2010 PONTIAC G3 check engine light

Emissions Inspection and Maintenance
Programs
Some state/provincial and local governments have or
might begin programs to inspect the emission control
equipment on the vehicle. Failure to pass this
inspection could prevent getting a vehicle registration.
Here are some things to know to help the vehicle pass
an inspection:
.The vehicle will not pass this inspection if the
check engine light is on with the engine running,
or if the key is in the ON/RUN and the light is
not on.
.The vehicle will not pass this inspection if the
OBD II (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 the battery has
recently been replaced or if the battery has run
down. The diagnostic system is designed to
evaluate critical emission control systems during
normal driving. This can take several days of
routine driving. If this has been done and the
vehicle still does not pass the inspection for lack of
OBD II system readiness, your dealer/retailer can
prepare the vehicle for inspection.
Oil Pressure Light
If the vehicle has low
engine oil pressure, this
light will stay on after the
engine has been started,
or come on while driving.
This indicates that the engine is not receiving enough
oil. The engine could be low on oil, or could have some
other oil problem. Have it fixed immediately by your
dealer/retailer.
4-31

The oil light could also come on in three other
situations:
.When the ignition is on but the engine is not
running, the light will come on as a test to show it
is working. It goes out when the ignition is turned
on. If it does not come on with the ignition on,
there may be a problem with the fuse or bulb.
Have it fixed right away.
.If the vehicle comes to a hard stop, the light may
come on for a moment. This is normal.
{WARNING:
Do not keep driving if the oil pressure is low.
The engine can become so hot that it catches fire.
Someone could be burned. Check the oil as soon
as possible and have the vehicle serviced.
Notice: Lack of proper engine oil maintenance can
damage the engine. The repairs would not be
covered by the vehicle warranty. Always follow the
maintenance schedule in this manual for changing
engine oil.
Change Engine Oil Light
The vehicle may have an engine oil life system that
indicates when the oil needs to be changed.
When the change engine oil light comes on, it means
that the engine oil needs to be changed.
Once the engine oil has been changed, the engine oil
life system must be reset. After reset, the change
engine oil light goes out.
See Engine Oil Life System
on page 6‑18,Scheduled
Maintenanceon page 7‑3and Engine Oilon
page 6‑15for more information.
4-32

A.Engine Air Cleaner/Filter on page 6‑19.
B. Engine Oil Fill Cap. See “When to Add Engine Oil”
under Engine Oil on page 6‑15.
C. Brake/Clutch Fluid Reservoir. See “Brake Fluid”
under Brakes
on page 6‑34andHydraulic Clutchon page 6‑23.
D. Engine Coolant Surge Tank. See Cooling System
on page 6‑24.
E. Engine Compartment Fuse Block on page 6‑89.
F. Battery on page 6‑37.
G. Windshield Washer Fluid Reservoir. See “Adding
Washer Fluid” underWindshield Washer Fluid
on
page 6‑33.
H. Engine Oil Dipstick. See “Checking Engine Oil”
under Engine Oil on page 6‑15.
I. Automatic Transmission Dipstick. See Automatic
Transmission Fluid on page 6‑21.
J. Power Steering Fluid Reservoir. See Power
Steering Fluid on page 6‑32.
Engine Oil
If the engine oil pressure
light comes on, check the
engine oil level right away.
The oil pressure light is on the instrument panel cluster.
See Oil Pressure Light
on page 4‑31. Check the
engine oil level regularly; this is an added reminder.
Checking Engine Oil
It is a good idea to check the engine oil level at each
fuel fill. In order to get an accurate reading, the oil must
be warm and the vehicle must be on level ground.
The engine oil dipstick handle is a yellow loop. See
Engine Compartment Overview
on page 6‑14for the
location of the engine oil dipstick.
1. Turn off the engine and give the oil several minutes to drain back into the oil pan. If this is not done, the
oil dipstick might not show the actual level.
2. Pull the dipstick and clean it with a paper towel or cloth, then push it back in all the way. Remove it
again, keeping the tip down and check the level.
6-15

Engine Oil Life System
When to Change Engine Oil
This vehicle has the Engine Oil Life System, a computer
system that indicates when to change the engine oil
and filter. This is based on engine revolutions and
engine temperature, and not on mileage. Based on
driving conditions, the mileage at which an oil change is
indicated can vary considerably. For the oil life system
to work properly, the system must be reset every time
the oil is changed.
When the system has calculated that oil life has been
diminished, it indicates that an oil change is necessary.
A change engine oil light displays. Change the oil as
soon as possible within the next 1 000 km (600 miles).
It is possible that, if driving under the best conditions,
the oil life system might not indicate that an oil change
is necessary for over a year. However, the engine oil
and filter must be changed at least once a year and at
this time the system must be reset. Your dealer/retailer
has trained service people who will perform this work
using genuine parts and reset the system. It is also
important to check the oil regularly and keep it at the
proper level.
If the system is ever reset accidentally, the oil must be
changed at 5 000 km (3,000 miles) since the last oil
change. Remember to reset the oil life system
whenever the oil is changed.
How to Reset the Engine Oil Life
System
The Engine Oil Life System calculates when to change
your engine oil and filter based on vehicle use.
Whenever the oil is changed, reset the system so it can
calculate when the next oil change is required. If a
situation occurs where the oil is changed prior to a
change engine oil light being turned on, reset the
system.
After changing the engine oil, the system must be reset:1. With the engine off, turn the ignition key to ON/RUN.
2. Fully press and release the accelerator pedal slowly three times within five seconds.
3. Turn the key to LOCK/OFF, then start the vehicle.
If the change engine oil light comes back on when the
vehicle is started, the engine oil life system has not
reset. Repeat the reset procedure.
6-18

