2003 Oldsmobile Alero engine overheat

3400 V6 Engine
In very cold weather,
0°F (-18°C) or colder, the engine
coolant heater,
if your vehicle has this feature, can
help. You'll get easier starting and better fuel economy
during engine warm-up. Usually, the coolant heater
should be plugged in a minimum of four hours prior to
starting your vehicle. At temperatures above
32°F (OOC),
use of the coolant heater is not required.
To Use the Engine Coolant Heater
1. Turn off the engine.
2. Open the hood and unwrap the electrical cord. On
the 2.2L L4
ECOTECTM engine, the engine coolant
heater cord is located in front of the coolant
surge tank on the passenger's side
of the engine
compartment. On the
3400 V6 engine, the
engine coolant heater cord is located near the
engine air cleaner/filter. See
Engine Compartment
Overview on page
5-12 for more information on
location.
3. Plug it into a normal, grounded 1 IO-volt AC outlet.
Plugging the cord into an ungrounded ou' t
could cause an electrical shock. Also, the
wrong kind
of extension cord could overheat
injured. Plug the cord into a properly grounded
three-prong
11 0-volt AC outlet. If the cord
won't reach, use a heavy-duty three-prong
extension cord rated for at least
15 amps.
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2-2 1

Notice: If your vehicle seems to start up rather
slowly, or if
it seems not to shift gears as you go
faster, something may be wrong with a transaxle system sensor. If you drive very far that way, your
vehicle can be damaged.
So, if this happens,
have your vehicle serviced right away. Until then,
you can use SECOND
(2) when you are driving
less than
35 mph (55 kmh) and AUTOMATIC
OVERDRIVE (D) for higher speeds.
THIRD
(3): This position is also used for normal driving.
However, it offers more power and lower fuel economy
than AUTOMATIC OVERDRIVE (D). Here are some
times you might choose THIRD
(3) instead of
AUTOMATIC OVERDRIVE (D):
When driving on hilly, winding roads.
When towing a trailer, so there is less shifting
When going down a steep hill.
between
gears. SECOND
(2): This
position gives you more power but
lower fuel economy.
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.
Notice: Don’t drive in SECOND (2) for more than
25 miles (40 km), or at speeds over 55 mph
(90 km/h), or you can damage your transaxle. Use
THIRD
(3) or AUTOMATIC OVERDRIVE (D) as
much as possible. Don’t shift into SECOND
(2)
unless you are going slower than 65 mph (105 kdh)
or you can damage your engine.
FIRST
(1): This position gives you even more power
but lower fuel economy 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
(I), the transaxle won’t shift
into first gear until the vehicle is going slowly enough.
Notice: If your front wheels won’t turn, 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 overheat and damage the transaxle. Use your
brakes to hold your vehicle
in position on a hill.
2-24

Notice: Driving with the parking brake on can
cause your rear brakes to overheat. You may have
to replace them, and you could also damage
other parts
of your vehicle.
If you are towing a trailer and are parking on a hill, see
Towing a Trailer on page 4-36.
1g Inti Park (P)
2. Move the shift lever into PARK (P) like this:
It can be dangerous to get t of yc r vehicle
if the shift lever is not fully in PARK (P) with
the parking brake firmly set. Your vehicle can
roll. If you have left the engine running, the
vehicle can move suddenly. You or others
could be injured.
To be sure your vehicle won’t
move, even when you’re on fairly level ground,
trailer, see “Towing a Trailer” in the Index.
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If your vehicle is an automatic transaxle, do the following
to shift into PARK (P):
1. Hold the brake pedal down with your right foot and
set the parking brake.
Hold in the button on the shift lever.
Push the shift lever all the way toward the front
of the vehicle.
3. Turn the ignition key to OFF.
4. Remove the key and take it with you. If you can
leave your vehicle with the ignition key in your
hand, your vehicle
is in PARK (P).
2-27

