2004 PONTIAC GRAND PRIX engine overheat

To Use the Engine Coolant Heater
1. Turn off the engine.
2. Open the hood and unwrap the electrical cord.
The cord is located above the engine air
cleaner/®lter. See
Engine Compartment Overview
on page 5-12for more information on location.
3. Plug it into a normal, grounded 110-volt AC outlet.
{CAUTION:
Plugging the cord into an ungrounded outlet
could cause an electrical shock. Also, the
wrong kind of extension cord could overheat
and cause a ®re. You could be seriously
injured. Plug the cord into a properly grounded
three-prong 110-volt AC outlet. If the cord
won't reach, use a heavy-duty three-prong
extension cord rated for at least 15 amps.4. Before starting the engine, be sure to unplug and
store the cord as it was before to keep it away
from moving engine parts. If you don't, it could be
damaged.
How long should you keep the coolant heater plugged
in? The answer depends on the outside temperature, the
kind of oil you have, and some other things. Instead
of trying to list everything here, we ask that you contact
your dealer in the area where you'll be parking your
vehicle. The dealer can give you the best advice for that
particular area.
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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 moved to FIRST (1), the transaxle
won't shift into ®rst 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.
Performance Shifting with TAP-ShiftŸ
If your vehicle is
equipped with the
3800 V6 Supercharged
engine, it may have
a console gearshift with
a MANUAL (M) position.
The other gearshift positions available are
PARK (P), REVERSE (R), NEUTRAL (N) and
AUTOMATIC OVERDRIVE (D), and operate as
explained earlier in this section.
While in the MANUAL (M) position, you may up-shift or
down-shift the transaxle using the paddles located
on the steering wheel, under certain circumstances.
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Leaving Your Vehicle With the Engine
Running
{CAUTION:
It can be dangerous to leave your vehicle with
the engine running. Your vehicle could move
suddenly if the shift lever is not fully in
PARK (P) with the parking brake ®rmly set.
And, if you leave the vehicle with the engine
running, it could overheat and even catch ®re.
You or others could be injured. Don't leave
your vehicle with the engine running.
If you have to leave your vehicle with the engine
running, be sure the vehicle is in PARK (P) and the
parking brake is ®rmly 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 ®rst
pushing the shift lever 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
transaxle into PARK (P) properly, the weight of
the vehicle may put too much force on the parking pawl
in the transaxle. You may ®nd it difficult to move the
shift lever out of PARK (P). This is called ªtorque lock.º
To prevent torque lock, set the parking brake and
then shift into PARK (P) properly before you leave the
driver's seat. To ®nd out how, see
Shifting Into Park (P)
on page 2-28.
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 your vehicle uphill. This should
take some of the pressure from the parking pawl in
the transaxle, so you can move the shift lever out
of PARK (P).
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Traction Control System (TCS)
Warning Light
If your vehicle has a 3800
V6 supercharged engine,
it may have the Traction
Control System (TCS).
This light may come on for the following reasons:
·If you turn the system off by pressing the TC (traction
control) button located on the center console, the
light will come on and stay on. To turn the system
back on, press the button again and the warning light
should go out. See
Traction Control System (TCS)
on page 4-10for more information.
·If there's a brake system problem that is speci®cally
related to traction control, the TCS will turn off and
the warning light will come on. If your brakes begin to
overheat, the TCS will turn off and the warning light
will come on until the brakes cool down.
If the traction control system warning light comes on
and stays on for an extended period of time when the
system is turned on, your vehicle needs service.
Enhanced Traction System Warning
Light
If your vehicle has the
3800 V6 engine and
the Enhanced Traction
System (ETS), this
light may come on for
the following reason.
·If you turn the system off by pressing the TC (traction
control) button located on the center console, this
light will come on and stay on. To turn the system
back on, press the button again and the warning light
should turn off. See
Enhanced Traction System
(ETS) on page 4-11.
·If the system is affected by an engine-related
problem, the system will turn off and the warning light
will come on.
If the light comes on and stays on for an extended
period of time when the system is turned on, your
vehicle needs service. Adjust your driving accordingly.
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Engine Coolant Temperature
Warning Light
This light tells you that
the engine coolant has
overheated or the radiator
cooling fan is not working.
If you have been operating the vehicle under normal
driving conditions, you should pull off the road, stop the
vehicle, and turn off the engine as soon as possible.
See
Cooling System on page 5-32for more information.
Engine Coolant Temperature Gage
Your vehicle has a gage
that shows the engine
coolant temperature.
If the gage pointer moves into the shaded area,
the engine is too hot. That reading means the engine
coolant has overheated. If you have been operating the
vehicle under normal driving conditions, you should
pull off the road, stop the vehicle, and turn off the engine
as soon as possible.
See
Cooling System on page 5-32for more information.
3-39

