r The 1996 Buick Roadmaster Owner’s Manual Seats and Restraint Systems ............................................................. 1-1 This section tells you how to use your seats and safety belts properly.It also explains “SRS” system. FeaturesandControls .................................................................. 2-1 This section explains howto start and operate your Buick. Comfort Controls and Audio Systems ..................................................... 3-1 This section tells you how to adjust the ventilation and comfort controls and how to operate your audio system. YourDrivingandtheRoad .............................................................. 4-1 Here you’ll find helpful information and tips about the androad how to drive under different conditions. ProblemsontheRoad .................................................................. 5-1 This section tells you what to do if you have a problem while driving, suchflat as tire a or overheated engine, etc. Se~ceandAppearanceCare............................................................ 6-1 Here the manual tells you how to keep your Buick running properly and looking good. Maintenanceschedule .................................................................. 7-1 This section tells you when to perform vehicle maintenance and what fluids and lubricants to use. CustomerAssistance Information ........................................................ 8-1 This section tells you how to contact Buick for assistance and how to get service publications.It also gives you information on “Reporting Safety Defects” on page8-7. Index ................................................................................ 9-1 Here’s an alphabetical listingof almost every subjectin this manual.You can use it to quickly find something you want to read. i 1 We support voluntary GM I technician certification. GENERAL MOTORS, GM andthe GM Emblem, WE SUPPORT BUICK, the BUICK Emblem and the name VOLUNTARY TECHNICIAN ROADMASTER are registered trademarksof CERTIFICATION THROUGH General Motors Corporation. National Institute for AUTOMOTIVE SERVICE This manual includes thelatest information at the time it EXCELLENCE was printed. We reserve the right to make changes in the product after that time withoutfurther notice. For vehicles first sold in Canada, substitutethe name “General Motors of Canada Limited” for Buick Motor For Canadian Owners Who Prefera Division whenever it appears in this manual. French Language .Manual: Please keep this manual in your Buick,so it will be there AUX propriktaires canadiens:Vous pouvez vous if you ever needit when you’re onthe road. If you sell procurer un exemplaire de ce guide enfranpis chez the vehicle, please leave this manual in itso the new votre concessionaire ou au: owner can useit. DGN Marketing Services Ltd. 1500 Bonhill Rd. Mississauga, Ontario L5T IC7 Litho in U.S.A. @CopyrightGeneral Motors Corporation 1995 Part No. 25632196 B First Edition All Rights Reserved iii “valve-in-head” engine, a light, powerful and reliable engine which would eventually influencethe entire automotive industry. William C. Durant was instrumental in promoting Buicks across the country usinghis Durant-Dort Carriage Co. outlets and salespeople asthe nucleus of a giant distribution system.He knew the Buick as a “self-seller.” If automobiles could be this good,he thought, maybeit was timeto switch from the horse and buggy business to automobiles. At the 1905 NewYork Auto Show, Durant took orders for 1,000 Buicks Walter Marr and Thomas Buick before the company had ‘built 40. On Buick’s Buick’s chief engineer, WalterL. Marr (left), and success, Durant created a Thomas D. Buick, son of founder David Dunbar Buick, holding company, drove the first Flint Buickin a successful Flint-Detroit September 16, 1908.He round trip in July 1904. called it General Motors. David Buick was building gasoline engines by 1899, and Man, his engineer, apparently built the first auto to be called a Buick in 1900. However, Buick traditionally dates its beginnings to 1903. That was the year the William C. (Billy)Durant company was reorganized, refinancedand moved frgm Detroit to Flint. Buick has always been a product innovator. Buick engineers developed the iv Durant also created a racing team that won500 racing Buick drew plentyof attention because it could climb trophes in 1909 and 1910, including successes at hills and run through mud like no other car. Buick’s Indianapolis two years before the Indy 500 began. endurance and reliability were world famous. The success of Buick engines was visible not only on During World War I, Buick built Liberty aircraft engines the race track, but in endurance tests across the country as well as Red Cross ambulancesso successfully that and around the world. Buick was the only car to one Buick ambulance was awardedthe Croix de Guerre complete a 1,000-mile Chicago-to-New York race in by the French government. 