Buick 1998 Regal User manual

The 1998 Buick Regal Owner’s Manual
1-1
2-1
3-1
4- 1
5-1
6- 1
7-1
8- 1
9- 1
Seats and Restraint Systems
This section tells you how to use your seats and safety belts properly. It also explains the “SRS” system.
Features and Controls
This section explains how to start and operate your vehicle.
Comfort Controls and Audio Systems
This section tells you how to adjust the ventilation and comfort controls and how to operate your audio system.
Your Driving and the Road
Here you’ll find helpful information and tips about the road and how to drive under different conditions.
Problems on the Road
This section tells what to do if you have a problem while driving, such as a flat tire or overheated engine, etc.
Service and Appearance Care
Here the manual tells youhow to keep your vehicle running properly and looking good.
Maintenance Schedule
This section tellsyou when to perform vehicle maintenance and what fluids and lubricants to use.
Customer Assistance Information
This section tellsyou how to contact Buick for assistance andhow to get service and owner publications.
It also givesyou information on “Reporting Safety Defects” on page 8-8.
Index
Here’san alphabetical listing of almost every subject in this manual. You can use it to quickly find
somethingyou want to read.
i

I BUICK
L
GENERAL MOTORS, GM, the GMEmblem, BUICK,
the BUICK Emblem and the name REGAL are
registered trademarks of General Motors Corporation.
This manual includes the latestinformation at the time it
was printed. We reservethe right to make changes in the
product after that time without furthernotice. For
vehicles first sold in Canada, substitute the name
“General Motors
of Canada Limited” for Buick Motor
Division whenever
it appears inthis manual.
Please keep this manual in your vehicle, so it will be
there if
you ever need it when you’re on the road. If you
sell the vehicle, please leave thismanual in it
so the new
owner can use it.
Litho in U.S.A.
Part No. 10415721
B Second Edition
WE SUPPORT
VOLUNTARY TECHNICIAN
CERTIFICATIONTHROUGH
AUTOMOTIVE
National Institute for
SERVICE
EXCELLENCE
We support voluntary
technician certification.
For Canadian Owners Who Prefer a
French Language Manual:
Aux propriktaires canadiens: Vous pouvez vous
procurer
un exemplaire de ce guideen franqais chez
votre concessionaire
ou au:
DGN Marketing Services Ltd.
1577Meyerside
Dr.
Mississauga, Ontario L5T 1B9
@CopyrightGeneral Motors Corporation
1997
All Rights Reserved
ii

How to Use this Manual
Many people read theirowner’s manual from beginning
to end when they first receive theirnew vehicle. If
you do this, it will help
you learn about the features
and controls foryour vehicle. Inthis 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 theIndex in
back of the manual. It’s
an alphabeticallist of what’s in
the manual, and the page number where you’ll find it.
Safety Warnings and Symbols
You will find anumber of safety cautionsin this book.
We use abox and the word CAUTION
to tell you
about things that could hurt you if you were to ignore
the warning.
r
A CAC AON:
These mean thereis something that could hurt
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 reducethe
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.’’

Vehicle Damage Warnings
Also, in this book you will find thesenotices:
NOTICE:
These mean thereis something that could
damage your vehicle.
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 warningsin different
colors
or in different words.
You’ll also seewarning labels
on your vehicle. They use
the same words, CAUTION
or NOTICE.
iv

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
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:
DOOR LOCK
UNLOCK
FASTEN
SEAT
BELTS
These symbols
have to do with
your lamps:
SIGNALS e
TURN
WARNING A
HAZARD
FLASHER
RUNNING . 0
DAYTIME -
LAMPS *
FOG LAMPS $0
These symbols
are on some of
your controls:
WINDSHIELD
WIPER
WINDSHIELD
DEFROSTER
WINDOW
DEFOGGER
VENTILATING
FAN
These symbols
are used on
warning and
indicator lights:
COOLANT -
TEMP -
CHARGING I-1
BATTERY
SYSTEM
BRAKE (0)
COOLANT
a
ENGINEOIL e,
PRESSURE
ANTI-LOCK (@)
BRAKES
Here are some
other symbols
you may see:
FUSE *
t
LIGHTER
HORN k3
SPEAKER
b
FUEL p3
V

