Pontiac 1995 Firebird User manual

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The 1995 PontiacFirebird Owner’s Manual
...
How to Use This Manual ..............................................................
.m
Seats and Restraint Systems ..................................................
.’ ....... 1-1
Features and Controls ...............................................................
2-1
Comfort Controls and Audio Systems ..................................................
3-1
This section tells you howto use your manual and includes safety and vehicle damage warnings and symbols.
This section tells
you how to use your seats and safety belts properly.It also explains the“SIR’system.
This section explains how to start and operate your Pontiac.
This section tells you how to adjust the ventilation and comfort controls and howto operate your
audio system.
Here you’ll find helpful information and tips about the road and how to drive under different conditions.
This section tells you what to do if you have a problem while driving, such as aflat tire or engine
overheating, etc.
Here the manual tells you how tokeep your Pontiac running properly and looking good.
This section tells you when to perform vehicle maintenance and what fluids and lubricantsto use.
This section tells
you how to contact Pontiac for assistance and howto get service publications.
It also gives you information on “Reporting Safety Defects”on page 8-4.
Here’s an alphabetical listingof almost every subject in this manual. You can use it to quickly find
something you want toread.
Your Driving and the Road ........................................................... 4-1
ProblemsontheRoad ............................................................... 5-1
Service and Appearance Care ......................................................... 6-1
Maintenanceschedule ............................................................... 7-1
CustomerAssistanceInformation
..................................................... 8-1
Index ............................................................................. 9-1
i

.I
I PONTIAC I
I
GENERAL MOTORS, GMandthe GMEmblem,
PONTIAC and the PONTIACEmblem,Firebird andthe
Firebird Emblem are registeredtrademarksof General
Motors Corporation.
This manualincludes the latest informationatthe time it
was printed. We reserve
the right to makechangesin the
product afterthat timewithout furthernotice. For .
vehicles first soldin Canada,substitute the name
“GeneralMotors of CanadaLimited’’ for Pontiac Motor
Division whenever
it appears in this manual.
Pleasekeep this manualin your Pontiac, so it will be
there
if you everneed it when you’re on the road. If you
sell the vehicle, pleaseleavethis manualinit so the new
owner can use it.
Litho in U.S.A.
Part No. 10254416A First Edition
k
We support voluntary
WE SUPPORT
VOLUNTARY TECHNICIAN
CERTIFICATION THROUGH
National Institute for
AUTQMOTIVE
SERVICE
EXCELLENCE
I techniciancertification.
For Canadian Owners Who Prefer a
French Language Manual:
Aux propri6taires canadiens:Vous pouvez vous procurer
un exemplairede ce guide en
fransais chez votre /
concessionaire ou au DGN Marketing Services Ltd.,
1500BonhillRd., Mississauga, Ontario L5T
1C7.
@Copyright General Motors Corporation 1994
All Rights Reserved
ii
1

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:*: $1
How to Use This Manual
Many people read their owner’s manual fitom beginning
to end when they first receive their
riew vehiql?~.~ ,ms
will help you learn about the features and controisfor
your vehicle. In this manual, you’ll find that pictures
and words work together
to explain things quickly.
I .: ; ’
Index
A goad place to lookfor what you needis the Index in
the backof the manual. It’s
an alphabeticallist of all
that’s
in the manual, and thepage number where you’ll
find it.
Safety Warnings and Symbols
You will find a number of safety cautions inthis book.
We
use a box with gray background and the word
CAUTION to, tell you about things that could hurt you if
you wereto ignore the warning.
In the graycaution area, we tell you what the hazard is.
Then we tell you what todo to help avoid or reduce the
hazard. Pleaseread these cautions.
If you don?, you or
others couldbe hurt.
You will also find a circle with a slashthroughit in this
book.
-’.?
This safety symbolme’ans
“Don’t,’’“Don’t do this,’’ m. ~
“Don’tlet this happen.”
I
I
2 -.
iii

