This system is called OBD II (On-Board
Diagnostics-Second Generation) and is intended to
assure that emissions are at acceptable levels for the
life of the vehicle, helping to produce a cleaner
environment. The
CHECK ENGINE light comes on to
indicate that there is a problem and service is required.
Malfunctions often will be indicated by the system
before any problem is apparent. This may prevent more
serious damage to your vehicle. This system is also
designed to assist your service technician in correctly
diagnosing any malfunction.
Notice: If you keep driving your vehicle with this
light on, after a while, your emission controls
may not work as well, your fuel economy may not
be as good and your engine may not run as
smoothly. This could lead to costly repairs that may not be covered by your warranty.
Notice: Modifications made to the engine,
transaxle, exhaust, intake or fuel system of your
vehicle or the replacement of the original tires with
other than those of the same Tire Performance
Criteria (TPC) can affect your vehicle’s emission
controls and may cause this light to come on.
Modifications to these systems could lead to costly
repairs not covered by your warranty. This may
also result in a failure to pass a required Emission
Inspection/Maintenance test. This light should
come on, as a check to show you it is
working, when the ignition
is on and the engine is
not running. If the light doesn’t come on, have it
repaired. This light will also come on during a
malfunction in one
of two ways:
Light Flashing - A misfire condition has been
detected.
A misfire increases vehicle emissions
and may damage the emission control system on
your vehicle. Dealer or qualified service center
diagnosis and service may be required.
Light On Steady - An emission control system
malfunction has been detected on your vehicle.
Dealer or qualified service center diagnosis
and service may be required.
If the Light Is Flashing
The following may prevent more serious damage to
your vehicle:
Reducing vehicle speed.
* Avoiding hard accelerations.
b Avoiding steep uphill grades.
If you are towing a trailer, reduce the amount of
cargo being hauled as soon as it is possible.
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If the light stops flashing and remains on steady, see “If
the Light Is On Steady” following.
If the light continues to flash, when it is safe to do so,
stop the vehicle.
Find a safe place to park your vehicle. Turn the key off,
wait at least
10 seconds and restad the engine. if
the light remains on steady, see “If the Light Is On
Steady” following.
If the light is still flashing, follow the
previous steps, and drive the vehicle
to your dealer
or qualified service center for service.
If the Light Is on Steady
You also may be able to correct the emission system
malfunction by considering the following:
Did you recently put fuel into your vehicle?
If
so, reinstall the fuel cap, making sure to fully install
the cap. See
Filhg Your Tank on page 5-7. The
diagnostic system can determine
if the fuel cap has
been left
off or improperly installed. A loose or missing
fuel cap will allow fuel
to evaporate into the atmosphere.
A few driving trips with the cap properly installed
should turn the light off.
Did you just drive through
a deep puddle of water?
If so, your electrical system may be wet. The condition
will usually be corrected when the electrical system
dries out. A few driving trips should turn the light
off.
Are you low on fuel?
As your engine starts to run out of fuel, your engine
may not run as efficiently as designed since small
amounts of air are sucked into the fuel line causing a
misfire. The system can detect this. Adding fuel should
correct this condition. Make sure
to install the fuel
cap properly. See
Filling Your Tank on page 5-7. It will
take a few driving trips
to turn the light off.
Have you recently changed brands of fuel?
If so, be sure to fuel your vehicle with quality fuel. See
Gasoline Octane on page 5-5. Poor fuel quality will
cause your engine not to run as efficiently as designed.
You may notice this as stalling after start-up, stalling
when you put the vehicle into gear, misfiring, hesitation
on acceleration or stumbling on acceleration. (These
conditions may go away once the engine is warmed up.)
This will be detected by the system and cause the
light
to turn on.
If you experience one or more of these conditions,
change the fuel brand you use. It will require at least
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If none of the above steps have made the light turn off,
have your dealer or qualified service center check
the vehicle. Your dealer has the proper test equipment
and diagnostic tools to fix any mechanical or electrical
problems that may have developed.
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Fuel Gage Here are four things that some owners ask about. None
of these show a problem with your fuel gage:
United States Canada
When the ignition is on, your fuel gage tells you about
how much fuel you have left.
When you have less than
3.5 gallons (13.2 L) of fuel
remaining, the
DIC message LOW FUEL will be
displayed and a chime will sound. You need to get more
fuel right away.
At the service station, the gas pump shuts off
before the gage reads full.
It takes a little more or less fuel to fill up than the
gage indicated. For example, the gage may have
indicated the tank was half full, but it actually took a
little more or less than half the tank’s capacity to
fill the tank.
The gage moves a little when you turn a corner or
speed up.
The tank is not necessarily empty when the gage
reads empty. There
is a reserve of about
1.5 gallons (5.6 L) in the tank. You should still get
more fuel as
soon as possible.
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Driver Information Center (DIG) To turn off messages on the DIC (except LOW OIL
PRESSURE, LOW BRAKE FLUID, PARK BRAKE SET,
STARTING DISABLED and the HOT
... STOP ENGINE
warning), press the RESET button.
Pressing the SELECT right arrow button will allow you
to access the following modes, DATE/ET, FUEL, ECON,
OIL and GAGE. While
in any sf these modes, warning
messages can interrupt and take over the display
until you acknowledge the message, or the condition
causing the problem goes away.
English/Metric
The DIC can display information in either English or
metric. To change the display, press and hold the
ON/OFF button for about three seconds. This will also
change the digital screen for the climate control
system between English and metric.
Date/Elapsed Time
The DIC has different display modes which can be
accessed by pressing the four buttons on the DIC. Pressing the SELECT down arrow while in BATE/ET
arrow, SELECT down arrow and RESET. The functions
These bcttsns s)?!!sFF, SELECT rinht I'LJ',L mode will allow vou to choose between the date and the
elapsed time menus.
of these buttons is explained in the following sections.
