warning light BUICK REGAL 1998 User Guide

Engine Coolant Temperature Light
This light tells you that your
engine coolant has
overheated or your radiator
- cooling fan is not working.
TEMP
The light will come on briefly when your ignition is
turned on to show you that it is working.
If you have been operating your vehicle under normal
driving conditions, you should pull off the road, stop
your vehicle and turn
off the engine as soon as possible.
The “Problems on the Road” section of this manual
shows what to
do. See “Engine Overheating” in
the Index.
Engine Coolant Temperature Gage
TEMP
You have a gage that shows
the engine coolant
temperature.
If the gage
pointer moves into the red area, your engine is too hot!
That reading means the same thing as the warning light.
It means that your engine coolant has overheated.
If you
have been operating your vehicle under normal driving
conditions, you should pull
off the road, stop your
vehicle and turn off the engine as
soon as possible.
The “Problems on the Road” section of this manual
shows what to
do. See “Engine Overheating” in
the Index.
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Low Coolant Warning Light
LOW COOLANT
If this light comes on, your
system is low on coolant
and the engine may
overheat. See “Engine
Coolant”
in the Index and
have your vehicle serviced
as soon as you can.
The light will come on briefly when your ignition is
turned
on to show you that it is working properly.
Low Tire Light (If Equipped)
LOW
TIRE
The tire pressure monitor
system can alert you to
a
large change in the pressure
in one tire. After the system has “learned”
tire pressures with
properly inflated tires, the
LOW TIRE light will come
on if the pressure in one tire becomes
12 psi (83 kPa)
lower than the other three tires. The tire pressure
monitor system won’t alert you if the pressure in more
than one tire
is low, if the system is not yet calibrated, or
if the vehicle is moving faster than
70 mph (1 10 kdh).
When the
LOW TIRE light comes on, you should stop
as soon as you can and check all your tires for damage.
(If a tire is flat, see “If a Tire Goes Flat” in the Index.)
Also check the tire pressure in all four tires as soon
as
you can. See “Inflation - Tire Pressure” in the Index.
The light will stay on until you turn off the ignition or
reset the system. See “Tire Pressure Monitor System” in
the Index.
The
LOW TIRE light also comes on briefly when you
turn the ignition key to RUN. If the light doesn’t come
on then, have it fixed
so it will be there to tell you if the
pressure in a tire is low or high.
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Have you recently cnanged brands of fuel?
If
so, be sure to fuel your vehicle with quality fuel (see
“Fuel” in the Index). Poor fuel quality will cause your
engine not to run as efficiently as designed. You may
notice this as stalling after start-up, stalling when you
put the vehicle into gear, misfiring, hesitation on
acceleration or stumbling on acceleration. (These
conditions may go away once the engine is warmed up.)
This will be detected by the system and cause the light
to turn on.
If you experience one or more of these conditions,
change the fuel brand
you use. It will require at least one
full tank of the proper fuel
to turn the light off.
If none of the above steps have made the light turn off,
have your dealer or qualified service center check the
vehicle. Your dealer has the proper test equipment and
diagnostic tools to fix any mechanical
or electrical
problems that may have developed.
Qil Warning Light
If you have a problem with
your oil, this light may stay
on after you start your
engine, or come on when
you are driving.
This indicates that oil is not going through your engine
quickly enough to keep it lubricated. The engine could
be low on oil or could have some other oil problem.
Have it fixed right away.
The oil light could also come on
in the following
situations:
0
0 The light will come on briefly when you turn on the
ignition to show you that it is working properly.
(If it doesn’t come on with the ignition on,
you may
have a problem with the fuse or bulb. Have it fixed
right away.)
Sometimes when the engine is idling at a stop, the
light may blink on and off. This
is normal.
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Cruise Light
CRUISE
The CRUISE light comes
on whenever you set your
cruise control. See “Cruise
Control” in the Index.
Service Vehicle Soon Light
SERVICE VEHICLE
SOON
Performance Shift Light (If Equipped)
PERF
SHIFT
The PERF SHIFT light
comes on when you press
the performance shift button
to indicate that your vehicle
1 is in performance shifting
mode. See “Performance
Shifting” in the Index. This
light will come on
if
you have certain
non-emission related
vehicle problems.
These problems may not be obvious and may affect
vehicle performance or durability. Consult a qualified
dealership for necessary repairs to maintain top vehicle
performance. The light will come on briefly when your
ignition is turned on to show that it is working properly.
Low Washer Fluid Warning Light
LOW WASH
This light will come on
when your windshield
washers
are working and the
fluid container is low.
The light will also come
on briefly when your ignition is
turned on
to show that it is working properly.
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Door/Trunk Ajar Warning Light
This light will come on if
your trunk or any door is
DOOR/TRUNK
not completely closed.
Fuel Gage
1 /2
Your fuel gage tells you
about how much fuel you
have left when the ignition
is on. When the indicator
nears
EMPTY (E), you still
have a little fuel left, but
you should get more soon.
Here are some things owners ask about. All these
situations are normal and do not show a problem with
your fuel gage:
0 At the service station, the pump shuts off before the
gage reads
FULL (F).
0 It takes a little more or less fuel to fill up than the
gage indicated.
For example, the gage may have
indicated the tank was half full, but it actually took a
little more or less than half the tank’s capacity to
fill it.
0 The gage moves a little when you turn a corner or
speed up.
Low Fuel Light
If your fuel is low, a circular
light
on your instrument
anel cluster will come on
Rl and stay on and a chime will JJ! UNLEADED sound periodically until you
0
It will also come on for a few seconds when you first
turn on the ignition as a check to show you it’s working.