HEADLAMPS SUGGESTED
This message appears when the amount of available
light outside the vehicle is low and the exterior
lamps control is off. This message informs the driver
that turning on the exterior lamps is recommended even
though the Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) are still
illuminated and it has become dark enough outside to
require the headlamps and/or other exterior lamps.
This message will display while the ignition is in RUN.
A chime will sound for two seconds when this message
is displayed. Press the set/reset button to acknowledge
this warning message and to clear it from the screen.
This message will continue to display if it has not been
acknowledged when the engine is turned off. It will
also re-display for three seconds if the message has
been acknowledged, but the condition still exists
when the engine is turned off.
The message will re-appear when the engine is turned
on and the condition still exists.
HOT COOLANT
Notice:If the HOT COOLANT warning message
appears on the DIC display, stop the vehicle as soon
as possible. Do not increase the engine speed
above normal idling speed. Severe engine damage
can result from driving a vehicle with an overheated
engine. See ªEngine Overheatingº in the Service
and Appearance Care section for more information.
This symbol will appear
with the HOT COOLANT
warning message.
This warning message will appear while the engine
coolant temperature is too hot. The hot coolant
temperature warning light will also appear on the
instrument panel cluster. Also, the engine coolant
temperature gage will read in the red or ªhotº area.
See
Engine Coolant Temperature Warning Light
on page 3-39andEngine Coolant Temperature Gage
on page 3-39for more information.
3-70

Run your engine only as long as you must. This 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.If You Are Stuck: In Sand, Mud,
Ice or Snow
In order to free your vehicle when it is stuck, you will
need to spin the wheels, but you don't want to spin your
wheels too fast. The method known as ªrockingº can
help you get out when you're stuck, but you must
use caution.
{CAUTION:
If you let your tires spin at high speed, they can
explode, and you or others could be injured.
And, the transaxle or other parts of the vehicle
can overheat. That could cause an engine
compartment ®re or other damage. When you're
stuck, spin the wheels as little as possible.
Don't spin the wheels above 35 mph (55 km/h)
as shown on the speedometer.
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Making Turns
Notice:Making very sharp turns while trailering
could cause the trailer to come in contact with
the vehicle. Your vehicle could be damaged.
Avoid making very sharp turns while trailering.
When you're turning with a trailer, make wider turns than
normal. Do this so your trailer won't strike soft shoulders,
curbs, road signs, trees or other objects. Avoid jerky or
sudden maneuvers. Signal well in advance.
Turn Signals When Towing a Trailer
When you tow a trailer, your vehicle may need a
different turn signal ¯asher and/or extra wiring.
Check with your dealer. The arrows on your instrument
panel will ¯ash whenever you signal a turn or lane
change. Properly hooked up, the trailer lamps will also
¯ash, telling other drivers you're about to turn,
change lanes or stop.
When towing a trailer, the arrows on your instrument
panel will ¯ash 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 still working.Your vehicle has bulb warning lights. When you plug
a trailer lighting system into your vehicle's lighting
system, its bulb warning lights may not let you know if
one of your lamps goes out. So, when you have a trailer
lighting system plugged in, be sure to check your
vehicle and trailer lamps from time to time to be sure
they're all working. Once you disconnect the trailer
lamps, the bulb warning lights again can tell you if one
of your vehicle lamps is out.
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.
If you have overdrive, you may have to drive in
THIRD (3) instead of AUTOMATIC OVERDRIVE (D).
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