Tilt Steering Wheel
Turn Signal/Multifunction Lever
Exterior Lamps
Interior Lamps
Mirrors
Storage Compartments
Ashtrays and Lighter
Sun Visors
Accessory Outlet
Auxiliary Power Connection
Sunroof
Cellular Phone Provisions
Instrument Panel
-- Your Information System
lnstrument Panel Cluster
Warning Lights, Gages and Indicators
Driver Information Center
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Rearview Mirror Reading Lamps
(If Equipped)
Use the switch next to each lamp to turn them on
and off.
Dome Lamp
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 the OFF position. The lamps won’t come back on
again until you:
Turn the ignition on,
0 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
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 the OFF
position and none of the doors is opened.
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Mirrors
Adjust all the mirrors so you can see clearly when YOU
are sitting in a comfortable driving position.
Inside Daymight Rearview Mirror Electrochromic
Daymight Rearview Mirror
(If Equipped)
To reduce glare from lamps behind you, pull the lever
toward
you (to the night position). To return the mirror
back to the day position, push the lever away from
you.
Your Buick may have an electrochromic dayhight
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.
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~ 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 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.
Heated Foldaway Outside Mirrors
The left and right outside mirrors are heated when you
activate the rear window defogger.
These mirrors can also be folded forward manually. This
feature
is particularly useful in automatic car washes and
when maneuvering your vehicle in narrow spaces.
Co-- -- - -: 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.
J I1U.
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.
Adjust each mirror so you can see the side of your
vehicle and the area behind your vehicle.
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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.
Accessory Outlet
Your vehicle is equipped with a 12-volt outlet. It is
located on the console’s passenger’s side, near the floor.
Open the cover to use the
outlet. This feature can be
used to add aftermarket electrical equipment to
your vehicle.
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Check your mirrors, glance over your shoulder, and
start your left lane change signal before moving out
of the right lane to pass. When you are far enough
ahead of the passed vehicle to see its front
in your
inside mirror, activate your right lane change signal
and move back into the right lane. (Remember that
your right outside mirror
is convex. The vehicle you
just passed may seem to be farther away from you
than
it really is.)
0 Try not to pass more than one vehicle at a time
on two-lane roads. Reconsider before passing the
next vehicle.
Don’t overtake a slowly moving vehicle too rapidly.
Even though
the brake lamps are not flashing, it may
be slowing down or starting
to turn.
following driver
to get ahead of you. Perhaps you
can ease a little to the right.
If you’re being passed, make it easy for the
Loss of Control
Let’s review what driving experts say about what
happens when the three control systems (brakes, steering
and acceleration) don’t have enough friction where the
tires meet the road to do what the driver has asked.
In any emergency, don’t give up. Keep trying to steer and
constantly seek an escape route or area
of less danger.
Skidding
In a skid, a driver can lose control of the vehicle.
Defensive drivers avoid most skids by taking reasonable
care suited to existing conditions, and by not “overdriving”
those conditions. But skids are always possible.
The three types of skids correspond
to your Buick’s
three control systems. In the braking skid, your wheels
aren’t rolling. In the steering or cornering skid, too
much speed or steering in a curve causes tires to slip and
lose cornering force. And in the acceleration skid, too
much throttle causes the driving wheels
to spin.
A cornering skid and an acceleration skid are best
handled by easing your foot
off the accelerator pedal.
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If your vehicle starts to slide, ease your foot off the
accelerator pedal and quickly steer the way you want the
vehicle to go.
If you start steering quickly enough, your
vehicle may straighten
out. Always be ready for a
second skid
if it occurs.
Of course, traction is reduced when water, snow, ice,
gravel or other material is
on the road. For safety, you’ll
want to slow down and adjust your driving to these
conditions. It is important to slow down on slippery
surfaces because stopping distance will be longer and
vehicle control more limited.
While driving on a surface with reduced traction, try
your best
to avoid sudden steering, acceleration or
braking (including engine braking by shifting to a lower
gear). Any sudden changes could cause the tires to
slide. You may not realize the surface
is slippery until
your vehicle is skidding. Learn
to recognize warning
clues
-- such as enough water, ice or packed snow on
the road to make a “mirrored surface’’
-- and slow
down when you have any doubt.
Remember: Any anti-lock brake system (ABS) helps
avoid only the braking skid.
Driving at Night
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Night driving is more dangerous than day driving. One
reason is that
some drivers are likely to be impaired -- by
alcohol or drugs, with night vision problems, or by fatigue.
