Page 194 of 406
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine with traffic. This is a mistake. Your brakes may not have time to cool
between hard
stops. Your brakes will wear out much faster if you do a
lot
of heavy braking.
a Don’t “ride” the brakes by letting your left foot rest lightly on the
brake pedal while driving.
CAUTION:
“Riding” your braws can cause them to overheat to the point
that they won’t work well. You might not be able to stop your
vehicle in time to avoid an accident.
If you “ride” your brakes,
they will get
so hot they will require a lot of pedal force to slow
you down. Avoid “riding” the brakes.
Page 235 of 406

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine may think drivers behind you are seeing your signal when they are not.
It’s important to check occasionally to be sure the trailer bulbs are still
working.
Your vehicle has bulb warning lights. When you plug trailer lights into
your vehicle’s lighting system, its bulb warning lights may not let you
know if one
of your lights goes out. So, when you have trailer lights
plugged in, be sure to check your vehicle and trailer lights
from time to
time to be sure they’re all working. Once you disconnect the trailer lights,
the bulb warning lights again can tell you if one of your vehicle lights is
out.
Driving On Grades
Reduce speed and shift to a lower gear before you start down a long or
steep downgrade.
If you don’t shift down, you might have to use your
brakes
so much that they would get hot and no longer work well.
On a long uphill grade, shift down to “3” (Drive) and reduce your speed
to
45 mph (70 km/h) to reduce the possibility of engine and transaxle
overheating.
Parking on Hills
You really should not park your vehicle, with a trailer attached, on a hill.
If something goes wrong, your rig could start to move. People can be
injured, and both your vehicle and the trailer can be damaged.
But if you ever have to park your rig on a hill, here’s how to do it:
1. Apply your regular brakes, but don’t shift into “P” (Park) yet.
2. Have someone place chocks under the trailer wheels.
3. When the wheel chocks are in place, release the regular brakes until
the chocks absorb the load.
4. Reapply the regular brakes. Then shift into “P” (Park) firmly and
apply your parking brake.
5. Release the regular brakes.
222
Page 249 of 406
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine ENGINE 0VERH.EATING
YOU will find the two warning lights about a hot engine on your Cadillac
instrument panel.
If Steam Is Coming From Your Engine:
A CAUTION:
Steam from an overheated engine can burn you badly, even if
you just open the hood. Stay
away from the engine if you see or
hear steam coming from it. Just turn it
off and get everyone
away from the vehicle until it cools down. Wait until there is no
sign
of steam or coolant before opening the hood.
If you keep driving when your engine is overheated, the liquids
in it can catch fire. You or others could be badly burned. Stop
your engine if it overheats, and get out
of the vehicle until the I
1-
l-
engine is cool.
I I
Page 250 of 406

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine --
If No Steam Is Coming From Your Engine:
-- . If you get the overheat warning but see or hear no steam, the problem
may not be too serious. Sometimes the engine can get a little too hot
when you:
- Climb a long hill on a hot day.
Stop after high speed driving.
0 Idle for long periods in traffic.
0 Tow a trailer.
-
If you get the overheat warning with no sign of steam, try this for a
1. Turn off your air conditioner.
- minute or so:
- 2. Turn on your heater to full hot at the highest fan speed and open the
window as necessary.
3. If you’re in a traffic jam, shift to “N” (Neutral).
If you no longer have the overheat warning, you can drive. Just to be safe,
drive slower for about ten minutes.
If the warning doesn’t come back on,
you can drive normally.
-
-
If the warning continues, pull over, stop, and park your vehicle right
away.
237
e. If there’s still no sign of steam, you can idle the engine for two or three
minutes while you’re parked,
to see if the warning stops. But then, if you
still have the warning, TURN
OFF THE ENGINE AND GET
EVERYONE OUT
OF THE VEHICLE until it cools down.
You may decide not to lift the hood but to get service help right away.
L_
Page 252 of 406
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine The coolant level should be at or above near “FULL COLD.” If it isn’t,
you may have
a leak in the radiator hoses, heater hoses, radiator, water
pump or somewhere else in the cooling system.
A CAUTION:
Heater and radiator hoses, and other engine parts, can be very
hot. Don’t touch them. If you do, you can be burned.
Dodbrun the engine if there is a leak. If you run the engine, it
could lose all coolant. That could cause an engine fire, and you
could be burned. Get any leak Pied before you drive the vehicle.
ng your engine witrwut coularr~ isn’t
If there seems to be no leak, check to see if the electric engine fans are
running.
If the engine is overheating, both fans should be running. If they
aren’t, your vehicle needs service.
239
Page 253 of 406
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine How to Add Coolant to the Coolant Recovery Tank
If you haven’t found a problem yet, but the coolant level isn’t at or above
near
“FULL COLD.” add a 50/50 mixture of clean water (preferably
distilled) and a proper antifreeze at the coolant recovery tank. (See
“Engine Coolant”
in the Index for more information about the proper
coolant mix.)
1
A CAUTION: i
Jding only plain water to your cooling system can be
dangerous. Plain water, or some other liquid like alcohol, can
boil before the proper coolant mix will. Your vehicle’s coolant
warning system is set for the proper coolant mix. With plain
water
or the wrong mix, your engine could get too hot but you
wouldn’t get the overheat warning. Your engine could catch fire
and you or others could be burned. Use
a 50/50 mix of clean
water and
a proper antifreeze.
I
t--
iL ,&
r-
c-
240
Page 254 of 406
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine c-
A CAUTION:
You can be burned if you spill coolant on hot engine parts.
Coolant contains ethylene glycol and it will burn if the engine
parts are hot enough. Don’t spill coolant on a hot engine.
I
When the coolant in the coolant recovery tank is at or above near “FULL
COLD,” start your vehicle.
If the overheat warning continues, there’s one more thing you can try.
You can add the proper coolant mix directly to the radiator, but be sure
the cooling system is cool before you do it.
241
Page 271 of 406
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine A CAUTION:
If you let your tires spin at high speed, they can explode and you
or others could be injured. And, the transaxle or other parts
of
the vehicle can overheat. That could cause an engine fire or
other damage. When you’re stuck, spin the wheels as little as
possible. Don’t spin the wheels above
35 mph (55 km/h) as
shown on the beedometer.
transaxle back and forth, you can destroy your transarl-
Rocking your vehicle to get it out:
First, turn your steering wheel left and right. That
will clear the area
around your front wheels. Then shift back and forth between
“R’
(Reverse) and a forward gear, spinning the wheels as little as possible.
Release the accelerator pedal while
you shift, and press lightly on the
accelerator pedal when the transaxle is
in gear. If that doesn’t get you out
after
a few tries, you may need to be towed out. If you do need to be
towed out, see “Towing Your Vehicle”
in the Index.
-
L