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Service
Your dealer knows your vehicle best and wants you to
be happy with it. We hope you'll go to your dealer for
all your service needs. You'll get genuine GM parts and
GM
-trained and supported service people.
We hope you'll want to keep your GM vehicle all GM.
Genuine GM parts have one of these marks:
Doing Your Own Service Work
If you want to do some of your own service work, you'll
want to use the proper service manual. It tells you much
more about how to service your vehicle than this manual
can. To order the proper service manual, see ªService
and Owner Publicationsº in the Index.
Your vehicle has an air bag system. Before attempting to
do your own service work, see ªServicing Your Air
Bag
-Equipped Vehicleº in the Index.
You should keep a record with all parts receipts and list
the mileage and the date of any service work you
perform. See ªMaintenance Recordº in the Index.
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6-3
CAUTION:
You can be injured and your vehicle could be
damaged if you try to do service work on a
vehicle without knowing enough about it.
Be sure you have sufficient knowledge,
experience, the proper replacement parts
and tools before you attempt any vehicle
maintenance task.
Be sure to use the proper nuts, bolts and
other fasteners. ªEnglishº and ªmetricº
fasteners can be easily confused. If you use
the wrong fasteners, parts can later break
or fall off. You could be hurt.
Adding Equipment to the Outside of
Your Vehicle
Things you might add to the outside of your vehicle can
affect the airflow around it. This may cause wind noise
and affect windshield washer performance. Check with
your dealer before adding equipment to the outside of
your vehicle.
Fuel
Use regular unleaded gasoline rated at 87 octane or
higher. It is recommended that the gasoline meet
specifications which have been developed by the
American Automobile Manufacturers Association
(AAMA) and endorsed by the Canadian Motor Vehicle
Manufacturers Association for better vehicle
performance and engine protection. Gasolines meeting
the AAMA specification could provide improved
driveability and emission control system performance
compared to other gasolines. For more information,
write to: American Automobile Manufacturer's
Association, 7430 Second Ave, Suite 300,
Detroit MI 48202.
Be sure the posted octane is at least 87. If the octane is
less than 87, you may get a heavy knocking noise when
you drive. If it's bad enough, it can damage your engine.
If you're using fuel rated at 87 octane or higher and you
hear heavy knocking, your engine needs service. But
don't worry if you hear a little pinging noise when
you're accelerating or driving up a hill. That's normal,
and you don't have to buy a higher octane fuel to get rid
of pinging. It's the heavy, constant knock that means
you have a problem.
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6-20
5. Hold the air box cover and air duct assembly up in
position while removing the air filter element from
the air box.
To install the air filter, reverse the steps.Be sure the tabs on the cover are inserted into the air
box slots.
Refer to the Maintenance Schedule to determine when to
replace the air filter and the crankcase ventilation filter.
See ªScheduled Maintenance Servicesº in the Index.
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CAUTION:
Operating the engine with the air cleaner/filter
off can cause you or others to be burned. The air
cleaner not only cleans the air, it stops flame if
the engine backfires. If it isn't there, and the
engine backfires, you could be burned. Don't
drive with it off, and be careful working on the
engine with the air cleaner/filter off.
NOTICE:
If the air cleaner/filter is off, a backfire can cause
a damaging engine fire. And, dirt can easily get
into your engine, which will damage it. Always
have the air cleaner/filter in place when
you're driving.
Passenger Compartment Air Filter
(If Equipped)
The passenger compartment air filter is located
underneath the hood just below the windshield wiper
arm on the passenger's side of the vehicle (underneath
the air inlet grille).
The filter traps most of the pollen from air entering the
module. Like your engine's air filter, it may need to be
changed periodically. For information on how often to
change the passenger compartment air filter, see
ªMaintenance Scheduleº in the Index.
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To change the passenger compartment air filter, use the
following steps:
1. Turn off the ignition when the windshield wipers are
in the up position.
2. Raise the hood.
3. Disconnect the windshield washer pump hose from
the fender rail and air inlet grille.
4. Reposition the hood weatherstrip from the right side
of the vehicle (peel back halfway to center).
5. Remove the air inlet grille retainers.
6. Remove the air inlet grille.
7. Remove the air deflector grille in the compartment.
8. Remove the passenger compartment air filter.
9. Then reverse the steps to install the new air filter.
For the type of filter to use, see ªNormal
Maintenance Replacement Partsº in the Index.Automatic Transaxle Fluid
When to Check and Change
A good time to check your automatic transaxle fluid
level is when the engine oil is changed.