Turn the system
on or off by pressing the ON/OFF
button once. When you turn on the ignition, the DIC will
turned
off.
be in the mode last displayed ?..lhen the engine \":as
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Date
To set the date, press and hold the RESET button for
about three seconds while the date is being displayed on
the DIC. When the date set mode is entered the
display will show the following:
YEAR?
M M/D D/OO
The year will be flashing. To increase the item that is
flashing press SELECT right arrow. To decrease
the item that is flashing press SELECT down arrow.
When you reach the current year press the RESET
button. The DIC will ask for the month. The month will
flash the same as the year. Use the SELECT buttons
to
reach the current month and press RESET. The DIC
will then ask for the day. The day will flash the same as
the year. Use the SELECT buttons
to reach the
current day. Press the RESET button again and the set
display will stop flashing and go back to the normal
operation mode.
Elapsed Time (ET)
When the ignition is on, the DIC can be used as a
stopwatch. The display will show hours and minutes.
The elapsed time indicator will record
up to 100 hours,
then it will reset
to zero and continue counting. Press
SELECT down arrow while in the DATE/ET mode, and
the display will show the amount of time that has
elapsed since the elapsed time indicator was last reset
(not including time the ignition is
off), such as:
01 :08 ELAPSED TIME
To start or stop the counting of time, press the RESET
button briefly.
If the colon (:) in the time is flashing,
time is being counted. Time is displayed in hours and
minutes. Seconds are not displayed. Time will continue
to be counted as long as the ignition is on, even
if
another display is being shown on the DIC.
To reset elapsed time to zero, press the RESET button
for three seconds while the elapsed time
is displayed.
Fuel
Press the SELECT down arrow while in the FUEL mode
to see how much fuel has been used and the fuel
range functions.
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Fuel Used
While in the FUEL USED function the display will show
a reading such as:
FUEL USED:
10.4 GAL or FUEL USED: 39.4 L
To learn how much fuel will be used from a specific
starting point, first enter the FUEL USED mode to
display FUEL USED, then press and hold the RESET
button for three seconds.
Don't confuse fuel used with the amount of fuel in
your tank.
Fuel Range
The FUEL RANGE mode calculates the remaining
distance you can drive without refueling. It's based
on
fuel economy and the fuel remaining in the tank.
The display will show a reading such as:
FUEL RANGE:
235 MI or FUEL RANGE: 378 KM
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will read LOW FUEL RANGE.
The fuel economy data used to determine fuel range is
an average of recent driving conditions.
As your
driving conditions change, this data is gradually updated.
Fuel range cannd be reset.
Fuel Economy
Pressing the SELECT down arrow while in the ECON
mode displays average fuel economy and instantaneous
fuel economy calculated for your specific driving
conditions.
Average fuel economy will be shown
in a reading
such as:
25.2 AVG MVGAL or 9.3 AVG UlOO KM
Instantaneous fuel economy will be shown in a reading
such as:
28 INST MVGAL or 8.4 INST UlOO KM
The average fuel economy is viewed as a long-term
approximation of your overall driving conditions.
If you press and hold RESET for three seconds in this
mode while you're driving, the system will begin figuring
average fuel economy from that point in time.
Instantaneous fuel economy cannot be reset.
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Once you are moving on the freeway, make certain you
allow a reasonable following distance.
Expect to move slightly slower at night.
When you want to leave the freeway, move to the
proper lane well in advance.
If you miss your exit, do
not, under any circumstances, stop and back up. Drive
on to the next exit.
The exit ramp can be curved, sometimes quite sharply.
The exit speed is usually posted. Reduce your speed
according to your speedometer, not to your sense
of motion. After driving for any distance at higher
speeds, you may tend to think you are going slower
than you actually are.
Before Leaving on a Long Trip
Make sure you’re ready. Try to be well rested. If you
must start when you’re not fresh
- such as after a day’s
work
- don’t plan to make too many miles that first
part of the journey. Wear comfortable clothing and shoes
vou can easilv drive in.
Is your vehicle ready for a long trip? If you keep it
serviced and maintained, it’s ready to go. If
it needs
service, have it done before starting out. Of course,
you’ll find experienced and able service experts
in dealerships all across North America. They’ll be
ready and wiiiing
to heip if you need it.
Here are some things you can check before a trip:
Windshield Washer Fluid: Is the resewior full? Are
all windows clean inside and outside?
Wiper Blades: Are they in good shape?
Fuel, Engine Oil, Other Fluids: Have you checked
all levels?
Lamps: Are they all working? Are the lenses clean?
Tires: They are vitally important to a safe,
trouble-free trip.
Is the tread good enough for
long-distance driving? Are the tires all inflated to the
recommended pressure?
Weather Forecasts: What’s the weather outlook
along your route? Should you delay your trip a
short time to avoid
a major storm system?
Maps: Do you have up-to-date maps?
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C -..- .. car. .. -~,. ex-._.ust gases under your
vehicle. This can cause deadly CO (carbon
monoxide) gas to get inside.
CO could
overcome you and kill you. You can’t see
it or
smell
it, so you might not know it is in your
vehicle. Clear away snow from around the
base of your vehicle, especially any that
is
blocking your exhaust pipe. And check around
again from time to time to be sure snow
doesn’t collect there.
Open a window just
a little on the side of the
vehicle that’s away from the wind. This will
help keep CO out.
nun your engme only as lorig as yuu must. I tlls saves
fuel. When you run the engine, make it go a little
faster than just idle. That is, push the accelerator
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
for signaling later on with your headlamps. Let the
heater run for a while.
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.
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