engine OLDSMOBILE SILHOUETTE 1994 User Guide

Features & Controls
62
I
Automatic Transaxle
There are several different positions for
your shift lever.
In this manual, these
are referred
to by the commonly used
symbols
in the right column below:
Park P
Reverse
R
Neutral N
Overdrive ID(
Drive D
Second 2
First 1
,-
RNODel]
Park
P (Park): This loclts your front wheels.
It’s the best position
to use when you
start your engine because your vehicle
can’t move easily.
ProCarManuals.com

Reverse
R (Reverse): Use this gear to back up.
NOTICE:
Shifting to R (Reverse) while your
vehicle is moving forward could
damage your transaxle. Shift to
R
only after your vehicle is stopped.
To rock your vehicle back and forth to
get out of snow, ice or sand without
damaging your transaxle, see the
Index
under If You’re Stuck: In Sand, Mud,
Ice
or Snow .
Neutral
N (Neutral):In this position, your
engine doesn’t connect with the wheels.
To restart when you’re already moving,
use N (Neutral) only.
Also, use N when
your vehicle is being towed.
NOTICE:
Damage to your transaxle caused
by shifting out
of P(Park) or N
(Neutral) with the engine racing
isn’t covered by your warranty.
63
ProCarManuals.com

Features & Controls
64
R NoD2l
Forward Gears
(Automatic Overdrive):
If your automatic transaxle has
automatic overdrive, this position is for
normal driving. If you need more power
for passing, and you’re:
Going less than about 35 mph (56
km/h), push your accelerator pedal
about halfway down.
Going about 35 mph (56 Itm/h) or
more, push the accelerator all the way
down.
You’ll shift down
to the next gear and
have more power.
NOTICE:
This NOTICE applies only if you
have the
3800 V6 engine and the
automatic Overdrive transaxle. If
your vehicle
is so equipped, and if it
seems to start up rather slowly, or if
it seems not to shift gears as you go
faster, something may
be wrong
with a transaxle system sensor. If
you drive very far that way, your
vehicle can be damaged.
So, if this
happens, have your vehicle serviced
right away. Until then, you can use
2 (Second Gear) when you are
drivin less than
35 mph (56 ltm/h)
and
d D (Overdrive) for higher
speeds.
D (Third Gear): If your automatic
transaxle does not have Overdrive, this
position is for normal driving, at all
speeds, in most street and highway
situations.
If your automatic transaxle has
Overdrive,
D is like m, but you never
go into Overdrive. Here are some times
you might choose
D instead of m:
When driving on hilly, winding roads.
When towing a trailer, so there is less
When going down a steep hill.
2 (Second Gear): This position gives
you more power but lower fuel
economy. You can use
2 on hills. It can
help control your speed as you go down
steep mountain roads, but then you
would also want to use your brakes
off
and on.
shifting between gears.
NOTICE:
Don’t drive in 2 (Second Gear) for
more than
5 miles (8 ltm), or at
speeds over
55 mph (88 ltm/h), or
you can damage your transaxle.
Use
D (m or D if your vehicle has
Overdrive) as much as possible.
Don’t shift into
2 unless you are
going slower than
65 mph (105
ltm/h), or you can damage your
engine.
1 (First Gear): This position gives you
even more power (but lower fuel
economy) than
2. You can use it on
very steep hills, or in deep snow or
ProCarManuals.com

