light Oldsmobile Achieva 1995 Owner's Manuals

Vehicle Symbols
These are some of the symbols you may find on your vehicle.
For example,
these symbols
are used on an
original battery:
POSSIBLE A
CAUTION
INJURY
PROTECT EYES BY
SHIELDING
CAUSTIC
ACID COULD BATTERY
CAUSE
BURNS
AVOID
SPARKS
OR
FLAMES
SPARK
OR ,\I/,
COULD FLAME
EXPLODE BATTERY
These symbols
are important
for you and
your passengers
whenever your
vehicle
is
driven:
DOOR LOCK
UNLOCK
FASTEN SEAT
BELTS
POWER
WINDOW
These symbols
have to do with
your lights:
SIGNALS e e
TURN
FOG LAMPS
$0
These symbols
are on some of
your controls:
WINDSHIELD
WIPER
WINDSHIELD DEFROSTER
WINDOW
DEFOGGER
VENTILATING FAN
These symbols are used on
warning and
indicator lights:
COOLANT F-
TEMP --
ENGINE
CHARGING
I-1
BATTERY SYSTEM
BRAKE
(a)
FUEL
ENGINE OIL
PRESSURE
Wd
TEMP OIL 9b
ANTI-LOCK (@)
BRAKE
Here are some
other symbols
you may see:
FUSE -%-
RELEASE
RADIO
VOLUME
CONDITIONING
A'R 43
RELEASE TRUNK e
LIGHTER n
HORN )tr
SPEAKER
b
V

Safety Belts: They’re for Everyone
This part of the manual tells you how to use safety belts
properly. It also tells you some things you should not do
with safety belts.
And it explains the Supplemental Restraint System, or
“air bag” system.
Your vehicle has a
light that comes on
as
a reminder to buckle
up. (See “Safety Belt
Warning Light” in the
Index.)
In many states and Canadian provinces, the law says to
wear safety belts. Here’s why:
They work.
You never know if you’ll be in a crash. If you do have a
crash, you don’t
know if it will be a bad one.
A few crashes are mild, and some crashes can be
so
serious that even buckled up a person wouldn’t survive.
But most crashes are in between.
In many of them, people
who buckle up can survive and sometimes walk away.
Without belts they could have been badly hurt or killed.
After more than
25 years of safety belts in vehicles, the
facts are clear. In most crashes buckling
up does matter
... a lot!
1-7

Supplemental Restraint System (SRS)
This part explains the Supplemental Restraint System
(SRS), or air bag.
Your Oldsmobile has an air bag for the driver.
Here
are the most important things to know about the air
bag system:
AIR
BAG
There is an air bag
readiness light
on the
instrument panel,
which
shows AIR
BAG.
The system checks the air bag’s electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells you
if there is an electrical
problem. See “Air
Bag Readiness Light” in the Index
for more information.
1-20

New Vehicle 4LBreak-In” Parking at Night
Park in a lighted spot, close all windows and lock your
vehicle. Remember to keep your valuables out
of sight.
Put them
in a storage area, or take them with you.
, Parking Lots
If you park in a lot where someone will be watching
your vehicle, it’s best to lock it up and take your keys.
But what
if you have to leave your ignition key? What if
you have to leave something valuable in your vehicle?
0 Put your valuables in a storage area, like your trunk
or glove box.
0 Lock the glove box.
0 Lock all the doors except the driver’s.
0 Then take the door key with you.
NOTICE:
Your modern Oldsmobile doesn’t need an
elaborate “break-in.” But
it will perform better
in the long run
if you follow these guidelines:
0 Don’t drive at any one speed -- fast or
slow
-- for the first 500 miles (804 km).
Don’t make full-throttle starts.
200 miles (322 km) or so. During this time
your new brake linings aren’t yet broken
in. Hard stops with new linings
can mean
premature wear and earlier replacement.
Follow this “breaking-in” guideline every
time you get new brake linings.
0 Don’t tow a trailer during “break-in.” See
(‘Towing
a Trailer’’ in the Index for more
information.
0 Avoid making hard stops for the first
2-12
-5 T

Ignition Switch
A E
With the key in the ignition switch, you can turn the
switch to five positions:
ACCESSORY (A): This is an “on” position in which
you can operate some
of your electrical power
accessories. Press in the ignition switch as you
turn the
top
of it toward you.
LOCK (B): This is the only position in which you can
remove the key. This locks your steering wheel, ignition
and transaxle (on automatic models).
OFF (C): This position unlocks the steering wheel,
ignition, and transaxle (on automatic models), but does
not send electrical power to any accessories. Use this
position
if your vehicle must be pushed or towed, but
never try to push-start your vehicle.
A warning chime
will sound if
you open the driver’s door when the
ignition is
off and the key is in the ignition.
RUN (D): This is an “on” position to which the switch
returns after you start your engine and release the
switch. The switch stays
in the RUN position when the
engine is running. But even when the engine
is not
running, you can use
RUN to operate your electrical
power accessories, and to display some instrument panel
warning lights.
START (E): Use this for starting the engine. When the
engine starts, release the key.
The ignition switch will
return to
RUN for normal driving.
Note that even
if the engine is not running, the positions
ACCESSORY and RUN are “on” positions that allow you
to operate your electrical accessories, such as the radio.
2-13

