Buick RIVIERA 1996 User manual

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The 1.996 Buick Riviera Owner9$ Manual
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GENERAL MOTORS, GM and the GM Emblem,
BUICK, theBUTCK Emblem and thename
RIVERA, are registered trademarks of General
Motors Corporation.
This manual includesthe latest information atthe.time
it was printed.
We reserve the right to make changes in
theproductafterthat time without further notice. For
vehiclesfirst sold
in Canada,substitute.thename
“General Motors
of Canada Limited” for hickMotor
Division whenever
it appears in this manual.
Pleasekeep
this manualin your Buick, so it will be there
if -you ever need it when you’re on the road.If you sell
thevehicle, pleaseleavethis manual init
so thenew
owner canuse it.
WE SUPPORT
VOLUNTARY
TECHNICIAN
CERTIFICATION THROUGH
National Institute for
AUTOMOTIVE
SERVICE
EXCELLENCE
t
We support voluntary
technician certification.
For Canadian Owners Who Prefer a..
French Language. Manual:
Aux propribtaires canadiens: Vous powez vous
procurer un exemplaire dece guide enfraqaischez
votre concessionaireou au:
DGN Marketing Services Ltd.
1500 Bonhill Rd.
Mississauga,
Ontario L5T 1C7
..
’ Litho & U.S.A. @CopyrightGeneralMotorsCorporation 1995
Part No. 25639453 A FirstEdition All RightsReserved
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Durant also created a racingteamthatwon 500 racing
trophies
in 1909 and 1910, including successes at
Indianapolis two years beforetheIndy
500 began.
The success of Buick engines was visible not only on
theracetrack, butin,endurance tests across
the country
and aroundthe world.
Buick was the only car to
complete .a 1,000-mile Chicago-to-NewYork race in
1906. And aBuick was thefirstcar to travel across
South America, driven
from Buenos Aires; Argentina,
overthe Andes
to Santiago?Chilein 1914.
Buick drew plentyof attention becauseit could chb
hills and run throughmud likeno othef car. Buick's
endurance and reliability were world famous.
During World War
I, Buick built Liberty aircraft engines
as well'asRed Cross ambulances so successfully that
one.Buickambulance was awarded
the Croix de Guerre
by the French government.
As a builder of premier automobiles, Buick was hardhit
by the Great Depression. However, new General
Manager
Harlow H. Curtice createdpopulax new models
1911 Model 21 Touring Car on Buick's Test Hill

In World War 11, Buick built aircraft engines, tanks and
other military hardware. This post-wax 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.
I953 Skylark I
1949 Roadmaster
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Motor Trend niagazme namedthe 1962 Buick Special
“Car of the Year.”The first production V-6 engine was
used in theSpecial. ’

1962Buick Special Ed Mertz, General Manager,Buick Motor Division
Built insidethe walls of the old buildingsin Buick’s
former
Flint complex, which formed the cornerstoneof
General Motors, Buick City is a state-of-the-art
assemblyfacilitywith more than
200 robots and other
high-tech equipment.It was completed
in thefall
of 1985.
Buicks are, and will continue to be, premium American
motorcars’ with smooth power, high performance, rich
detail and comfortable accommodation.
Our mission is simple:
“Buick willprovidePremium American Motorcars
backed
with services that exceed our customers’
expectations, throughout the purchase, ownership,
service and repurchase experience.”
Buicks are
SUE3STANTIAL.
Buicks are DISTINCTIVE.
Buicks are
POWERFUL.
Buicks- areMATURE.
vii

How to Us.e This Manual
M.any people read their owner’s manual from beginning
to end when theyfirstreceive their new vehicle. If you
do this,it will help you learn about the features and
controlsforyour vehicle.Inthis manual, you’llfind.that
pictures
and words work together to explain things
quickly.
Index
A good placeto look for what you need is the Indexin
theback of themanual: It’s
an alphabetical listof all.
that’s
in the manual, andthepage-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 ignorethe
warning.
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These mean there is something that could hurt
you or other people.
In the caution area, we tell you whatthe hazard.is.Then
we
tell you what to .do to help avoidcrreduce -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.’’

Vehicle Damage Warnings
Also, in tl: book you will find these notices:
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.
NOTICE:
When you read other manuals, you might see CAUTION
and NOTICE warnings in different colors or in
different words.
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These mean there is something that could
damage your
vehicle.
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You’ll also See warning labels on your vehicle. They use
the same words
CAUTION or NOTICE.
In the notice area,we tell you about something that can
damage your vehicle. Many times, this damage would
*
1x

Vehicle Symbols
These are some of the symbols you may find on your vehicle.
For example,
these symbols
areused
on an
original battery:
CAUTION
POSSIBLE
INJURY
PROTECT
EYES
BY
SHIELDING
CAUSTIC
BURNS
AVOID
SPARKS OR
FLAMES
SPARK
OR ,\I/,
COULD
FLAME
EXPLODE
BATI'ERY
These symbols
are important
for you and
your passengers
whenever your
vehicle
is
driven:
DOOR LOCK
UNLOCK
FASTEN
SEAT
&LTS
These symbols
have
to do with
your lights:
SIGNALS e
TURN
FOG LAMPS
& 0
These symbols
are
on some of
your controls:
WIPER Q
WINDSHIELD
DEFROSTER
These symbols
are used
on
warning and
iridicator lights:
ENGINE k
COOLANT - e-
TEMP- -
,BRAKE (0)
ENGINE OIL e,
PRESSURE
ANTI-LOCK
(@)
BRAKES
Here aresom-e
other symbols
'youmay see:
FUSE -+
t
LIGHTER II
HORN )a(
SPEAKER
b
FUEL 'e3
X

