oil Oldsmobile Aurora 1998 Owner's Manuals
[x] Cancel search | Manufacturer: OLDSMOBILE, Model Year: 1998, Model line: Aurora, Model: Oldsmobile Aurora 1998Pages: 380, PDF Size: 19.75 MB
Page 11 of 380

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 
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 lamps: 
SIGNALS e e3 
TURN 
RUNNING 
* 0 
DAYTIME - a 
LAMPS . 
FOG  LAMPS # 0 
These symbols 
are on some of 
your controls: 
WINDSHIELD 
WIPER 
WINDOW 
DEFOGGER 
VENTILATING  FAN 
These symbols 
are used on 
warning and 
indicator lights: 
COOLANT - 
TEMP - 
CHARGING I-1 
BATTERY 
SYSTEM 
BRAKE 
(0) 
h 
ENGINE  OIL e, 
PRESSURE 
ANTI-LOCK 
(@) 
BRAKES 
Here are some 
other symbols 
you may see: 
FUSE -%- 
LIGHTER n 
HORN )tr 
SPEAKER 
b 
FUEL E3 
V  
Page 89 of 380

Engine  Coolant  Heater (If Equipped) 
Plugging  the  cord  into  an  ungrounded  outlet 
could  cause  an  electrical  shock. Also, the  wrong 
kind 
of extension  cord  could  overheat  and  cause 
a fire.  You could  be  seriously  injured.  Plug  the 
cord  into 
a properly  grounded  three-prong 
110-volt 
AC outlet. If the  cord  won’t reach,  use 
a heavy-duty  three-prong  extension  cord  rated 
for 
at least 15 amps. 
In  very  cold weather, 
0 OF (- 18 O C) or colder,  the  engine 
coolant  heater  can help.  You’ll  get  easier  starting  and 
better  fuel  economy during  engine  warm-up.  Usually, 
the  coolant  heater  should be plugged  in a minimum  of 
four  hours prior  to  starting your vehicle. 
To Use the  Engine  Coolant Heater 
1. Turn  off the  engine. 
2. Open the hood and unwrap the  electrical  cord. 
3. Plug it  into  a  normal,  grounded 1  10-volt AC outlet. 
4. Before  starting the  engine, be sure  to  unplug 
and  store  the  cord as it was before  to keep  it 
away  from moving  engine  parts.  If  you don’t, it 
could  be damaged. 
How long  should  you keep the coolant  heater  plugged 
in?  The  answer depends on the  outside temperature,  the 
kind  of oil  you  have, and some other things. Instead 
of 
trying to list  everything  here,  we ask that you contact 
your retailer 
in the  area  where you’ll be parking your 
vehicle. 
The retailer can  give you the best  advice  for 
that  particular  area. 
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Page 139 of 380

Have you recently changed  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 retailer  or  qualified  service  center  check the 
vehicle.  Your retailer has  the  proper  test  equipment and 
diagnostic  tools  to 
fix any mechanical  or  electrical 
problems  that may  have  developed. 
Oil Pressure Warning Light 
If you  have  a problem with 
your  oil,  this  light  may 
stay on  after you start your 
engine,  or  come on when 
OIL you are  driving. 
A warning chime and the message 
LOW OIL 
PRESSURE  may also  come  on. 
These  indicate  that  oil  is  not going through your engine 
quickly  enough to keep  it  cool.  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 briefly when the 
ignition  is on  but 
the engine is not  running.  The  light 
will come on as  a test  to show 
you it  is  working,  but  the 
light  will go  out  when you turn the ignition to  START. 
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.  
Page 140 of 380

