Buick 1993 Century User manual

The 1993 Buick Century
Owner’s
Manual
Litho in U.S.A.
Part No. 25603822 B First Edition @Copyright General Motors Corporation
1992
All Rights Reserved
1

We support voluntary
technician certification.
GENERALMOTORS, GM and the GM Emblem,
Buick, and the Buick Emblem are registered trademarks
of General Motors Corporation.
This manual includes the latest information at the time it
was printed.We reserve the right to make changes in
the
product after that time without further notice. For
vehicles first sold in Canada, substitute the name
“General Motors
of Canada Limited” for Buick Motor
Division whenever it appears in this manual.
Please keep this manual inyour.Buick,
so it will be there
if
you ever need it when you’re on the road. If you sell
the vehicle, please leave this manual in it
so the new
owner can use it.
WE SUPPORT
VOLUNTARY TECHNICIAN
CERTIFlCAllON THROUGH
Natlonal Insttlute for
AUTOMOTIVE ’
SERVICE
i
EXCELLENCE
c .. . - __x
.
For Canadian Owners Who Prefer
aFrench Language Manual:
Aux proprietaires canadiens: Vous pouvez vous
procurer un exemplaire dece guide en francais chez
votre concessionaire
ou au DGN Marketing Services
Ltd.,
1500 Bonhill Rd., Mississauga, Ontario L5T 1C7.
I
2

3

WalterMarr and Thomas Buick
Buick’s chief engineer, Walter L. Marr (left), and
Thomas D. Buick, son.of founder David Dunbar Buick,
drove the first Flint Buick in a successful Flint-Detroit
round trip in July 1904.
David Buick was building gasoline engines by 1899, and
Man,
his engineer, apparently built the first auto to be
called a Buick in 1900. However, Buick traditionally
dates its beginnings to
1903. That was the year the
company was reorganized, refinanced and moved from
Detroit to Flint. Buick has always been a product
4
innovator. Buick engineers developed the “valve-in-head”
engine, a light, powerful and reliable engine which- would
eventually influencethe entire automotive industry.
William
C. Durant was instrumental in promoting Buicks
across the country using his Durant-Dort Carriage
Co.
outlets and salespeople as the nucleusof a giant
distribution system. He knew the Buick as a “self-seller? ,
If automobiles could be this good, he thought, maybe it
was time to switch from the horse and buggy business to
automobiles.
William C. (Billy) Durant
At the 1905, New York
Auto Show, Durant took
orders for1,OOO Buicks
before the company had
built
40. On Buick’s
success, Durant created a
holding company,
September 16,1908.He
called it General Motors.

Durant also created a racing team thatwon 500 racing
trophies in
1909 and 1910, including successes at
Indianapolis
two years before the Indy 500 began.
The success
of Buick engines was visible not only on the
race track, but
in endurance tests across the country and
around the world. Buick was the only car to complete a
1,000-mile Chicago-to-New York race
in 1906. And a
Buick was the firstcar to travel across South America,
driven
from Buenos Aires, Argentina, over the Andes to
Santiago, Chile in
1914.
I911 Model 21 Du?ing Car
Buick .drew plenty of attention because it could climb
hills and run through mud like no other car. Buick's
endurance and reliability were worldhmous.
During World War
I, Buick built Liberty aircraft engines
as well as
Red Cross ambulances so successful that one
Buick ambulance was awarded the Croix de Guerreby
the French government.
As a builder of premier automobiles, Buick was hard hit
by the Great Depression. However, new General
Manager Harlow H. Curtice created popularnew models
including the Special and the Roadmaster. Buick sales
soon flourished.
First Buick Factory
5

In World War II, Buick built aircraft engines, tanks and
other
military hardware. This post-war period brought
great styling and engineering changes which resulted in
increased sales. The torque converter automatic
transmission, Dynaflow, was introduced in the
1948
Roadmaster. Buick’s famous “portholes” came along in
1949.
A high-compression V-8 engine was introduced in 1953.
And Buick’s famous vertical pillar “toothy”grille
(introduced in
1942), became more massive in the post-
war era.
I953 Skylark
1949 Roadmaster
6

Motor Trend magazine named the 1962 Buick Special
“Car of the Year:’ The first production V-6 engine was
used in the Special.
c
1962 Buick Special
Built inside the walls of the old buildings in Buick’s
former Flint complex, which formed the cornerstoneof
General Motors, Buick City is a state-of-the-art assembly
facility with more than
200 robots and other high-tech
equipment. It was completed in the fallof 1985.
Buicks are, and will continue to be, premium American
motorcars with smooth power, high performance, rich
detail and comfortable accommodation.
I
Ed Mertz, General Manager, Buick Motor Division
Our mission is simple:
“Buick will provide Premium American Motorcars
backed with services that exceed our customers’
expectations, throughout
the purchase, ownership,
serviceand repurchase experience?
Buicks are SUBSTANTIAL.
Buicks are DISTINCTIVE.
Buicks are POWERFUL.
Buicks are MATURE.
7