If it doesn’t come
on then, have it fixed.
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Avoid needless heavy braking. Some people drive in
spurts
-- heavy acceleration followed by heavy
braking
-- rather than keeping pace with traffic. This is a
mistake. Your brakes may not have time to cool between
hard stops. Your brakes will wear out much faster
if you
do a lot of heavy braking. If you keep pace with the
traffic and allow realistic following distances, you will
eliminate a lot of unnecessary braking. That means
better braking and longer brake life.
If your engine ever stops while you’re driving, brake
normally but don’t pump your brakes.
If you do, the
pedal may get harder to push down.
If your engine
stops, you will still have some power brake assist. But
you will use
it when you brake. Once the power assist is
used up,
it may take longer to stop and the brake pedal
will be harder to push.
Anti-Lock Brakes (ABS)
Your vehicle has anti-lock brakes (ABS). ABS is an
advanced electronic braking system that will help
prevent a braking skid.
When you start your engine, or when you begin to drive
away, your anti-lock brake system will check itself. You
may hear a momentary motor or clicking noise while
this test
is going on, and you may even notice that your
brake pedal moves or pulses a little. This is normal.
ANTI -
LOCK
If there’s a problem with the
anti-lock brake system, this
warning light will stay on or
flash. See “Anti-Lock
Brake System Warning
Light”
in the Index.
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1
This light should come on
briefly when
you start the
TRAC
OFF
engine. If it stays on or
comes on while you are
driving, there’s a problem
with your traction
control system.
See “Traction Control System Warning Light”
in the
Index. When this warning light is on, the system will not
limit wheel spin. Adjust your driving accordingly.
The traction control system automatically comes
on
whenever you start your vehicle. To limit wheel spin,
especially in slippery road conditions, you should
always leave the system on. But
you can turn the
traction control system off if you ever need to.
(You
should turn the system off if your vehicle ever gets stuck
in sand, mud, ice or snow. See “Rocking Your Vehicle’’
in the Index.)
To turn the system off,
press the TRACTION
button
on the black panel
located directly behind
your automatic transaxle shift lever.
The traction control system warning light will come on
and stay on.
If the system is limiting wheel spin when
you press the button,
the warning light will come on --
but the system won’t turn off right away. It will wait
until there’s no longer a current need to limit wheel spin.
You can turn the system back on at any time by pressing
the button again. The traction control system warning
light should
go off.
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Enhanced Traction System (Option: Not
Available with
3800 Supercharged Engine)
Your vehicle may have an Enhanced Traction System
(ETS) that limits wheel spin. This is especially useful in
slippery road conditions. The system operates only
if it
senses that one or both of the front wheels are spinning
or beginning to lose traction. When this happens, the
system reduces engine power and may also upshift the
transaxle to limit wheel spin.
This light will come on
when your Enhanced
Traction System is limiting
wheel spin. See “Enhanced
Traction System Active
Light” in the Index.
You may feel or hear the system working, but this
is normal.
The Enhanced Traction System operates in all transaxle
shift lever positions. But
the system can upshift the
transaxle only as high as the shift lever position
you’ve
chosen, so you should use the lower gears only when
necessary. See “Automatic Transaxle”
in the Index.
TRAC
OFF
When the system is on, this
warning light will come on
to
let you know if there’s
a problem.
See “Enhanced Traction System Warning Light” in
the Index.
When this warning light is on, the system will not limit
wheel spin. Adjust your driving accordingly.
To limit wheel spin, especially in slippery road
conditions, you should always leave the Enhanced
Traction System on. But you can turn the system off if
you ever need
to. (You should turn the system off if your
vehicle ever gets stuck in sand, mud, ice or snow. See
“Rocking Your Vehicle” in the Index.)
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To turn the system on or
off, press the TRACTION
button on the black panel located directly behind
your automatic transaxle
shift lever.
When
you turn the system off, the Enhanced Traction
System warning light will come on and stay on. If the
Enhanced Traction System is limiting wheel spin when
you press the button to turn the system off, the warning
light will come on
-- but the system won’t turn off right
away. It will wait until there’s no longer a current need
to limit wheel spin.
You can turn the system back on at any time by pressing
the button again. The Enhanced Traction System
warning light should go off.
Braking in Emergencies
With anti-lock, you can steer and brake at the same
time. In many emergencies, steering can help you more
than even
the very best braking.
Steering
Power Steering
If you lose power steering assist because the engine
stops or the system
is not functioning, you can steer but
it will take much more effort.
Magnetic Variable Effort Steering TM
This steering system provides lighter steering effort for
parking and when driving at low speeds. Steering effort
will increase at higher speeds for improved road feel.
Steering Tips
Driving on Curves
It’s important to take curves at a reasonable speed.
A lot of the “driver lost control’’ accidents mentioned on
the news happen on curves. Here’s why:
Experienced driver or beginner, each
of us is subject to
the same laws of physics when driving on curves. The
traction
of the tires against the road surface makes it
possible for the vehicle
to change its path when you turn
the front wheels.
If there’s no traction, inertia will keep
the vehicle going
in the same direction. If you’ve ever
tried to steer a vehicle on wet ice, you’ll understand this.
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City Driving Here are ways to increase your safety in 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.
0
0
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.
Try to use the freeways that rim and crisscross most
large cities. You’ll save time and energy. (See the
next part, “Freeway Driving.”)
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 that have
not cleared the intersection or may be running the
red light.
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