Lincoln 1996 Continental User manual

1996
CONTINENTAL
Your satisfaction is our #1 goal. If you have
questions or concerns with your vehicle, we suggest
you follow these steps:
I . Contact your Sales Representative or Service
Advisor at your selling/servicing dealership.
2. If the inquiry or concern remains unresolved,
contact the Sales Manager or Service Manager
at the dealership.
3. If the inquiry or concern cannot be resolved at
the dealership level, please contact the Ford
Customer Assistance Center.
In the United States:
Ford Motor Company
Lincoln Customer Assistance Center
300 Renaissance Center
P.O. Box 43360
Detroit, MI 48243
1-800-521-4140
TDD for the hearing impaired: 1-800-232-5952
In Canada:
The Lincoln Centre
Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited
P.O. Box 1580, Station B
Mississauga, Ontario L4Y 4G3
1-800-387-9333
Outside the U.S. or Canada:
FORD MOTOR COMPANY EXPORT OPERATIONS
1555 Fairlane Drive
Fairlane Business Park #3
Allen Park, Michigan 481 01
Telephone [phone]
Fax [phone]

All rights reserved. Reproduction by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system or
translation in whole or part is not permitted
without written authorization from Ford
Motor Company.
Copyright @ 1995, Ford Motor Company

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION
SAFETY RESTRAINTS
STARTING YOUR CONTINENTAL
WARNING LIGHTS AND GAUGES
INSTRUMENT PANEL CONTROLS
STEERING COLUMN CONTROLS
FEATURES
ELECTRONIC SOUND SYSTEMS
1
9
41
51
69
89
99
159
i

DRIVING YOUR CONTINENTAL
ROADSIDE EMERGENCIES
CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE
ACCESSORIES
SERVICING YOUR CONTINENTAL
QUICK INDEX
INDEX
GAS STATION INFORMATION
179
199
213
223
231
299
307
322
iii

Introductory Information
Ford's Commitment to You
At Ford Motor Company, excellence is the
continuous commitment to achieve the best result
possible. It is dedication to learning what you want,
determination to develop the right concept, and
execution of that concept with care, precision, and
attention to detail. In short, excellence means being
the standard by which others are judged.
Our Guiding Principles
Quality comes first. For your satisfaction, the
quality of our products and services must be our
number one priority.
You are the focus of everything we do. Our
work must be done with you in mind, providing
better products and services than our
competition.
Continuous improvement is essential to our
success. We must strive for excellence in
everything we do: in our products - in their safety
and value - and in our services, our human relations,
our competitiveness, and our profitability.
Employee involvement is our way of life. We are
a team. We must treat one another with trust and
respect.
Dealers and suppliers are our partners. We must
maintain mutually beneficial relationships with
dealers, suppliers, and our other business
associates.
Integrity is never compromised. Our conduct
worldwide must be pursued in a manner that is
socially responsible and commands respect for its
integrity and for its positive contributions to
society
1

Things to Know About Using
This Guide
Congratulations on the purchase of your new
vehicle. This guide has information about the
equipment and the options for your new vehicle.
You may not have bought all of the options
available to you. If you do not know which
information applies to your vehicle, talk to your
dealer.
This guide describes equipment and gives
specifications for equipment that was in effect when
this guide was approved for printing. Ford may
discontinue models or change specifications or
design without any notice and without incurring
obligation.
2
NOTES and WARNINGS
NOTES give you additional information about the subject
matter you are referencing.
WARNINGS remind you to be especially careful in those
areas where carelessness can cause damage to your vehicle or
personal injury to yourself, your passengers or other people.
Please read all WARNINGS carefully.
/!\ WARNING
Finding Information in This Guide
After you have read this guide once, you will probably return
to it when you have a specific question or need additional
information. To help you find specific information quickly,
you can use the Quick Index or the Index.