Leaving Your Vehicle With the
Engine Running
If you have to leave your vehicle with
the engine running, be sure your vehicle
is in
P (Park) and your parking brake is
firmly set before you leave it. After
you’ve moved the shift lever into the
P
(Park) position, hold the regular brake
pedal down. Then, see if you can move
the shift lever away from
P (Park)
without first pulling it toward you.
If you can, it means that the shift lever
wasn’t fully locked into
P (Park).
Torque Lock
If you are parking on a hill and you
don’t shift your transaxle into
P (Park)
properly, the weight
of the vehicle may
put too much force on the parking pawl
in the transaxle. You may find it
difficult to pull the shift lever out of
P
(Park). This is called “torque lock.” To
prevent torque lock, set the parking
brake and then shift into
P (Park)
properly before you leave the driver’s
seat. To find out how, see
Shifting Into
P (Park) in the Index.
When you are ready to drive, move the
shift lever out of
P (Park) BEFORE you
release the parking brake.
If “torque lock’’ does occur, you may
need to have another vehicle push yours
a little uphill to take some
of the
pressure from the transaxle,
so you can
pull the shift lever out of
P (Park).
Parking Over nings That
Burn
67
ProCarManuals.com

Features & Controls
68
I Engine Exhaust
I Running Your Engine While
You 're Parked
It's better not to park with the engine
running. But
if you ever have to, here
are
some things to know.
ProCarManuals.com

ro Resume a Set Speed
Suppose you set your cruise control at a
lesired speed and then you apply the
brake. This, of course, shuts
off the
mise control. But you don’t need to
reset it. Once you’re going about
25
rnph (40 km/h) or more, you can move
the cruise control- switch from
ON to
RESUME/ACCEL (which stands for
Resume/Accelerate) for about half a
second.
You’ll go right back up to your chosen
speed and stay there.
If you have the
3800 V6 engine, cruise
control memory will be erased when
you place the transaxle in P (Park). If
this is the case, you will not be able to resume
your set speed by moving the
cruise control switch to
RESUME/
ACCEL.
Use the SET button to reset cruise (see
To Set Cruise Control earlier in this
section).
If you hold the switch at
RESUME/ACCEL longer than half a
second, the vehicle will keep going
faster until
you release the switch or
apply the brake. You could be startled
and even lose control.
So unless you
want to go faster, don’t hold the switch
at
RESUME/ACCEL.
To Increase Speed While Using
Cruise Control
There are two ways to go to a higher
speed. Here’s the first:
1. Use the accelerator pedal to get to the
2. Push the button at the end of the
higher
speed.
lever, then release the button and the
accelerator pedal. You’ll now cruise
at the higher speed. Here’s the second
way to go to a higher
speed:
Move the cruise switch from ON to
RESUME/ACCEL. Hold it there
until you get up to the speed you
want, and then release the switch.
To increase your speed in very small
amounts, move the switch to
RESUME/ACCEL for less than half
a second and then release it. Each
time you do this, your vehicle will go
about
1 mph (1.6 km/h) faster.
If you have the 3800 V6 engine, the
accelerate feature will only work after
you have set the initial cruise control
speed by pushing the
SET button. If
you have the
3100 V6 engine, the
accelerate feature will work whether or
not you have set an initial cruise control
speed.
To Reduce Speed While Using
Cruise Control
Push in the button at the end of the
lever until you reach the lower speed
you want, then release it.
73
ProCarManuals.com

74
Features & Controls
To slow down in very small amounts,
push the button for less than half
a
second. Each time you do this, you'll
go
1 mph (1.6 ltm/h) slower.
Passing Another Vehicle While
Using Cruise Control
Use the accelerator pedal to increase
your speed. When you take your foot off
the pedal, your vehicle will slow down
to the cruise control speed you set
earlier.
Using Cruise Control on Hills
How well your cruise control will work
on hills depends upon your speed, load,
and the steepness of the hills. When
going up steep hills, you may have to
step on the accelerator pedal to
maintain your speed. When going
downhill,
you may have to brake or
shift to a lower gear to keep your speed
down. Of course, applying the brake
takes
you out of cruise control. Many
drivers find this to be too much trouble
and don't use cruise control on steep
hills.
To Get Out of Cruise Control
There are two ways to turn off the
cruise control:
Step lightly on the brake pedal; OR
Move the cruise switch to OFF.
If your vehicle has the optional traction
control system
(TCS), the cruise
control will shut
off when TCS is
actively controlling wheel spin. See the
Index under Traction Control System.
To Erase Cruise Speed Memory
When you turn off the cruise control or
the ignition, your cruise control set
speed memory is erased. If you have the
3800 V6 engine, cruise control memory
will also be erased when you place the
transaxle in
P (Park).
Headlights
Push the p$ switch to turn on:
Parking Lights
Side Marker Lights
Taillights
Instrument Panel Lights
Pull the switch to turn
off the lights.
ProCarManuals.com

