2003 PONTIAC BONNEVILLE check engine light

Find a safe place to park your vehicle. Turn the key off,
wait at least
10 seconds and restart 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 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
Filling Your Tank on page 5-8. 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.
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
one full tank of the proper fuel to turn the light off.
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.
Emissions Inspection and Maintenance
Programs
Some state/provincial and local governments have or
may begin programs to inspect the emission control
equipment on your vehicle. Failure to pass this
inspection could prevent you from getting a vehicle
registration.
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Here are some things you need to know in order to help
your vehicle pass an inspection:
Your vehicle will not pass this inspection
if the SERVICE
ENGINE SOON light is on or not working properly.
Your vehicle will not pass this inspection
if the OBD
(on-board diagnostic) system determines that critical
emission control systems have not been completely
diagnosed by the system. The vehicle would be
considered not ready for inspection. This can happen
if
you have recently replaced your battery or if your
battery has run down. The diagnostic system is
designed to evaluate critical emission control systems
during normal driving. This may take several days
of routine driving.
If you have done this and your vehicle
still does not pass the inspection for lack of
OBD
system readiness, see your dealer or qualified service
center to prepare the vehicle for inspection.
Oil Pressure Gage
United States
Canada
Readings above the shaded warning zone indicate the
normal operating range. Oil pressure may vary with
engine speed, outside temperature and oil viscosity.
A reading in the shaded warning zone may be caused
by a low oil level or another problem causing low
011
pressure. On vehicles with the systems monitor,
the
CHECK GAGES light will come on and a warning
chime will sound.
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On vehicles with a DIC, a CHECK GAGES OIL
PRESSURE message will be displayed and a warning
chime will sound. See
DIC Warnings and Messages
on Daue
3-60 for more information.
Don’t keep drivi
J if the oil pressure is low. If
you do, your engine can become
so hot that it
catches fire. You or others could be burned.
Check your oil as soon as possible and have
your vehicle serviced.
Notice: Damage to your engine from neglected oil
problems can be costly and is not covered by
your warranty.
Check Oil Level Light
If your vehicle has the
systems monitor, the
comes on for five seconds CHECK
OIL LEVEL light
OIL LEVEL I as
a-bulb check each
time the ignition key
I is turned io ON.
If the engine oil is more than 1 .O quart (0.9 L) low and
the engine has been shut
off for at least eight minutes,
the CHECK OIL LEVEL light will come on and a
chime will sound the next time you
start your vehicle.
If the CHECK OIL LEVEL light comes on, the engine oil
level should be checked
at the dipstick then brought
up
to the proper level, if necessary. See Engine Oil on
page
5- 15.
On vehicles with a DIC, the CHECK OIL LEVEL light is
replaced by an OIL LEVEL
LOW message. See DIC
Warnings and Messages on page 3-60 for more
information.
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Service Vehicle Soon Light
SERVICE
VEHICLE
SOON
b If your vehicle has this
feature, this light will come
on briefly as a bulb
check when your ignition is
turned to
ON.
This light will come on and a warning chime will sound if
you have certain non-emissions related vehicle
problems. These problems may not be so obvious and
may not affect vehicle performance or durability.
Consult a qualified dealership for necessary repairs to
maintain top vehicle performance.
On vehicles with the supercharged engine and a
DIC,
the SERVICE VEHICLE SOON light is replaced by
the SERVICE VEHICLE
SOON message. See
UIL vvarnings ana iviessayes vri paye S-SC fzlr EGE
information.
-.- ...
Fuel Gage
United States Canada
When the ignition
is on, your fuel gage tells you about
how much fuel you have
in your tank.
When the gage reads
in the colored band, a warning
chime will sound and the CHECK GAGES warning light
will come on. You still have a little fuel left, but you
need to get more fuel right away.
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On vehicles with a DIC, the CHECK GAGES LOW
FUEL message will be displayed when the fuel gage
reads
in the yellow band. See DIC Warnings and
Messages on page
3-60 for more information.
Here are some things that owners ask about. None of
these show a problem with your fuel gage:
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.
Boost Gage
Vehicles equipped with the supercharged engine have
this boost gage that
indicates vacuum during
light to moderate
throttle and boost under
heavier throttle.
The gage displays the air pressure level going into the
engine’s combustion chamber.
The gage is automatically centered at zero every time
the ignition key is turned to
ON. Actual vacuum or boost
is displayed from this zero point. Changes in ambient
pressure, such as driving in mountains and changing
weather, will slightly change the zero reading.
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And, of course, actual stopping distances vary greatly
with the surface of the road (whether it’s pavement
or gravel); the condition of the road (wet, dry, icy); tire
tread; the condition of your brakes; the weight of
the vehicle and the amount of brake force applied.
Avoid needless heavy braking. Some people drive in
spurts
- heavy acceleration followed by heavy braking
- rather than keeping pace with traffic. This is a
mistake. Your brakes may not have time to cool between
hard stops. Your brakes will wear out much faster
if
you do a lot of heavy braking. If you keep pace with the
traffic and allow realistic following distances, you will
eliminate a lot of unnecessary braking. That means
better braking and longer brake life.
If your engine ever stops while you‘re driving, brake
normally but don’t pump your brakes. If you
do,
the pedal may get harder to push down. If your engine
stops, you will still have some power brake assist.
But you will use it when you brake. Once the power
assist is used up, it may take longer to stop and
the brake pedal will be harder to push.
Anti-lock Brake System (ABS)
Your vehicle has anti-lock brakes. ABS is an advanced
electronic braking system that will help prevent a
braking skid.
When you start your engine, or when you begin to drive
away, your anti-lock brake system will check itself.
You may hear a momentary motor or clicking noise while
this test is going on, and you may even notice that
your brake pedal moves or pulses a little. This is normal.
ANTI-
LOCK
United States
Canada
If there’s a problem with the anti-lock brake system, this
warning light will stay on. See
Anti-Lock Brake System
Warning Light
on page 3-43.
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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. Of
course, you’ll find experienced and able service
experts in dealerships all across North America. They’ll
be ready and willing to help
if you need it.
Here are some things you can check before a trip:
a
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
you can easily 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.
Windshield Washer Fluid: Is the reservior 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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Put on extra clothing or wrap a blanket around you.
If you have no blankets or extra clothing, make
body insulators from newspapers, burlap bags, rags,
floor mats
- anything you can wrap around
yourself
or tuck under your clothing to keep warm.
You can run the engine to keep warm, but be careful. Snow can trap exhaust 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.
Run your engine only as long as you must. This saves
iuei. vvnen you run tne engine, make
ir go a iiiiie
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.
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