. _. 1
1923 Buick Sport Roadster
8

Table of Contents
Introduction How to Use this Manual ....................................................... .10
This part tells you how to use your manual and includes safety and vehicle damage warnings and symbols.
Part 1 Seats and Safety Belts .......................................................... I3
This part tells you how to use your seats and safety belts properly.
Part 2 Features & Controls .......................................................... .63
Part 3 Comfort Controls & Audio Systems. ............................................. W!
Part 4 Your Driving and theRoad. .......................... : ........................ .I33
Part 5 Problems on theRoad. ....................................................... .l83
Part 6 Service & Appearance Care .................................................... .221
Part7MaintenanceSchedule ...........................................................
Part 8 Customer .Assistance Information .............................................. .299
This part explains how to start and operate your Buick.
Thispart tells you how to adjust the ventilation and comfort controls andhow
to operate your sound system.
Here you’ll find helpful information and tips about the road and howto drive under different conditions.
This part tells you what to do if you have a problem while driving, such as a flat tireor engine overheating.
Here the manual tells you how to keep your Buick running properly and looking good.
Thispart tells you when
to perform vehicle maintenance and what fluids and lubricants to use.
This part tells
you how to contact Buick for assistanceand how to get service publications.It also gives youinformation
on “ReportingSafetyDefectson page 302.”
hrt9Index ......................................................~...............307
Here’s an alphabetical listing of almost every subject in this manual.You can use it to quickly find something you want
to read.

How to Use this Manual
Many people read their owner’s manual from beginning
to end when they first receive their new vehicle. This will
help you learn about thehturesand 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 fbr what you need is the
Index
in back of the manual. It’s an alphabetical listof all
that’s
in the manual, and the page number where you’ll
find it;
14: Each partof this manual begins witha brief list
of its contents, so you can often find ata glance ifa part
contains the information you want.
part 7: This part of the manual covers the maintenance
required for your vehicle.
Part 8Customer Assistance: This part includes
important information about “Reporting Safety Defects.”
You
will also find customer satisfaction phone numbers
(including customer satisfaction numbers for the hearing
and speech impaired). ‘We’ve also included ordering
information for service publications in
this part.
Safety Warnings and Symbols
You will finda number of safety cautions in this book.
We use yellow and the word CAUTION to tell you about
things that could hurt you
if you were to ignore the
warning.
I A CAUTION:
I
In the yellow cautionarea, we tell you what the hazard
is. Then we tell you what to do to help avoidor reduce
the hazard. Please read these cautions.
If you don’t, you
or others could be hurt.
10
I

You will also find a red circle with a slash throughit in
this book. This safety symbol means “Don’t,” “Don’t do
this,” or “Don’t let this happen.”
8
Vehicle Damage Warnings
Also, in this book you will find these blue notices:
In the blue 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 couldbe
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 colorsor in different
words. In this manual, we’ve used the familiar words and
colors that Buick has used for years.
You’ll
also see warning labels on your vehicle. They use
the same colors, and the words CAUTIONor NOTICE.

I
Vehicle Symbols
Theseare some of the symbols you will 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
CAUSE
BATTERY
BURNS
AVOID
SPARKS
OR
FLAMES
SPARK
OR ,111,
COULD
FLAME
EXPLODE
BATTERY
These symbols
are important
for. you and
your passengers
whenever your
vehicle
is
driven:
DOOR LOCK
UNLOCK
FASTEN SEAT
4
BELTS
POWER
WINDOW
These symbols
have
to do with
your lights:
SIGNALS e3
TURN
WARNING
A
HAZARD
FLASHER
HIGH BEAM
OR =, =o
FOG LAMPS # 0
These symbols
are on some
of
your controls:
WINDSHIELD ' ' '
0- 0-
WIPER &
WASHER
t0 @e4 i
WINDSHIELD=
WASHER
I
wlNDsHIELDw DEFROSTER
WINDOW
@
REAR
DEFOGGER
VENTILATING
FAN
HEADLAMP
-
WIPER -
WASHER zQ
Thes, ,ymbols
are used on
warning and
indicatorlights:
COOLANT F-
ENGINE
TEMP
--
CHARGING I-1
BATTERY
SYSTEM
FUEL
ENGINE OIL wb
PRESSURE
TEMP
OIL &
ANTILOCK BRAKE (i)
Here are some
other symbols
you may see:
FUSE
RADIO
k
VOLUME a
CONDITIONING AIR a
HATCHBACK e
TRUNK
RELEASE
SPEAKER
b