SECOND (2): Press the clutch pedal as you let up 011
the accelerator pedal and shift into SECOND (2). Then
slowly let
up on the clutch pedal as you press the
accelerator pedal.
THIRD (3), FOURTH (4) and FIFTH (5): Shift into
THIRD (3), FOURTH (4) and FIFTH (5) the same way
you do for SECOND (2). Slowly let up on the clutch
pedal as you press the accelerator pedal.
To stop, let up on the accelerator pedal and press the brake
pedal. Just before the vehicle stops, press the clutch pedal
and the brake pedal, and shift into NEUTRAL (N).
NEUTRAL (N): Use this position when you start or
idle your engine.
REVERSE (R): To back up, press down the clutch
pedal and shift into REVERSE
(R). Let up on the clutch
pedal slowly while pressing the accelerator pedal.
NOTICE:
Shift to REVERSE (R) only after your vehicle is
stopped. Shifting to REVERSE (R) while your
vehicle
is moving could damage your transaxle.
Also, use REVERSE (Rj, along with the parking brake,
for parking your vehicle.
Up Shift Light (Manual Transaxle)
If you have a manual
transaxle, you have an
UP
SHIFT light. This
light
will show you
when
to shift to the
next higher gear for
best fuel economy.
When this light comes on, you can shift to the next
higher gear
if weather, road and traffic conditions let
you. For the best fuel economy, accelerate slowly and
shift when the light comes on.
While you accelerate,
it is normal for the light to go on and
off if you quickly change the position of the accelerator.
Ignore the UP SHIFT light when
you downshift.
2-24

Parking Brake
To set the parking
brake hold the regular
brake pedal down with
your right foot. Push
down the parking
brake pedal with your
left foot.
If the ignition
is on, the brake system
warning light will
come on.
To release the parking
brake
hold the regular
brake pedal down. Pull
the
BRAKE
RELEASE lever.
I NOTICE:
Driving with the parking brake on can cause
your rear brakes to overheat. You may have to
replace them, and you could also damage other
parts
of your vehicle.
If you are towing a trailer and are parking on a hill see
“Towing a Trailer” in the Index. That section shows
what to do first to keep the trailer
from moving.
2-26

Lamp Controls
Parking Lamps
Rotate the switch up one position to turn on:
Parking Lamps
Side Marker Lamps
Tai 1 I amps
0 License Plate Lamps
Instrument Panel Lamps
Headlamps
Rotate the switch up two positions to turn on:
Headlamps
Parking Lamps
Side Marker Lamps
Taillamps
0 License Plate Lamps
Instrument Panel Lamps
Rotate the switch to
OFF to turn all of the lights off.
2-35

Lamps On Reminder
If you open the driver’s door and turn off the ignition
while leaving the lamps on,
you will hear a warning
chime.
Flash-to-Pass (Except Canada)
Flash-to-pass lets you use your high beam headlamps to
signal a driver
in front of you that you want to pass.
To use it, pull the turn signal/multifunction lever toward
Headlamp High/Low Beam Changer you.
To change the headlamps from low beam to high or high If your headlamps are off your high beam headlamps
will turn
on. They’ll stay on as long as you hold the to low, pull the turn signal lever all the way toward you.
Then release it. When the high beams are on, a blue
light
on the instrument panel also will be on. lever there. Release
thelever to turn them
off.
If your headlamps are on, there will be no flash-to-pass
feature. Use the lever
to change between high and low
beams.
2-36

Controlled-Cycle Windshield Wipers
/
You control the windshield wipers by moving the stalk
with the wiper symbol on it up or down.
For a single wiper cycle, push
the stalk down to MIST, then
release
it. For more cycles, hold the stalk down longer.
For steady wiping at low speed, move the stalk up the
LOW position. For high speed wiping, move the stalk
up further, to
HIGH. To stop the wipers, move the stalk
to
OFF.
You can set the wiper speed for a long or short delay between
wipes. This can be very useful
in light rain or snow. Move
the stalk to
DELAY, then rotate the inner band
and choose the delay you want. Rotate the inner band up
for shorter delay times between wiper cycles. Rotate the
band down for a longer delay time between wiper
cycles.
Remember that damaged wiper blades may prevent you
from seeing well enough to drive safely.
To avoid
damage, be sure to clear ice and snow from the wiper
blades before using them. If they’re frozen to
the
windshield, carefully loosen or thaw them. If your
blades do become damaged, get new blades or blade
inserts.
2-37