Pontiac 1995 Sunfire User manual

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The 1995 Pontiac Sunfire Owner’s Manual
Seats and Restraint Systems .............................................................
This section tellsyou how to use your seats and safety belts properly. It also explains the “SRS” system.
FeaturesandControls ..................................................................
This section explains howto start and operate your Pontiac.
Comfort Controls and AudioSystems .....................................................
This section tells you how to adjust the ventilation and comfort controls and how to operate your
audio system.
YourDrivingandtheRoad ..............................................................
Here you’ll find helpfulinformation and tips about the road and how to drive under different conditions.
ProblernsontheRoad ..................................................................
This section tellsyou what to do if you have a problem while driving, such as a flat tire or engine
overheating, etc.
Here the manual tells
you how to keep your Pontiac running properly and looking good.
This section tells you
when to perform vehicle maintenance and what fluids and lubricants to use.
This section tells you how
to contact Pontiac for assistance and how to get service publications.
It also givesyou information on “Reporting Safety Defects” on page 8-4.
Here’s an alphabetical listing ofalmost every subject in this manual. You can use it to quickly find
something
you want to read.
Service and Appearance Care ............................................................
Maintenanceschedule ..................................................................
Customer Assistance Information ........................................................
Index ................................................................................
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2- 1
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i

GENERALMOTORS, GM and the GM Emblem,
PONTIAC and the PONTIAC Emblem are registered
trademarks of General Motors Corporation.
This manual includes the latest information at the timeit
was printed.We reserve the right to make changes in the
product after that time without further notice. For
vehicles first sold in Canada, substitute the name
“General Motorsof Canada Limited” for Pontiac Motor
Division whenever it appears in this manual.
Please keepthis manual in your Pontiac, so it will be
there if you everneed it when you’re on the road.
If you
sell the vehicle, please leave this manual in it
so the new
owner can useit.
Litho in U.S.A.
Part
No. 10277239 A Second Edition
VOLUNTARY TECHNICIAN
WE SUPPORT
CERTIFICATION THROUGH
AUTOMOTIVE
National Institute for
EXCELLENCE
SERVICE
We supportvoluntary
technician certification.
For Canadian Owners Who Prefer a
French Language Manual:
Aux proprietairescanadiens: Vous pouvez vousprocurer
un exemplairede ceguide enfrangaischez votre
concessionaire ou au DGNMarketing ServicesLtd.,
1500 Bonhill Rd., Mississauga, Ontario L5T 1C7.
‘Copyright General Motors Corporation 1994
All Rights Reserved
ii

How to Use This Manual
Many people read their owner’s manual from beginning
to end when theyfirstreceive their new vehicle. This
will help youlearn about the features and controls for
your vehicle. In thismanual, you’ll find that pictures
and words worktogether to explain things quickly.
Index
A good place to look forwhat you need is the Index in
the backof the manual. It’san 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 with gray background and the word
CAUTION to tell you aboutthings that could hurt youif
you wereto ignore thewarning.
In the gray caution area, we tellyou what the hazard is.
Then we tell you what to do tohelp avoid or reduce the
hazard. Please read these cautions.
If you don’t, you or
others couldbe hurt.
You will also find a circlewith a slash throughit in this
book.
This safety symbol means
“Don’t,’’“Don’t dothis,”
or
“Don’t let this happen.”
iii

Vehicle Damage Warnings
Also, in this book you will find these notices:
NOTICE:
These mean there is something that
could damage your vehicle.
In the notice area,we tellyou about somethingthat can
damage your vehicle.Many times,this damagewould
not be covered by your warranty,and it could be costly.
But the notice willtell youwhat to do to help avoid the
damage.
When you read othermanuals, you mightsee
CAUTION andNOTICE warnings in differentcolors
or
in different words.
You’ll also seewarning labels onyour vehicle.They use
yellow for cautions,blue for notices and thewords
CAUTION or NOTICE.

