check engine light DODGE GRAND CARAVAN 2009 5.G User Guide

apparent, and/or the system is not functioning as antici-
pated. Coordinate inspection efforts through an autho-
rized dealer.CAUTION!
Do not use chemical flushes in your power steering
system as the chemicals can damage your power
steering components. Such damage is not covered by
the New Vehicle Limited Warranty.
WARNING!
Fluid level should be checked on a level surface and
with the engine off to prevent injury from moving
parts and to ensure accurate fluid level reading. Do
not overfill. Use only manufacturer’s recommended
power steering fluid.
If necessary, add fluid to restore to the proper indicated
level. With a clean cloth, wipe any spilled fluid from all
surfaces. Refer to “Fluids, Lubricants, and Genuine
Parts” in Section 7 for the correct fluid type.
PARKING BRAKE
When the parking brake is applied with the ignition
switch ON, the “Brake Warning Light” in the instrument
cluster will turn on.
NOTE:
This light only shows that the parking brake is
applied. It does not show the degree of brake application.
STARTING AND OPERATING 343 5

ONBOARD DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEM — OBD IIYour vehicle is equipped with a sophisticated onboard
diagnostic system called OBD II. This system monitors
the performance of the emissions, engine, and automatic
transmission control systems. When these systems are
operating properly, your vehicle will provide excellent
performance and fuel economy, as well as engine emis-
sions well within current government regulations.
If any of these systems require service, the OBD II system
will turn on the “Malfunction Indicator Light.” It will
also store diagnostic codes and other information to
assist your service technician in making repairs. Al-
though your vehicle will usually be drivable and not
need towing, see your authorized dealer for service as
soon as possible.
CAUTION!

Prolonged driving with the “Malfunction Indica-
tor Light” on could cause further damage to the
emission control system. It could also affect fuel
economy and driveability. The vehicle must be
serviced before any emissions tests can be per-
formed.
If the “Malfunction Indicator Light” is flashing
while the engine is running, severe catalytic con-
verter damage and power loss will soon occur.
Immediate service is required.
Loose Fuel Filler Cap Message — gASCAP
Should the “Loose Fuel Filler Cap” or “gASCAP” mes-
sage appear, there may be a problem in the evaporative
system. Before taking the vehicle into an authorized
dealer, check first to see if the fuel filler cap is possibly
loose, improperly installed, or damaged. A loose fuel
MAINTAINING YOUR VEHICLE 435 7

filler cap message will be displayed in the instrument
cluster. Tighten the gas cap until a9clicking9sound is
heard. This is an indication that the gas cap is properly
tightened. Press the odometer reset button to turn the
message off. If the problem persists, the message will
appear the next time the vehicle is started. If the problem
is detected twice in a row, the system will turn on the
Malfunction Indicator Light (MIL). Resolving the prob-
lem will turn the MIL light off. Take your vehicle in to an
authorized dealer.
EMISSIONS INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE
PROGRAMS
In some localities, it may be a legal requirement to pass
an inspection of your vehicle’s emissions control system.
Failure to pass could prevent vehicle registration.
For states that require an Inspection and Mainte-
nance (I/M), this check verifies the “Malfunction Indicator Light (MIL)” is functioning and is not on when
the engine is running, and that the OBD II system is
ready for testing.
Normally, the OBD II system will be ready. The OBD II
system may
notbe ready if your vehicle was recently
serviced, recently had a dead battery or a battery replace-
ment. If the OBD II system should be determined not
ready for the I/M test, your vehicle may fail the test.
Your vehicle has a simple ignition key-actuated test,
which you can use prior to going to the test station. To
check if your vehicle’s OBD II system is ready, you must
do the following:
1. Insert your ignition key into the ignition switch.
2. Turn the ignition to the ON position, but do not crank
or start the engine.
3. If you crank or start the engine, you will have to start
this test over. 436 MAINTAINING YOUR VEHICLE

Avoid using the wiper blades to remove frost or ice from
the windshield. Keep the blade rubber out of contact with
petroleum products such as engine oil, gasoline, etc.
NOTE:Life expectancy of wiper blades varies depend-
ing on geographical area and frequency of use. Poor
performance of blades may be present with chattering,
marks, water lines or wet spots. If any condition is
present please proceed to clean wiper blades with humid
cloth removing any debris that may be affecting its
function. If performance is not of your entire satisfaction
please visit dealer to have your wiper blades replaced.
Adding Washer Fluid
The fluid reservoir for the windshield washers and the
rear window washer is shared. It is located in the engine
compartment and should be checked at regular intervals.
Fill the reservoir with windshield washer solvent (not
radiator antifreeze) and operate the system for a few
seconds to flush out any residual water. The washer fluid reservoir will hold a full gallon of fluid
when the Low Washer Fluid Light illuminates. WARNING!
Commercially available windshield washer solvents
are flammable. They could ignite and burn you. Care
must be exercised when filling or working around
the washer solution.
After the engine has warmed, operate the defroster for a
few minutes to reduce the possibility of smearing or
freezing the fluid on the cold windshield. MOPARt All
Weather Windshield Washer Solution, used with water as
directed on the container, aids cleaning action, reduces
the freezing point to avoid line clogging, and is not
harmful to paint or trim.
450 MAINTAINING YOUR VEHICLE

Master Cylinder — Brake Fluid Level CheckThe fluid level in the master cylinder should be checked
when performing underhood services, or immediately if
the “Brake System Warning Light” indicates system
failure.
Clean the top of the master cylinder area before removing
the cap. Add fluid to bring the level up to the top of the
“FULL” mark on the side of the master cylinder reservoir.
Overfilling of fluid is not recommended because it may
cause leaking in the system.
Add enough fluid to bring the level up to the require-
ments described on the brake fluid reservoir. With disc
brakes, fluid level can be expected to fall as the brake
pads wear. However, low fluid level may be caused by a
leak and a checkup may be needed.
Use only manufacturer’s recommended brake fluid. Re-
fer to “Fluids, Lubricants, and Genuine Parts” in this
section for the correct fluid type. WARNING!