Leaving Your Vehicle With the
Enm‘ne Running
-L can be ..mgerous tc -3ave your vehicle \II .-.I
the engine running. Your vehicle could move
suddenly
if the shift lever is not fully in
PARK (P) with the parking brake firmly set.
And,
if you leave the vehicle with the engine
running, it could overheat and even catch fire.
You or others could be injured. Don’t leave
your vehicle with the engine running.
If you have to leave your automatic transaxle model
vehicle with the engine running, be sure your vehicle is
in PARK (P) and your parking brake is firmly set
before you leave it. After you’ve moved the shift lever
into PARK (P), hold the regular brake pedal down. Then,
see
if you can move the shift lever away from PARK (P)
without first pushing the button.
If you can, it means that the shift lever wasn’t fully
locked into PARK (P).
Torque Lock
If you are parking on a hill and you don’t shift your
automatic transaxle into PARK
(P) properly, the weight
of the vehicle may put too much force on the parking
pawl in the transaxle. You may find it difficult to pull the
shift lever out of PARK (P). This is called “torque
lock.“ To prevent torque lock, set the parking brake and
then shift into PARK (P) properly before you leave
the driver’s seat. To find out how, see
Shifting Into
Park (P)
on page 2-27.
When you are ready to drive, move the shift lever out of
PARK
(P) before you release the parking brake.
If torque lock does occur, you may need to have another
vehicle push yours a little uphill to take some of the
pressure from the parking pawl in the transaxle,
so you
can pull the shift lever out of PARK (P).
Shifting Out of Park (P)
If your vehicle has an automatic transaxle it has an
automatic transaxle shift lock control system. You have
to apply your regular brake before you can shift from
PARK (P) when the ignition is in
ON. See Automatic
Transaxle Operation
on page 2-22.
If you cannot shift out of PARK (P), ease pressure on
the shift lever and push the shift lever all the way
into PARK (P) as you maintain brake application. Then
move the shift lever into the gear you wish. (Press
the shift lever button before moving the shift lever.)
2-28

Engine Coolant Temperature Gage
This gage shows the engine coolant
temperature.
if the gage
pointer moves into the red
area, the light comes
on and you hear a chime,
your engine
is too hot.
It means that your engine
coolant has overheated.
See
Engine Overheating on page 5-26.
Low Coolant Warning Light
1
This light comes on
briefly when you turn your
ignition on.
!f this !ight comes on and stays on and you hear a
chime, the coolant level in your vehicle is low.
See
Engine Coolant on page 5-23. If the light is on along
with an overheat warning, you may have a
serious overheating problem. See
Engine Coolant
Temperature Gage on page 3-31
listed previously.
Notice: Damage to your engine from neglected
coolant problems can be costly and is not covered
by your warranty.
See
Engine Overheating on page 5-26 for information
on what
to do. Your vehicle should be serviced as soon
as possible.
Malfunction Indicator Lamp
Service Engine Soon Light in the
United States
or Check Engine Light in
Canada
17
SERVICE
ENGINE
SOON
II I I I
United States Canada
Your vehicle is equipped with a computer which
monitors operation of the fuel, ignition and emission
control systems.
3-3 1

Run your engine only as long as you must. This saves If You Are Stuck: In Sand, Mud,
fuel. When you run the engine, make it go a iiliie
faster than iust idle. That is, push the accelerator Ice or Snow
slightly. This uses less fuel for the heat that you get and
it keeps the battery charged. You will need a
well-charged battery to restart the vehicle, and possibly need to spin the wheels, but you don’t want to spin your
for signaling later
on with your headlamps. Let the
heater run for a while. In
order to free your vehicle when it is stuck, you will
wheels too fast. The method known as “rocking” can
help you get out when you’re stuck, but you must
use caution.
Then, shut the engine
off and close the window almost all
the way to preserve the heat. Start the engine again and
repeat this only when you feel really uncomfortable from
the cold. But do it as little as possible. Preserve the fuel
as long as you can. To help keep warm, you can get out
of the vehicle and do some fairly vigorous exercises
every half hour or
so until help comes. _~OU let your tires spin __ -..gh speed, they
injured. And, the transaxle or other parts
of the
vehicle can overheat. That could cause an
engine compartment fire or other damage.
When you’re stuck, spin the wheels as little as
possible. Don’t spin the wheels above 35 mph
f55 km/h) as shown on the speedometer.
can expbde, and you or others could be
4-29

Turn Signals When Towing a Trailer
When you tow a trailer, your vehicle may need a
different turn signal flasher and/or extra wiring. Check
with your dealer. The arrows on your instrument
panel will flash whenever you signal a turn or lane
change. Properly hooked up, the trailer lamps will also
flash, telling other drivers you’re about to turn,
change lanes or stop.
When towing a trailer, the arrows on your instrument
panel will flash for turns even
if the bulbs on the trailer
are burned out. Thus, you 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 stiil working.
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 and reduce your
speed to around
45 mph (70 km/h) to reduce the
possibility of engine and transaxle overheating.
P; ‘ting 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
PARK (P) for an automatic transaxle or into a
gear for a manual transaxle, yet. When parking
uphill, turn your wheels away from the curb. When
parking downhill, turn your wheels into the curb.
2. Have someone place chocks under the trailer
1/:!?ee!s.
3. When the chocks are in place, release the regular
brakes until the chocks absorb the load.
4. Reapply the regular brakes. Then apply your
parking brake and shift into PARK (P) for an
automatic transaxle or
REVERSE (R) for a manual
transaxle.
5. Release the regular brakes.
4-4 1

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
release the parking brake.
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 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.
Each of these is covered in this manual, and the
Index will help you find them quickly. 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
Engine Overheating on
page
5-26.
4-42