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Here are some tips on night driving.
Drive defensively.
Don’t drink and drive.
Adjust your inside rearview mirror to reduce the
glare from headlamps behind you.
Since you can’t see as well, you may need to
slow down and keep more space between you and
other vehicles.
Slow down, especially on higher speed roads. Your
headlamps can light up only
so much road ahead.
In remote areas, watch for animals.
If you’re tired, pull off the road in a safe place
and rest.
Night Vision
No one can see as well at night as in the daytime. But as
we get older these differences increase. A 50-year-old
driver may require at least twice as much light to see the
same thing at night as a 20-year-old.
What you do in the daytime can also affect your night
vision. For example, if you spend the day
in bright
sunshine you are wise to wear sunglasses. Your eyes will
have less trouble adjusting to night. But
if you’re
driving, don’t wear sunglasses at night. They may cut down
on glare from headlamps, but they also make
a lot
of things invisible.
You can be temporarily blinded by approaching
headlamps. It can take a second or two, or even several
seconds, for your eyes to readjust to the dark. When you
are faced with severe glare (as from a driver who
doesn’t lower the high beams, or a vehicle with
misaimed headlamps), slow down a little. Avoid staring
directly into the approaching headlamps.
Keep your windshield and all
the glass on your vehicle
clean
-- inside and out. Glare at night is made much
worse by dirt on the glass. Even
the inside of the glass
can build
up a film caused by dust. Dirty glass makes
lights dazzle and flask, more than clean glass would,
making the pupils of your eyes contract repeatedly.
Remember that your headlamps light
up far less of a
roadway when you are
in a turn or curve. Keep your
eyes moving; that way, it’s easier to pick out dimly
lighted objects. Just as your headlamps should be
checked regularly for proper aim,
so should your eyes
be examined regularly. Some drivers suffer from night
blindness
-- the inability to see in dim light -- and
aren’t even aware of it.
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Freeway Driving
Mile for mile, freeways (also called thruways, parkways,
expressways, turnpikes or superhighways) are the safest
of all roads. But they have their own special rules.
The most important advice on freeway driving is: Keep
up with traffic and keep to the right. Drive at the same
speed most
of the other drivers are driving. Too-fast or
too-slow driving breaks a smooth traffic flow. Treat the
left lane on a freeway as a passing lane. At
the entrance, there
is usually a ramp that leads to the
freeway. If you have a clear view of the freeway as you
drive along the entrance ramp, you should begin to
check traffic. Try
to determine where you expect to
blend with the flow. Try
to merge into the gap at close to
the prevailing speed. Switch on your turn signal, check
your mirrors and glance over your shoulder as often as
necessary. Try
to blend smoothly with the traffic flow.
Once you are on the freeway, adjust your speed to the
posted limit or to the prevailing rate if it’s slower. Stay
in the right lane unless you want to pass.
Before changing lanes, check your mirrors. Then use
your turn signal.
Just before you leave the lane, glance quickly over your
shoulder to make sure there isn’t another vehicle
in your
“blind” spot.
Once you are moving on the freeway, make certain you
allow a reasonable following distance. Expect to move
slightly slower at night.
When you want to leave the freeway, move to the proper
lane well in advance. If you miss your
exit, do not,
under any circumstances, stop and back up. Drive on to
the next exit.
The exit ramp can be curved, sometimes quite sharply.
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Highway Hypnosis
Is there actually such a condition as “highway hypnosis”?
Or
is it just plain falling asleep at the wheel? Call it
highway hypnosis, lack of awareness, or whatever.
There is something about an easy stretch of road with
the same scenery, along with the hum of the tires on the
road, the drone
of the engine, and the rush of the wind
against the vehicle that can make you sleepy. Don’t let it
happen to
you! If it does, your vehicle can leave the
road in
less than a second, and you could crash and
be injured.
What can you do about highway hypnosis? First, be
aware that it can happen.
Then here are some titx:
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Make sure your vehicle is well ventilated, with a
comfortably cool interior.
Keep your
eyes moving. Scan the road ahead and to
the sides. Check your rearview mirrors and your
instruments frequently.
If you get sleepy, pull off the road into a rest, service
or parking area and take a nap, get some exercise, or
both. For safety, treat drowsiness on the highway as
an emergency.
Hill and Mountain Roads
_” .
Driving on steep hills or mountains is different from
driving
in flat or rolling terrain.
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