2000 CADILLAC SEVILLE maintenance

3-9
Ventilation Tips

Keep the hood and front air inlet free of ice, snow or
any other obstruction (such as leaves). The heater
and defroster will work far better, reducing the
chance of fogging the inside of the windows.

Keep the air path under the front seats clear of
objects. This helps circulate air throughout
your vehicle.
Passenger Compartment Air Filter
Passenger compartment air, both outside air and
recirculated air, is routed through a passenger
compartment filter, which is part of a three
-piece filter
system. The carbon
-treated filter removes certain
contaminants from the air, including pollen and dust
particles. Reductions in airflow, which may occur more
quickly in dusty areas, indicate that the filter needs to be
replaced early.The filter is located inside the air control module, with
an access panel under the instrument panel near the
accelerator pedal. The filter should be replaced as part
of routine scheduled maintenance. See the Maintenance
Schedule booklet for replacement intervals. See your
dealer for details on changing the filter.
Your vehicle will not be damaged if you choose not to
replace the filter once the old one is removed.

4-38 When You Are Ready to Leave After
Parking on a Hill
1. Apply your regular brakes and hold the pedal down
while you:

Start your engine;

Shift into a gear; and

Be sure the parking brake has released.
2. Let up on the brake pedal.
3. Drive slowly until the trailer is clear of the chocks.
4. Stop and have someone pick up and store the chocks.
Maintenance When Trailer Towing
Your vehicle will need service more often when you're
pulling a trailer. See the Maintenance Schedule booklet
for more on this. Things that are especially important
in trailer operation are automatic transaxle fluid (don't
overfill), engine oil, drive belt, cooling system and brake
system. If you're trailering, it's a good idea to review
this information before you start your trip.
Check periodically to see that all hitch nuts and bolts
are tight.
Engine Cooling When Trailer Towing
Your cooling system may temporarily overheat during
severe operating conditions. See ªEngine Overheatingº
in the Index.

6-
6-1
Section 6 Service and Appearance Care
Here you will find information about the care of your vehicle. This section begins with service and fuel information,
and then it shows how to check important fluid and lubricant levels. There is also technical information about your
vehicle, and a part devoted to its appearance care.
6
- 2 Service
6
- 3 Fuel
6
- 5 Filling Your Tank
6
- 8 Filling a Portable Fuel Container
6
- 8 Checking Things Under the Hood
6
- 11 Engine Oil
6
- 16 Engine Air Cleaner/Filter
6
- 19 Automatic Transaxle Fluid
6
- 22 Engine Coolant
6
- 25 Surge Tank Pressure Cap
6
- 26 Power Steering Fluid
6
- 27 Windshield Washer Fluid
6
- 28 Brakes
6
- 32 Battery
6
- 34 Bulb Replacement6
- 43 Windshield Wiper Blade Replacement
6
- 44 Tires
6
- 52 Appearance Care
6
- 53 Cleaning the Inside of Your Vehicle
6
- 54 Care of Safety Belts
6
- 55 Cleaning the Outside of Your Vehicle
6
- 57 Cleaning Tires
6
- 59 GM Vehicle Care/Appearance Materials
6
- 60 Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)
6
- 60 Service Parts Identification Label
6
- 61 Electrical System
6
- 68 Removing the Rear Seat Cushion
6
- 69 Replacement Bulbs
6
- 69 Capacities and Specifications
6
- 70 Normal Maintenance Replacement Parts

6-2
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
Maintenance Schedule booklet.

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 premium unleaded gasoline rated at 91 octane or
higher for best performance. You may use middle
grade or regular unleaded gasolines, but your vehicle's
acceleration may be slightly reduced.
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.
Be sure the posted octane for premium is at least 91
(at least 87 for regular). 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 the recommended 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.

6-17
3. Unhook both air cleaner cover latches.
4. Move the air cleaner lid out of the way.5. Take out the air cleaner filter and remove any
loose debris that may be found lying in the air
cleaner base.
6. Install a new air filter element. See ªNormal
Maintenance Replacement Partsº in the Index
for the proper type.

6-18
Follow these steps to reinstall the air cleaner assembly:
1. Slide the air cleaner lid into the slots in the bottom of
the air cleaner base.
2. Close the cover and make sure that both latches are
secure and fully engaged.
3. Reinstall the clean air duct over the mass airflow
sensor. Make sure that the duct is secure around the
entire outer edge of the sensor.
4. Tighten the air duct clamp.
Refer to the Maintenance Schedule to determine when
to replace the air filter.
See ªScheduled Maintenance Servicesº in the
Maintenance Schedule booklet.
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.

6-19
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, the fluid and filter do not require change
until the message CHANGE TRANS FLUID appears
on the Driver Information Center.
See ªScheduled Maintenance Servicesº in the
Maintenance Schedule booklet.
How to Check
Because this operation can be a little difficult, you
may choose to have this done at the dealership
service department.
If you do it yourself, be sure to follow all the instructions
here, or you could get a false reading on the dipstick.
NOTICE:
Too much or too little fluid can damage your
transaxle. Too much can mean that some of the
fluid could come out and fall on hot engine parts
or exhaust system parts, starting a fire. Be sure
to get an accurate reading if you check your
transaxle fluid.
Wait at least 30 minutes before checking the transaxle
fluid level if you have been driving:

When outside temperatures are above 90F (32C).

At high speed for quite a while.

In heavy traffic
-- especially in hot weather.

While pulling a trailer.