Cadillac 1996 DeVille Owner's Manual page 85

THIRD (3): This position is also used for noma1
driving however, it offers more power and lower fuel
economy than OVERDRIVE (0).
Here are examples for using THIRD (3) instead of
OVERDRIVE
(@):
0
When driving on hilly, winding roads.
0
When towing a trailer,
so
there is less shifting
between
gears.
0
When going down a steep hill.
SECOND (2): This position gives you more power. You
can use SECOND (2) on hills.
It can
help control your
speed as
you
go
down steep mountain roads, but then
you would also want
to
use your brakes off and on.
I
NOTICE:
~ ~~ ~~~ ~ ~~~~
Don't shift into SECOND (2) unless you are going
slower than 65 rnph (105 k d h ) , or you can
damage your engine.
FIRST (1):
This position gives you even more power
than SECOND (2). You can use it on very steep hills,
or in deep snow or mud. (If the shift lever is put in
FIRST (l), the transaxle won't shift into first gear
until the vehicle is going slowly enough.)
I
NOTICE:
~~
If
your front wheels can't rotate, don't try to
drive. This might happen if you were stuck in
very deep sand or mud or were up against a solid
object,
You
could damage your transaxle.
Also, if you stop when going uphill, don't hold
your vehicle there with only the accelerator
pedal. This could cause overheating and damage
the transaxle. Use your brakes to hold your
vehicle in position on
a
hill.