Overfilling the brake fluid reservoir can result in
spilling brake fluid on hot engine parts and the
brake fluid catching fire.
Use of a brake fluid that has a lower initial boiling
point than the recommended MOPARt DOT 3
product or a brake fluid that is unidentified as to
FMVSS specification may result in sudden brake
failure during hard prolonged braking. You could
have an accident.
Use only brake fluid that has been in a tightly closed
container to avoid contamination from foreign matter or
moisture.
MAINTAINING YOUR VEHICLE 457 7

Once A Month
Check tire pressure and look for unusual wear or
damage.
Inspect the battery and clean and tighten the terminals
as required.
Check the fluid levels of the coolant reservoir, the
brake master cylinder, the power steering and the
transaxle and add as needed.
Check all lights and other electrical items for correct
operation.At Each Oil Change
Change the engine oil filter.
Inspect the brake hoses and lines. CAUTION!
Failure to perform the required maintenance items
may result in damage to the vehicle.
Required Maintenance Intervals
Refer to the Maintenance Schedules on the following
pages for the required maintenance intervals.
486 MAINTENANCE SCHEDULES
8
M
A I
N T
E
N A
N C E
S
C
H E
D
U L
E
S

Calibration, Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255,261
Camera, Rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Capacities, Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480
Caps, FillerFuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
Oil (Engine) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441
Power Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
Radiator (Coolant Pressure) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 454
Car Washes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462
Carbon Monoxide Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92,382
Cargo Compartment Luggage Carrier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Cargo (Vehicle Loading) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Caution, Exhaust Gas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50,382
Cellular Phone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113,305
Center High Mounted Stop Light . . . . . . . . . . . . 479
Chains, Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
Changing A Flat Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411
Chart, Tire Sizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353 Check Engine Light
(Malfunction Indicator Light) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246,436
Checking Your Vehicle For Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Checks, Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Child Restraint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79,81
Child Restraint Tether Anchors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Child Safety Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Child Seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Clean Air Gasoline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
Cleaning
Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463
Climate Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268,271,280
Coat Hook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Coin Holder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Cold Weather Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Compact Disc (CD) Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
Compact Spare Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252,255,261
514 INDEX

Power Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
Disabled Vehicle Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427
Disposal Antifreeze (Engine Coolant) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 454
Engine Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 442
Domelight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Door Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Door Locks, Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Door Opener, Garage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Driving On Slippery Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
Through Flowing, Rising, or Shallow Standing
Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
DVD Player (Video Entertainment System™) . . . . 301
E-85 Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
Electric Remote Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Electrical Power Outlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Electronic Brake Control System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347 Brake Assist System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348
Electronic Stability Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
Electronic Speed Control (Cruise Control) . . . . . . 188
Electronic Stability Program (ESP) . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
Electronic Vehicle Information Center
(EVIC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196,256
Emergency, In Case of Hazard Warning Flasher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410
Jacking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411,415
Jump Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424
Overheating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410
Emission Control System Maintenance . . . . . . 436,484
Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433,434 Air Cleaner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 442
Block Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Break-In Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Checking Oil Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439
Compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433,434
Coolant (Antifreeze) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481
516 INDEX

Flexible Fuel VehiclesCruising Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386
Engine Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385
Fuel Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383,384
Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386
Replacement Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386
Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386
Flooded Engine Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Floor Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Fluid Capacities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480
Fluid Leaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Fluid Level Checks
Automatic Transaxle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459
Automatic Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459
Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457
Power Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
Fluids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481
Fluids, Lubricants and Genuine Parts . . . . . . . . . . 481
Fog Light Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477 Fog Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181,248,477
Fold in Floor (Stow
8n Go) Seating . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Freeing A Stuck Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
Adding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
Clean Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
Filler Cap (Gas Cap) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240,387
Filler Door (Gas Cap) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Gasoline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Octane Rating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481
Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378,480
Tank Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480
Fuel, Flexible . . . . . . . . . . . . . See Flexible Fuel Vehicles
Fuel System Caution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
Fueling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
Fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 467
518 INDEX

Latches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Lead Free Gasoline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
Leaks, Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Life of Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366
Liftgate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Light Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94,176
Airbag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63,69,73,93,249
Alarm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Anti-Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Automatic Headlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Back-Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 478
Battery Saver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Brake Assist Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
Brake Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475,476
Center Mounted Stop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479
Daytime Running . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 Dimmer Switch, Headlight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Engine Temperature Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Fog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181,248,477
Hazard Warning Flasher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410
Headlight Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Headlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476
Headlights On Reminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
High Beam Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
High Beam/Low Beam Select . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Illuminated Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177,178
License . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479
Lights On Reminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Low Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Malfunction Indicator (Check Engine) . . . . . . . . 246
Oil Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178,477
Passing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
INDEX 521
10