CAUTION!(Continued)
•Your vehicle has been built with improved fluids
that protect the performance and durability of your
vehicle and also allow extended maintenance inter-
vals. Do not use chemical flushes in these compo-
nents as the chemicals can damage your engine,
transmission, power steering or air conditioning.
Such damage is not covered by the New Vehicle
Limited Warranty. If a flush is needed because of
component malfunction, use only the specified
fluid for the flushing procedure.
Engine Oil
Checking Oil Level
To assure proper lubrication of your vehicle’s engine, the
engine oil must be maintained at the correct level. The
engine oil level should be checked five minutes after a
warmed up engine has been shut off.
Checking the oil while the vehicle is on level ground will
improve the accuracy of the oil level readings. Always
maintain the oil level within the SAFE zone on the
dipstick. Adding 1 U.S. Quart (0.95L) of oil when the
reading is at the bottom of the SAFE zone will result in a
reading at the top of the safe zone on these engines.
CAUTION!
Overfilling or underfilling the crankcase will cause
aeration or loss of oil pressure. This could damage
your engine.
588 MAINTAINING YOUR VEHICLE
of driving. At normal operating temperature, the fluid
cannot be held comfortably between the fingertips.
Use the following procedure to check the transmission
fluid level properly:
1. Park the vehicle on level ground.
2. Remove the engine cover by pulling it up off the
mounting studs (two in the front and two in the rear).
3. Run the engine at idle speed and normal operating
temperature.
4. Fully apply the parking brake, and press the brake
pedal.
5. Place the shift lever momentarily into each gear posi-
tion (allowing time for the transmission to fully en-
gage in each position), ending with the transmission in
PARK.
6. Remove the dipstick, wipe it clean and reinsert it until
seated.
7. Remove the dipstick again and note the fluid level on
both sides. The fluid level reading is only valid if there
is a solid coating of oil on both sides of the dipstick.
Note that the holes in the dipstick will be full of fluid
if the actual level is at or above the hole. The fluid level
should be between the HOT (upper) reference holes on
the dipstick at normal operating temperature. If the
fluid level is low, add fluid through the dipstick tube
to bring it to the proper level.Do not overfill.Use
ONLY the specified fluid (refer to#Fluids, Lubricants,
and Genuine Parts#for fluid specifications). After
adding any quantity of oil through the dipstick tube,
wait a minimum of two minutes for the oil to fully
drain into the transmission before rechecking the fluid
level.
7
MAINTAINING YOUR VEHICLE 621