Vehicle Damage Warnings
Also, in this book you will fiid these notices:
NOTICE:
These mean there is something that
could damage your vehicle.
L
iv
1
In the notice area, we tell you about something that can
damage your vehicle.
Many times, this damage would
not be covered by your warranty, and itcould 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 see warning labels on your vehicle. They use
yellow for cautions, blue
for notices and the 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
BURNS
AVOID
SPARKS
OR
FLAMES
SPARK OR ,\I/,
COULD
FLAME
EXPLODE
BAllERY
These symbols
are important
for you and
your passengers
whenever your
vehicleis
driven:
FASTEN SEAT 4
BELTS
POWER
WINDOW
These symbols
have to
do with
your lights:
SIGNALS e
TURN
pAE: pf
HIGH LAMPSoR BEAM = =o
FOG LAMPS $0
These symbols
are onsome
of
your controls:
WINDSHIELD
WIPER
i ‘t’ i
WINDSHIELD Q
WASHER
I
WINDSHIELD
DEFROSTER
WINDOW
DEFOGGER
VENTILATING
FAN
These symbols
are used on
warning and
indicator lights:
COOLANT F*
TEMP --
ENGINE
CHARGING 1-1
BATTERY
SYSTEM
BRAKE (0)
RADIATOR
COOLANT
a
FUEL
ENGINEOIL
PRESSURE
9%
TEMP OIL &
ANTI-LOCK (a)
BRAKE
-
Here are some
other symbols
you may see:
FUSE
RAM0 h
VOLUME
CONDITIONING AIR 43
RELEASE a
LIGHTER m
SPEAKER
b
V

NOTES
Y .!
vi

Section 1 SeatsAndRestraintSystems
Here you'll find information about the seats in your Pontiac
and how to use your safety belts properly. You can also
learn about some things you should not do with safety belts.
Seats and Seat Controls
This section tells you about the seats- how to adjust
them and also about reclining front seatbacks, seatback
latches and the folding rear seatback.
Manual Front Seat
/
Move the lever under
the passenger'sfront
seat to unlock it.
Slide the seat to where you wantit.Then release the
lever and try to move the seat with your body, tomake
sure the seatis locked intoplace. Be sure
the lever
returns to its original position after moving theseat.
1-1

Four-Way Manual Seat
There are two levers at the frontof the seat.The left
lever adjusts the seatforward and back.The right lever
adjuststhe angle of the frontof the seat.
To Adjust the Seats Forward and Rearward: Lift the
lever under the left front of the seat. Slidethe seat to
where you wantit. Thenrelease the lever and try to
move the seat with your bodyto make surethe seat
is
lockedinto place.
To Raise or Lower the Front of the Seats:To tilt the
entire seat,lift the lever under the right frontof the seat,
and lean forward or backward.
Six-Way Power Seat (Option)
The driver's seat has three controls on the left side.
The front control makes the front of the seat
go up and down.
The back control makes the back of the seat go up and down.
The center control makes the whole seat goup and down
or forward and backward.
1-2

If your Pontiac has theseseats, the driver’s seat has the
four-way manual seat adjuster.See “Four-Way Manual
Seat” earlierin this part.The passenger seat has the two
way manual seat adjuster.See “Manual Front Seat”
earlier in this part.
To adjust the thigh support, pull up on the front of your
seat cushion and move the support to the position you
want. To release thesupport, continue pulling up.To
engage it again, push down firmly.
The switch pads on the outer side of the sea~~%~€late”
and “deflate” parts of your seatback.
The two buttons that have “dots”inflate and deflate the
outer parts of the seatback. To inflate, push the raised
button.
To deflate, push the indentedbutton.
The two buttons without “dots”inflate and deflate the
lumbar (lower partof the seatback)support. To inflate,
push the raised button.
To deflate, push the indented
button.
1-3

Seatback Recliner
If you have fully articulating sport seats, your recliner
leverlooks like this.
To adjust the seatback,lift the lever on the outer side of
the seat. Release the lever to lock the seatback where
you want it. Pull up on the lever, and the seat will go to
its originalupright position.
1-4

Don’t have the seatback reclined if your vehicle is
moving.
1-5

Head Restraints
Slidethe head restraints up or down so that the topof
the restraint is closest to the top of your ears.
This position reduces the chanceof a neck injuryin a
crash.
If you have the fully articulating sport seat,you have a
six-way head restraint.It can be adjusted up and down,
forward and rearward, or tilted.
To adjustit forward, pull therestraint forward. To adjust
it reward,pull the restraint forward
all the way to
release it. Then moveit tothe position you want.
Front Seatback Latches
Thefront seatback folds forward to let people get into
the back seat.
To fold a seatback forward, push the
seatback toward.therear as youlift this latch. Then the
seatback
will fold forward.
When you return the seatback to its original position,
make sure the seatback is locked. The latch must be
down forthe seat towork properly.

