warning PONTIAC FIREBIRD 1996 Owners Manual

How to Use This Manual
Many people read their owner’s manual from beginning
to end when they first receive their new vehicle. If you
do this, it will help you learn about the features and
controls for your vehicle. In this manual, you’ll find that pictures and words work together to explain
things quickly.
Index
A good place to look for what you need is the Index in
the back of the manual. It’s an alphabetical list
of all
that’s in the manual, and the page number where you’ll
find it.
Safety Warnings and Symbols
You will find a number of safety cautions in this book.
We use
a box and the word CAUTION to tell you
about things that could hurt you
if you were to ignore
the warning.
1 CAUTITN:
These mean there is something that could hart
you or other people.
In the caution area, we tell you what the hazard is. Then
we tell you what to
do to help avoid or reduce the
hazard. Please read these cautions. If you don’t, you or
others could be hurt.
You will also find a circle
with
a slash through it in
this book. This safety
symbol means “Don’t,”
“Don’t do this,” or “Don’t
let this happen.”
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Veh
Also,
.icle Damage Warnings
in this book you will find these notices:
I NOTICE:
I
These mean there is something that could
damage your vehicle. I
I I I
In the notice area, we tell you about something that can
damage your vehicle. Many times,
this damage would
not be covered by your warranty, and it .could be costly.
But the notice will tell you what to do to help avoid the
damage.
When you read other manuals, you might
see
CAUTION and NOTICE warnings in different colors
or in different words.
You'll also see warning labels on your vehicle.
They use
the same words,
CAUTION or NOTICE.
iV
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I
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
SHlELDlNG
CAUSTIC
ACID COULD BATTERY
CAUSE
BURNS
AVOID
SPARKS
OR
FLAMES
SPARK
OR ,\I/,
COULD FLAME
EXPLODE BAllERY
These symbols are important
for you and
your passengers
whenever your
vehicle
is
driven:
n
FASTEN
SEAT
BELTS
POWER
1
WINDOW
a?
AIR BAG p
These symbols
have to
do with
your lights:
PARKING pf
LAMPS
FOG LAMPS $0
These symbols
are on some
of
your controls:
WINDSHIELD
WIPER
WINDSHIELD DEFROSTER
WINDOW
DEFOGGER
These symbols are used on
warning and
indicator lights:
ENGINE Fd
COOLANT
TEMP
-
CHARGING I-1
BATTERY
SYSTEM
BRAKE
(0)
COOLANT a
ENGINE OIL e,
PRESSURE
ANTI-LOCK
(e)
BRAKES
Here are some
other symbols
you may see:
FUSE
LIGHTER
m
HORN )cr
SPEAKER
b
FUEL p3
J
V
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v Section 2 Features and Controls
Here you can learn about the many standard and
optional features on your Pontiac, and information on
starting, shifting and braking.
Also explained are the
instrument panel and the warning systems that tell you
if
everything is working properly -- and what to do if you
have a problem.
Keys
1
Leaving young children in'a vehicle with the
ignition key is dangerous for many reasons.
A child or others could be badly injured or
even killed.
They could operate power windows or other
controls or even make
the vehicle move. Don't
leave the keys in a vehicle
with young children.
I I
2-1
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LOCK (B): The only position in which you can remove
the key.
This locks your steering wheel, ignition and
automatic transmission.
If you have an automatic transmission, the ignition
switch can't be turned to
LOCK unless the shift lever is
in the PARK (P) position.
OFF (C): Unlocks the steering wheel, ignition and
automatic transmission, but does not
send electrical
power
to any accessories. Use this position if your
vehicle must be plashed or towed. A warning tone will
sound
if you open the driver's door when the ignition is
OFF and the key is in the ignition.
RUN (D): 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
START (E): Starts 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,
ACC and
RUN allow you to operate your electrical accessories,
such as the radio .and ventilation fan.
I warning and indicator lights.
Key Release Button
If you have a manual
transmission, your
ignition lock has
a key
release button. You
must
press the button before
you can take your key out
of the ignition lock.
On manual transmission vehicles, turning the key
to
LOCK will lock the steering column and result
in a loss of ability to steer the vehicle. This could
cause a
collision. If you need to turn the engine
off while the vehicle is moving, turn the key only
to OFF. Don't press the key release button while
the vehicle
is moving.
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Parking Brake
To set the parking brake, hold the brake pedal down and
pull up on the parking brake lever. If the ignition is on,
the brake system warning light will come
on.
To release the parking brake, hold the brake pedal down.
Pull the
parking brake lever up until you can push in the
release button.
Hold the release button in as you move
the brake lever all the way down.
1. '
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Speedometer and Odometer
Your speedometer lets you see your speed in both miles
per how (mph) and kilometers per hour
(krnh). Your
odometer shows how far your vehicle has been driven,
in either
miles (used in the United States) or kilometers
(used in Canada).
