Oldsmobile Cutlass (1999 year). Manual — part 1

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The 1999 Oldsmobile Cutlass Owner’s Manual

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1

Seats and Restraint Systems

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

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Features and Controls

This section explains how to start and operate your vehicle.

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Comfort Controls and Audio Systems

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

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Your Driving and the Road

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

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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.

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Service and Appearance Care

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

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Maintenance Schedule

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

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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

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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.

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GENERAL MOTORS, GM, the GM Emblem,
OLDSMOBILE, the OLDSMOBILE Rocket Emblem
are registered trademarks and the name CUTLASS is a
trademark 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 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.

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.

Litho in U.S.A.

E

Copyright General Motors Corporation 1998

Part No. 22600397 B First Edition

All Rights Reserved

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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.

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.

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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

Vehicle Symbols

These are some of the symbols you may find on your vehicle.

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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.

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Seats and Seat Controls

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Safety Belts: They’re for Everyone

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Here Are Questions Many People Ask About
Safety Belts

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and the Answers

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How to Wear Safety Belts Properly

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Driver Position

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Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy

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Right Front Passenger Position

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Supplemental Restraint System (SRS)

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Rear Seat Passengers

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Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults

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Center Passenger Position

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Children

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Child Restraints

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Larger Children

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Safety Belt Extender

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Checking Your Restraint Systems

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52

Replacing Restraint System Parts
After a Crash

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Seats and Seat Controls

This section tells you about the seats

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how to

adjust them

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and also about reclining seatbacks and

head restraints.

Manual Seats

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.

Lift 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 into place.

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Way Power Seat (If Equipped)

The power seat button is located on the lower left side of
the driver’s seat. This button allows you to move the
seat up, down, forward and backward. It also moves the
front of the seat up or down and the rear of the seat up
or down.

Move the seat higher by lifting and holding the bottom
of the button. Lower the seat by pushing and holding the
top of the button.

To move the seat forward, push the rear of the button
forward. To move the seat backward, push the front of
the button rearward.

Raise the front of the seat by lifting and holding the
bottom front end of the button. Lower the front of
the seat by pushing and holding the top front end of
the button.

Raise the rear of the seat by lifting and holding the
bottom rear of the button. Lower the rear of the seat by
pushing and holding the top rear of the button.

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Reclining Front Seatbacks

To adjust the seatback, lift the lever on the outer side of
the seat and move the seatback to where you want it.
Release the lever and ensure the handle returns to the
original position and the seatback is securely locked.

Pull up on the lever and the seat will go to an
upright position.

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.

Rear Seats

Folding Rear Seat

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To open the folding rear seat, open the trunk and pull
one or both of the tethers located on the left side of the
trunk. The left

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hand tether will open the larger side of

the seatback. The right

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hand tether will open the smaller

side of the seatback. Once a tether is pulled, the seatback
can be pushed open through the trunk, or pulled open
from inside the vehicle.

To close the split folding rear seat, push the seatback up
until you hear a click. Then pull on the seatback to make
sure it is secure.

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.

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!

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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.

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Get it up to speed. Then stop the vehicle. The rider
doesn’t stop.

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

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and the Answers

Q:

Won’t I be trapped in the vehicle after an
accident if I’m wearing a safety belt?

A:

You could be

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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

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not instead of them. Every air bag

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.

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

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even one that isn’t your fault

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you and

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.