CAUTION: 
Don’t  keep driving if the  oil pressure  is low. If 
you  do,  your  engine  can become so hot that  it 
catches  fire.  You or others  could  be  burned. 
Check  your oil 
as soon as possible  and have 
your  vehicle  serviced. 
I NOTICE: 
Damage  to your engine from neglected  oil 
problems  can be  costly  and is  not  covered  by 
your warranty. 
Fuel Gage 
When  the ignition is on, 
your  fuel gage tells  you 
about  how much  fuel you 
have left. 
When  you have  less than 
3 .O gallons (1 1.3 L) of fuel 
remaining, the message LOW FUEL will be displayed 
and a chime will 
sound. You  need  to  get  more fuel 
right away. 
Press the FUEL button on the  Driver Information  Center 
to  turn  off the warning.  
Page 142 of 380

Turn on the system by pressing any button except 
RESET, ENTER  or OFF.  When  you turn on the ignition, 
the 
DIC will be in the  mode last displayed when the 
engine  was turned off. Keep in mind that this  also 
applies  to  the 
OFF mode. 
To turn off messages on  the  DIC (except LOW OIL 
PRESSURE, LOW  BRAKE  FLUID, PARK BRAKE 
SET and the hot  engine warnings), press any button 
on  the  DIC. 
\ II 
You  will need  to open  the  cover  to access the control 
buttons. 
To open  the cover, push  the button located to 
the  right 
of the  cover. 
To close  the  cover, push  it down  to its closed position. 
Fuel Economy 
The ECON button  displays  average  fuel  economy and 
instantaneous  fuel economy calculated  for your specific 
driving  conditions. 
Press ECON to display  average  fuel economy, such as: 
25.2 AVG MI/GAL  or 9.3 AVG WlOO KM 
Press ECON again to display instantaneous  fuel 
economy, such as: 
28 INST  MUGAL  or 8.4 INST WlOO KM 
Press again to return  to  average  fuel economy. 
The  average  fuel  economy is viewed as  a long-term 
approximation 
of your  overall  driving  conditions. 
If you press RESET in this mode while you’re  driving, 
the  system  will begin figuring  fuel economy from that 
point 
in time.  
Page 143 of 380

Fuel 
Press FUEL  to see  how  much  fuel has been used  since 
you  last pressed the reset button.  The display will show 
a  reading  such as: 
10.4 GALLONS USED  or 39.4 LITERS USED 
To  learn how much fuel  will be used from  a specific 
starting point,  first press  FUEL  to  display fuel used, 
then press RESET. 
Don’t  confuse  fuel  used  with 
the amount  of fuel in your  tank. 
Fuel  Range 
RANGE  calculates the remaining distance  you can drive 
without refueling.  It’s based on  fuel economy  and the 
fuel  remaining  in the tank.  The display  will show  a 
reading such as: 
FUEL  RANGE 
235  MI or FUEL RANGE 378 KM 
If  the  range  is  less than 50 miles (80 km), the display 
will  read  LOW  FUEL  RANGE. 
The  fuel  economy  data used to determine fuel range  is 
an average  of recent driving conditions. 
As your driving 
conditions change, this  data is gradually  updated. 
Resetting  fuel range causes  the fuel economy data to be 
updated immediately.  To reset  fuel range, press 
RANGE,  then RESET. 
Average  Speed 
The calculation  for average speed begins  when SPEED 
is reset. Press  SPEED to display  the average speed, 
such as: 
AVG SPEED 55 MPH  or  AVG SPEED 90 KM/H 
To reset the average speed, press  SPEED and 
then RESET. 
Engine 
The ENG button  scrolls through the following functions: 
0 Oil  pressure,  such  as: 
OIL  PRESSURE 
40 PSI or OIL PRESSURE 
276 Wa 
0 Battery voltage, such  as: 
BATTERY 
13.8 VOLTS 
Transaxle fluid life,  such as: 
TRANS  FLUID 
LIFE 40% 
This  is  an estimate  of the transaxle fluid’s remaining 
useful life.  It will show  100% when the system  is 
reset after  a transaxle fluid change.  It 
will alert you 
to change your transaxle fluid  on a schedule 
consistent  with your driving conditions.  
Page 144 of 380

