engine overheat OLDSMOBILE BRAVADA 1998 Owners Manual

a The 1998 Oldsmobile Bravada Owner’s Manual
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Seats and Restraint Systems
This section tells you how to use your seats and safety belts properly. It also explains the “SIR” system.
Features and Controls
This section explains how to start and operate your vehicle.
Comfort Controls and Audio Systems
This section tells you how to adjust the ventilation and comfort controls and how to operate your audio system.
Your Driving and the Road
Here you’ll find helpful information and tips about the road and how to drive under different conditions.
Problems on the Road
This section tells what to do if you have a problem while driving, such as a tlat tire or overheated engine, etc.
Service and Appearance Care
Here the manual tells you how to keep your vehicle running properly and looking good.
Maintenance Schedule
This section tells you when to perform vehicle maintenance and what fluids and lubricants to use.
Customer Assistance Information
This section tells you how to contact Oldsn~obile for assistance and how to get service and owner publications.
It also gives you information on “Reporting Safety Defects” on page 8-8.
Index
Here’s an alphabetical listing of almost every sthjeot in this manual. You can use it to quickly find
something you want
to read.
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Engine Coolant Heater (If Equipped)
In very cold weather, 0°F (-18°C) or colder, the engine
coolant heater can help.
You’ll get easier starting and
better fuel economy during engine warm-up. Usually,
the coolant heater should be plugged
in a minimum of
four hours prior to starting your vehicle.
To Use the Engine Coolant Heater
1. Turn off the engine.
2. Open the hood and unwrap the electrical cord. The
cord is located
on the driver’s side of the engine
compartment, behind the underhood fuse block.
3. Plug it into a normal, grounded 1 10-volt AC outlet.
Plugging the cord into an ungrounded outlet
could cause an electrical shock.
Also, the wrong
kind
of extension cord could overheat and cause
a fire. You could be seriously injured. Plug the
cord into
a properly grounded three-prong
110-volt
AC outlet. If the cord won’t reach, use a
heavy-duty three-prong extension cord rated
for
at least 15 amps.
4. Before starting the engine, be sure to unplug and store
the cord as it was before to keep it away from moving
engine parts.
If you don’t, it could be damaged.
How
long should you keep the coolant heater plugged
in?
The answer depends on the outside temperature, the
kind
of oil you have, and some other things. Instead of
trying to list everything here. we ask that you contact
your retailer
in the area where you’ll be parking your
vehicle. The retailer can give
yo11 the best advice for that
particular area.
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Leaving Your Vehicle With the
Engine
Running
4 CAUTION:
It can be dangerous to leave your vehicle with the
engine running. Your vehicle could move
suddenly if the shift lever is not fully in PARK
(P)
with the parking brake firmly set. And, if you
leave the vehicle with the engine running, it could
overheat and even catch fire. You or others could
be injured. Don’t leave your vehicle with the
engine running unless you have to.
If you have to leave your vehicle with the engine
running, be sure your vehicle is
in PARK (P) and your
parking brake is firmly set before you leave
it. After
you‘ve moved the shift lever into PARK (P), hold the
regular brake pedal down. Then, see
if you can move the
shift lever away from PARK (P) without first pulling it
toward you (or pressing the button on a console shift
lever).
If you can, it means that the shift lever wasn’t
fully locked into PARK (P).
Torque Lock
If you are parking on a hill and you don’t shift your
transmission into PARK (P) properly, the weight of the
vehicle may
put too much force on the parking pawl in
the transmission. You may find it difficult to pull the
shift lever out of PARK (P). This
is called “torque lock.”
To prevent torque lock, set the parking brake and then
shift into PARK (P) properly before you leave the
driver’s seat.
To find out how, see “Shifting Into
PARK
(P)” in the Index.
When you are ready
to drive, move the shift lever out of
PARK
(P) bqjot-e you release the parking brake.
