1998 PONTIAC BONNEVILLE warning

Hazard Warning Flashers
Your hazard warning flashers let you warn others. They
also let police know you have a problem. Your front and
rear turn signal lamps will flash on and off.
Press the button in to make
your front and rear turn
signal lamps flash
on
and off.
Your hazard warning flashers work no matter what
position your key is in,
md even if the key isn't in.
To turn off the flashers, pull
out on the collar.
When the hazard warning
flashers are
on, your turn
signals won't work.
5-2

Other Warning Devices
If you carry reflective triangles, you can set one up at
the side of the road about
300 feet (100 m) behind
your vehicle.
Jump Starting
If your battery has run down, you may want to use
another vehicle and some jumper cables to start your
vehicle. But please follow the steps listed to do it safely.
I A CAUTION:
Batteries can hurt you. They can be
dangerous because:
They contain acid that can burn you.
They contain gas that can explode or ignite.
They contain enough electricity to
If you don’t follow these steps exactly, some or all
of these things can hurt you.
burn
you.
NOTICE:
Remember that ignoring these steps could result
in costly damage to your vehicle that wouldn’t be
covered by
your warranty.
Trying to start your vehicle by pushing or pulling
it won’t work, and it could damage your vehicle.
1. Check the other vehicle. It must have a 12-volt
battery with
a negative ground system.
NOTICE:
If the other system isn’t a 12-volt system with a
negative ground, both vehicles can be damaged.
5-3

Towing Your Vehicle
Try to have a dealer or a professional towing service tow
your vehicle. See “Roadside Assistance” in the Index.
If your vehicle has been changed or modified since it
was factory-new by adding aftermarket items like fog
lamps, aero skirting,
or special tires and wheels, these
instructions and illustrations may not be correct.
Before you do anything, turn on the hazard
warning flashers.
When you call, tell the towing service:
0
0
0
0
0
That, if you have the SSE model, your
vehicle cannot be towed from the front with
sling-type equipment.
That your vehicle has front-wheel drive.
The make, model and year
of your vehicle.
Whether you can still move
the shift lever.
If there was an accident, what was damaged.
When the towing service arrives, let the tow operator
know that this manual contains detailed towing
instructions and illustrations. The operator may want to
see them.
I A CAUTION:
To help avoid injury to you or others:
0 Never let passengers ride in a vehicle that is
0 Never tow faster than safe or posted speeds.
0 Never tow with damaged parts not fully secured.
0 Never get under your vehicle after it has
been
lifted by the tow truck.
0 Always secure the vehicle on each side with
separate safety chains when towing
it.
0 Never use J-hooks. Use T-hooks instead. being towed.
5-8

Engine Overheating
You will find a coolant temperature gage or the warning
light about a hot engine on your vehicle’s instrument
panel. See “Coolant Temperature Gage” and “Coolant Temperature Warning
Light” in the Index.
If Steam Is Coming From Your Engine
1
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 you
open 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
engine is cool.
I
NOTICE:
If your engine catches fire because you keep
driving with no coolant, your vehicle can be
badly damaged. The costly repairs would not be
covered by your warranty.
5-15

If No Steam Is Coming From Your Engine
If you get the overheat waming but see or hear no
steam, the problem may not be too serious. Sometimes the engine can get a little too hot when you:
0 Climb a long hill on a hot day.
0 Stop after high-speed driving.
Idle for long periods in traffic.
Tow a trailer.
If you get the overheat warning with no sign of steam,
try this for a minute or so:
1. Turn off your air conditioner.
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 trafEc jam, shift to NEUTRAL (N);
otherwise, shift to the highest gear while
driving
-- AUTOMATIC OVERDRIVE (@)
or DRIVE (D).
If you no longer have the overheat warning, you can
drive. Just to be safe,
drive slower for about 10 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.
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 oflthe 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.
5-16

How to Add Coolant to the Coolant
Recovery Tank
If you haven’t found a problem yet, but the coolant level
isn’t at the FULL COLD mark, add a
50/50 mixture of
clean water (preferably distilled) and DEX-COOL@
engine coolant at the coolant recovery tank. (See
“Engine Coolant” in the Index for more information.)
I A CAUTION:
~
Adding only plain water to your cooling system
can be dangerous. Plain water, or some other
liquid like alcohol, can boil before the proper
coolant mixture will. Your vehicle’s coolant
warning system is set for the proper coolant
mixture. With plain water
or the wrong mixture,
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 mixture of clean water and
DEX-COOL@ coolant.
I NOTICE:
In cold weather, water can freeze and crack
the engine, radiator, heater core and other parts.
Use the recommended coolant and the proper
coolant mixture.
5-19

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.
When the coolant in the coolant recovery tank is at the
FULL COLD mark, start your vehicle.
If the overheat warning continues, there’s one more
thing you can try. You can add the proper coolant
mixture directly
to the radiator, but be sure the cooling
system .. is cool before you do it.
5-20

If a Tire Goes Flat Changing a Flat Tire
It’s unusual for a tire to “blow out” while you’re \
driving,
especially if you maintain your tires properly.
If air goes
out
of a tire, it’s much more likely to leak out slowly.
But if you should ever have a “blowout,” here are a few\

tips about what to expect and what to do:
If a front tire
fails, the flat tire will create a drag that
pulls the vehicle toward that side. Take your foot
off the
accelerator pedal and grip the steering wheel firmly.
Steer to maintain lane position, and then gently brake to
a stop well out
of the traffic lane.
A rear blowout, particularly on a curve, acts much like a
skid and may require the same correction you’d use in a
skid. In any rear blowout, remove your foot from the
accelerator pedal. Get the vehicle under control
by
steering the way you want the vehicle to go. It may be
very bumpy and noisy, but you can still steer. Gently
brake
to a stop -- well off the road if possible.
If
a tire goes flat, the next part shows how to use your
jacking equipment to change a flat tire safely. If
a tire goes flat, avoid further tire and wheel damage
by driving slowly to a level place.
Turn on your hazard
warning flashers.
‘A C ‘JTION:
.-
r
Changing a tire can cause an injury. The vehicle
can slip off the jack and roll over you or other
people. You and they could be badly injured.
Find
a level place to change your tire. To help
prevent the vehicle from moving:
1. Set the parking brake firmly.
2. Put the shift lever in PARK (P).
3. Turn off the engine.
To be even more certain the vehicle won’t move,
you can put blocks at the front and rear of the
tire farthest away from the one being changed.
That would be the tire on the other side
of the
vehicle, at the opposite end.