Change both the fluid and filter every 50,000 miles
(83 000 km) if the vehicle is mainly driven under one or
more of these conditions:
In heavy city traffic where the outside temperature
regularly reaches 90F (32C) or higher.
In hilly or mountainous terrain.
When doing frequent trailer towing.
Uses such as found in taxi, police or delivery service.
If you do not use your vehicle under any of
these conditions, change the fluid and filter at
100,000 miles (166 000 km).
See ªScheduled Maintenance Servicesº in the Index.
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6-25 How to Add Fluid
Refer to the Maintenance Schedule to determine what
kind of transaxle fluid to use. See ªRecommended
Fluids and Lubricantsº in the Index.
If the fluid level is low, add only enough of the proper
fluid to bring the level into the cross
-hatched area on
the dipstick.
1. Pull out the dipstick.
2. Using a long
-neck funnel, add enough fluid at the
dipstick hole to bring it to the proper level.
It doesn't take much fluid, generally less than one
pint (0.5 L). Don't overfill.
NOTICE:
We recommend you use only fluid labeled
DEXRON-III, because fluid with that label is
made especially for your automatic transaxle.
Damage caused by fluid other than
DEXRON
-III is not covered by your new
vehicle warranty.
3. After adding fluid, recheck the fluid level as
described under ªHow to Check.º
4. When the correct fluid level is obtained, push the
dipstick back in all the way.
Radiator Pressure Cap
(3800 V6 Engine)
NOTICE:
Your radiator cap is a 15 psi (105 kPa)
pressure
-type cap and must be tightly installed to
prevent coolant loss and possible engine damage
from overheating. Be sure the arrows on the cap
line up with the overflow tube on the radiator
filler neck.
When you replace your radiator pressure cap, an AC
Delco cap is recommended.
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There are only two reasons why the brake fluid level in
the reservoir might go down. The first is that the brake
fluid goes down to an acceptable level during normal
brake lining wear. When new linings are put in, the fluid
level goes back up. The other reason is that fluid is
leaking out of the brake system. If it is, you should have
your brake system fixed, since a leak means that sooner
or later your brakes won't work well, or won't work
at all.
So, it isn't a good idea to ªtop offº your brake fluid.
Adding brake fluid won't correct a leak. If you add fluid
when your linings are worn, then you'll have too much
fluid when you get new brake linings. You should add
(or remove) brake fluid, as necessary, only when work is
done on the brake hydraulic system.
CAUTION:
If you have too much brake fluid, it can spill on
the engine. The fluid will burn if the engine is hot
enough. You or others could be burned, and
your vehicle could be damaged. Add brake
fluid only when work is done on the brake
hydraulic system.
When your brake fluid falls to a low level, your brake
warning light will come on. See ªBrake System Warning
Lightº in the Index.
What to Add
When you do need brake fluid, use only DOT
-3 brake
fluid. Use new brake fluid from a sealed container only.
Refer to ªRecommended Fluids and Lubricantsº in the
Maintenance Schedule.
Always clean the brake fluid reservoir cap and the area
around the cap before removing it. This will help keep
dirt from entering the reservoir.
CAUTION:
With the wrong kind of fluid in your brake
system, your brakes may not work well, or they
may not even work at all. This could cause a
crash. Always use the proper brake fluid.
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Brake linings should always be replaced as complete
axle sets.
See ªBrake System Inspectionº in Section 7 of this
manual under Part C ªPeriodic Maintenance
Inspections.º
Brake Pedal Travel
See your dealer if the brake pedal does not return to
normal height, or if there is a rapid increase in pedal
travel. This could be a sign of brake trouble.
Brake Adjustment
Every time you apply the brakes, with or without the
vehicle moving, your brakes adjust for wear.
Replacing Brake System Parts
The braking system on a vehicle is complex. Its many
parts have to be of top quality and work well together if
the vehicle is to have really good braking. Your vehicle
was designed and tested with top
-quality GM brake
parts. When you replace parts of your braking
system
-- for example, when your brake linings weardown and you have to have new ones put in
-- be sure
you get new approved GM replacement parts. If you
don't, your brakes may no longer work properly. For
example, if someone puts in brake linings that are wrong
for your vehicle, the balance between your front and
rear brakes can change
-- for the worse. The braking
performance you've come to expect can change in many
other ways if someone puts in the wrong replacement
brake parts.
Battery
Your new vehicle comes with an ACDelco Freedom
battery. When it's time for a new battery, we recommend
an ACDelco Freedom battery. Get one that has the
replacement number shown on the original
battery's label.
Vehicle Storage
If you're not going to drive your vehicle for 25 days or
more, remove the black, negative (
-) cable from the
battery. This will help keep your battery from
running down.
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