Oldsmobile EIGHTY EIGHT 1999 Owner Manual

The 1999 Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight Owner’s Manual

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1-1 Seats and Restraint Systems

This section tells you how to use your seats and safety belts properly. It also explains the “SRS” system.

2-1 Features and Controls

This section explains how to start and operate your vehicle.

3-1 Comfort Controls and Audio Systems

This section tells you how to adjust the ventilation and comfort controls and how to operate your audio system.

4-1 Your Driving and the Road

Here you’ll find helpful information and tips about the road and how to drive under different conditions.

5-1 Problems on the Road

This section tells you what to do if you have a problem while driving, such as a flat tire or overheated engine, etc.

6-1 Service and Appearance Care

Here the manual tells you how to keep your vehicle running properly and looking good.

7-1 Maintenance Schedule

This section tells you when to perform vehicle maintenance and what fluids and lubricants to use.

8-1 Customer Assistance Information

This section tells you how to contact Oldsmobile for assistance and how to get service and owner publications. It also gives you information on “Reporting Safety Defects” on page 8

9-1 Index

Here’s an alphabetical listing of almost every subject in this manual. You can use it to quickly find something you want to read.

-10.

GENERAL MOTORS, GM, the GM Emblem, OLDSMOBILE, the OLDSMOBILE Rocket Emblem and the name EIGHTY–EIGHT 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. For vehicles first sold in Canada, substitute the name “General Motors of Canada Limited” for Oldsmobile Division whenever it appears in this manual.

Please keep this manual in your vehicle, 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.

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We support voluntary technician certification.

For Canadian Owners Who Prefer a French Language Manual:

Aux propriétaires canadiens: Vous pouvez vous

procurer un exemplaire de ce guide en français chez votre concessionaire ou au:

DGN Marketing Services Ltd. 1577 Meyerside Dr. Mississauga, Ontario L5T 1B9

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.

Index

A good place to look for what you need is the Index in back of the manual. It’s an alphabetical list of what’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.

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CAUTION:

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 do to help avoid or reduce the hazard. Please read these cautions. If you don’t, you or others could be hurt.

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:

NOTICE:

These mean there is something that could damage your vehicle.

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 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 see warning 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.

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For example, these symbols are used on an original battery:

CAUTION

POSSIBLE

INJURY

PROTECT

EYES BY

SHIELDING

CAUSTIC BATTERY

ACID COULD

CAUSE

BURNS

AVOID

SPARKS OR

FLAMES

SPARK OR

FLAME

COULD

EXPLODE

BATTERY

These symbols are important for you and your passengers whenever your vehicle is driven:

DOOR LOCK

UNLOCK

FASTEN

SEAT

BELTS

POWER

WINDOW

AIR BAG

These symbols have to do with your lamps:

MASTER

LIGHTING

SWITCH

TURN

SIGNALS

PARKING

LAMPS

HAZARD WARNING FLASHER

DAYTIME

RUNNING

LAMPS

FOG LAMPS

These symbols are on some of your controls:

WINDSHIELD

WIPER

WINDSHIELD

WASHER

WINDSHIELD

DEFROSTER

REAR

WINDOW

DEFOGGER

VENTILATING

FAN

These symbols are used on warning and indicator lights:

ENGINE

COOLANT

TEMP

BATTERY

CHARGING

SYSTEM

BRAKE

COOLANT

ENGINE OIL

PRESSURE

ANTI-LOCK

BRAKES

Here are some other symbols you may see:

FUSE

LIGHTER

HORN

SPEAKER

FUEL

✍

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NOTES

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Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems

Here you’ll find information about the seats in your vehicle and how to use your safety belts properly. You can also learn about some things you should not do with air bags and safety belts.