@% NOTES
vi

@ Section 1 SeatsandRestraintSystems
Here you’ll find information about the seats in your Buick and how to use your safety belts properly. You can also
learn about some things you should not do with air bags and safety belts.
1-2
1-6
1-10
1-11
1-11
1-18
1-19
1-19
1-26
Seats and Seat Controls
Safety Belts: They’re
for Everyone
Here Are Questions Many People Ask About
Safety Belts
-- and the Answers
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
Driver Position
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy
Right Front Passenger Position
Air Bag System
Rear Seat Passengers
1-29
1-32
1-33
1-36
1-5 1
1-63
1-65
1-66
1-66
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for Children
and SmallAdults
Center Passenger Position
Children
Built-in Child Restraint (Option)
Child Restraints
Larger Children
Safety Belt Extender
Checking Your Restraint Systems
Replacing Restraint System Parts
After a Crash
1-1

Seats and Seat Controls
This section tells you how to adjust the seats and
explainsthe reclining seatbacks and head restraints.
Manual Front Seat
A C. UTION:
--
You can lose 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’twant to. Adjust the driver’s seat only when
the vehicle
is not moving.
2-Way Manual Seat
Lift the bar under the front of the seat using an upward
motion. This will unlock the seat, Slidethe seat to where
you want it and release the bar. Try to move the seat
with your body to
be sure the seat is locked into place.

6-Way Power Seat (If Equipped)
You may have asix-way power driver’s seatand a
six-way power passenger’s seat (if equipped).
This switch is designed to imitate themovements of
your seat cushion. Thedriver’s switch is located on the
left side of the driver’s seatcushion. Thepassenger’s
switch
is located on the rightside of the passenger’s seat
cushion.
To move the seatforward or rearward,push the
switch forward or rearward. To raise or lower the entire
seat,push the switch up
or down. To raise or lower the
front portion
of your seat,push the frontof the switch
up or down. To raise or lower the rearportion
of your
seat,push the rear
of the switch up or down.
1-3

Reclining Front Seatbacks
If your vehicle is equipped with heated seats, the
driver’s side and passenger’s side three-position
switches
are located on the center console,just behind
your automatictransaxle shift lever. Press
LO to warm
the seat at a lower temperature. Press
HI to warm the
seat at ahigher temperature.
To turn this feature off,
return the switch to its center position. The button
directly in
the middle of the heated seat switches is used
for traction control (see “Traction Control System”
or
“Enhanced Traction System” in the Index).
Lift the lever torelease the seatback,then move the
seatbackto where you want it. Release the lever to
lock the seatback
in place. Pull up on the lever
without pushing on the seatback and the seatback will
move forward.
1-4

But don’t have a seatback reclinedif your vehicle
is moving.
Sitting in
a reclined position when your vehicleis
in motion can be dangerous. Even
if you buckle
up, your safety belts can’t do their job when
you’re reclined like this.
The shoulder belt can’t do its job because it
won’t be against yourbody. Instead, itwill be in
front of you. In a crash
you could go into it,
receiving neck or other injuries.
The lap belt can’t do its job either. In a crash the
belt could
go up over your abdomen. The belt
forces would be there, notat yourpelvic bones.
This could cause serious internal injuries.
For proper protectionwhen the vehicle is in
motion, have theseatback upright. Then sitwell
back in the seat and wear your safetybelt properly.
Head Restraints
Slide the head restraint up or down so that the top of the
restraint
is closest tothe top of your ears. Thisposition
reduces the chance
of a neck injury in a crash.

