check engine light PONTIAC BONNEVILLE 2005 User Guide

Have you recently changed brands of fuel?
If so, be sure to fuel your vehicle with quality fuel. See
Gasoline Octane on page 5-5. Poor fuel quality will
cause your engine not to run as efficiently as designed.
You may notice this as stalling after start-up, stalling
when you put the vehicle into gear, misring, hesitation
on acceleration, or stumbling on acceleration. (These
conditions may go away once the engine is warmed up.)
This will be detected by the system and cause the
light to turn on.
If you experience one or more of these conditions,
change the fuel brand you use. It will require at least
one full tank of the proper fuel to turn the light off.
If none of the above steps have made the light turn off,
your dealer can check the vehicle. Your dealer has
the proper test equipment and diagnostic tools to x any
mechanical or electrical problems that may have
developed.Emissions Inspection and Maintenance
Programs
Some state/provincial and local governments have or
may begin programs to inspect the emission control
equipment on your vehicle. Failure to pass this inspection
could prevent you from getting a vehicle registration.
Here are some things you need to know in order to help
your vehicle pass an inspection:
Your vehicle will not pass this inspection if the Service
Engine Soon or Check Engine light is on or not
working properly.
Your vehicle will not pass this inspection if the OBD
(on-board diagnostic) system determines that critical
emission control systems have not been completely
diagnosed by the system. The vehicle would be
considered not ready for inspection. This can happen if
you have recently replaced your battery or if your
battery has run down. The diagnostic system is
designed to evaluate critical emission control systems
during normal driving. This may take several days
of routine driving. If you have done this and your vehicle
still does not pass the inspection for lack of OBD
system readiness, your GM dealer can prepare the
vehicle for inspection.
3-50

Oil Pressure Gage (V6 Engine)
Readings above the shaded warning zone indicate the
normal operating range. Oil pressure may vary with
engine speed, outside temperature and oil viscosity.
A reading in the shaded warning zone may be caused
by a low oil level or another problem causing low oil
pressure. On vehicles with the systems monitor,
the CHECK GAGES light will come on and a warning
chime will sound.On vehicles with a DIC, a CHECK GAGES OIL
PRESSURE message will be displayed and a warning
chime will sound. SeeDIC Warnings and Messages
on page 3-62for more information.
{CAUTION:
Do not keep driving if the oil pressure is low. If
you do, your engine can become so hot that it
catches re. You or others could be burned.
Check your oil as soon as possible and have
your vehicle serviced.
Notice:Lack of proper engine oil maintenance may
damage the engine. The repairs would not be
covered by your warranty. Always follow the
maintenance schedule in this manual for changing
engine oil. United States
Canada
3-51

Oil Pressure Gage (V8 Engine)
Readings above the shaded warning zone indicate the
normal operating range. Oil pressure may vary with
engine speed, outside temperature and oil viscosity.
A reading in the shaded warning zone may be caused
by a low oil level or another problem causing low oil
pressure. On vehicles with the systems monitor,
the CHECK GAGES light will come on and a warning
chime will sound.On vehicles with a DIC, a CHECK GAGES OIL
PRESSURE message will be displayed and a warning
chime will sound. SeeDIC Warnings and Messages
on page 3-62for more information.
{CAUTION:
Do not keep driving if the oil pressure is low. If
you do, your engine can become so hot that it
catches re. You or others could be burned.
Check your oil as soon as possible and have
your vehicle serviced.
Notice:Lack of proper engine oil maintenance may
damage the engine. The repairs would not be
covered by your warranty. Always follow the
maintenance schedule in this manual for changing
engine oil. United States
Canada
3-52

Check Oil Level Light
If your vehicle has the
systems monitor, the
CHECK OIL LEVEL light
comes on for ve seconds
as a bulb check each
time the ignition key
is turned to ON.
If the engine oil is more than 1.0 quart (0.9 L) low and
the engine has been shut off for at least eight minutes,
the CHECK OIL LEVEL light will come on and a
chime will sound the next time you start your vehicle.
If the CHECK OIL LEVEL light comes on, the engine oil
level should be checked at the dipstick then brought
up to the proper level, if necessary. SeeEngine Oil on
page 5-16.
On vehicles with a DIC, the OIL LEVEL LOW message
will come on. SeeDIC Warnings and Messages on
page 3-62for more information.
Security Light
This light on the instrument panel cluster reminds you to
activate the theft-deterrent system when leaving your
vehicle.
SeeUniversal Theft-Deterrent on page 2-19for more
information.
United States and V6 in
CanadaCanada (V8 Only)
3-53