1906. And a Buick was the firstcar to travel across As a builder of premier automobiles, Buick was hard hit South America, driven from Buenos Aires, Argentina, by the Great Depression. However, new General over the Andes to Santiago, Chile in 1914. Manager Harlow H.Curtice created popular new models including the Special and the Roadmaster. Buick sales soon flourished. I 1911 Model 21 Touring Cur on hims Test Hill First Buick Factory V Y. I Vehicle Damage Warnings not be covered by your warranty, andit could be costly. But the notice will tell you what to do to help avoid Also, in this book you will find these notices: the damage. When you read other manuals,you might see NOTICE: CAUTION and NOTICE warningsin different colors I or in different words. These mean thereis something that could You’ll also see warning labels on your vehicle. They use damage your vehicle. the same words CAUTION or NOTICE. ~ ~ - In the notice area, we tell you about something that can damage your vehicle. Many times, this damage would ix Vehicle Symbols These are someof the symbols you mayfind on your vehicle. For example, These symbols These symbols These symbols These symbols Here are some these symbols are important have to do with are on some of are used on other symbols I are used on an for you and your lights: your controls: warning and you may see: original battery: your passengers indicator lights: whenever your vehicle is WINDSHIELD CAUTION driven: WIPER POSSIBLE FUSE INJURY A COOLANT TEMP - DOOR LOCK TURN PROTECT UNLOCK SIGNALS EYES BY e I BATTERY LIGHTER n SHIELDING CHARGING I-1 SYSTEM CAUSTIC WINDSHIELD BATTERY FASTEN HORN DEFROSTER k3 ACID COULD SEAT BRAKE (0) CAUSE BELTS BURNS COOLANT SPEAKER AVOID WINDOW SPARKS OR c> POWER DEFOGGER FLAMES DAYTIME WINDOW RUNNING .'**D*oENGINE OIL LAMPS "' PRESSURE e,FUEL SPARK OR ,111, rn FLAME VENTILATING COULD FAN EXPLODE FOG LAMPS ANTI-LOCK (@) # 0 BRAKES BATTERY x NOTES xi NOTES .. , ,' . Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems Power Seat (Option) Power Lumbar (Option) The power seat controls are located on the armrest. Press the LUMBAR switch forward toincrease lumbar support. Press it rearward to decrease lumbar support. Raise the front of the seat by pressing the left side of the front switch. Press theright side of this switch to lower the front of the seat. Move the seat forward orback by pressing and holding FWD or BACK. Raise the seat by pressing and holding UP. Press and holdDN to lower the seat. Press and holdthe left sideof the rearswitch toraise the rear of the seat. Press and holdthe right side of this switch to lower the rear of the seat. 1-2 Memory Seat (Option) When your Roadmaster isin PARK (P), press the same side of the MEMORY control to recall the seat setting. Program the memory seat for an additional driver following the preceding steps, but press the other side of the memory control. The EXIT button allows you toget out of your vehicle more easily. If you select the wrong side of the MEMORY control or the EXIT button, you can cancel it by pressing any of the power seatswitches. Heated Seats (Option) If your vehicle has this feature, the switch is near the LUMBAR control. It has two warming positions:HI and LO. Move the switch to OFF to turn thisfeature off. To program the memory seat: Power Recliner (Option) 1. Make sure the vehicle is in PARK (P). This switch is on the side of the seat. Press this switch 2. Adjust the driver’s seat the way you want it. rearward to movethe seatback down to a reclined position. Press it forward to movethe seatback to an 3. Press the SETbutton. upright position. 4. Press the left or right side of the MEMORY control and your seating position is programmed. 1-3 Reclining Front Seatbacks To adjust the seatback, lift the lever on the outerside of the seat and move the seatback to where you want it. Release the lever to lock the seatback. Pull up on the lever and the seat will go to an uprightposition. But don’thave a seatback reclinedif your vehicle is moving. 1-4 * Head Restraints Slide the head restraintup or down so that the topof the 3 restraint is closest to the topof your ears. This position Sitting in a reclined position whenyour vehicle is reduces the chanceof a neckinjury in a crash. in motion can be dangerous. Evenif you buckle On some models, the head restraints tilt forward and up, your safety belts can’tdo their job when rearward also. you’re reclined like this. The shoulder belt can’t do its job because it Wagon Foldine Seatback: won’t be against your body. Instead, it will be in The second and thiru seats01 your station wagon have front of you. In a crash you could go into it, seatbacks thatcan be folded down to provide more receiving neckor other injuries. cargo space. The lap belt can’t do its job either. In a crash the belt could go up over your abdomen. The belt forces would bethere, not at your pelvic bones. This could cause serious internal injuries. For proper protection when the vehicleis in motion, have the seatback upright.