-2 Seats and Seat Controls

-5 Safety Belts: They’re for Everyone

-9 Here Are Questions Many People Ask About

Safety Belts

-10 How to Wear Safety Belts Properly

1 1

-10 Driver Position

-17 Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy

-18 Right Front Passenger Position

1 1

-18 Supplemental Restraint System (SRS)

-25 Center Passenger Position

-- and the Answers

-26 Rear Seat Passengers

1 1

-30 Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for Children

and Small Adults

1-32 Children

-35 Child Restraints

1 1

-47 Larger Children

-50 Safety Belt Extender

-50 Checking Your Restraint Systems

1 1

-50 Replacing Restraint System Parts

After a Crash

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Seats and Seat Controls

This section tells you about the seats -- how to adjust them and head restraints.

-- and also about reclining seatbacks

Manual Front Seat

CAUTION:

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.

Pull up on the control bar under the front of the seat to unlock it. Slide the seat to where you want it. Then release the bar and try to move the seat with your body, to make sure the seat is locked into place.

Power Seat (If Equipped)

T o adjust the power seat, read the following instructions.

Seat Control (A): Raise the front of the seat by holding the front of the switch up. Lower the front of the seat by holding the front of the switch down.

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Raise the rear of the seat by holding the rear of the switch up. Lower the rear of the seat by holding the rear of the switch down.

Move the seat higher by holding the switch up. Lower the seat by holding the switch down.

Move the seat forward by holding the switch forward. Move the seat back by holding the switch back.

Seatback Control (B): Tilt the seatback forward by holding the switch forward. Tilt the seatback backward by holding the switch back.

Reclining Front Seatbacks

T o adjust the passenger’s side seatback, lift the lever on the outer side 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 upright position.

If you have power seats, the seatback control (B) described previously in this section reclines the front seatbacks.

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But don’t have a seatback reclined if your vehicle is moving.

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CAUTION:

Sitting in a reclined position when your vehicle is in motion can be dangerous. Even if you buckle up, your safety belts can’t do their job when you’re reclined like this.

The shoulder belt can’t do its job because it won’t be against your body. Instead, it will be in front of you. In a crash you could go into it, receiving neck or other injuries.

The lap belt can’t do its job either. In a crash the belt could go up over your abdomen. The belt forces would be there, not at your pelvic bones. This could cause serious internal injuries.

For proper protection when the vehicle is in motion, have the seatback upright. Then sit well back in the seat and wear your safety belt properly.

Head Restraints

Slide the head restraint up or down so that the top of the restraint is closest to the top of your ears. This position reduces the chance of a neck injury in a crash.

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On some models, the head restraints tilt forward and rearward also.

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 should not do with safety belts.

And it explains the Supplemental Restraint System (SRS), or air bag system.

CAUTION:

Don’t let anyone ride where he or she can’t wear a safety belt properly. If you are in a crash and you’re not wearing a safety belt, your injuries can be much worse. You can hit things inside the vehicle or be ejected from it. You can be seriously injured or killed. In the same crash, you might not be if you are buckled up. Always fasten your safety belt, and check that your passengers’ belts are fastened properly too.

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CAUTION:

It is extremely dangerous to ride in a cargo area, inside or outside of a vehicle. In a collision, people riding in these areas are more likely to be seriously injured or killed. Do not allow people to ride in any area of your vehicle that is not equipped with seats and safety belts. Be sure everyone in your vehicle is in a seat and using a safety belt properly.

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Your vehicle has a light that comes on as a reminder to buckle up. (See “Safety Belt Reminder Light” in the Index.)

In most states and Canadian provinces, the law says 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 are mild, and some crashes can be so serious that even buckled up a person wouldn’t survive. But most crashes are 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 30 years of safety belts in vehicles, the facts are clear. In most crashes buckling up does matter ... a lot!

Why Safety Belts Work

When you ride in or on anything, you go as fast as it goes.

T ake the simplest vehicle. Suppose it’s just a seat on wheels.

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Put someone on it. Get it up to speed. Then stop the vehicle. The rider

doesn’t stop.