If torque lock does occur, you may need to have another
vehicle push yours a little
uphill to take some of the
pressure
f1-0111 the parking pawl in the transmission, so
you can pull the shift lever out of PARK (P).
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Anti-Lock Brake System Warning Light
~ With the anti-lock brake
system, this light will
come on when you start
your e.ngine and may stay
on
for several seconds.
That’s normal.
If the light stays on, or comes on when you’re driving,
your vehicle needs service.
If the regular brake system
warning light
isn’t on, you still have brakes, but you
don’t have anti-lock brakes.
If the regular brake system
warning light
is also on, you don’t have anti-lock brakes
and there’s
a problem with your regular brakes. See
“Brake System Warning Light“ earlier
in this section.
The anti-lock brake system warning light should come
on briefly when you
turn the ignition key to RUN. If the
light doesn’t come on
then, have it fixed so it will be
ready to warn you
if there is a problem.
Engine Coolant Temperature Gage
This gage shows the
engine coolant temperature.
If the gage pointer moves
into the red area. your
engine is too hot!
It means that your engine coolant has overheated. If you
have been operating your vehicle under normal driving
conditions, you should pull
off the road. stop your
vehicle and
turn off the engine as soon as possible.
In “Problems on the Road,“ this manuill shows you what
to do. See “Engine Overheating”
in the Index.
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Driving Downhill
When off-roading takes you downhill, you'll want to
consider a number
of things:
0 How steep is the downhill'? Will I be able to maintain
vehicle control?
0 What's the surface like'? Smooth'? Ro~lgh'? Slippery?
Hard-packed dirt'? Gravel?
0 Are there hidden surfdce obstacles? Ruts'? Logs'?
Boulders?
0 What's at the bottom of the hill? Is there a hidden
creek bank or even a river bottom
with large rocks?
If you decide you can go down a hill safely, then try to
keep
your vehicle headed straight down, and use a low
they won't have to do all the work. Descend slowly,
keeping your vehicle under control at all times.
i> (rear. This way, engine drag can help your brakes and
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A CAUTION:
Heavy braking when going down a hill can cause
your brakes to overheat and fade. This could cause loss of control and a serious accident.
Apply the brakes lightly when descending a hill
and use a low gear to keep vehicle speed under
control.
Are there some things
I should not do when
driving down a hill?
A: Yes! These are important because if you
ignore them you could lose control and have
a
serious accident.
0 When driving downhill, avoid turns that take you
across the incline of the hill. A hill that's not too
0
steep to drive down may be too steep to drive across.
You could roll over
if you don't drive straight down.
Never go downhill with the transmission
in
NEUTRAL (N). This is called "free-wheeling."
Your brakes will have to do all the work and could
overheat and fade.
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When towing a trailer, the arrows on your instrument
panel will flash for turns even if the bulbs on the trailer
are burned out. Thus, you may think drivers behind you
are seeing your signal when they are not. It’s important
to check occasionally to be sure the trailer bulbs
are
still working.
Driving On Grades
Reduce speed and shift to a lower gear before you start
down a long or steep downgrade. If you don’t shift
down, you might have to use your brakes
so much that
they would get hot and no longer work well.
On a long uphill grade, shift down and reduce your speed to around
45 mph (70 km/h) to reduce the
possibility of engine and transmission overheating.
You should use THIRD
(3) when towing a trailer.
Operating your vehicle in THIRD
(3) when towing a
trailer will minimize heat buildup and extend the life
of
your transmission.
Parking on Hills
You really should not park your vehicle, with a trailer
attached, on a hill.
If something goes wrong, your rig
could start to move. People can be injured, and both
your vehicle and the trailer can be damaged.
But if you ever have to park your rig on a hill, here’s
how to do it:
1. Apply your regular brakes, but don’t shift into
PARK (P) yet. Then turn your wheels into the
curb
if facing downhill or into traffic if facing uphill.
2. Have someone place chocks under the trailer wheels.
3. When the wheel chocks are in place, release the
regular brakes until the chocks absorb the load.