0 Engine oil life, such as: 
OIL LIFE 30% 
This is an  estimate  of the oil’s remaining useful life. 
It will show 
100% when  the system  is reset after  an 
oil change. 
It will  alert  you to change your oil on a 
schedule  consistent with your  driving conditions. 
When  the remaining  oil  life  or transaxle fluid  life  is low, 
the system will alert you with a message: 
CHANGE 
OIL SOON  or  CHANGE  TRNS 
FLUID  SOON 
When  the  oil or transaxle fluid life  is down to zero, 
you  will receive the message: 
CHANGE  OIL NOW  or CHANGE  TRNS  FLUID  NOW 
To reset the  OIL LIFE reminder after  an oil  change 
or  the TRNS  FLUID LIFE reminder  after a transaxle 
fluid  change: 
1. With  the ignition  on, press the ENG button so the 
OIL  LIFE percentage  or the TRNS LIFE percentage 
is displayed. 
2. Press  RESET and hold  for  five seconds.  The word 
RESET will appear, then  OIL  LIFE 
100% or TRNS 
FLUID 100%. 
Remember, you must reset the OIL LIFE  or TRNS 
FLUID yourself after each  oil  or transaxle fluid change. 
It will not reset itself. Also, be  careful not to reset the 
OIL  LIFE 
or TRNS FLUID accidentally  at any  time 
other than  when the oil  or  transaxle  fluid has  just  been 
changed.  It can’t  be  reset accurately until the next  oil  or 
transaxle fluid change. 
The DIC  does not replace the need  to maintain your 
vehicle  as recommended  in  the Maintenance Schedule 
in  this manual. Also,  the oil change reminder will not 
detect  dusty conditions  or  engine malfunctions that  may 
affect the  oil. If  you  drive in dusty areas, change your  oil 
after every 
3,000 miles (5 000 km) or  three months, 
whichever  occurs first, unless  the DIC instructs you  to 
do 
so sooner. Also, the oil change reminder  does not 
measure  how much oil you have in your  engine. 
So, be 
sure  to  check your oil level often.  See “Engine  Oil” in 
the  Index. 
2-78  
Page 145 of 380

Check  Oil  Level  Warning 
When  CHECK  OIL  LEVEL appears, it indicates that the 
engine  oil level is  1 to 
1 1/2 quarts (0.9 L to 1.4 L)  low. 
The  message  will appear only  if the  engine  is  running 
and  it’s been at least eight minutes since the  engine was 
last running.  If the  message appears,  check the oil 
dipstick level.  If it reads  low, your oil level should be 
brought up to the proper level (see “Engine Oil” in the  Index). After bringing the oil to the proper  level,  the 
ignition must be  off for  eight  minutes to allow the 
majority 
of oil to drain  into the oil pan. 
Distance  to  Destination 
This  feature acts as a reverse trip odometer by counting 
backward  from an estimated distance which  you enter 
before starting your trip. 
It also uses that information  to 
determine the estimated time  of arrival. 
To  set, press DEST, then 
RESET and  enter a  maximum 
of  four digits  for the length 
of your trip. (Always  use 
whole miles  or kilometers.)  Then press  ENTER.  The 
system will only accept the last four digits  you enter 
as  your distance to destination. 
The  system will display the total distance to destination, 
such  as: 
365 MI TO DEST or 587 KM TO  DEST  When 
the system counts down 
to zero distance 
remaining, even 
if you’re  in another display, a chime 
will  sound and the display  will show: 
TRIP  COMPLETE 
The  TRIP  COMPLETE  message will go off  when  you 
press any button, or when you  turn your ignition to 
OFF, 
then  on. The  display returns  to the mode displayed prior 
to the interruption. 
Estimated  Time of Arrival  (ETA) 
ETA  is based on  the average speed, the  date and time of 
the day,  and the estimated distance to your destination. 
After  you have entered your distance to destination, 
press  ETA to display estimated time 
of arrival, such as: 
ETA  TUE 
12% PM 
Press  ETA again to display the time to destination.  The 
display  will show  the current time 
as the hours and 
minutes to destination,  such as: 
1250  TIME 
TO DEST 
If  the time to destination calculation  is seven  days  or 
greater, the display  will read: 
TRIP  OVER 
7 DAYS  
Page 176 of 380