The Quick Index at the end of the book provides a
page number following each item which indicates
where detailed information can be found.
To use the Index, turn to the back of the book and
search in the alphabetical listing for the word that
best describes the information you need. If the word
you chose is not listed, think of other related words
and look them up. We have designed the Index so
that you can find information under a technical
term.
Canadian Owners - French Version
French Owner Guides can be obtained from your
dealer or by writing to Ford Motor Company of
Canada, Limited, Service Publications, P.O. Box
1580, Station B, Mississauga, Ontario L4Y 4G3.
The Lincoln Commitment
The Lincoln Commitment is more than the prestige of owning
a superior luxury automobile, it is a comprehensive owner
benefits package that is designed to provide you with services
to support your every driving need.
The following is a brief explanation of the Lincoln
Commitment benefits. We encourage you to learn about
these benefits and take full advantage of them. Detailed
information on all of these benefits will be sent to you
approximately 25 days after you have taken delivery of your
vehicle.
Service Loaner
Should your Lincoln require overnight warranty service, your
dealership will provide you with a service loaner car, when
available, or a rental allowance of up to $30 a day for up to
five days.
3

Roadside Service Assistance
Lincoln owners receive complimentary 24-hour
emergency roadside service assistance for a period of
four years for towing, jump-starting, lock-out service,
gas delivery, a tire change or other roadside services.
Call the hotline at 1-800-521-4140 any time of day or
night for emergency roadside assistance.
Emergency Travel Expense
Reimbursement
Covers expenses such as meals, lodging and car
rental if your automobile is disabled more than 100
miles (160 km) from home.
Destination Assistance (U.S. only)
In the event of a collision or mechanical breakdown,
Lincoln helps get you to your immediate destination
with a reimbursement allowance for emergency
transportation service such as taxicabs, rental cars,
shuttles, etc.
4
Trip Planning Service
Plan your journeys with custom-computerized,
travel-related information including maps and trip
routings. To order customer-designed travel packets,
call 1-800-521-4140.
Membership in Quest International
(U.S. only)
You will automatically receive a complimentary
membership in Quest International which entities
you to travel-related discounts on meals and rooms
at more than 2,100 hotels in the United States,
Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.
The Lincoln Warranty
For specifics on what is covered, see your Warranty
Information Booklet.

Lincoln Customer Assistance Center
If you have questions regarding your Lincoln or the
Lincoln Commitment, call our Customer Assistance
Center:
United States 1-800-521-4140
Canada 1-800-387-9333
You may call the Customer Assistance Center,
Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in all time
zones.
Owner Identification Card
Personalized with your name and vehicle
identification number as well as the hotline number
to call for customer service or roadside assistance
service.
Your Maintenance Schedule and
Record Booklet
The Maintenance Schedule and Record booklet lists
the services that are most important for keeping
your vehicle in good condition. A record log is also
provided to help you keep track of all services
performed.
About the Warranties
Your vehicle is covered by three types of warranties:
Basic Vehicle Warranty, Extended Warranties
on certain parts, and Emissions Warranties.
Read your Warranty Information Booklet carefully to
find out about your vehicle's warranties and your
basic rights and responsibilities.
If you lose your Warranty Information Booklet, you
can get a new one free of charge. Contact any Ford
or Lincoln-Mercury dealer, or refer to the addresses
and phone numbers on the first page of this owner
guide.
5

Buying a Ford Extended Service Plan
If you bought your vehicle in the U.S., you can buy
a Ford Extended Service Plan for your vehicle. This
optional contract provides service protection for a
longer period of time than the basic warranty that
comes with your vehicle.
You do not have to buy this option when you buy
your vehicle. However, your option to purchase the
Ford Extended Service Plan runs out after 18
months or 18,000 miles. See your dealer for more
details about the Ford Extended Service Plan.
If you purchased a Canadian vehicle and did not
take advantage of the Ford Extended Service Plan at
the time of purchase, you may still be eligible. See
your dealer for the details.
6
Breaking Your Vehicle In
Your new vehicle goes through an adjustment or
break-in period during the first 1,000 miles
(1,600 km) that you drive it. During the break-in
period, you need to pay careful attention to how
you drive your vehicle.
Avoid sudden stops. Because your vehicle has
new brake linings, you should take these steps:
-Watch traffic carefully so that you can
anticipate when to stop.
-Begin braking well in advance.
-Apply the brakes gradually.
The break-in period for new brake linings lasts
for I 00 miles (I 60 km) of city driving or 1,000
miles (1,600 km) of highway driving.

