PONTIAC BONNEVILLE 1997 Owners Manual

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A CAUTION:
I--
To help avoid injury to you or others:
0 Never let passengers ride in a vehicle that is
Never tow faster than safe or posted speeds.
0 Never tow with damaged parts not fully
secured.
Never get under your vehicle after it has
been lifted by the tow truck.
Always secure the vehicle on each side with
separate safety chains when towing it.
Never use J-hooks. Use T-hooks instead.
being towed.
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A vlehicle can fall from a car carrier if it isn’t
adequately secure’d. This can cause
a collision,
serious personal
injury and vehicle damage. The
vehicle should
be tightly secured with chains or
steel cables before it is transported.
Don’t use substitutes (ropes, leather straps,
canvas webbing, etc.) that
can be cut by s’harp
edges underneath the towed vehicle. Always use
T-hooks inserted in the T-hook slots. Never use
J-hooks.
They will damage drivetrain and
suspension components. When
your vehicle
is being towed, have the ignition key
turned to the
OFF position. The steering wheel should
be clamped in
a straight-ahead position, with a clamping
device designed for towing service.
Do not use the
vehicle’s steering column lock for this. The transaxle
should be in
NEUTRAL (N) and the parking
brake released.
Don’t have your vehicle towed on thle drive wheels,
unless you must.
If the vehicle must be towed on the
drive wheels, b’e sure to follow
the speed and distance
restrictions later in this section or your transaxle will be
damaged. If these limits must be exceeded, then the
drive wheels have to be supported on a dolly.
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Front Towing (SSE and SSEi Only)
NOTICE:
Do not tow with sling-type equipment or
fascia/fog lamp damage will occur. Use wheel-lift
or car-carrier equipment. Additional ramping
may be required
for car-carrier equipment. Use
safety chains and wheel straps.
Towing
a vehicle over rough surfaces could
damage
a vehicle. Damage can occur from vehicle
to ground
or vehicle to wheel-lift equipment. To
help avoid damage, install
a towing dolly and
raise vehicle until adequate clearance is obtained
between the ground and/or wheel-lift equipment.
Do not attach winch cables or J-hooks to
suspension components when using car-carrier
equipment. Always use T-hooks inserted
in the
T-hook slots.
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Attach T-hook chains on
both sides in the slotted
holes in the bottom of
the cradle, behind the
front wheels.
These slots are to be used when loading and securing to
car-carrier equipment.
Attach a separate safety chain around the outboard end
of each lower control arm.
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Front Towing (SE)
Attach T-hook chains on
both sides in the slotted
holes in the bottom of
the cradle, behind the
front wheels.
These slots are to be used when using sling-type
equipment
or when loading and securing to
car-carrier equipment.
Position a
4” x 4” wood beam across sling chains
contacting bottom
of the radiator support. Position the
lower sling crossbar directly under the fiont bumper.
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Attach a separate safety chain around the outboard end
of each control am.
Rear Towing
Tow Limits -- 55 mph (88 kmlh), 500 miles (800 km)
Attach T-hook chains to
~ slots in the bottom of the
floor pan directly ahead of
rear wheels on both sides.
No 4 ” x 4 I’ wood beam is needed.
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Position the lower sling crossbar directly behind and at
lower edge
of rear bumper cover. Attach
a separate
safety chain around the outboard end
of each lower control arm.
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Engine Overheating
You will find a coolant temperature gage or the warning
light about a hot engine on your Pontiac’s instrument
panel. See “Coolant Temperature
G’age” and “Coolant
Temperature Warning Light” in the Index.
If 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
fro’m the vehicle until it cools down. Wait until
there
is no sign of steam or coolant before you
open
the ho’od.
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.
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.
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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:
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. 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
-- AUTOMATIC OVERDRIVE (@)
or DRIVE (D).
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, you can idle the engine
for two or three minutes while you’re parked, to see
if the warning stops. But then, if you still have the
warning,
turn off the engine and get everyone 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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