Speedometer and Odometer
Your speedometer lets you see your
speed in both miles per hour (mph) and
kilometers per hour (ltm/h). Your
odometer shows how far your vehicle
has been driven, in either miles (used in
the
U.S.) or kilometers (used in
Canada).
Tamper Resistant Odometer
Your Oldsmobile has a tamper resistant
odometer.
If you see silver lines
between the numbers, you’ll know that
someone has probably tried to turn it
back,
so the numbers may not be true.
You may wonder what happens if your
vehicle needs a new odometer installed.
If the new one can be set to the mileage
total of the old odometer, then it must
be. But if it can’t, then it’s set at zero
and a label must be put on the driver’s
door to show the old mileage reading
when the new odometer was installed.
\‘ 4
4
Tachometer
The tachometer displays the engine
speed in revolutions per minute (rpm).
NOTICE:
Do not operate the engine with the
tachometer in the red area, or
engine damage may occur.
[o I 2 0 531
UNLEADED FUEL ONLY
Trip Odometer
The trip odometer can tell you how far
your vehicle has been driven since
you
last set it to zero. To set it to zero, push
the reset button located above the fuel
gage.
99
ProCarManuals.com

The gage moves a little when you turn
The gage doesn’t go back to E when
For your fuel tank capacity, see
Service
Station Information
on the last page of
this manual. a corner, brake or
speed
up.
you turn off the ignition.
_____ 0
‘F
I
00-
- 1/2
Low Fuel Warning Light
When there is between 3 gallons (1 1
liters) and 0.5 gallon (1.8 liters) of fuel
left in the tank, the warning light next
to the fuel symbol will go on.
This light will also come on when you
turn on the ignition, but the engine is
not running, to show you it is working.
If it doesn’t come on as you start your
vehicle, have it fixed right away.
d
Oil Pressure lndicator
(31 00 V6 ENGINE)
Your vehicle is equipped with an oil
pressure indicator rather than an oil
pressure gage. Your oil pressure indicator
lets
you know when you may have a
problem with your engine oil pressure.
When the engine is running, readings
within the white graduation band
indicate the normal operating range.
Readings in or below the red area
indicate that the engine’s oil level may
be dangerously low, or there may be
another problem causing low oil
pressure.
Driving your vehicle with low oil
pressure can cause extensive engine
damage. Have your vehicle serviced
immediately.
101
ProCarManuals.com

Features & Controls
102
NOTICE:
Damage to your engine from
neglected oil problems can be costly
and
is not covered by your
warranty.
I I
3il Pressure Gage (3800 v6 ENGINE)
four oil pressure gage shows the oil
x-essure
in psi (pounds per square
nch) when the engine is running.
Zanadian vehicles indicate pressure in
. Oil pressure may vary
vith engine speed, outside temperature
md oil viscosity. In fact, while the
mgine is warming up, the oil pressure
vi11 be higher than at the normal
Iperating temperature. Readings above
.he red warning zone indicate the
lormal operating range.
.f the gage reads in the red warning
:one, your engine's oil level may be
langerously low or there may be
mother problem causing low oil
xessure. Driving
your vehicle with low oil
pressure can cause extensive engine
damage. Have your vehicle serviced
immediately.
NOTICE:
Damage to your engine from
neglected oil problems can be costly
and is not covered by your
warranty.
ProCarManuals.com