Buick PARKAVENUE 1997 User manual

The 1997 Buick Park Avenue Owner’s Manual
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Seats and Restraint Systems
This section tells you how to use your seats and safetybelts properly. It also explainsthe “SRS” system.
Features and Controls
This section explains how to start and operate your Buick.
Comfort Controls and Audio Systems
This sectiontells you how toadjustthe ventilationand comfort controlsand how to operateyour audio system.
Your Driving and the Road
Here you’ll find helpful information and tipsabout the road and howto drive under different conditions.
Problemson the Road
This section tells what to do if you have a problem while driving, such as a flat tire or overheatedengine, etc.
Service and Appearance Care
Here the manual tells you how to keep your Buick running properly andlooking good,
Maintenance Schedule
This section tells you whento perform vehicle maintenance and whatfluids and lubricantsto use.
Customer Assistance Information
This section tells you how to contactBuick for assistance and how to get service and ownerpublications.
It also gives you information on “ReportingSafetyDefects” on page
8-8.
Index
Here’s an alphabeticallisting of almost every subject in this manual. You can use it to quicklyfind
sometlvngyou wantto read.
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GM
-
GENERAL MOTORS, GM, the GM Emblem, BUICK,
the BUICK Emblem and the name PARK AVENUEare
registered trademarks of General Motors Corporation.
This manual includesthe latest information at the timeit
was printed.We reserve the right to make changes
in the
product after thattime without further notice. For
vehicles first sold inCanada, substitute the name
“General Motors of Canada Limited” for Buick Motor
Division whenever it appears in this manual.
Please keep this manual in yourBuick,
so it will be there
if youever need it when you’re on the road. If you sell
the vehicle, pleaseleave this manual in it
so the new
owner can use
it.
Litho in U.S.A.
Part
No. 25645978 B First Edition
..
WE SUPPORT
VOLUNTARY TECHNICIAN
CERTIFICATION THROUGH
AUTOMOTIVE
NationalInstitute for
SERVICE
EXCELLENCE
We support voluntary
technician certification.
For Canadian Owners Who Prefer a
French Language Manual:
Aux proprietaires canadiens: Vous pouvez vous
procurer unexemplaire de ceguide en fraqaischez
votre concessionaire
ou au:
DGN Marketing Services Ltd.
1500 Bonhill Rd.
Mississauga, Ontario L5T 1C7
@CopyrightGeneral Motors Corporation 1996
All Rights Reserved

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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
Marr, 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
innovator. Buick engineers developed the
“valve-in-head” engine,
a light, powerful and reliable
engine which would eventually influence the 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 nucleus
of 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 for
1,000 Buicks
before the company had
built
40. On Buick’s
success, Durant created a
holding company,
September
16, 1908. He
calledit General Motors.
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Durant also created a racing team that won 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 thefirst carto travel across
South America, driven from Buenos Aires, Argentina,
over the Andes to Santiago, Chile in 1914.
Buick drew plenty of attention becauseit could climb
hills and run through mud like no other car. Buick’s
endurance and reliability were world famous.
During World War
I, Buick built Liberty aircraft engines
as well as Red Cross ambulances
so successfully that
one Buick ambulance was awarded the Croix de Guerre
by the French government.
As a builderof 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.
1911 Model 21 Touring Car on Buick’s Test Hill
First Buick Factory
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In World War 11, Buick built aircraftengines, 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 introducedin the
1948
Roadmaster. Buick’sfamous “portholes” came along
in
1949.
1949 Roadmaster
A high-compression V-8 engine was introduced in 1953.
And Buick’sfamous vertical pillar “toothy” grille
(introduced in
1942) became more massive inthe
post-war era.
I953 Skylark
Motor Trend magazine namedthe 1962 Buick Special
“Car of the Year.”The first production
V-6 engine was
used in the Special.
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1962 Buick Special
Built inside the walls of the old buildings in Buick’s
formerFlint complex, which formed the cornerstone of
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 fall
of
1985.
Buicks are, and will continue to be, premium American
motorcars with smooth power, high performance, rich
detail and comfortable accommodation.
Ed Mertz, GeneralManager;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,
service and repurchase experience.”
Buicks are SUBSTANTIAL.
Buicks are DISTINCTIVE.
Buicks are POWERFUL.
Buicks are PREMIUM.
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How to Use this Manual
Many people read their owner’s manual frombeginning
to end when theyfirst 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 needis the Index in
the back of the manual. It’s an alphabetical list
of all
that’s inthe 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.
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 todo 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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