Oldsmobile 1997 Silhouette User manual

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The 1997 Oldsrnobile Silhouette Owner’s Manual
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Seatsand RestraintSystems
This section tells you how to use your seats and safety belts properly. It also explains the “SRS” system.
Features and Controls
This section explainshow to start and operate your Oldsmobile.
Comfort Controls and AudioSystems
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.
Problemson the Road
This section tells what to do if you have aprobletn while driving, such as a flat tire or overheated engine, etc.
Serviceand Appearance Care
Here the manual tells you how to keep your Oldsmobile running properly and looking good.
Maintenance Schedule
This section tells you when to perform vehicle manitenance and what fluids and lubricantsto use.
Customer AssistanceInformation
This section tells you how to contact Oldsmobilefor assistance and how to get service and owner publications.
It also givesyou information on “ReportingSafety Defects” on page 8-8.
Index
Here’s an alphabetical listing of almost every subject in this manual. You can use it to quickly find
somethingyou want to read.
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GENERAL MOTORS, GM, the GM Emblem,
OLDSMOBTLE, the OLDSMOBILE Rocket Emblem
and the name
SILHOUETTE are registered trademarks
of 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 that time without further notice.
Please keep this manual
in your Oldsmobile, so it will
be there if you ever need it when you’re on the road. If
you sell the vehicle, please leave this manual in it so the
new owner
can use it.
Litho in U.S.A.
Part No. 2265981 1 A First Edition
WE SUPPORT
VOLUNTARY TECHNICIAN
CERTIFICATION THROUGH
Natlonal Institute for
AUTOMOTIVE
SERVICE
EXCELLENCE
We support voluntary
technician certification.
How to Use this Manual
Many people read their owner’s manual from beginning
to end when they first 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.
0 Copyright General Motors Corporation I996
All Rights Reserved
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Index
A good place tolook for what you need is the Index in
the back of the manual. It’s an alphabetical list of all
that’s
in the 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.
-
p\ CAUIION:
These mean there is 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 doto help avoid or reduce the
hazard. Please read these cautions.
If you don’t, you or
others could behurt.
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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Vehicle Damage Warnings
Also in this book you will find these notices:
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NOTICE:
These mean there is something that could
damage your vehicle.
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In the notice area, we tell you about somethingthat can
damageyour 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 warnings in different colors or in
different words.
You’ll also seewarning labels on your vehicle. They use
the same words, CAUTION or NOTICE.

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
BATTERY
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
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
indicatorlights:
COOLANT -
TEMP -
CHARGING 1'1
BATTERY
SYSTEM
BRAKE (a)
COOLANT
a
ENGINEOIL
PRESSURE Wb
ANTI-LOCK (@)
BRAKES
Here are some
other symbols
you may see:
FUSE
P
LIGHTER -
HORN )tr
SPEAKER
b
FUEL B

kab NOTES
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Section 1 SeatsandRestraintSystems
Here you’ll find information about the seats in your Oldsmobileand how to use your safety belts properly. You can
also learn about somethings you should not do with air bags and safety belts.
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Seats and Controls
Manual Seats
Power Seats
Folding Driver’s Seatback
Reclining Front Seatbacks
Manual Lumbar Control
Head Restraints
Rear Seats
Second Row Safety Belt Stowage
Dump and Stow Feature
Solid Bench Seats
Split Bench Seats
Captain Chairs
Why Safety Belts Work
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Questions Many People Ask About
Safety Belts
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy
Questions and Answers About Air Bags
Reat Seat Passengers
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides
Important for Buckling Children
in
Child Restraints
Using the Built-In Child Restraint
How to Use Child Restraints
Child Restraint Top Straps
How to Obtain a Safety Belt Extender
Checking Your Restraint Systems
Replacing Parts After
a Crash

Seats and Seat Controls
This section tells you about the seats -- how to adjust
them, take them out,
put them back in, and fold &
unfold them.
Driver’s 4-way Manual Seat
Use the lever on the front left side of the seat to adjust the
seat forward or backward. Pull
up the lever on the front of
the seat
to unlock it. Slide the seat to where you want it.
To make sure the seat is locked into place, release the
lever and
try to move the seat with your body.
To raise the scat, pull up on the lever on the front right
side
of the seat. To lower the seat, push the lever down.
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.

6-Way Power Seats (Option)
Folding Driver’s Seatback
To adjust the six-way power seat:
Front Control (A): Raise the front of the seat by
holding the switch up. Hold the switch down to lower
the front
of the seat.
Center Control (B): Move the seat forward or backward
by holding the control to
the front or back. Raise or lower
the seat by holding
the control up or down.
Rear Control(C): Raise the rear of the seat by holding
the switch up. Hold the switch down to lower the rear of
the seat.
The seatbackon the driver’s seat folds forwardto put
items behind
the seat. Lift the lever and fold the
seatback forward. Theseatback will lock into place
when you push
it back to the upright position.
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Manual Front Passenger Seats
To use, pull up the lever on
the front of the seat to
unlock it.
Slide the seat to where you want it. To make sure the
seat is locked into place, release the lever and try to
move the seat with your body.
Reclining Front and Captain’s Chair
Seatbacks
All front seatsrecline.
To adjust the seatback,
rotate this knob. It is easier
to recline the seat if you
lean forward, taking your
weight off the seatback.
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But don’t have a seatback reclined if your vehicle is moving.
Sitting in areclined position whenyour vehicle is
in motion can be dangerous. Even
if you buckle
up, yoursafety belts can’t do their jobwhen
you’re reclined like this.
The shoulderbelt can’t do itsjob because it
won’t beagainst yourbody. Instead,
it will be in
front of you. In a crashyou could
go into it,
receiving neckor other injuries.
The lap belt can’t do itsjob either. In a crash the
belt could
go up over your abdomen. The belt
forceswould bethere, notatyour pelvic bones.
This could cause serious internal injuries.
For properprotection when the vehicle
is m
motion, have the seatback upright.Then sit well
back
in the seat and wear your safety belt properly.

