OLDSMOBILE SILHOUETTE 1994 Owners Manual

results in no improvement in sound
quality,
try cleaning the tape player.
Proper tape player cleaning should be
done with a
wiping action nonabrasive
cleaner cassette. To properly clean your
; tape player, you should follow the
I
directions on the cleaning cassette.
Cassettes are subject to wear and the
1 sound quality may degrade over time.
Always verlfy that the cassette tape is in
good condition before obtaining service
on your tape player.
:are 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.
In
YC
an
be
ve
frc
th
I
I
mtegrated Roof Antenna
)ur state-of-the-art integrated roof
ltenna is not visible. It is located
!tween the roof and headliner of your
Ihicle, covering the entire roof area
3m the rear edge
of the front doors to
.e liftgate.
NOTICE:
Don't mount anything to your roof,
such as an antenna or a luggage
carrier, or to your headliner. If you
puncture the roof or headliner, you
could damage or destroy your
integrated roof antenna. Have any
work of this type done by your
dealer.
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Comfort Controli &Audio Systems
130
If you want to add a mobile phone or
two-way radio to your vehicle, there are
special precautions you’ll need to take
because
of your integrated roof
antenna. See the
Index under Adding
Sound Equipment.
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Here you’ll find infoimation about
driving on different kinds
of roads
and in varying weather conditions
.
We’ve also included many other
useful tips on driving
.
Part 4
Your Driving and the Road
Defensive DrlWg 132
Dmnken Driving
........................................................................\
............................. 132
Control
of a Vehicle
Braking
........................................................................\
.......................................... 134
Anti-Locls: Brakes
........................................................................\
.......................... 135
Traction Control System
........................................................................\
.............. 137
Steering Tips
........................................................................\
................................. 138
Steering in Emergencies ........................................................................\
............... 139
Passing
........................................................................\
.......................................... 140
Driving at Night
........................................................................\
.............................. 142
Driving in the Rain ........................................................................\
.......................... 143
City Driving
........................................................................\
..................................... 145
Freeway Driving
........................................................................\
.............................. 145
Hill and Mountain Roads
........................................................................\
................ 147
Winter Driving
........................................................................\
................................. 148
Towing a Trailer
........................................................................\
.............................. 151
.. ........................................................................\
............................
..
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Your Driving and the Road
132
I Defensive Driving
The best advice anyone can give about
driving is: Drive defensively.
Please start with a very important safety
device in your Oldsmobile: Buckle up.
(See
Safety Belts in the Index.)
Defensive driving really means “be
ready for anything.” On city streets,
rural roads, or freeways, it means
“always expect the unexpected.”
Assume that pedestrians or other
drivers are going to be careless and
make mistakes. Anticipate what they
might do. Be ready for their mistakes.
Rear-end collisions are about the most
preventable of accidents. Yet they are
common. Allow enough following
distance. It’s the best defensive driving
maneuver, in both city and rural
driving.
You never know when the
vehicle
in front of you is going to brake
or turn suddenly.
I Drunken Driving
Death and injury associated with
drinking and driving is a national
tragedy. It’s the number one contributor
to the highway death toll, claiming
thousands
of victims every year.
Alcohol takes away three things that
anyone needs to drive a vehicle:
Judgment
Muscular Coordination
Vision
Police records show that almost half of
all motor vehicle-related deaths involve
alcohol
- a driver, a passenger or
someone else, such as a pedestrian, had
been drinking. In most cases, these
deaths are the result of someone who
was drinking and driving. About
20,000
motor vehicle-related deaths occur each
year because
of alcohol, and thousands
of people are injured.
Just how much alcohol is too much
if a
person plans to drive? Ideally, no one
should drink alcohol and then drive.
But if one does, then what’s “too
much”? It can be
a lot less than many
might think. Although
it depends on each person
and situation, here is some
general information on the problem.
The Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) of
someone who is drinking depends upon
four things:
How much alcohol is in the drink.
The drinker’s body weight.
The amount of food that is consumed
before and during drinking.