4. Open the hoods and locate the batteries. Find thepositive (+) and negative (−) terminal locations on
each vehicle. See Engine Compartment Overview
on page 6‑14for more information on location.
{WARNING:
An electric fan can start up even when the engine
is not running and can injure you. Keep hands,
clothing and tools away from any underhood
electric fan.
{WARNING:
Using a match near a battery can cause battery
gas to explode. People have been hurt doing this,
and some have been blinded. Use a flashlight if
you need more light.
Be sure the battery has enough water. You do not
need to add water to the battery installed in your
new vehicle. But if a battery has filler caps, be
(Continued)
WARNING: (Continued)
sure the right amount of fluid is there. If it is low,
add water to take care of that first. If you don't,
explosive gas could be present.
Battery fluid contains acid that can burn you. Do
not get it on you. If you accidentally get it in your
eyes or on your skin, flush the place with water
and get medical help immediately.
{WARNING:
Fans or other moving engine parts can injure you
badly. Keep your hands away from moving parts
once the engine is running.
5. Check that the jumper cables do not have loose or missing insulation. If they do, you could get a
shock. The vehicles could be damaged too.
Before you connect the cables, here are some
things you should know. Positive (+) will go to
positive (+) or to a remote positive (+) terminal if
6-39

The proper replacement parts, fluids, and lubricants to
use are listed inRecommended Fluids and Lubricants
on page 7‑12andMaintenance Replacement Partson
page 7‑14. We recommend the use of genuine parts
from your dealer/retailer.
Rotation of New Tires
To maintain ride, handling, and performance of the
vehicle, it is important that the first rotation service for
new tires be performed when they have 8 000 to
13 000 km (5,000 to 8,000 miles). See Tire Inspection
and Rotation on page 6‑61.
Scheduled Maintenance
When the Change Engine Oil Light
Displays
Change engine oil and filter. See Engine Oilon
page 6‑15. An Emission Control Service.
When the change engine oil light displays, service is
required for the vehicle as soon as possible, within the
next 1 000 km/600 miles. If driving under the best
conditions, the engine oil life system might not indicate
the need for vehicle service for more than a year. The engine oil and filter must be changed at least once a
year and the oil life system must be reset. Your dealer/
retailer has trained service technicians who will perform
this work and reset the system. If the engine oil life
system is reset accidentally, service the vehicle within
5 000 km/3,000 miles since the last service. Reset the
oil life system whenever the oil is changed. See
Engine
Oil Life System on page 6‑18.
When the change engine oil light displays, certain
services, checks, and inspections are required. The
services described for Maintenance Ishould be
performed at every engine oil change. The services
described for Maintenance IIshould be
performed when:
.Maintenance Iwas performed the last time the
engine oil was changed.
.It has been 10 months or more since the change
engine oil light has displayed or since the last
service.
7-3

A
Accessories and Modifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-3
Accessory Power Outlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13
Add-On Electrical Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-86
Additives, Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-7
Air Cleaner/Filter, Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-19
Air Conditioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-15
Air Filter, Passenger Compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-18
AirbagAdding Equipment to Your Airbag-EquippedVehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-71
Airbag System How Does an Airbag Restrain? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-63
Passenger Sensing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-65
Servicing Your Airbag-Equipped Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . 2-70
What Makes an Airbag Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-63
What Will You See After an Airbag Inflates? . . . . . . 2-64
When Should an Airbag Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-62
Where Are the Airbags? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-60
Airbags
Passenger Status Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-24
Readiness Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-23
System Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-57
AM-FM Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-37 Antenna
Backglass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-53
Fixed Mast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-53
Antilock Brake System (ABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-4 Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-27
Appearance Care Aluminum Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-84
Care of Safety Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-82
Chemical Paint Spotting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-85
Cleaning Exterior Lamps/Lenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-82
Fabric/Carpet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-80
Finish Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-83
Finish Damage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-84
Glass Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-81
Instrument Panel, Vinyl, and Other PlasticSurfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-81
Interior Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-79
Interior Plastic Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-81
Leather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-81
Sheet Metal Damage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-84
Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-84
Underbody Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-85
Washing Your Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-82
Weatherstrips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-82
Windshield and Wiper Blades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-83
i - 1

Carbon MonoxideEngine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-32
Liftgate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11
Trunk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
Care of Safety Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-82
CD, MP3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-48
Center High-Mounted Stoplamp (CHMSL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-46, 6-47
Central Door Unlock System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3-7
Chains, Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-68
Charging System Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-25
Check
Engine Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-29
Checking Things Under the Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-11
Chemical Paint Spotting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-85
Child Restraints
Infants and Young Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-36
Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children . . . . . . . . . . 2-43
Older Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-33
Securing a Child Restraint in a Rear SeatPosition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-51 Child Restraints (cont.)
Securing a Child Restraint in the Right Front
Seat Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-54
Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-40
Where to Put the Restraint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-42
Cigarette Lighter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-14
Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-87
Cleaning Aluminum Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-84
Exterior Lamps/Lenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-82
Fabric/Carpet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-80
Finish Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-83
Glass Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-81
Instrument Panel, Vinyl, and Other Plastic
Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-81
Interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-79
Interior Plastic Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-81
Leather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-81
Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-84
Underbody Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-85
Washing Your Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-82
Weatherstrips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-82
Windshield and Wiper Blades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-83
i - 3