Use only the type of engine oil that Ford
recommends. See Engine oil recommendations
in the Index. Do not use special "break-in" oils.
Cleaning the Outside of Your
Vehicle
Washing and Polishing Your Vehicle
Wash the outside of your vehicle, including the
underside, with a mild detergent.
DO NOT:
Wash your vehicle with hot water
Wash your vehicle while it sits in direct
sunlight
Wash your vehicle while the body is hot
Pollen, bird droppings a . nd tree sap can damage
the paint, especially in hot weather. Wash your
vehicle as often as necessary to keep it clean.
Take similar precautions if your vehicle is
exposed to chemical industrial fallout.
Paint damage resulting from fallout is not related
to a defect in paint materials or workmanship and
therefore is not covered by warranty. Ford,
however, believes that continual improvement in
customer satisfaction is a high priority. For this
reason, Ford has authorized its dealers to repair,
at no charge to the owner, the surfaces of new
vehicles damaged by environmental fallout within
12 months or 12,000 miles (20,000 km) of
purchase, whichever comes first. Customers may
be required to bring their vehicle in for inspection
by a Ford representative.
Polish your vehicle to remove harmful deposits
and protect the finish.
7

Cleaning Chrome and Aluminum Parts
Wash chrome and aluminum parts with a mild
detergent. Do not use steel wool, abrasive cleaners,
fuel, or strong detergents.
8
Cleaning Plastic Parts
Some of your vehicle's exterior trim parts are plastic. Clean
with a tar and road oil remover if necessary. Use a vinyl
cleaner for routine cleaning.
Do not clean plastic parts with thinners, solvents or
petroleum-based cleaners.
If you have your vehicle rustproofed, remove oversprayed
rustproofing with a tar and road oil remover. If rustproofing
is not removed from plastic and rubber parts, it can cause
deterioration.

Safety Restraints
Important Safety Belt Information
The use of safety belts helps to restrain you and
your passengers in case of a collision. In most
states and in Canada the law requires their use.
Safety belts provide best restraint when:
the seatback is upright
the occupant is sitting upright (not slouched)
the lap belt is snug and low on the hips
the shoulder belt is snug against the chest
the knees are straight forward
To help you remember to fasten your safety belt, a
warning light may come on and a chime may sound.
See Safety Belt Warning Light and Chime in the
Warning Lights and Gauges chapter.
See the following sections in this chapter for
directions on how to properly use these safety belts.
Also see Safety Restraints for Children in this
chapter for special instructions about using safety
belts for children.
/!\ WARNING
Make sure that you and your passengers wear
safety belts. Always drive and ride with your
seatback upright and the lap belt snug and low
across the hips.
9

/!\ WARNING
Never wear the shoulder belt under the
arm. Never swing it around the neck over
the inside shoulder. Never use a single belt
for more than one person or across more
than one seating position. Each seating
position in your vehicle has a specific safety
belt assembly which is made up of one
buckle and one tongue that are designed to
be used as a pair. Failure to follow these
precautions could increase the risk and/or
severity of injury in a collision.
/!\ WARNING
Never drive or ride with a twisted or
jammed safety belt. If you cannot untwist
or unjam the safety belt, see the nearest
qualified technician immediately.
10
/!\WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury in a
collision, children should always ride with
the seatback upright.
/!\WARNING
Never let a passenger hold a child on his or
her lap while the vehicle is moving. The
passenger cannot protect the child from
injury in a collision.
Lock the doors of your vehicle before driving to lessen
the risk of the door coming open in a collision.

