Chevrolet MALIBU 1998 User manual

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GENUINE CHEVROLET

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0 The 1998 Chevrolet Malibu Owner’s Manual
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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 you how to keep your vehicle running properly and looking good.
Maintenance Schedule
This section tells you when to perform vehicle maintenance and what fluids and lubricants to use.
Customer Assistance Information
This section tells you how to contact Chevrolet for assistance and how to get service and owner publications.
It also gives you information on “Reporting Safety Defects” on page
8-10.
Index
Here’s an alphabetical listing of almost every subject in this manual. You can use it to quickly find
something you want to read.

GENERAL MOTORS, GM, the GM Emblem,
CHEVROLET, the CHEVROLET Emblem and the
name MALIBU are registered trademarksof
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 thattime without further notice.For
vehicles first soldin Canada,substitute the name
“General Motorsof CanadaLimited”for Chevrolet
Motor Division whenever
it appears in this manual.
Please keep this manualin your vehicle,
so it will be
there if youever need it when you’re
on the road. If you
sell the vehicle, please leave this manual init so the new
owner can use it.
Litho in
U.S.A.
Part No. 10294281 B First Edition
WE SUPPORT
VOLUNTARY TECHNICIAN
CERTIFICATION THROUGH
AUTOMOTIVE
National Institute for
SERVICE
EXCELLENCE
We support voluntary
technician certification.
For Canadian Owners Who Prefer a
French Language Manual:
Aux propri6taires canadiens: Vous pouvez vous
procurer unexemplairede ce guideen fraqais chez
votre concessionaire
ou au:
DGN Marketing Services Ltd.
1577 Meyerside Dr.
Mississauga, OntarioL5T
1B9
@CopyrightGeneralMotors Corporation 1997
All Rights Reserved

The dynamic William C. “Billy ”
Durant shiftedgears from making
carriages
to making cars,
forming
half the team thatgave
birth
to Chevrolet.
Louis Chevrolet, the other half of the team,
at the wheel of his experimental “Classic
Six, ” whichentered production in 1912.
That year 2999 vehicles were produced.
iii

In I932 Chevrolet
introduced the
Synchro-Mesh
transmission and
ofered a host
of
accessories -- including
such nicetiesas a
clock!
I
1
The legacy of America'sfavorite sportscar
began in
1953, when 319 hand-assembled
-
white Corvettes
launched the
first use
of a
Jiberglassbody
in
a production cal:

I
I The 1957 Chevy started a romance with the American
public
-- and was poweredby an availablefiel-injected V8.
Your new Chevrolet continuesa tradition of quality and value.
V

How to Use this Manual
Many people read their owner’s manual from beginning
to end when theyfistreceive their new vehicle. If you-
do
this, it will help you learnaboutthe 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 tolookfor what you need isthe Index in
back of the manual. It’s an alphabetical listof what’s in
the manual, and thepage number where you’ll findit.
Safety Warnings and Symbols
You will find a numberof safety cautionsin this book.
We use a box and the word
CAUTION to tell you
about things that could hurt you
if you wereto ignore
the warning.
These mean thereis something that could hurt
you or other people.
I It
In the caution area, we tell you what the hazardis. 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.
-1 You will also find a circle
with a slash throughit
in
this book.This safety
symbol means “Don’t,’’
“Don’tdothis” or “Don’t
let this happen.”
%
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Vehicle Damage Warnings
Also, in this book you willfind these notices:
NOTICE:
These mean there is something that could
damage your vehicle.
In the notice area,we tell you about something that
can damageyour vehicle. Many times, thisdamage
would not be covered by your
warranty, and it could
be costly.But the notice will tell you what todo 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 alsosee
warning labels on your vehicle. They use
the same words, CAUTIONor
NOTICE.

For example,
these symbols
are used
on an
original battery:
POSSIBLE A
CAUTION
INJURY
PROTECT
EYES BY
SHIELDING
CAUSTIC
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:
n
FASTEN
SEAT
BELTS
These symbols
have
to do with
your lamps:
SIGNALS e e
TURN
FOG LAMPS
$0
Vehicle Symbols
These are some of the symbols you may find on your vehicle.
-
These symbols
are
on some of
your controls:
WINDSHIELD
WIPER
WINDOW
DEFOGGER
These symbols
are used on
warning and
indicator lights:
CHARGING 1-1
BATTERY
SYSTEM
BRAKE
(0)
R
ENGINEOIL e,
PRESSURE
ANTI-LOCK
(@)
BRAKES
Here are some
other symbols
you may see:
FUSE
LIGHTER
D
HORN )cr
SPEAKER
cr
FUEL p3
viii