4. Reapply the regular brakes. Then apply your parking
5. Release the regular brakes.
brake and shift into
PARK
(P).
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Section 5 Problems on the Road
Here you'll find what to do about some problems that can occur on the road.
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Hazard Wwning Flashers
Other Warning Devices
Jump Starting
Towing Your Vehicle
Engine Overheating 5-22 If a Tire
Goes Flat
5-22 Changing a Flat Tire
5-3 1 Compact Spare Tire (If Equipped)
5-32 If You're Stuck: In Sand, Mud, Ice or Snow
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Engine Overheating
You will find a coolant temperature gage on your
vehicle's instrument panel. See "Gages" in the Index.
1 [f Steam Is Coming From Your Engine
Steam from an overheated engine can burn you
badly, even if you just open the hood. Stay away
from the engine if you see or hear steam coming
from it. Just turn it off and get everyone away
from the vehicle until it
cools down. Wait until
there is no sign
of steam or coolant before you
open the hood.
If you keep driving when your engine is
overheated, the liquids in it can catch fire.
You or
others could be badly burned. Stop your engine if
it overheats, and get out of the vehicle until the
engine is
cool.
I NOTICE: I
If your engine catches fire because you keep
driving with no coolant, your vehicle can be
badly damaged. The costly repairs would not be
covered
by your warranty.
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If No Steam Is Coming From Your Engine
If you get the overheat warning but see or hear no
steam,
the problem may not be too serious. Sometimes
the engine can get a little too hot when you:
0 Climb a long hill on a hot day.
0 Stop after high-speed driving.
0 Idle for long periods in traffic.
0 Tow a trailer.
If you get the overheat warning with no sign of steam,
try this for a minute or
so:
1. Turn off your air conditioner.
2. Turn on your heater to full hot at the highest fan
speed and open the window as necessary.
3. If you’re in a traffic jam, shift to NEUTRAL (N);
otherwise, shift to the highest gear while
driving
-- DRIVE (D) or THIRD (3).
If you no longer have the overheat warning, you
can drive. Just to be safe, drive slower for about
10 minutes. If the warning doesn’t come back on,
you can drive normally.
If the warning continues, pull over, stop, and park your
vehicle right away.
If there’s still no sign
of steam, push the accelerator until
the engine speed is about twice as fast as normal idle
speed. Bring the engine speed back to normal idle speed
after two or three minutes. Now see if the warning stops.
But then, if you still have the warning, turn oflthe
engine
and get evrryone out of the vehicle until it
cools down.
You may decide not to lift the hood but to get service
help right away.
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U
Heater and radiator hoses, and other engine
parts, can be very hot. Don’t touch them.
If you
do, you can be burned.
Don’t run the engine if there is a leak.
If you run
the engine, it could lose all coolant. That could
cause an engine fire, and you could be burned.
Get any leak fixed before you drive the vehicle.
1 NOTICE:
Engine damage from running your engine
without coolant isn’t covered by your warranty.
If there seems to be no leak, start the engine again. See if
the engine cooling fan speed increases when idle speed is
doubled by pushing the accelerator pedal down. If it
doesn’t. your vehicle needs service. Turn off the engine.
How to Add Coolant to the Coolant
Recovery Tank
If you haven’t found a problem yet, but the coolant level
isn’t at the
ADD mark. add a 50/50 mixture of clecrn
\,L*crtet- (preferably distilled) and DEX-COOL@ engine
coolant
at the coolant recovery tank. (See “Engine
Coolant”
in the Index for more information.)
I A CAUTION:
Adding only plain water to your cooling system
can be dangerous. Plain water, or some other
liquid like alcohol, can boil before the proper
coolant mixture will. Your vehicle’s coolant
warning system
is set for the proper coolant
mixture. With plain water or the wrong mixture,
your engine could get
too hot but you wouldn’t
get the overheat warning. Your engine could
catch fire and you or others could be burned.
Use
a 50/50 mixture of clean water and
DEX-COOL@ coolant.
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