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The person keeps going until stopped by something. In a real vehicle, it could be the windshield ...

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or the instrument panel ...

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 strongest bones take the forces. That’s why safety belts make such good sense.

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Here Are Questions Many People Ask About Safety Belts

Won’t I be trapped in the vehicle after an

accident if I’m wearing a safety belt?

-- and the Answers

A: You could be -- whether you’re wearing a safety

belt or not. But you can unbuckle a 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.

Q: If my vehicle has air bags, why should I have to

wear safety belts?

A: Air bags are in many vehicles today and will be in

most of them in the future. But they are supplemental systems only; so they work with safety belts system ever offered for sale has required the use of safety belts. Even if you’re in a vehicle that has air bags, you still have to buckle up to get the most protection. That’s true not only in frontal collisions, but especially in side and other collisions.

-- not instead of them. Every air bag

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Q: 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 your passengers can be hurt. Being a good driver doesn’t protect you from things beyond your control, such as bad 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).

Safety belts are for everyone.

-- even one that isn’t your fault -- you and

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 vehicle, see the part of this manual called “Children.” Follow those rules for 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.

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3. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you. Don’t let it get twisted.

4. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks. 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 be able to unbuckle the safety belt quickly if you ever had to.

The lap part of the belt should be worn low and snug on the hips, just touching the thighs. In a crash, this applies force to the strong pelvic bones. And you’d be less likely to slide under the lap belt. If you slid under it, the belt would apply force at 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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Shoulder Belt Height Adjuster

Before you begin to drive, move the shoulder belt adjuster to the height that is right for you.

T o move it down, squeeze the release handle and move the height adjuster to the desired position. You can move the adjuster up just by pushing up on the bottom of the release handle. After you move the adjuster to where you want it, try to move it down without squeezing the release handle to make sure it has locked into position.

Adjust the height so that the shoulder portion of the belt is centered on your shoulder. The belt should be away from your face and neck, but not falling off your shoulder.

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Q: What’s wrong with this?

A: The shoulder belt is too loose. It won’t give nearly

as much protection this way.

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CAUTION:

You can be seriously hurt if your shoulder belt is too loose. In a crash, you would move forward too much, which could increase injury. The shoulder belt should fit against your body.

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Q: What’s wrong with this?

A: The belt is buckled in the wrong place.

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CAUTION:

You can be seriously injured if your belt is buckled in the wrong place like this. In a crash, the belt would go up over your abdomen. The belt forces would be there, not at the pelvic bones. This could cause serious internal injuries. Always buckle your belt into the buckle nearest you.

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Q: What’s wrong with this?

A: The shoulder belt is worn under the arm. It should

be worn over the shoulder at all times.

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CAUTION:

You can be seriously injured if you wear the shoulder belt under your arm. In a crash, your body would move too far forward, which would increase the chance of head and neck injury. Also, the belt would apply too much force to the ribs, which aren’t as strong as shoulder bones. You could also severely injure internal organs like your liver or spleen.

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Q: What’s wrong with this?

A: The belt is twisted across the body.

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CAUTION:

You can be seriously injured by a twisted belt. In a crash, you wouldn’t have the full width of the belt to spread impact forces. If a belt is twisted, make it straight so it can work properly, or ask your dealer to fix it.

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T o unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle. The belt should go back out of the way.

Before you close the door, be sure the belt is out of the way . If you slam the door on it, you can damage both the belt and your vehicle.

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Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy

Safety belts work for everyone, including pregnant women. Like all occupants, they are more likely to be seriously injured if they don’t wear safety belts.

A pregnant woman should wear a lap-shoulder belt, and the lap portion should be worn as low as possible, below the rounding, throughout the pregnancy.

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The best way to protect the fetus is to protect the mother. When a safety belt is worn properly, it’s more likely that the fetus won’t be hurt in a crash. For pregnant women, as for anyone, the key to making safety belts effective is wearing them properly.