Vehicle Symbols
These are some of the symbols you may find on your vehicle.
I
For example,
these symbols
are used on
an
original battery:
POSSIBLE A
CAUTION
INJURY
PROTECT
EYESBY
SHIELDING
CAUSTIC
ACID COULD
BATTERY
CAUSE
BURNS
AVOID
SPARKS
OR
FLAMES
SPARK OR qJ/,
COULD
FLAME
EXPLODE
BATTERY
These symbols
are important
for you and
your passengers
whenever your
vehicle is
driven:
DOOR LOCK
UNLOCK
FASTEN SEAT 4
BELTS
POWER
WINDOW
These symbols
have to do with
your lights:
SIGNALS
TURN
HIGH LAMPSoR BEAM = =o
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
indicator lights:
COOLANT Fm
TEMP --
ENGINE
CHARGING 17
BATTERY
SYSTEM
BRAKE (0)
RADIATOR
COOLANT
a
FUEL
ENGINEOIL
PRESSURE
Wb
TEMP OIL qb
ANTI-LOCK (@)
BRAKE
Here aresome
other symbols
you may see:
FUSE *
HOOD * -
RELEASE '- 1
RADIO
VOLUME
CONDITIONING AIR 33
RELEASETRUNK e
t
LIGHTER m
SPEAKER
b
V

NOTES

Section 1 SeatsandRestraint Systems
Here you’llfind information about the seats in your
Pontiac and howto use yoursafety belts properly.
You
can also learnabout some things you should not dowith
air bags andsafety belts.
Seats and Seat Controls
This section tells your about the seats -- how to adjust
them
-- and also about reclining seatbacks and head
restraints.
Manual Front Seat
Move the lever under the front seat to unlock it. 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 intoplace.
1-1

Driver’s Seat Manual Lumbar Support
(Option)
The manual lumbar support controlis located at the
front of the driver’s seat, toward the right.
Turn the dial
clockwise or counterclockwise to increase or decrease
the amountof support toyour lower back.
Reclining Front Seatbacks
To adjust the seatback, lift the lever on the outer side of
the seat and movethe seatback towhere you want it.
Release the lever tolock the seatback. Pull up
on the
lever and the seatwill go to an upright position.
1-2

But don't have a seatbackreclined if your vehicle is
moving.
1-3

Head Restraints
Slide thehead restraint up or down so that the top of the
restraint
is closest to the topof your ears. This position
reduces
the chance of a neck injury ina crash.
Front Seatback Latches (2-Door Models)
Your seatback willmove back and forth freely, unless
you come toa sudden
stop. Then it will lock in place.
There's onetime theseatback may notfold without
some help from
you. That's if your vehicle is parked
facing down
a fairly steephill.
To folda front seatback forward,push the seatback
toward the rear asyou lift this latch.Then the seatback
will fold forward. The latchmust be down for the seat to
work properly.
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Easy-Entry Seat (2-Door Models)
The rightfront seat of yourvehicle makes it easy to get
in
and out of the rearseat.
When you tilt the right front seatbackfully forward,
After someone gets into the rear seat area, move the
right front seatbackto its original position. Then
move the seat rearward until it locks.
the whole seat will slide forward.
To get out, again tilt the seatback fully forward.
Fold-Down Rear Seat
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To open thefold-down rear seat, pull forward on the
seat tab.
To close the seat, pushthe seatback up to its original
position.
Push the seatback solidly up against the
back plate to
ensure that the latch will hook.
1-5

Safety Belts: They’re for Everyone
This partof the manual tells you how to use safetybelts
properly. It also tells you some thingsyou should not do
with safetybelts.
And it explains the Supplemental Restraint System,or
“air bag” system.
Your vehicle has a
light that comes onas
a reminder to buckle
up. (See “Safety Belt
Reminder Light” in the
Index
.)
In many states andCanadianprovinces, the lawsays to
wear safety belts. Here’s why:
They work.
You never know if you’ll be in a crash. If you do have a
crash, you don’t know
if it will be a bad one.
A few crashes aremild, andsome crashescan be so
serious that even buckled up a person wouldn’t survive.
But most crashes arein between. In many of them,
people who buckle up can survive and sometimes walk
away.Without belts they could have been badly hurtor
killed.
After more than 25 years of safety belts in vehicles,
the facts are clear. In most crashes buckling up does
matter
... a lot!
1-6