Part 1 Seats and SafetyBelts
Here you’ll fmd information about the seats in your Buick. your Supplemental Inflatable Restraint (“air bag”)
system and how to use your safety belts properly
. You can also learn about some things you should not do with
safety belts
.
Part 1 includes:
SeatsandSeatControls ................................................................ 14
Folding Rear Seats (Wagon) ............................................................. 18
SafetyBelts ......................................................................... 23
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
........................................................ 29
DriverPosition ....................................................................... 30
Supplemental Inflatable Restraint System (Air Bag) .......................................... 35
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy
........................................................ 40
RightFrontPassengerPosition .......................................................... 40
Center Passenger Position and Any Station Wagon Third Seat Passenger Position ................... 41
RearSeatPassengers
.................................................................. 43
Children ............................................................................ 45
SmallerChildrenandBabies ............................................................ 46
ChildRestraints ...................................................................... 47
SafetyBeltExtender
.................................................................. 60
Replacing Safety Belts Aftera Crash ...................................................... 61
LargerChildren
...................................................................... 58

Seats and Seat Controls
This section tells you about the seats-how to adjust
them-and
also abutfolding seats, reclining front
seatbacks, and head restraints.
Manual Front Seat
I
/\ CAUTION:
You can I.ose control of the vehicle if you try to
adjust a manual driver's seat while the vehicle
is moving. The sudden movement could
startle and confuse you, or make you push a
pedal when you don't want to. Adjust the
driver's seat only when the vehicle
is not
moving.
I
Move the lever under the
front seat to unlock it. Slide
the seat to where you want
it.
Then release the lever
and try to move the seat
with
your body, to make
sure theseat is locked into
place.

Reclining Front Seatback
1 Front seats have this
control. It’s located on the
front
of the seat.
Reclining bntSeatback
Control: To recline the
seatback hold the switch
up. Hold the switch down
1 toraisetheseatback.
But don’t havea seatback
reclined if your vehicleis
moving.
The power seat controlsarelocated on the frontof the seat.
To adjust the power seat:
Front Control (F): Raise the front of the seat by holding
the switch up. Hold the switch down to lower the front of
the seat.
Center Control (C): Move the seat forward or back by
holding the control to the right or left. Raise or lower the
seat
by holding the control upor down.
Rear Control (R): Raise the rearof the seatby holding the
switch up. Hold the switch down
to lower the rear of the seat.

Slttlng in a reclined positionwhen your
vehicleis in motioncanbedangerous. Even if
you buckleup, your safety belts can't do their
job when you're recllnedlikethis.
r CAUTION (Continued)
-
CAUTION (Cot .,.nued).
Theshoulder belt can't do itsjob because It
won't be against your body. Instead, It will be
in front of you. In acrash you could go into it,
receivingneck or other Injuries.
The lap belt can't do ib jobeither. In a crash
thebelt
could go upover yourabdomen. The
belt
forces would bethere, not at your pelvlc
bones. Thiscouldcause aerious internal
injuries.
For proper protection whenthevehicle is On
motion, have the seatback upright. Thensit
well back in the seat and wear your safety belt
properly.
16

Head Restraints
Slide the head restraint upor down so that the top of the
restraint is closest to the topof your ears.
This position reduces the chanceof a neck injury in a
crash.
Front Seatback Latches (Two-Door Models)
The front seatback folds forward to let people get into the
back seat.
Your seatback willmove .back and forth freely, unless you
come to a sudden stop. Then it will lock in place.
There’s one time the seatback may not fold without some
help from you. That’s if your vehicle is parked facing
down a fairly steep hill.
To fold a front seatback
forward, push the seatback
toward the rearas you
lift
this latch. Then the
seatback will fold forward.
Thelatch must be down for
the seat to work properly.
17

Folding Rear Sea& (Wagon)
To add more cargo room, the seatbacks of your rear
second and optional rear-facing third seats can be easily
folded down.
Be sure to check your seatback latches now
and then by pushing the seatback back and forth. If they
do not latch properly, have them checked
by your dealer.
Remember
to keep safety belts clear of seat hinges and
latches
so they are not damaged when you raise and
lower the seatbacks.
Folding Second Seat
L
To Lower the Split Second Seatback:
1. Each seat has its own release button. Press the release
button
and pull the seatback forward and down.