Your Pontiac's odometer is tamper-resistant. If you can
see.silver lines between the numbers, probably someone
has tried to turn
it back. The numbers may not be true.
You may wonder what happens if your Pontiac needs
a new odometer installed. If possible, the new one has
to be set to the same rkading the old one had.
If it can't
be, then it's set at zero, but a label on the driver's door
must show the old reading and when the new one
was installed.
Trip Odometer
The trip odometer can tell you how far your vehicle has
been driven since you last set the trip odometer to zero.
To set the trip odometer to zero, press the knob.
Tachometer
The tachometer displays the engine speed in thousands
of revolutions per minute (rpm).
I NOTICE: 1
Do not operate the engine with the tachometer in
the red area, or engine damage may occur.
Warning Lights, Gages
and Indicators
This part describes the warning lights and gages that
may be on your vehicle. The pictures will help you
locate them.
Warning lights and gages can signal that something
is
wrong before it becomes serious enough to cause an {":::$)
expensive repair or replacement. Ptiying attention to
your warning lights and gages could also save you or
others from injury.
., '/-.
2-75
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Warning lights come on when there my be or is a
problem with one of your vehicle’s functions. As YQU
will see in the details on the next fay pages, some
warning lights come on briefly when you start the
engine
just to let you know they’re working. If you are
familiar with this section, you should not be alarmed
when
this happens.
Gages can indicate when there may be
or is a problem
with one
of your vehicle’s functions. Often gages md
warning lights work together to let you know when
there’s a problem with your vehicle.
When one of the warning lights comes on and stays on
when you are driving, or when one o’f the gages shows
there may be a problem, check the section that tells you
what to
do about it. Please follow this manual’s advice.
Waiting to
do repairs can be costly -- and even
dangerous. So please get to know your warning lights
and gages. They’re
a big help.
Safety Belt Reminder Light
When the key is turned to RUN or START, a chime will
come on
for about eight seconds to remind people t~
fasten their safety belts.
The safety
belt light will
also come on and 2tay.m
for about 70 seconds. If the
driver’s belt is already
buckled, neither
the chime
nor the light will come on.
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Air Bag Readiness Light
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. The system
check includes
the air bag sensors, the air bag modules,
the wiring and the crash sensing and diagnostic module.
For more information on the air bag system, sed “Air
Bag” in the Index.
AIR
BAG
You will see this light flash
for a few seconds when you
turn your ignition to
RUN
or START. Then the light
should go out. This means
the system is ready.
If the air bag readiness light doesn’t come on when you
start your vehicle, or stays on, or comes on when you
are driving, your air bag system may not work properly.
Have your vehicle serviced right away.
Voltmeter
I p4
You can read battery
voltage on
your voltmeter.
If it reads less than 11 volts
or more than 16 volts while
your engine
is running,
and it stays there, you may
have
a problem with the
electrical charging system.
Have it checked right away. Driving with the voltmeter
reading in a warning zone could drain your battery.
If you idle your engine for a while, the voltmeter
reading might move into the yellow zone, If the reading
stays in the yellow zone while you are driving, you may
have a problem with the electrical charging system.
Have it checked. While the voltmeter reads in the
yellow
zone, your battery may not be able to power certain
electrical accessories,
like ABS. (If this happens, your
ABS INOP light will come on. See “Anti-Lock Brake
System Warning Light” in this
part.)
If you must drive a short distance with the voltmeter
reading in a warning zone,
turn off all your accessories,
including your comfort control and audio system.
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Brake System Warming Light
Your Pontiac’s hydraulic brake system is divided into
two parts. If one part isn’t working, the other part can
still work and stop
you. For good braking, though, you
need both parts working well.
If the warning light comes on, there could be a brake
problem. Have your brake system inspected right away.
BRAKE
This light should come on
briefly when you turn the
ignition key
to RUN. If it
doesn’t come on then,
have it-fixed so it will be
ready to warn you if there’s
a problem.
If the light comes on while you are driving, pull off the
road and
stop carefully. You may notice that the pedal is
harder to push. Or,
the pedal may go closer to the floor.
11 may take longer to stop. IE the light is still on, or if the
anti-lock brake system warning light is flashing, have
the vehicle towed for service. (See “Anti-Lock Brake
System Warning Light”
and “Towing Your Vehicle” in
the Index.)
Your brake system may not be working properly
if the brake system warning light is on. Driving
with the brake system warning light on can lead
to an accident. If the light is still on or if the
anti-lock brake system warning light is flashing
after you’ve pulled
off the road and stopped
carefully, have the vehicle towed for service.
When the ignition is on, the brake system warning light
will also come on when you set your parking brake. The
light will stay on if your parking brake doesn’t release
fully.
If it stays on after your parking brake is fully
released,
it means .;.; -< . . you have a brake problem. ?>- ?-L,- .‘ ., : . . <, ., > .> . , . , :. - > , ._”
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