Folding Rear Seatback
The rear seatback in your Pontiac folds down to provide
more storage space.
To fold the seatback down:
1. Pull forward on both levers.
2. Fold the seatback down.
.r ',
To raisetheseatback: $6
1. Pull itup to thelocked,upright position. ,,
2. Be sure both latches hold the seatback in pace. Have
.them
fixedif they don't. , <: 1.9'6
1-7

Safety Belts: They’re for Everyone
This part of the manual tells you how to use safety belts
properly. It also tells you some things you shouldnot do
with safetybelts.
And it explains theSupplementalInflatable Restraint, or
“air bag” system.
Your car hasa light that comes on as a reminder to buckle
up.
(See “Safety Belt Reminder Light” in the Index.)
In many states and Canadian provinces, the law says to
wear safety belts. Here’s why:
They work.
You never know if you’llbe ina crash.If you dohave a
crash, you don’t know if it will be a bad one.
A few crashes are mild, and some crashes can be so
serious that even buckled up a person wouldn’t survive.
But most crashesare
in between. In many of them, people
who buckle up can survive and sometimes walk away.
Without belts they could have been badly
hurt or killed.
After more than 25 years of safety belts in vehicles, the
facts are clear. In most crashes bucklingup does matter
... a lot!

Why SafetyBelts 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.
1-9

I
Get it up to speed. Then stop the vehicle.The rider
doesn’t stop. Theperson keeps going until stopped
by something.
In a real vehicle,it could be the windshield ...

or the instrument panel ...
or the safetybelts!
With safety belts, you slow downas the vehicle does.
You get moretime to stop.You stop over more distance,
and your strongest bones take the forces.That's why
safety belts makesuchgood sense.
1-11

Here Are Questions Many People Ask
About Safety Belts -- and the Answers
Won’t I be trapped in the vehicle afteran
accident
if I’m wearing a safety belt?
A: You could be -- whether you’rewearing a safety
belt
or not. But youcanunbucklea safety belt,
even
if you’reupsidedown. And yourchance of
being consciousduringand after an accident, so
you can unbuckle and get out,is much greater if
y~u
are belted.
@ Why don’t theyjust put in air bags so people
A: Air bags arein many vehicles today and willbe in
more of them in the future. But they are
supplemental systemsonly;
so they work with
safety belts -- not insteadof them. Every air bag
systemever offeredfor salehas required the useof
safety belts. Even
if you’rein a vehicle that has air
bags, youstillhave to buckle up to get the most
prc$ection. That’s true not onlyin frontal collisions,
but especially in side apd other collisions.
won’t - hawe . to wear safety belts?
2.
If I’m a good driver, and I never drive far from
home, why should
I wear safety belts?
A: You may be an excellent driver, but if you’re in an
accident -- even one that isn’t your fault -- you and
your passengers canbe hurt. Being a good driver
doesn’t protectyou from things beyond your
control, suchasbad drivers.
Most accidents occur within 25 miles (40 km) of
home. And the greatest number
of serious injuries
and deaths occur at speeds
of less than 40 mph
(65 km/h).
Safetybelts are for everyone.

How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
Adults
This part is only for people of adult size.
Be aware that there are special things to know about
safety belts and children. And there are different rules
for smaller children and babies.
If a child will be riding
in your Pontiac, see the part of this manual called
“Children.” Follow those rulesfor everyone’s
protection.
First, you’ll want to know which restraint systems your
vehicle has.
We’ll start with the driver position.
Driver Position
This part describes the driver’s restraint system.
Lap-Shoulder Belt
The driver has a lap-shoulder belt. Here’s how to wear it
properly.
1. Close and lock the door.
2. Adjust the seat (to see how, see “Seats” in the Index)
so you can sit up straight.
3. Pick up the latchplate and pull the belt across you,
Don’t let it. get twisted.
On convertible models, the shoulder belt may lock if
you pull the belt across YOU very quickly, If this
happas, kt the belt go back slightly to unlock it.
Then pull the beltacross you more slowly.
4. Push the latchplate into the buckle until it clicks.
1-13