checking oil DODGE GRAND CARAVAN 2009 5.G Owners Manual

If you are required to drive with the trunk/liftgate open,
make sure that all windows are closed and the climate
control BLOWER switch is set at high speed. DO NOT
use the recirculation mode.
The best protection against carbon monoxide entry into
the vehicle body is a properly maintained engine exhaust
system.
Whenever a change is noticed in the sound of the exhaust
system, when exhaust fumes can be detected inside the
vehicle, or when the underside or rear of the vehicle is
damaged, have a competent mechanic inspect the com-
plete exhaust system and adjacent body areas for broken,
damaged, deteriorated, or mispositioned parts. Open
seams or loose connections could permit exhaust fumes
to seep into the passenger compartment. In addition,
inspect the exhaust system each time the vehicle is raised
for lubrication or oil change. Replace as required.Safety Checks You Should Make Inside the
Vehicle
Seat Belts
Inspect the belt system periodically, checking for cuts,
frays, and loose parts. Damaged parts must be replaced
immediately. Do not disassemble or modify the system.
Front seat belt assemblies must be replaced after a
collision. Rear seat belt assemblies must be replaced after
a collision if they have been damaged (i.e., bent retractor,
torn webbing, etc.). If there is any question regarding belt
or retractor condition, replace the belt.
Airbag Warning Light
The light should come on and remain on for six to eight
seconds as a bulb check when the ignition switch is first
turned ON. If the light is not lit during starting, see your
authorized dealer. If the light stays on, flickers, or comes
on while driving, have the system checked by an autho-
rized dealer.
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE 932

CAUTION!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 engine lubrication, the engine oil must
be maintained at the correct level. Check the oil level at
regular intervals, such as every fuel stop. The best time to
check the engine oil level is about five minutes after a
fully warmed engine is shut OFF or before starting the
engine after it has sat overnight.
Checking the oil while the vehicle is on level ground will
improve the accuracy of the oil level readings. Maintain
the oil level between the MIN and MAX markings on the
dipstick. Adding one quart of oil when the reading is at
the MIN mark will result in a MAX reading on these
engines. CAUTION!
Overfilling or underfilling will cause oil aeration, or
loss of oil pressure. This could damage your engine.
MAINTAINING YOUR VEHICLE 439
7

NOTE:
The oil change indicator message will not monitor the
time since the last oil change. Change your vehicle’s
oil if it has been six months since your last oil change,
even if the oil change indicator message is NOT
illuminated.
Change your engine oil more often if you drive your
vehicle off-road for an extended period of time.
Under no circumstances should oil change intervals
exceed 6,000 miles (10 000 km) or six months, which-
ever comes first.
Your authorized dealer will reset the oil change indicator
message after completing the scheduled oil change. If this
scheduled oil change is performed by someone other than your dealer, the message can be reset by referring to
the steps described under “Oil Change Required” in “Use
Factory Settings” of the EVIC section in this manual or
under “Odometer/Trip Odometer” in the “Instrument
Cluster Descriptions section of this manual.
At Each Stop For Fuel
Check the engine oil level about five minutes after a
fully warmed engine is shut OFF. Checking the oil
level while the vehicle is on level ground will improve
the accuracy of the oil level reading. Add oil only
when the level is at or below the ADD, SAFE or MIN
mark.
Check the windshield washer solvent and add if
required.
MAINTENANCE SCHEDULES 485 8
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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

Exterior Folding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Heated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Outside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Rearview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Vanity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Modifications/Alterations, Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Monitor, Tire Pressure System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370
Mopar Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437,506
Multi-Function Control Lever . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Navigation System (uconnectt gps) . . . . . . . . . . . 196
New Vehicle Break-In Period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Occupant Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52,68,71
Occupant Restraints (Sedan) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65,68,70
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Oil Change Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245,252,259
Oil Change Indicator, Reset . . . . . . . . . . . 245,252,259 Oil, Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439,481
Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480
Change Interval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440
Checking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439
Disposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 442
Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 442,481
Filter Disposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 442
Identification Logo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440
Materials Added to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441
Recommendation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440,480
Synthetic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441
Viscosity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441,480
Onboard Diagnostic System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435,436
Opener, Garage Door (HomeLinkt) . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Operator Manual (Owner’s Manual) . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Outside Rearview Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100,101
Overhead Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Overhead Travel Information Center . . . . . . . . . . 198
Overheating, Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240,410
INDEX 523
10