The length of time it has taken the
drinker to consume the alcohol.
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According to the American Medical
Association, a 180-pound (82 kg)
person who drinlts three 12-ounce
(355
ml) bottles of beer in an hour will end
up with a BAC of about
0.06 percent.
The person would reach the same BAC
by drinking three 4-ounce (120 ml)
glasses of wine or three mixed drinks
if
each had 1% ounces (45 ml) of a liquor
like whiskey, gin or vodka.
It’s the amount of alcohol that counts.
For example, if the same person drank
three double martinis
(3 ounces or 90
ml of liquor each) within an hour, the
person’s BAC would be close to 0.12
percent. A person who consumes food
just before or during drinking will have
a slightly lower BAC level.
Drinking That Will Result in a
BAC of -05% in the Time Shown
3 HOURS
2 HOURS
1 HOUR
1 f \- ++ .... +-.: ........ t.....-L.. r 1””’ I 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240 BODY ViEIGHT IN POUNDS
The law in most U.S. states sets the
egal limit at a BAC of 0.10 percent. In
2anada the limit
is 0.08 percent, and in
some other countries it’s lower than
:hat. The BAC will be over 0.10 percent
lfter three to six drinlts (in one hour).
3f course, as we’ve seen, it depends on
low much alcohol is in the drinks, and
low quickly the person drinks them.
But it’s very important to keep in mind
:hat the ability to drive is affected well
3elow a BAC of
0.10 percent. Research
shows that the driving skills of many
?eople are impaired at a BAC approaching
0.05 percent, and
that the
effects are worse at night. All drivers are
impaired at BAC levels above
0.05
percent. Statistics show that the chance
of being in
an accident increases sharply
for drivers who have a BAC of
0.05
percent or above. A driver with a BAC
level of
0.06 percent (three beers in one
hour for a 180-pound or
82 kg person)
has doubled his or her chance of having
an accident. At a BAC level of
0.10
percent, the chance of that driver
having an accident is six times greater;
at a level of 0.15 percent, the chances
are twenty-five times greater! And, the
body takes about an hour to rid itself
of
the alcohol in one drink. No amount of
coffee or number
of cold showers will
speed that up.
Wl be careful” isn’t the right answer.
What
if there’s an emergency, a need to
take sudden action, as when a child
darts into the street? A person with a
higher BAC might not be able to react
quickly enough to avoid the collision.
There’s something else about drinking
and driving that many people don’t
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Your Driving and the Road
134
know. Medical research shows that
alcohol in
a person’s system can make
crash injuries worse. That’s especially
true for brain, spinal cord and heart
injuries. That means that if anyone who
has been drinking
- driver or
passenger
- is in a crash, the chance of
being killed or permanently disabled is
higher than if that person had not been
drinking. And we’ve already seen that
the chance
of a crash itself is higher for
drinking drivers. I Control of a Vehicle
~~
You have three systems that make your
vehicle go where
you want it to go.
They are the brakes, the steering and
the accelerator.
All three systems have
to do their work at the places where the
tires meet the road.
Sometimes, as when you’re driving on
snow or ice, it’s easy to ask more of
those control systems than the tires and
road can provide. That means
you can
lose control
of your vehicle.
I Braking
Braking action involves perception
time
and reaction time.
First, you have to decide to push on the
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brake pedal. That’s perception time.
Then you have to bring up your foot
and do it. That’s
reaction time.
Average reaction time is about 3/4 of a
second. But that’s only an average. It
might be less with one driver and as
long as two or three seconds or more
with another. Age, physical condition,
alertness, coordination, and eyesight all
play a part.
So do alcohol, drugs and
frustration. But even in
% of a second, a
vehicle moving at
60 mph (100 kwh)
travels
66 feet (20 m). That could be a
lot of distance in an emergency,
so
keeping enough space between your
vehicle and others is important.
And, of course, actual stopping
distances vary greatly with the surface
of the road (whether it’s pavement or
gravel); the condition of the road (wet,
dry, icy); tire tread; and the condition of
your brakes.