NOTES

NOTES

ectilon 1 eatsand
Here you’ll find mfomation about the seats in your
0 Raise or lower the front of the seatby holding the
Buickand howto
use your safety belts properly.You front
part of the horizontal control up or down.
can learn some things You do with Raise or lowertherear of the seat by holdingthe rear
air bags and safety belts. part
of the horizontal control up or down.
Seats and Seat Controls
This section tells you about- the seats -- how to adjust
them, and also about memory seats, reclining seatbacks
and head restraints.
Power Seats
0 Raise or lower the entire seatby holding the whole
0 Move the seat forward or back by holding the control
Power Lumbar Control (Option)
controlup or down.
to the front or
back.
If you have this option, the driver’s seatback lumbar
support can be adjusted by moving the single switch
located on the side
of the seat. To increase or decrease
support, hold the switch forward or rearward.
1-1

Memory Seat and Mirrors (Option)
To setyour memory seax and mirrors:
1. Adjust the driver’s seatto your desired position.
Adjust both outside mirrors tosuityou. See
“Mirrors”
in the Index.
2. Press the SET button and then press the 1 or 2 side
of the MEMORY switch withinfiveseconds.
You
will hear one beep when you pressthe SET button
and two beeps when you pressthe MEMORY button
to confirm that the mirror and .seat positions are
entered
into memory. -
When your Buickis in PARK (P) with theignition ON
or OW3 press the same side of the MEMORY switch to
recall the seat.ancl mirror setting.
To do thesame
thing for a second driver, follow the
preceding steps but press
the other sideof the
MEMORY switch.
The EXIT button allows you to get out of thecar easily.
When the gear
shift selector is in PARK (P) with the
ignition
or OFF, push EXIT and the seat will go allthe
way down-and back.
Remote Keyless Entry Persod Choice Feature
Each Remote Keyless Entry transmitter can be
programmed to
move the driver’s seat and outside mirrors
to a set memory position when the transmitter’s WOCK
button. is pressed. For programming instructions, see
“Personal Choice Features”
in the Index.
1-2.

H-eated Front Seat (Option)
If your vehicle has this
option, the switch
is on the
driver's arrnrest. Press the
button once and theseat
will warm up. The HI light
Press the button a secondtimeand the LO lightwill
come on.The seat
will warm 'toa lower temperature.
Press the button
a third time to turn OW the heated seat.
The heater will also turn off automatically when the
ignition
is turned off.
The power recline vertical
controlis located on the-
side
of the seat.Push it
forw.ard
to bring the seat to
a more upright position.
Push it rearward to recline
lhe seatback.

But don't have a seatback reclined if your vehicle is moving.
Sittingin a reclined position when your vehicle is
in motion can be dangerous. Even if you buckle
up, your safety belts can't do their jobwhen
'
you're.reclined like this.
The shoulderbelt can't do its job.In
a crash you
could go into it,receiving neck or otherinjuries.
The lapbelt can't do its jobeither.
In a crash the
belt could
go up over your abdomen. Thebelt
forces would be there, not atyour pelvic bones.
This could cause seriousinternalinjuries.
For properprotection when the vehicle
is in
motion, have the seatback upright. Thensit
well back in the seat and wear yoursafety
belt properly.
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Head Restraints
Slide the head restraint up or down so that thetop of the
restraint
is closestto the top of your ears. This position
reducesthe
chance of a neck injury in a crash.
If the seatback isn’t locked, it could move
forward in a sudden stop
or crash. That could
cause injury to the person sitting there. Always
press rearward
on the seatback to be sure it
is locked.
L d
There’s one timethe seatback.maynot. fold without
some help from you. That’s if .your vehicleis-parked
going dopvn a fairly steep hill,
To fold a seatback forward
if it does lock
,in place, push
the seatback toward the rear
asyou lift
this latch. Then
the seatback willfdd
forward.
The latch must
b.e down for the seatto
work properly.
The
front seatbackfolds forward to let people get into
the back seat. Your seatback will move back and forth
freely, unlessyou come to a sudden stop. Then it will
lock in place.

Safety Belts: They’re for Everyone
This part of the manual tells you how to use safety.b.elts
properly.
It also tellsyou some things you shouldnot do
with safety belts.
And it explainsthe Supplemental Restraint System
(SRS), or air bag system.
Don’t let anyoneride where he or she can’t wear
a safetybelt properly. If YOU arein a crash and
you’re not wearing
a safetybelt, your injuries
can be
much worse. You can hit things inside the
-vehicle or be ejected from it. You can be seriously
injured orkilled.
In the same crash,you might
not be if you are buckled up. Always fasten your
safety belt, and check that yourpassengers’ belts
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.,are fastened properly too.
YOLU vehicle has a light that
comes ’on ‘as a reminder to
buckle up. (See “Safety
Belt ReMnderLight”
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’llbe in a crash.‘If you do have a
crash,
you don’t know ifit will be a bad one.
A few crashes are mild, -and some crashes can be .so
serious that even buckledup a personwouldn’t survive.
But most crashes are
in between. In many of them,
people who buckle
up can survive and sometimes walk
away. Witho,utbelts they could have been b,adly hyrt
or killed.
After more than
25 years of-safetybelts in vehicles,
the facts are clear, In most crashes buckling up does
matter
... a lot!

Why Safety Belts Work
When you ride in or on anything, you go as fast as
it goes.
Put someone on it.
Take the simplest vehicle. Suppose
it’s just a seat
on wheels.
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