BUICK RIVIERA 1993 Owners Manual

h
Driving on Snow or Ice
Most of the time, those places where your tires meet the
road probably have good traction.
I
However, if there is snow or ice between your tires and
the road, you can have a very slippery situation. You’ll
have
a lot less traction or “grip” and will need to be very
careful.
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 items
in your vehicle.
What’s the worst time for this? “Wet ice.” Very cold snow or ice can be slick and hard to drive on. But wet ice \
can be even more trouble because it may offer the least
179

traction of all. You can get “wet ice” when it’s about If You’re Caught in a Blizzard
freezing (32oF; O°C) and freezing rain begins to fall. Try
to avoid driving on wet ice until salt and sand crews can
get there. Y
. . ._ . . .
Whatever the condition -- smooth ice, packed, blowing or
loose snow
-- drive with caution. Accelerate gently. Try
not to break the fragile traction. If you accelerate too fast,
the drive wheels will spin and polish the surface under
the tires even more.
Your anti-lock brakes improve your ability to make a
hard stop on a slippery road. Even though you have the
anti-lock braking system, you’ll want to begin stopping sooner than you would on
dry pavement. See “Anti-lock”
in the Index.
Allow greater following distance on any slippery
road.
Watch for slippery spots. The road might be fine until
you hit a spot that’s covered with ice. On an otherwise
clear road, ice patches may appear
in shaded areas
where the
sun can’t reach: around clumps of trees,
behind buildings, or under bridges. Sometimes the
surface of a curve or an overpass may remain icy
when the surrounding roads are clear.
If you see a
patch
of ice ahead of you, brake before you are on it.
Try not to brake while you’re actually on the ice, and
avoid sudden steering maneuvers.
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bags, rags, floor mats -- anything you can wrap around
yourself or tuck under your clothing to keep warm.
You can run the engine to keep warm, but be careful.
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 was in your
vehicle. Clear away snow from around the ba
!
of your vehicle, especially any that is blocking
your exhaust pipe- And check ar
from time to time to be sure snow
collect there.
Open a window just a little on the side of the
vehicle that’s away from the wind. This
will heir
keep CO out.
I CAUTION: (Continued)
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 headlights. Let the heater run for awhile.
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Hazard Warning Flashers
c
Your hazard warning flashers let you warn others. They
also let police know you have a problem. Your front and
rear turn signal lights will flash on and
off.

I
Press the button in to make your front and rear turn
signal lights flash on and
off.
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
If you carry reflective triangles, you can set one up at
the side
of the road about 300 feet (100 m) behind your
vehicle.
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1
1 Jump Starting
1 If your battery has run down, you may want to use
1 another vehicle and some jumper cables to start your
1 Buick. But please follow the steps below to do it safely.
Batteries can hurt you. They can be dangerous
because:
They contain acid that can burn you.
They contain ass that can explode or
They contain enough electricity to burn
ignite.
you.
I
If you don’t follow these steps exactly, some or
all
of these things can hurt you. cowered
by your warrant
Trying
to start your Buick by pushing or pulling
it won’t work, and it could damage your vehicle.
To Jump Start Your -’ ick:
1. Check the other vehicle. It must have a 12-volt
battery with a negative ground system.
2. Get the vehicles close enough so the jumper cables
can reach, but be sure-the vehicles aren’t touching
each other.
If they are, it could cause a ground
connection
you don’t want. You wouldn’t be able to
start your Buick, and the bad grounding could
damage the electrical systems.

I A CAUTION:
u could be injured if the vehicles roll. Set the
arking brake firmly on each vehicle. Put an
utomatic transaxle
in “P” (Park) or a manual
axle
in “N” (Neutral).
P
3. Turn off the ignition on both vehicles. Turn off all
lights that aren’t needed, and radios. This
will avoid
sparks and help save both batteries. And it could
save your radio!
4. Open the hoods and locate the batteries.
I A CAUTION:
An electric fan 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.
~~
Find the positive .(+) and negetive (-), terminals on
each battery.

A CAUTION:
Using a match near a battery can cause battery
gas to explode. People have been hurt doing
this, and some have been blinded. Use a
flashlight if you need more
light.
Be sure the battery has enough water. You don’t
need to add water to the Delco Freedom@
battery installed
in every new GM vehicle. But if
a battery has filler caps, be sure the right
amount of fluid
is there. If it is low, add water to
take care of that first. If you don’t, explosive gas
could be present.
Battery fluid contains acid that can burn you.
Don’t get
it on you. If you accidentally get it in
your eyes or on your skin, flush the place with
water and get medical help immedia
y.
1 5. Check that theJumper cames don’t have loose wr
missing insulation. If they do, you could get a shock.
The vehicles could be damaged, too. Before
you connect the cables, here are some things
you should know. Positive (+) will go to positive (+)
and negative (-) will go to negative (-) or
a metal
engine part. Don’t connect
(+) to (-) or you’ll get a
short that would damage the batterv and maybe other
parts, too.
A CAUTION:
Fans or other moving engine parts can injure
you badly. Keep your hands away from moving
parts once the engines are
running.
6. Connect the red
positive
(+) cable
to the positive
(+)
terminal of the
vehicle with the
dead battery. Use a
I * ;,* remote positive (+) , . ”, . , ,, ,, terminal if the &&>>;&,3; ,, , ,, ~
vehicle has one.