Page 245 of 340
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• 
& WARNING  (continued) 
•  Before  reaching  into  the  front  plenum  panel,  always  remove  the 
ignition  key.  Otherwise,  the  windshield  wiper  system  could  unin 
tentionally  be  switched  on,  possibly  causing  personal  injury  from 
the  moving  wiper  linkage. 
•  Never  reach  into  the  area  around  or  touch  the  radiator  fan.  The 
auxiliary  fan  is temperature  controlled  and  can  switch  on  suddenly 
- even  when  the  ignition  is  off . 
•  Do  not  wash,  wax  or  dry  the  engine  with  the  engine  running . 
Moving  or  hot  parts  could  injure  you. 
•  Do  not  clean  the  underside  of  the  chassis,  fenders,  wheel 
covers , or  other  hard  to  reach  parts  without  protecting  your  hands 
and  arms.  You  may  cut  yourself  on  sharp-edged  metal  parts . 
•  Always  read  and  heed  all  WARNINGS  and  other  information 
=> page 230.  • 
Vehic le care  
     
        
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Closing  the  engine  hood 
-Pull  t he  hood  down  until the  pressure  from  the  strut  is 
reduced. 
- Let t he  hood 
drop  down and  latch  in  place. Do  not  try  to 
push  it  shut; 
it  may  fai l to  engage ~& . 
& WARNING 
A  hood  that  is  not  completely  latched  could  fly  up  and  block  your 
view  while  driving. 
•  When  you  close  the  engine  hood,  check  it to  make  sure the 
safety  catch  has  properly  engaged.  The  hood  should be flush  with 
the  surrounding  vehicle  body  parts. 
•  If  you notice  while  driving  that  the  hood  is  not  secured prop
erly,  stop  at once  and  close it. • 
Working  in  the  engine  compartment 
Be especially  careful whenever  you  work  in  the  engine 
compartment. 
Whenever  you  must  perform  any  work in  the  engine  compartment, 
for  example  checking  and  filling  different  fluids,  there  is  a  risk  of  injury,  burns and  accidents.  To prevent  personal  injury  always 
observe  the  following  WARNINGS.  The  engine  compartment of  any 
vehicle  is  a  hazardous  area 
~ 6 . 
& WARNING 
To  help  avoid  injury,  before  you  check anything  under  the  hood : 
•  Turn  off  the  engine. 
•  Remove  the  ignition  key. 
•  Apply  the  parking  brake. 
& WARNING  (continued) 
•  Move  selector  lever  of  automatic  transmission  to  "P" (Park); 
put  manual  transmission  in Neutral. 
•  Always  let  the  engine  cool  down.  Hot  components  will  burn 
skin  on contact. 
•  To reduce  the  risk  of being  burned,  never  open  the  hood  if  you 
see  or  hear steam  or coolant  escaping  from  the  engine  compart
ment.  Wait  until  no  steam  or  coolant  can  be  seen or  heard  before 
carefully  opening  the  hood . 
•  Keep  children  away  from  the  engine  compartment. 
•  Never  spill  fluids  on  hot  engine  components. They  can cause a 
fire. 
•  Never  touch  the  radiator  fan.  The  auxiliary  electric  fan  is 
temperature  controlled  and  can  switch on suddenly. 
•  Never  open  the  coolant  reservoir  cap  when  the  engine  is  still 
warm.  The  coolant  system is  pressurized  and  hot  coolant  could 
spray  out. 
•  Protect  your  face,  hands  and  arm  from  steam or  hot  engine 
coolant  by  placing  a thick  rag  over  the  cap when  you  open  the 
coolant  reservoir. 
•  If work  on  the  fuel  system  or  the  electrical  system is  necessary : 
- Always  disconnect  the  battery . 
- Never  smoke or  work  near  heaters  or  open  flames.  Fluids  in 
the  engine  compartment  could  start  a fire. 
- Keep  an  approved  fire  extinguisher  immediately  available. 
•  To avoid  electrical  shock  and personal  injury while  the  engine 
is  running  or  being  started, never  touch : 
- Ignition  cables 
- Other  components  of  the  high  voltage  electronic  ignition 
system. 
•  If  you must  perform  a check  or repair  with the  engine  running: 
~  
     
        
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0 Note 
• Coolant  pollutes  the  environment  and  could cause  an  engine 
fire.  Excess coolant  will  be forced  out  through  the pressure  relief 
valve  in  the  cap  when  the  engine  becomes  hot. 
•  If,  in  an  emergency,  only  water  can  be  added,  the  correct  ratio 
between  water  and  antifreeze~ 
page 257must  be restored as soon 
as possible. 
<£> For the  sake of the  environment 
Drained  coolant  should  not  be  reused.  Always  dispose  of  used 
coolant  while  observing  all  environmental  regulations.  • 
Radiator  fan 
The radiator  fan  switches  on  automatically  by  itself. 
The  radiator  fan is  driven  by the engine  via  the  V-belt.  The  viscous 
clutch  regulates  the speed  of  the  fan  according  to  the temperature 
of  the  coolant. 
An  auxiliary  electric  radiator  fan*  switches  on  and  off  depending  on  coolant  temperature  and  other  vehicle  operating  conditions. 
After  you  switch  the  engine  off,  the  auxiliary  fan  can  continue  running  for up to 10  minutes  - even  with  the ignition  off.  It can  even 
switch  on  again  later  by  itself~&, if 
•  the  temperature  of  the engine  coolant  rises  due  to the  heat 
build -up  from  the  engine  in  the  engine  compartment,  or 
•  the  engine  compartment  heats  up  because  the  vehicle  is parked 
in  intense  sunlight. 
& WARNING 
•  To reduce  the  risk  of  personal  injury  never  touch  the  radiator 
fan . 
_& WARNING  (continued) 
• The  auxiliary  electric  fan  is temperature  controlled  and  can 
switch  on suddenly  even when  the  engine  is not  running . 
•  The  auxiliary  radiator  fan  switches  on automatically  when  the 
engine  coolant  reaches a certain  temperature  and will  continue  to 
run  until  the  coolant temperature  drops.  • 
Brake  fluid 
Checking  brake  fluid  level 
The brake fluid  level  can  be  checked  with  a quick glance. 
Fig. 203  Engine 
compartment:  Brake 
fluid  reservoir 
Before  you  check  anything  in  the engine  compartment, 
always  read  and  heed  all  WARNINGS:::::, & in  "Working  in 
the  engine  compartment"  on 
page 250. 
Pull the  rubber  strip@ up  partially  and  lift  the  cover @ 
slightly :::::, fig.  203. 
- Read the  brake fluid level from  the brake  fluid reservoir 
©. The  brake  fluid  level must  be between  the "MIN"  and 
"MA X"  markings.  _..