Combination Lap and Shoulder
Belts
While your vehicle is in motion, the combination lap
and shoulder belt adjusts to your movement.
However, if you brake hard, corner hard or if your
vehicle receives an impact of 5 mph (8 km/h) or
more, the lap and shoulder belt locks and helps
reduce your forward movement.
After you get into your vehicle, close the door and
lock it. Then adjust the seat to the position that
suits you best.
Fastening the combination lap and shoulder
belt
NOTE: Be sure to read and understand Important
Safety Belt Information at the beginning of this
chapter.
To adjust the lap part of the belt, pull up on the
shoulder belt until the lap belt fits snugly and as
low as possible around your hips.
While the belt retracts, guide the tongue to its
original position to prevent it from striking you or
the vehicle.
11

Unfastening the lap/shoulder belts
12
Shoulder Belt Height Adjustment
Driver and right front passenger
You can adjust the shoulder belt height to one of
five (5) positions.
To adjust the belt down, push the release button
(see figures I and 2). To adjust the belt up, slide
the adjuster up. (You do not have to push the
release button.)
Make sure the adjuster is firmly in one of the five
positions. The belt should be adjusted up or down
until the belt rests on your shoulder near your
neck.

Figure I - The shoulder belt height adjuster Figure 2 - The shoulder belt height adjuster
13

/!\ WARNING
Position the shoulder belt height adjuster
so that the belt rests across the middle of
your shoulder. Be sure the shoulder belt
is properly positioned on your shoulder
each time you use the belt. If the
shoulder belt is off your shoulder, on your
upper arm or neck, there is a greater risk
of severe injury in a collision.
Right Front or Rear Seating Positions
Your vehicle is equipped with a dual locking
mode retractor on the shoulder belt portion of
the combination lap/shoulder safety belt for the
front seat passenger and rear seat passengers.
14
Dual locking mode refractors operate in two
ways:
Vehicle sensitive (emergency) locking mode
In this operating mode, the shoulder belt retractor
will allow the occupant freedom of movement,
locking tight only on hard braking, hard cornering
or impacts of approximately 5 mph (8 km/h) or
more. The retractor can also be made to lock by
pulling on the belt.
Automatic locking mode
In this operating mode, the shoulder belt retractor
will be automatically locked and will remain locked
when the combination lap/shoulder safety belt is
buckled, and does not allow the occupant freedom
of movement. This mode provides the following:
A tight lap/shoulder belt on the occupant.
Child seat installation restraint.

/!\ WARNING
Rear facing infant seats should never be
placed in the front seat.
This mode must be used when installing a child
seat on the front passenger seat and rear seats
where dual locking refractors are provided. To
switch the retractor from the emergency locking
mode to the automatic locking mode, perform
the following steps:
1. Buckle the lap/shoulder combination belt.
2. Grasp the shoulder portion of the belt and
pull downward until all of the belt is
extracted and a click is heard. At this time,
the retractor is in the automatic locking
mode (child restraint mode).
3. A clicking sound will contnue to be heard as
the belt is allowed to retract.
NOTE: When the combination
lap/shoulder belt is unbuckled and allowed to
retract completely, the retractor will switch to
the vehicle sensitive (emergency) locking mode.
See the detailed instructions under Safety Seats
for Children in this chapter.
Lap Belts
The lap belt in the center of the front seat does
not adjust automatically. You must adjust it to
fit snugly and as low as possible around your
hips. Do not wear it around your waist.
15

Unfastening the lap belts in the center front
seating position
NOTE: Be sure to read and understand
Important Safety Belt Information at the
beginning of this chapter.
Pull the belt across your hips and insert the
tongue into the correct buckle on your seat until
you hear a snap and feel it lock. Make sure the
buckle is securely fastened.
16
If you need to lengthen the belt, unfasten it and tip the
belt tongue at a right angle to the belt. Pull the belt
tongue over your lap until it reaches the buckle.
If you need to shorten the belt, pull on the loose end of
the webbing until the belt fits snugly.
To unfasten the belt, push the release button on the
buckle. This allows the tongue to unlatch from the
buckle.
Safety Belt Extension Assembly
For some people, the safety belt may be too short even
when it is extended. You can add about eight inches
(20 cm) to the belt length with a safety belt extension
assembly (part number 611 C22). Safety belt
extensions are available at no cost from your dealer.