Right Front Passenger Position

T o learn how to wear the right front passenger’s safety belt properly, see “Driver Position” earlier in this section.

The right front passenger’s safety belt works the same way as the driver’s safety belt you ever pull the lap portion of the belt out all the way, you will engage the child restraint locking feature. If this happens, just let the belt go back all the way and start again.

If your vehicle has a center passenger position, be sure to use the correct buckle when buckling your lap

-shoulder belt. If you find that the latch plate will not

go fully into the buckle, see if you are using the buckle for the center passenger position.

-- except for one thing. If

Supplemental Restraint System (SRS)

This part explains the Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) or air bag system.

Your vehicle has “Next Generation” frontal air bags

-- one air bag for the driver and another air

bag for the right front passenger. Next Generation frontal air bags are designed to help

reduce the risk of injury from the force of an inflating air bag. But even these air bags must inflate very quickly if they are to do their job and comply with federal regulations.

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Here are the most important things to know about the air bag system:

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CAUTION:

You can be severely injured or killed in a crash if you aren’t wearing your safety belt have air bags. Wearing your safety belt during a crash helps reduce your chance of hitting things inside the vehicle or being ejected from it. Air bags are “supplemental restraints” to the safety belts. All air bags designed to work with safety belts, but don’t replace them. Air bags are designed to work only in moderate to severe crashes where the front of your vehicle hits something. They aren’t designed to inflate at all in rollover, rear, side or low frontal crashes. And, for unrestrained occupants, Next Generation air bags may provide less protection in frontal crashes than more forceful air bags have provided in the past. Everyone in your vehicle should wear a safety belt properly for that person.

-- even Next Generation air bags -- are

-- whether or not there’s an air bag

-- even if you

-speed

Air bags inflate with great force, faster than the blink of an eye. If you’re too close to an inflating air bag, as you would be if you were leaning forward, it could seriously injure you. This is true even with Next Generation frontal air bags. Safety belts help keep you in position before and during a crash. Always wear your safety belt, even with Next Generation air bags. The driver should sit as far back as possible while still maintaining control of the vehicle.

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CAUTION:

Children who are up against, or very close to, any air bag when it inflates can be seriously injured or killed. This is true even though your vehicle has Next Generation frontal air bags. Air bags plus lap for adults, but not for young children and infants. Neither the vehicle’s safety belt system nor its air bag system is designed for them. Young children and infants need the protection that a child restraint system can provide. Always secure children properly in your vehicle. To read how, see the part of this manual called “Children” and see the caution labels on the sunvisors and the right front passenger’s safety belt.

-shoulder belts offer the best protection

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There is an air bag readiness light on the instrument panel, which shows the words AIR BAG.

The system checks the air bag electrical system for malfunctions. The light tells you if there is an electrical problem. See “Air Bag Readiness Light” in the Index for more information.

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How the Air Bag System Works

Where are the air bags?

The driver’s air bag is in the middle of the steering wheel.

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The right front passenger’s air bag is in the instrument panel on the passenger’s side.

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CAUTION:

If something is between an occupant and an air bag, the bag might not inflate properly or it might force the object into that person. The path of an inflating air bag must be kept clear. Don’t put anything between an occupant and an air bag, and don’t attach or put anything on the steering wheel hub or on or near any other air bag covering.

When should an air bag inflate?

An air bag is designed to inflate in a moderate to severe frontal or near only if the impact speed is above the system’s designed “threshold level.” If your vehicle goes straight into a wall that doesn’t move or deform, the threshold level is about 9 to 15 mph (14 to 24 km/h). The threshold level can vary, however, with specific vehicle design, so that

-frontal crash. The air bag will inflate

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it can be somewhat above or below this range. If your vehicle strikes something that will move or deform, such as a parked car, the threshold level will be higher. The air bag is not designed to inflate in rollovers, side impacts or rear impacts, because inflation would not help the occupant.