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 Oldsmobile has an advanced
electronic braking system that will help
prevent skidding.
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Your Driving and the Road
* x1000
136
i‘his light on the instrument panel will
go on when you start your vehicle.
When you start your vehicle, or when
jou begin to drive away, you may hear a
nomentary motor or clicking noise.
4nd you may even notice that your
)rake pedal moves
a little while this is
going on. This is the
ABS system
:esting itself.
(You may also hear a
:licking noise if you leave the ignition in
.he
Run position for about four seconds
Iefore starting the vehicle.) If there’s a
Jroblem with the anti-lock brake
iystem, the anti-lock brake system
Yarning light will stay on or flash.
See
Anti-Lock Brake System Warning
2ight
in the Index.
lere’s how anti-lock works. Let’s say
1
the road is wet. You’re driving safely.
Suddenly an animal jumps out
in front
You slam on the brakes. Here’s what
happens with
ABS.
A computer senses that wheels are
slowing down.
If one of the wheels is
about to stop rolling, the computer will
separately work the brakes at each front
wheel and at the rear wheels.
The anti-lock system can change the
brake pressure faster than any driver
could. The computer is programmed to
make the most of available tire and road
conditions. of
you.
You can steer around the obstacle while
braking hard.
As you brake, your computer keeps
receiving updates on wheel speed and
controls braking pressure accordingly.
Remember: Anti-lock doesn’t change
the time you need
to get your foot up to
the brake pedal.
If you get too close to
the vehicle in front of you, you won’t
have time to apply your brakes if that
vehicle suddenly slows or stops. Always
leave enough room up ahead to stop,
even though you have anti-lock brakes.
To Use Anti-Lock
Don’t pump the brakes. Just hold the
brake pedal down and let anti-lock
work for you. You may feel the system
working, or you may notice some noise,
but this is normal.
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If your vehicle has the traction control
system, the
LOW TRACTION light will
come on when your anti-lock system is
adjusting brake pressure to help avoid a
braking skid. See Low Traction Light in
i
theIndex.
Traction Control System
(OPTION: 3800 V6 ENGINE)
Your vehicle may have a traction
control system 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 works
the front brakes and reduces engine
power (by shutting
off fuel injectors and
managing spark) to limit wheel spin. The
LOW TRACTION light
will come
on when your traction control system is
limiting wheel spin. See Low Traction
Light in the Index. You may feel the
system working, or you may notice
some noise, but this is normal.
If your vehicle is in cruise control when
the traction control system begins to
limit wheel spin, the cruise control will
automatically disengage. When road
conditions allow you to safely use it
again, you may re-engage the cruise
control. (See Cruise Control in the
Index
.)
30
140 0
10
4F;n
The TCS warning light will come on to
let you know if 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.
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Your Driving and the Road
138
I’he traction control system
mtomatically comes
on whenever you
start your vehicle.
To limit wheel spin, especially in
slippery road conditions, you should
dways leave the system on. But you can
:urn the traction control system off if
IOU ever need to. (You should turn the
;ystem off
if your vehicle ever gets stuck
n sand, mud, ice or snow. See Rocking
Your Vehicle in the Index.)
To turn the system off, press the switch
ocated on the center instrument panel
:onsole.
The light on the switch will go
off. If the
Lraction control system is limiting wheel
;pin when you press the switch, the
;ystem 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 switch again. The
light
on the switch should come on.
Braking in Emergencies
Use your anti-lock braking system when
you need to. 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.
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.
The traction you can get in a curve
depends
on the condition of your tires
and the road surface, the angle at which
the curve is banked, and your speed.
While you’re in a curve, speed
is the one
factor you can control.
Suppose you’re steering through a
sharp curve. Then you suddenly
accelerate. Both control systems
-
steering and acceleration - have to do
their work where the tires meet the
road. Unless you have traction control
and the system is on, adding the sudden
acceleration can demand too much
of
those places. You can lose control.
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