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IF YOUR ENGINE
OVERHEATS
In any of the following situations, you can
reduce the potential for overheating your en-
gine by taking the appropriate action.
• On the highways — slow down.
• In city traffic — while stopped, place the
transmission in NEUTRAL, but do not in-
crease engine idle speed.
CAUTION!
Driving with a hot cooling system could
damage your vehicle. If the temperature
gauge reads “H,” pull over and stop the
vehicle. Idle the vehicle with the air con-
ditioner turned off until the pointer drops
back into the normal range. If the pointer
remains on the “H” and you hear continu-
ous chimes, turn the engine off immedi-
ately and call for service.NOTE:
There are steps that you can take to slow
down an impending overheat condition:
• If your air conditioner (A/C) is on, turn it off.
The A/C system adds heat to the engine
cooling system and turning the A/C off can
help remove this heat.
• You can also turn the temperature control
to maximum heat, the mode control to floor
and the blower control to high. This allows
the heater core to act as a supplement to
the radiator and aids in removing heat from
the engine cooling system.WARNING!
You or others can be badly burned by hot
engine coolant (antifreeze) or steam from
your radiator. If you see or hear steam
coming from under the hood, do not open
the hood until the radiator has had time to
cool. Never try to open a cooling system
pressure cap when the radiator or coolant
bottle is hot.
GEAR SELECTOR OVERRIDE
If a malfunction occurs, and the gear selector
cannot be moved out of the PARK position,
you can use the following procedure to tem-
porarily move the gear selector:
1. Turn the engine OFF.
2. Apply the park brake.
3. Grasp the boot material rearward of the
gear selector and pull up to carefully
separate the gear selector bezel and boot
assembly from the center console.
Gear Selector Bezel
IN CASE OF EMERGENCY
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WARNING!
mable and can explode, injuring you.
Other unapproved refrigerants or lubri-
cants can cause the system to fail, re-
quiring costly repairs. Refer to Warranty
Information Book, located in your own-
er’s information kit, for further warranty
information.
• The air conditioning system contains re-
frigerant under high pressure. To avoid
risk of personal injury or damage to the
system, adding refrigerant or any repair
requiring lines to be disconnected
should be done by an experienced tech-
nician.
CAUTION!
Do not use chemical flushes in your air
conditioning system as the chemicals can
damage your air conditioning components.
Such damage is not covered by the New
Vehicle Limited Warranty.
A/C Air Filter
See your authorized dealer for service.
Wiper Blades
Clean the rubber edges of the wiper blades
and the windshield and rear window periodi-
cally with a sponge or soft cloth and a mild
nonabrasive cleaner. This will remove accu-
mulations of salt, waxes, or road film, and
help reduce streaking and smearing.
Operation of the wipers on dry glass for long
periods may cause deterioration of the wiper
blades. Always use washer fluid when using
the wipers to remove salt or dirt from a dry
windshield or rear window.
Avoid using the wiper blades to remove frost
or ice from the windshield or rear window.
Make sure that they are not frozen to the glass
before turning them on to avoid damaging the
blade. Keep the wiper blade out of contact
with petroleum products such as engine oil,
gasoline, etc.NOTE:
Life expectancy of wiper blades varies de-
pending on geographical area and frequency
of use. Poor performance of blades may be
present with chattering, marks, water lines or
wet spots. If any of these conditions are
present, clean the wiper blades or replace as
necessary.
Cooling System
WARNING!
• You or others can be badly burned by hot
engine coolant (antifreeze) or steam
from your radiator. If you see or hear
steam coming from under the hood, do
not open the hood until the radiator has
had time to cool. Never open a cooling
system pressure cap when the radiator or
coolant bottle is hot.
• Keep hands, tools, clothing, and jewelry
away from the radiator cooling fan when
the hood is raised. The fan starts auto-
matically and may start at any time,
whether the engine is running or not.
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WARNING!
• When working near the radiator cooling
fan, disconnect the fan motor lead or
turn the ignition to the OFF mode. The
fan is temperature controlled and can
start at any time the ignition is in the ON
mode.
Coolant Checks
Check engine coolant (antifreeze) protection
every 12 months (before the onset of freezing
weather, where applicable). If the engine
coolant (antifreeze) is dirty or rusty in appear-
ance, the system should be drained, flushed
and refilled with fresh engine coolant (anti-
freeze). Check the front of the A/C condenser
for any accumulation of bugs, leaves, etc. If
dirty, clean by gently spraying water from a
garden hose vertically down the face of the
condenser.
Brake System
In order to assure brake system performance,
all brake system components should be in-
spected periodically. Refer to the “Mainte-
nance Plan” in this section for the proper
maintenance intervals.
WARNING!
Riding the brakes can lead to brake failure
and possibly a collision. Driving with your
foot resting or riding on the brake pedal
can result in abnormally high brake tem-
peratures, excessive lining wear, and pos-
sible brake damage. You would not have
your full braking capacity in an emergency.
Brake Master Cylinder
The fluid in the master cylinder should be
checked when performing under hood ser-
vices or immediately if the “Brake Warning
Light” is illuminated.
Be sure to clean the top of the master cylin-
der area before removing the cap. If neces-
sary, add fluid to bring the fluid level up to
the requirements described on the brakefluid reservoir. With disc brakes, fluid level
can be expected to fall as the brake pads
wear. Brake fluid level should be checked
when pads are replaced. However, low fluid
level may be caused by a leak and a checkup
may be needed.
Use only manufacturer's recommended
brake fluid. Refer to “Fluids And Lubricants”
in “Technical Specifications” for further
information.
WARNING!
• Use only manufacturer's recommended
brake fluid. Refer to “Fluids And Lubri-
cants” in “Technical Specifications” for
further information. Using the wrong
type of brake fluid can severely damage
your brake system and/or impair its per-
formance. The proper type of brake fluid
for your vehicle is also identified on the
original factory installed hydraulic mas-
ter cylinder reservoir.
• To avoid contamination from foreign
matter or moisture, use only new brake
fluid or fluid that has been in a tightly
SERVICING AND MAINTENANCE
236