SafetyBelts: They’re for Everyone
This part of the manual tells you how to use safety belts
properly.
It also tells you some things you should not do
with safety belts.
And it explains the air
bag system.
-
I
I
Don’t let anyone ride wherehe or she can’t wear
a safety belt properly. If you are in a crash and
you’re not wearing
a safety belt, your injuries
can be muchworse. You can hit things inside the
vehicle or be ejected fromit. You can be seriously
injured
or killed. In the same crash,you might
not be
if you are buckled up.Always fasten your
safety belt, and check that your passengers’ belts
are fastened properlytoo.
b
Itis extremely dangerous to ride in a cargo area,
inside or outside of
a vehicle. In a collision,
people riding in these areasare morelikely to be
seriously injured
or killed. Do not allow people to
ride in any area of your vehicle that is not
1 equipped with seats and safetybelts. Be sure
everyone in yourvehicle is in a seat and using
a
safety belt properly.
1-6

Your vehicle has a light
that comes on as areminder
to buckle up. (See “Safety
Belt Reminder Light” in
the Index.)
In most states and Canadian provinces, the law says to
wear safety belts. Here’s why:
They work.
You never know if you’ll be in a crash. If you do have a
crash, you don’t know if it will be abad one.
A few crashes aremild, and some crashescan be so
seriousthat even buckled up aperson wouldn’t survive.
But most crashes arein between. Inmany
of them,
people who buckle up can survive and sometimes walk
away.Without belts they could have been badly hurt
or killed.
After more than
30 years of safety belts in vehicles,
the facts areclear. In most crashes buckling up does
matter
... a lot!
Why Safety BeltsWork
When you ride in or on anything,you go as fast as
it goes.
Take the simplestvehicle. Suppose
it’s just aseat
on wheels.
1-7

I
Put someone on it. Get it up to speed.Then stop the vehicle.
The rider
doesn’t stop.

The person keeps going until stoppedby something.
In a real vehicle,
it could be the windshield ...
or the instrumentpanel ...
1-9

or thesafety belts!
With safety belts, you slow down as the vehicle does.
You get more time to stop.You stop over more distance,
and your strongestbones take the forces.That's why
safety belts make such good sense.
Here Are Questions Many People Ask
About Safety Belts -- and the Answers
Q." Won't I be trappedin the vehicle after an
accident if I'm wearing a safety belt?
A: You could be -- whether you're wearing a safety
belt or not. But you can unbuckle a safety belt,
even if you're upside down. And yourchance of
being conscious during and after an accident,
so
you can unbuckle and get out, is much greater if
you arebelted.
Q." If my vehicle has air bags, why should I have to
wear safety belts?
A: Air bags are inmany vehicles today andwill be in
most of them in the future. Butthey are
supplemental systems only;
so they work with
safety belts -- not instead of them. Every air bag
system ever offered for salehas required the use of
safety belts. Even if you're in a vehicle that hasair
bags, you still have to buckle up to get the most
protection. That's true not only in frontal collisions,
but especially
in side and other collisions.
1-10

Q: If I’m a good driver, and I never drivefarfrom
home, why should
I wear safety belts?
A: You may be an excellent driver, but if you’re in an
accident
-- even one that isn’t your fault -- you and
your passengers can be hurt. Being a good driver
doesn’t protect you from things beyond your
control, such as bad drivers.
Most accidents occurwithin
25 miles (40 km) of
home. And the greatestnumber
of serious injuries
and deaths occurat speeds
of less than 40 mph
(65 km/h).
Safety belts are for everyone.
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
Adults
This partis only for peopleof adult size.
Be aware that there are special thingsto know about safety
belts andchddren.And thereare different rules for smaller
children and babies.
If a child will be riding in your
vehicle, see the part
of this manual called “Children.”
Follow
those rules for everyone’s protection.
First, you’llwant to know which restraint systemsyour
vehicle has.
We’ll start with the driver position.
Driver Position
This part describesthe driver’srestraint system.
Lap-Shoulder Belt
The driverhas a lap-shoulder belt. Here’s how to wear it
properly.
1. Close and lock the door.
2. Adjust the seat (to seehow, see “Seats”in the Index)
so you can sit up straight.

3. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Don’t let it get twisted.
The shoulderbelt may lock if you pull the belt across
you veryquickly. If this happens, let the belt go back
slightly to unlock
it. Then pull the belt across you
more slowly.
4. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure itis secure.
If
the belt isn’t long enough, see “Safety Belt
Extender’’ atthe end
of this section.
Make sure the release button on the buckle is
positioned
so you would be able to unbuckle the
safety belt quickly
if you ever had to.
5. To make the lap part tight, pull down on the buckle
end of the belt as you pull up on the shoulder belt.
1-12