When using a  scrubbing action, non-abrasive  cleaning 
cassette,  it is normal  for  the  cassette  to  eject  because 
your  unit is equipped with  a  cut  tape detection feature 
and  a cleaning cassette  may appear  as a broken tape.  If 
the cleaning  cassette  ejects,  insert the  cassette  at least 
three  times  to  ensure  thorough cleaning. 
You may also choose  a non-scrubbing  action, wet-type 
cleaner  which uses  a  cassette with a fabric belt  to clean 
the  tape  head.  This type of cleaning  cassette will not 
eject  on its  own. 
A non-scrubbing  action cleaner  may 
not  clean  as thoroughly  as  the  scrubbing  type cleaner. 
The 
use of a  non-scrubbing  action,  dry-type  cleaning 
cassette is not recommended. 
After  you clean  the player, press and hold  EJECT  for 
five  seconds  to  reset the CLN indicator. The radio will 
display 
--- to show  the  indicator  was reset. 
Cassettes  are  subject to wear and the sound quality  may 
degrade over time. Always  make  sure  the  cassette tape 
is 
in good condition before  you have your tape 
player serviced. 
Care of Your  Compact  Discs 
Handle discs carefully. Store them in their original  cases 
or  other protective cases and away  from direct sunlight 
and dust. 
If the surface  of a disc  is soiled, dampen  a 
clean, soft cloth in  a mild,  neutral  detergent  solution and 
clean it, wiping from the center to the edge. 
Be  sure  never to touch the signal  surface when handling 
discs.  Pick up discs  by grasping the outer  edges 
or the 
edge 
of the hole and the outer  edge. 
Care of Your  Compact Disc  Player 
The use  of  CD lens cleaner  discs is not advised,  due  to 
the risk of contaminating the lens of  the CD optics with 
lubricants internal  to the 
CD mechanism. 
3-26  
Page 200 of 380

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. 
The  exit  speed 
is usually posted. 
Reduce your speed according to your speedometer, not 
to  your  sense  of motion. After driving for  any distance 
at higher  speeds, you  may  tend to think  you are going 
slower than  you actually are. 
Before  Leaving  on  a Long Trip 
Make sure you’re ready. Try  to be  well  rested. If you 
must 
start when you’re not  fresh -- such as after  a  day’s 
work 
-- don’t plan to make too many miles that  first part 
of  the  journey.  Wear comfortable  clothing and  shoes you 
can easily  drive  in.  Is your vehicle ready 
for 
a long trip?  If  you  keep it 
serviced and maintained,  it’s ready  to  go, 
If it needs 
service,  have it done before starting  out. Of course, 
you’ll find experienced and able  service  experts in 
Aurora retail facilities  all across North America. They’ll 
be  ready and willing  to help  if you  need it. 
Here  are some things  you can check before  a trip: 
a 
a 
a 
a 
Windshield  Washer  Fluid: Is the reservoir  full? Are 
all windows  clean inside and  outside? 
Wiper  Blades: Are they in good  shape? 
Fuel,  Engine Oil, Other  Fluids: Have  you checked 
all  levels? 
Lamps: Are they all working? Are the  lenses  clean? 
Tires: They are vitally  important  to  a  safe, 
trouble-free  trip. 
Is the tread good enough  for 
long-distance  driving?  Are the tires all inflated  to the 
recommended pressure? 
Weather  Forecasts: What’s the weather outlook 
along your route? Should  you delay your trip  a short 
time  to avoid 
a major storm system? 
Maps: Do you  have up-to-date  maps? 
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