2005 PONTIAC BONNEVILLE Owners Manual

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 does not come on, have it
repaired. This light will also come on during a
malfunction in one of two ways:
Light Flashing— A misre condition has been
detected. A misre increases vehicle emissions
and may damage the emission control system on
your vehicle. Diagnosis and service may be
required.
Light On Steady— An emission control system
malfunction has been detected on your vehicle.
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
Avoiding steep uphill grades
If you are towing a trailer, reduce the amount of
cargo being hauled as soon as it is possible
If the light stops ashing and remains on steady, see “If
the Light Is On Steady” following.If the light continues to ash, 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
ashing, follow the previous steps, and see your dealer
for service as soon as possible.
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. SeeFilling 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.
3-49

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, misring, 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,
your dealer can check the vehicle. Your dealer has
the proper test equipment and diagnostic tools to x 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 or Check Engine 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, your GM dealer can prepare the
vehicle for inspection.
3-50

Oil Pressure Gage (V6 Engine)
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 oil
pressure. On vehicles with the systems monitor,
the CHECK GAGES light will come on and a warning
chime will sound.On vehicles with a DIC, a CHECK GAGES OIL
PRESSURE message will be displayed and a warning
chime will sound. SeeDIC Warnings and Messages
on page 3-62for more information.
{CAUTION:
Do not keep driving if the oil pressure is low. If
you do, your engine can become so hot that it
catches re. You or others could be burned.
Check your oil as soon as possible and have
your vehicle serviced.
Notice:Lack of proper engine oil maintenance may
damage the engine. The repairs would not be
covered by your warranty. Always follow the
maintenance schedule in this manual for changing
engine oil. United States
Canada
3-51

Oil Pressure Gage (V8 Engine)
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 oil
pressure. On vehicles with the systems monitor,
the CHECK GAGES light will come on and a warning
chime will sound.On vehicles with a DIC, a CHECK GAGES OIL
PRESSURE message will be displayed and a warning
chime will sound. SeeDIC Warnings and Messages
on page 3-62for more information.
{CAUTION:
Do not keep driving if the oil pressure is low. If
you do, your engine can become so hot that it
catches re. You or others could be burned.
Check your oil as soon as possible and have
your vehicle serviced.
Notice:Lack of proper engine oil maintenance may
damage the engine. The repairs would not be
covered by your warranty. Always follow the
maintenance schedule in this manual for changing
engine oil. United States
Canada
3-52

Check Oil Level Light
If your vehicle has the
systems monitor, the
CHECK OIL LEVEL light
comes on for ve seconds
as a bulb check each
time the ignition key
is turned to ON.
If the engine oil is more than 1.0 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. SeeEngine Oil on
page 5-16.
On vehicles with a DIC, the OIL LEVEL LOW message
will come on. SeeDIC Warnings and Messages on
page 3-62for more information.
Security Light
This light on the instrument panel cluster reminds you to
activate the theft-deterrent system when leaving your
vehicle.
SeeUniversal Theft-Deterrent on page 2-19for more
information.
United States and V6 in
CanadaCanada (V8 Only)
3-53

Highbeam On Light
This light will illuminate
when the headlamp high
beams are in use.
SeeHeadlamp High/Low-Beam Changer on page 3-8.
Low Washer Fluid Warning Light
If your vehicle has the
systems monitor, this light
will come on and a
warning chime will sound
when the washer uid
container is less than
one-third full.
On vehicles with a DIC, the WASHER FLUID LOW
message will come on. SeeDIC Warnings and
Messages on page 3-62for more information.
Check Gages Warning Light
If your vehicle has the
systems monitor, this light
will come on briey as
a bulb check when
your ignition is turned
to ON.
If this light comes on and stays on while you are driving,
check your gages for fuel, coolant temperature, oil
pressure and voltage.
Door Ajar Light
If your vehicle has the
systems monitor, this light
will come on and a warning
chime will sound when the
driver’s door or one of the
passenger’s doors is not
completely closed.
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On vehicles with a DIC, the door that is ajar will be
shown as an icon next to the vehicle outline and
a message will appear on the display. SeeDIC
Warnings and Messages on page 3-62for more
information.
Trunk Ajar Light
If your vehicle has the
systems monitor, this light
will come on and a
warning chime will sound
when the trunk is not
completely closed.
On vehicles with a DIC, the TRUNK AJAR message will
come on. SeeDIC Warnings and Messages on
page 3-62for more information.
Service Vehicle Soon Light
If your vehicle has this feature, this light will come on
briey 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 qualied dealership for necessary repairs to
maintain top vehicle performance.
United States and V6 in
CanadaCanada (V8 Only)
3-55

Fuel Gage (V6 Engine)
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.On vehicles with a DIC, the CHECK GAGES LOW
FUEL message will be displayed when the fuel gage
reads in the yellow band. SeeDIC Warnings and
Messages on page 3-62for 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 ll 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 ll the tank.
United States
Canada
3-56