0 Section 1 SeatsandSeatRestraints
Here you’ll findinformationaboutthe seats in your Chevroletand how to use your safety belts properly.You can also
learn aboutsome things you should not do with air bags and safety belts.
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Seats and SeatControls
Safety Belts:They’refor Everyone
Here
Are Questions Many People Ask About
Safety Belts -- and the Answers
How to Wear Safety BeltsProperly
DriverPosition
Safety BeltUse During Pregnancy
RightFront PassengerPosition
SupplementalRestraint System
(SRS)
Rear SeatPassengers
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Rear Safety BeltComfortGuidesfor Children
and SmallAdults
CenterPassengerPosition
Children
ChildRestraints
LargerChildren
Safety BeltExtender
CheckingYour Restraint Systems
ReplacingRestraint SystemParts
After
a Crash
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Seats and Seat Controls
This section tells you about the seats -- how to adjust
them
-- and also aboutreclining seatbacks and
head restraints.
Manual 5ats
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't want to. Adjust the driver's seat only when
the vehicle is not moving.
Lift the lever under thefront seat to unlockit. Slide the
seat to where
you want it. Then release the lever and try
to move the seat with your body, to make sure the seat
is
locked into place.
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6-Way Power Seat ( ~ Equipped)
Thepower seatbutton is located on the lower,left side
of the driver’s seat. This button allows youto move the
seatup, down, forward and backward. It will also move
the front of the seatup or down and the rearof the seat
up or down.
Move the seathigher by lifting and holding the bottom
of the button.Lowerthe seatby pushing and holding the
top
of the button.
To move the seat forward, push the rear of the button
forward.
To move theseatbackward, push thefront of
the button rearward.
Raise the front of the seatby lifting and holding the
bottom front end
of the button. Lower thefront of the
seat by pushing and holding the top frontend of
the button.
Raise the rear
of the seat by lifting and holdingthe
bottom rearof the button.Lowerthe rear of the seat by
pushing and holdingthe top rear of the button.
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Reclining Front Seatbacks
To adjust the seatback, lift the lever on the outer sideof
the seat and move the seatback to where you want it.
Release the lever and ensure the handle returns
to the
original position and the seatback
is securely locked.
Pull up on the lever and the seat willgoto an
upright position.
But don’t have a seatback reclined
if your vehicle
is moving.
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r*ArTTION:
Sitting in a reclined positionwhen your vehicle is
in motion can be dangerous. Even
if you buckle
up, your safety belts can’t do theirjob when
you’re reclined likethis.
The shoulderbelt can’t do itsjob 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 lapbelt can’t do itsjob either. In
a crash the
belt couldgo up over your abdomen. Thebelt
forceswould be there, not
at your pelvic bones.
This could cause serious internal injuries.
For proper protection when the vehicle is in
motion, havethe seatback upright.Then sit well
back
in the seatand wear your safety belt properly.
Head Restraints
Slidethe head restraint up ordown so that thetop of the
restraint
is closest to the top of your ears. This position
reduces the chance of a neck injury in a crash.
Rear Seats
Folding Rear Seat
To open the folding rear seat, open the trunk and pull
one orboth
of the tethers located on the left side of the
trunk. The left-hand tether will open the larger side
of
the seatback.The right-hand tether will open the smaller
side
of the seatback.Once a tetheris pulled, the seatback
can be pushed open through the trunk,or pulled open
from inside the vehicle.
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To close the split folding rear seat, push the seatback up
until you hear a click. Then pull on the seatback to make
sure it is secure.
Safety Belts: They’re for Everyone
This partof the manual tells you howto use safety belts
properly. It alsotells yousomethings you should notdo
with safety belts.
And it explains the Supplemental Restraint System
(SRS), or air bag system.
I
Don’t let anyone ride wherehe or she can’t wear
a safety belt properly.If
you arein a crash and
you’re not wearing a safetybelt, your injuries
canbe much worse. You can hit thingsinside the
vehicle orbe ejectedfrom
it. You can beseriously
injured orkilled. In the same crash,you might
not beif youarebuckled up. Always fasten your
safety belt, and check that yourpassengers’ belts
arefastened properlytoo.
’
A CAUTION:
It is extremely dangerous to ridein a cargo area,
inside or outside
of a vehicle. Ina collision,
people riding in these areasaremore likely to be
seriouslyinjured
or killed. Do not allow people to
ride in any area
of your vehicle that is not
equipped with seats and safetybelts. Be sure
everyone in yourvehicle is in a seatand using
a
safety belt properly.
1-6

Your vehicle has a light
’ that comeson as a reminder
1 to buckleup. (See “Safety
Belt ReminderLight”in
1 the Index.)
In most states andCanadianprovinces, the law says to
wear safety belts. Here’s why:
They work.
You neverknow if you’ll be in a crash. If youdo have a
crash, you don’tknow if it will be a bad one.
A few crashes
are mild, and somecrashes can be so
serious thatevenbuckled up apersonwouldn’t survive.
But most crashes arein between. In many of them,
people who buckle up can survive and sometimes
walk
away. Without belts theycouldhave been badly hurt
or killed.
After more than
30 years of safety beltsin vehicles,
the facts are clear. In most crashes buckling updoes
matter
... a lot!
Why Safety Belts Work
When you ride in or on anything, you go as fast as
it goes.
Takethe simplest vehicle.Supposeit’sjust
a seat
on wheels.
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