2003 PONTIAC GRAND AM Owners Manual

Engine Coolant Temperature Gage
L
United States Canada
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
This light comes on briefly
when you turn your
ignition on.
COOLANT
If this light 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
3-30.
Notice: Damage to your engine from neglected oil
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.
3-30

Malfunction Indicator Lamp
Service Engine Soon Light
SERVICE
ENGINE
SOON
Your vehicle is equipped
with a computer which
monitors operation of the
fuel, ignition and emission control systems.
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
SERVICE ENGINE SOON 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
smoothly. This could lead to costly repairs that may not be covered by your warramty.
be 85 gcod and yaur engine may not run as
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 &y 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:
e
e
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.
3-31

If the Light Is Flashing
The following may prevent more serious damage to
your vehicle:
Reducing vehicle speed.
Avoiding hard accelerations.
Avoiding steep uphill grades.
If you are towing a trailer, reduce the amount of
cargo being h%uled as soon as it
is possible.
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 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 5-7. 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.
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.
3-32

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. 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.
3-33

Oil Pressure Light
If you have a low engine
oil pressure problem, this
light will stay on after
you start your engine,
or
come on and you will hear
a chime when you are
driving.
This indicates that your engine is not receiving enough
oil. The engine could be low on oil,
or could have
some other oil problem. Have it fixed immediately.
When the ignition is on but the engine is not running,
the light will come on as a test to show you it is working,
but the light will go out when the engine is running.
If
it doesn’t come on with the ignition on, you may have a
problem with the bulb. Have it fixed right away. Don’t keep driving 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.
3-34

Low Oil Level Light
LOW
OIL
If your vehicle is equipped
with a
3400 V6 engine,
then you will have a
LOW
OIL light in your
instrument panel cluster.
This light will come on briefly when you start your
vehicle.
If the light stays on after starting your vehicle, or comes
on and chimes while you are driving, your engine oil
level should be checked.
Prior to checking the oil level, be sure your vehicle has
been shut
off for several minutes and is on a level
surface. Check the oil level on your dipstick and bring it
to the proper level. See Engine Oil on page 5-15.
A false LOW OIL light may be generated when parking
on steep grades.
The oil level monitoring system only checks oil level
during the brief period between when the key is on and
the engine is cranking.
It does not monitor engine oil level
when the engine is running. Additionally, an oil
level check is only performed
if the engine has
been turned
off for a considerable period of time
allowing the
oil normally in circulation to drain back into
the oil pan.
CHANGE
OIL
The CHANGE OIL light
should come on briefly as
a bulb check when you start the engine. If the light
doesn’t come on, have it
serviced.
If the CHANGE OIL light comes on and stays on after
you start the engine, have the oil changed.
To reset the CHANGE
OIL light, see Engine oil On
page
5- 15.
3-35

Security Light
SECURITY
This light will come on
when you turn the key
to
ON and will stay on
until the vehicle starts.
Service Vehicle Soon Light
SERVICE
VEHICLE
SOON
This light will come on
briefly when you turn the
ignition
to ON.
If you’re driving and the security light comes on and
remains on, your Passlock@ system is not working
properly. Your vehicle is not protected by Passlock@
and you should see your dealer.
Low Washer Fluid Warning
Light
It will stay on, or come on and a chime will sound if it
detects a problem on the vehicle, such
as a Daytime
Running
Lamps (DRL) or an automatic headlamp
system malfunction.
If this happens, see your dealer as
soon as possible.
This light will come on
briefly when you turn on
the ignition.
It will also stay
on, or come on and a
chime will sound,
if
the windshield washer fluid
reservoir is less than
one-third full.
3-36

Fuel Gage
I
United States Canada
Your fuel gage tells you about how much fuel
you have
left, when the ignition
is on. When the indicator nears
empty, the light will come on and you will hear a chime.
You still have a little fuel left, but you should get
more
soon.
Here are four things that some 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.
The indicator moves a little when you turn a corner
The gage goes back to empty when you turn off the
or
speed up.
ignition.
3-37