OLDSMOBILE SILHOUETTE 2003 Owners Manual

What to Use
Use a mixture of one-half clean, drinkable water and
one-half
DEX-COOL@ coolant which won’t damage
aluminum parts.
If you use this coolant mixture,
you don’t need
to add anything else.
Adding on
, plain wa ~ ~ * to your cooling
system can be dangerous. Plain water, or
some other liquid such as 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,
drinkable water and
DEX-COOL@ coolant.
Notice: If you use an improper coolant mixture,
your engine could overheat and be badly damaged.
The repair cost wouldn’t be covered by your
warranty.
Too much water in the mixture can freeze
and crack the engine, radiator, heater core and
other parts.
If you have to add coolant more than four times a year,
have your dealer check your cooling system.
Notice: If you use the proper coolant, you don’t
have to add extra inhibitors or additives which claim
to improve the system. These can be harmful.
Checking Coolant
The engine coolant
reservoir is located on the
driver’s side
of the vehicle,
above the engine air
cleanedfilter. See
Engine
Compartment Overview
on page
5- 12 for more
information on location.
5-24

The vehicle must be on a level surface. When your
engine is cold, the coolant level should be at the FULL
COLD mark, or a little higher. When your engine is
warm, the level should be above the FULL COLD mark
or a little higher.
Adding Coolant
If you need more coolant, add the proper DEX-COOL@
coolant mixture at the coolant recovery tank.
Add coolant mixture at the recovery tank, but be careful
not to spill it.
Turning the radiator pressure cap when the engine and radiator are hot can allow steam
and scalding liquids to blow out and burn
you badly. With the coolant recovery tank,
you will almost never have to add coolant at
the radiator. Never turn the radiator pressure
cap
- even a little - when the engine and
radister Ere h3!.
You can be burned if you spill coolant on hot
engine parts. Coolant contains ethylene glycol,
and
it will burn if the engine parts are hot
enough. Don’t spill coolant on a
hot engine.
.
Occasionally check the coolant level in the radiator.
For information on how to add coolant to the radiator,
see
Cooling System on page 5-29.
5-25

Radiator Pressure Cap
Notice: Your radiator cap is a pressure-type cap
and must be tightly installed to prevent coolant
loss
and possible engine damage from overheating.
Be sure the arrows on the cap line
up with the
overflow tube on the radiator filler neck.
The radiator pressure cap is located at the front of the
engine compartment on the passenger’s side of the
vehicle. See
Engine Compartment Overview on
page 5-72 for more information on location.
Engine Overheating
You will find an engine coolant temperature gage on
your vehicle’s instrument panel cluster. See
Engine
Coolant Temperature Gage
on page 3-47. You also
have an engine coolant temperature warning message
on your instrument panel. See
Engine Coolant
Temperature Warning Message
on page 3-53.
Overheated Engine Protection
Operating Mode
This emergency operating mode allows your vehicle to
be driven to a safe place in an emergency situation.
If an overheated engine condition exists, an overheat
protection mode which alternates firing groups of
cylinders helps prevent engine damage.
In this mode,
you will notice a significant
loss in power and engine
performance. The temperature gage will indicate
an overheat condition exists. Driving extended miles
(km) and/or towing a trailer in the overheat protection
mode should be avoided.
Notice: After driving in the overheated engine
protection operating mode, to avoid engine damage,
allow the engine to cool before attempting any repair. The engine oil will be severely degraded.
Repair the cause
of coolant loss, change the oil
and reset the
oil life system. See “Engine Oil” in
the Index.
5-26

If Steam Is Coming From Your Engine
Steam fr n a rheated engine 4 urn
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.
See “Overheated Engine Protection Operating
Mode”
in the Index for information on driving
to a safe place
in an emergency.
Notice: 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. See “Overheated Engine Protection
Operating Mode”
in the Index for information on
driving to a safe place in an emergency.
5-27

If No Steam Is Coming From
Your Engine
If you get an engine 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:
Climb a long hill on a hot day.
Stop after high-speed driving.
Idle for long periods in traffic.
Tow a trailer.
If you get the overheat warning with no sign of steam,
try this for a minute or
so:
1. If your air conditioner is on, turn it off.
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
- AUTOMATIC OVERDRIVE (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, idle the engine for
three minutes while you’re parked. If you still have the
warning,
turn off the engine and get everyone out of
the vehicle until it cools down. Also, see “Overheated
Engine Protection Operating Mode” listed previously in
this section.
You may decide not to
lift the hood but to get service
help right away.
5-28

Cooling System
When you decide it’s safe to lift the hood, here’s what
you’ll see:
A. Radiator Pressure Cap
B. Electric Engine Cooling Fans
C. Coolant Recovery Tank An electric
engine cooling far. -..-er the hood
can start up even when the engine is not
running and can injure you. Keep hands,
clothing and tools away from any underhood
electric fan.
If the coolant inside the coolant recovery tank is boiling,
don’t do anything else until it cools down. The vehicle
should be parked on a level surface.
5-29

The coolant level should be at or above the FULL COLD
mark. If it isn’t, you may have a leak at the pressure cap
or in the radiator hoses, heater hoses, radiator, water
pump or somewhere else in the cooling system. 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.
If there seems to be no leak, with the engine on, check
to see
if the electric engine cooling fans are running.
If the engine is overheating, both fans should be
running. If they aren’t, your vehicle needs service.
5-30

Notice: Engine damage from running your engine
without coolant isn’t covered by your warranty.
See “Overheated Engine Protection Operating
Mode” in the Index for information on driving to
a safe place in an emergency.
Notice: When adding coolant, it is important that
you use only
DEX-COOL@ (silicate-free) coolant.
If coolant other than DEX-COOL@
is added to the
system, premature engine, heater core or radiator
corrosion may result. In addition, the engine coolant
will require change sooner
- at 30,000 miles
(50 000 km) or 24 months, whichever occurs first.
Damage caused by the use of coolant other
than DEX-COOL@ is not covered by your new
vehicle warranty.
How to Add Coolant to the Coolant
Recovery Tank
If you haven’t found a problem yet, but the coolant
level isn’t at
or above the FULL COLD mark, add a
50/50 mixture of clean, drinkable waterand DEX-COOL@
engine coolant at the coolant recovery tank. See Engine
Coolant on page
5-23 for more information.
Adding only plain water to your cooling
system can be dangerous. Plain water, or
some other liquid such as 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.
Vn~lr en~ine mt1ld catch fire and YOU or others
could be burned. Use a 50/50 mixture of clean,
drinkable water and DEX
COOL@ coolant.
5-31

Notice: In cold weather, water can freeze and crack
the engine, radiator, heater core and other parts.
Use the recommended coolant and the proper
coolant mixture.
You can be burned if you
spill coolant on hot
engine parts. Coolant contains ethylene glycol and
it will burn if the engine parts are hot
enough. Don’t spill coolant on
a hot engine.
When the coolant in the coolant recovery tank is at or
above the
FULL COLD mark, start your vehicle.
If the overheat warning continues, there’s one more
thing you can try.
You can add the proper coolant
mixture directly to the radiator, but be sure the cooling
system
is cool before you do it.
5-32

Steam and scaldi,,, liquids ,.dm a hot cooli..,
system can
blow out and burn you badly. They
are under pressure, and if you
turn the radiator
pressure cap
-- even a little -- they can come
out at high speed. Never turn the cap when the
cooling system, including the radiator pressure
cap,
is hot. Wait for the cooling system and
radiator pressure cap to cool if you ever have
to turn the pressure cap.
5-33