In any particular crash, no one can say whether an air bag should have inflated simply because of the damage to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs were. Inflation is determined by the angle of the impact and how quickly the vehicle slows down in frontal or near

-frontal impacts.

What makes an air bag inflate?

In an impact of sufficient severity, the air bag sensing system detects that the vehicle is in a crash. The sensing system triggers a release of gas from the inflator, which inflates the air bag. The inflator, air bag and related hardware are all part of the air bag modules inside the steering wheel and in the instrument panel in front of the right front passenger.

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How does an air bag restrain?

In moderate to severe frontal or near even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel or the instrument panel. Air bags supplement the protection provided by safety belts. Air bags distribute the force of the impact more evenly over the occupant’s upper body, stopping the occupant more gradually. But air bags would not help you in many types of collisions, including rollovers, rear impacts and side impacts, primarily because an occupant’s motion is not toward those air bags. Air bags should never be regarded as anything more than a supplement to safety belts, and then only in moderate to severe frontal or near

What will you see after an air bag inflates?

After an air bag inflates, it quickly deflates, so quickly that some people may not even realize the air bag inflated. Some components of the air bag module steering wheel hub for the driver’s air bag, or the instrument panel for the right front passenger’s bag

-- will be hot for a short time. The parts of the bag

that come into contact with you may be warm, but not too hot to touch. There will be some smoke and dust coming from vents in the deflated air bags. Air bag inflation doesn’t prevent the driver from seeing or from being able to steer the vehicle, nor does it stop people from leaving the vehicle.

-frontal collisions,

-frontal collisions.

-- the

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CAUTION:

When an air bag inflates, there is dust in the air. This dust could cause breathing problems for people with a history of asthma or other breathing trouble. To avoid this, everyone in the vehicle should get out as soon as it is safe to do so. If you have breathing problems but can’t get out of the vehicle after an air bag inflates, then get fresh air by opening a window or door.

In many crashes severe enough to inflate an air bag, windshields are broken by vehicle deformation. Additional windshield breakage may also occur from the right front passenger air bag.

Air bags are designed to inflate only once. After they inflate, you’ll need some new parts for your air bag system. If you don’t get them, the air bag system won’t be there to help protect you in another crash. A new system will include air bag modules and possibly other parts. The service manual for your vehicle covers the need to replace other parts.

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Your vehicle is equipped with a crash sensing and diagnostic module, which records information about the air bag system. The module records information about the readiness of the system, when the sensors are activated and driver’s safety belt usage at deployment.

Let only qualified technicians work on your air bag system. Improper service can mean that your air bag system won’t work properly. See your dealer for service.

NOTICE:

If you damage the covering for the driver’s or the right front passenger’s air bag, the bag may not work properly. You may have to replace the air bag module in the steering wheel or both the air bag module and the instrument panel for the right front passenger’s air bag. Do not open or break the air bag coverings.

If your vehicle ever gets into a lot of water -- such as water up to the carpeting or higher your vehicle and soaks the carpet, the air bag controller can be soaked and ruined. If this ever happens, and then you start your vehicle, the damage could make the air bags inflate, even if there’s no crash. You would have to replace the air bags as well as the sensors and related parts. If your vehicle is ever in a flood, or if it’s exposed to water that soaks the carpet, you can avoid needless repair costs by turning off the vehicle immediately and disconnecting the battery cables. Don’t let anyone start the vehicle under any circumstances. See your dealer for service.

-- or if water enters

Servicing Your Air Bag-Equipped Vehicle

Air bags affect how your vehicle should be serviced. There are parts of the air bag system in several places around your vehicle. You don’t want the system to inflate while someone is working on your vehicle. Your dealer and the Eighty Eight Service Manual have information about servicing your vehicle and the air bag system. T o purchase a service manual, see “Service and Owner Publications” in the Index.

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