Why Safety Belts Work
When you ride in or on anything, you go as fast as it
goes.
Take the simplest vehicle. Suppose it’s just a seat on
wheels.
Put someone on it.
1-7

Get it up to speed. Then stopthe vehicle. The rider
j doesn’tstop. The person keeps going
until stoppedby something.
In
a real vehicle, it could be the windshield ...
1-8

or the instrumentpanel ...
or the safety belts!
With safety belts,you slow down as the vehicle does.
You get more time to stop. You stop over more distance,
and your strongestbones take the forces. That's why
safety belts make suchgood sense.
1-9

Here Are Questions Many People Ask
About Safety Belts -- and the Answers
Won’t I be trapped in the vehicle after an
accident if
I’m wearing a safety belt?
A: You couEd be -- whether you’re wearing a safety
belt ornot. But you can unbucklea safety belt,
even if you’re upside down. And your chance
of
being conscious during and after an accident, so
you can unbuckle and get out,is much greater if
you
are belted.
I N~@’ Why don’t theyjust put in air bags so people
I won’thavetowearsafetybelts?
I
A: Air bags are inmany vehicles today andwill be in
more of them in the future. But they are
supplemental systems only;
so they work with
safety belts -- not instead of them. Every air bag
system ever offered for sale has required the useof
safety belts. Even if you’re in a vehicle that has air
bags, you still have to buckle up toget the most
protection. That’s true not only in frontal collisions,
but especially in side and other collisions.
&: If I’ma good driver, and I never drive far from
A: You may be anexcellent driver,but if you’re in an
home, why should I wear safety belts?
accident -- even one that isn’t your fault -- you and
your passengers
can be hurt. Being a good driver
doesn’t protectyou from things beyond your
control, such asbad drivers.
Most accidents occurwithin 25 miles (40 km) of
home. And thegreatest number of seriousinjuries
and deaths occur atspeeds of lessthan
40 mph
(65 kmh).
Safety belts are for everyone.
1-10

How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
Ad ‘ts
This part is only for people of adult size.
Be awarethat there are special things to know about
safety beltsand children. And there
are different rules
€or smallerchildren and babies. If a child will be riding
in your Pontiac, see the part
of this manual called
“Children.”Follow those rules
for everyone’s
protection.
First, you’ll want to knowwhich restraint systems your
vehicle has.
Driver Pasition
This part describes the driver’s restraint system.
Lap-Shoulder Belt
The driver has a lap-shoulderbelt. Here’s how to wear it
properly.
1. Close and lock thedoor.
2. Adjust the seat (to seehow, see “Seats” in the Index)
so you can sit up straight.
We’ll start with thedriver position.
1-11

j 3. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
’ 4. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
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r
Don’t letit get twisted.
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If the belt stopsbefore it reaches the buckle, tilt the
latch plate and keep pulling until youcan buckle the
belt
.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.If
the belt isn’t long enough,
see “Safety Belt
Extender” at the end
of this section.
Make sure the release button on the buckle is
positioned so you would beable to unbucklethe
safety belt quickly if you ever had to.
1-12

5. To make the lap part tight, pull down on the buckle
end of the belt as youpull up on the shoulder belt. The lappart
of the belt should be worn low and snug on
the hips,just touching the thighs. In
a crash, this applies
force tothe strong pelvic bones. And
you’d be less
likely to slide under the lap belt. If
you slid under it, the
belt would apply forceat your abdomen.
This could
cause serious
or even fatal injuries. The shoulder belt
should
go over the shoulder and across the chest. These
parts
of the body are best able to take belt restraining
forces.
The safety belt locks if there’s a sudden stop or crash.
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