Manual Lumbar Control
Turn the knob on the
outboard side of the
seat to adjust the lower
back support.
Head Restraints
Slide the head restraint up or down so that the top of the
restraint is closest to the top
of your ears. Thisposition
reduces the chance
of a neck injury in a crash.
Rear Seats
Seat Controls
The rear seats in your vehicle have levers and straps
used to adjust, remove and replace the seats.
By using
the levers and straps, in
the correct order, you can easily
remove the seatsfrom your vehicle.
When
you replace the seats in the vehicle, be sure to
follow the label on the back
of the seat for proper location.
Follow
hs diagram when the text in this manual tells you
what sets of floor cups to use for each seat.
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Second Row Safety Belt Stowage
If your vehiclehas seats in the third row, there is a
sleeve on the second row outside safety belt to store the
safety belt while entering and exiting the third row of
the vehicle.
If your vehiclehas a bench seat
in the second row,
follow this procedure:
Pull the belt out and slide the sleeve along the belt
until it reaches the patch of Velcro@on the roof.
Simply press the sleeve againstthe Velcro patch to
secure it in place.
Do not have the second row outside safety belt storedif
someone is sitting in the second row outside position.The
safety belt would not protect
the passenger correctly.
To release the second row outsidesafety belt, just pull
the sleeve away from the Velcro patch and use the safety
belt as usual. The sleeve should slide freelywhen not
in use.
~nereis
also a clip on the safety belt used to secure the
belt after it is disconnected from the mini-buckle. When
removing the second row bench seat, secure the loose end
of the safety belt
in this clip. This will keep the safety belt
from dangling and possible striking something.
Dump and Stow Feature
The rear seatsin your vehicle, except the Captain’s
chairs, can be folded forward.Use this feature for
exiting and entering third row seats.
Push adjustable head restraints
fully down. Fold the
seatback
flat on the seat.If the seat adjusts, slideit all the
way back. Release the rear set of hooks from thefloor
pins; hang on to the straps as the seat folds forward.
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Solid Bench Seat
If you have a solid bench seat, the seatback can be
folded down. Theseat can also be folded forward or
removed to provide extra storage space.
Second Row Solid Bench Seats
Folding the Seatback
To fold down the seatback,
' pull the nylon strap on the
back of the seat.
To raise the seatback,pull the nylon strap on the back of
the seat while raising the seatback
until it locks upright.
Push and pull on the seatback to check that
it is locked.
Removing the Second Row Solid Bench Seat
With the seatback in the upright position, unhook the
side attachment for the safety belt. This mini-buckle
is
located on the right side of the seat.
Push up the red center on
the buckle with a small
pointed object like a key
or pen.
1. Pull the nylon strap on the back of the seat to fold
the seatback forward.
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2. From behind the bench seat, pull the nylon strap at
the base
of the seat to release the rear latches from
the floor pins.
4. Unhook the front latches by rolling up the gray
handle under
the seat until the handle locks.
3. Do not let go of the strapsuntil the seat is folded all
the way forward.

5. Remove the seatby
rocking it slightly
towardsthe rear of
the vehicle and then
pulling it out. This
should be done in
one motion.
1. Place the front hooksof
the bench seat onto the
front two floorpins.
To
do this, the seatwill
need to be angled so that
the front hooks clear
the
floor pins.
Replacing the Second Row Solid Bench Seat
2. With the seat still folded forward, roll down the gray
handle underneath the seat to lock the front latches.
Don’t put the bench seatin
so it faces backward because
it won’t latch thatway.
The solid benches have seat position labels, located on
the backof the seat, showing wherethe seat
must go.
Follow that diagram. Use the A, C and E sets of floor
cups. See “Seat Controls”in the beginningof this
section for more details. The seat mustbe placed in the
proper location for the legs to attachcorrectly.
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3. If the front legs arenot attached correctly, the rear
legs willnot attach to the rear set
of floor pins.
4. Firmly push the rear hooks into the rear floorpins by
pushing down
on the rear of the seat.
5. Try to raise the bench seat to checkthat it is
locked down.
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A seat that isn'tlocked into place properly can
move around ina collisio~l
or sudden stop. People
in the vehicle could beinjured. Be sure tolock
the seat intoplace properly when installing it.
6. Pull the nylon strap on the back of the seat and raise
the seatback until it locks upright.
7. Push and pull on the seatback to check that it is
locked into place.
A CAUTION:
If the seatback isn't locked,it could move
forwardin a sudden stop orcrash. That could
causeinjury to theperson sittingthere.
Always
press rearward on the seatback to be sure it
is locked.
8. Attach the mini-buckle so that the safety belt is
ready for use when a passenger uses the seat.
The buckle reattaches by pushing the latch into the
buckle
until the red center pops out again.
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