Fuel Gage (V6 Engine)
When the ignition is on, your fuel gage tells you about
how much fuel you have in your tank.
When the gage reads in the colored band, a warning
chime will sound and the CHECK GAGES warning light
will come on. You still have a little fuel left, but you
need to get more fuel right away.On vehicles with a DIC, the CHECK GAGES LOW
FUEL message will be displayed when the fuel gage
reads in the yellow band. SeeDIC Warnings and
Messages on page 3-62for more information.
Here are some things that owners ask about. None of
these show a problem with your fuel gage:
At the service station, the gas pump shuts off
before the gage reads full.
It takes a little more, or less, fuel to ll up than the
gage indicated. For example, the gage may have
indicated the tank was half full, but it actually took a
little more, or less, than half the tank’s capacity
to ll the tank.
United States
Canada
3-56

Fuel Gage (V8 Engine)
When the ignition is on, your fuel gage tells you about
how much fuel you have in your tank.
When the gage reads in the colored band, a warning
chime will sound and the CHECK GAGES warning light
will come on. You still have a little fuel left, but you
need to get more fuel right away.On vehicles with a DIC, the CHECK GAGES LOW
FUEL message will be displayed when the fuel gage
reads in the yellow band. SeeDIC Warnings and
Messages on page 3-62for more information.
Here are some things that owners ask about. None of
these show a problem with your fuel gage:
At the service station, the gas pump shuts off
before the gage reads full.
It takes a little more (or less) fuel to ll up than the
gage indicated. For example, the gage may have
indicated the tank was half full, but it actually took a
little more (or less) than half the tank’s capacity
to ll the tank.
United States
Canada
3-57

Avoid needless heavy braking. Some people drive in
spurts — heavy acceleration followed by heavy
braking — rather than keeping pace with traffic. This is
a mistake. Your brakes may not have time to cool
between hard stops. Your brakes will wear out much
faster if you do a lot of heavy braking. If you keep pace
with the traffic and allow realistic following distances,
you will eliminate a lot of unnecessary braking.
That means better braking and longer brake life.
If your engine ever stops while you are driving, brake
normally but do not pump your brakes. If you do,
the pedal may get harder to push down. If your engine
stops, you will still have some power brake assist.
But you will use it when you brake. Once the power
assist is used up, it may take longer to stop and
the brake pedal will be harder to push.Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS)
Your vehicle has anti-lock brakes. ABS is an advanced
electronic braking system that will help prevent a
braking skid.
When you start your engine, or when you begin to drive
away, your anti-lock brake system will check itself.
You may hear a momentary motor or clicking noise while
this test is going on, and you may even notice that
your brake pedal moves or pulses a little. This is normal.
If there is a problem with the anti-lock brake system,
this warning light will stay on. SeeAnti-Lock Brake
System Warning Light on page 3-42. United States
Canada
4-6

Put on extra clothing or wrap a blanket around you.
If you have no blankets or extra clothing, make
body insulators from newspapers, burlap bags, rags,
oor mats — anything you can wrap around
yourself or tuck under your clothing to keep warm.
You can run the engine to keep warm, but be careful.
{CAUTION:
Snow can trap exhaust gases under your
vehicle. This can cause deadly CO (carbon
monoxide) gas to get inside. CO could
overcome you and kill you. You cannot see it
or smell it, so you might not know it is in your
vehicle. Clear away snow from around the
base of your vehicle, especially any that is
blocking your exhaust pipe. And check around
again from time to time to be sure snow does
not collect there.
Open a window just a little on the side of the
vehicle that is away from the wind. This will
help keep CO out.
Run your engine only as long as you must. This saves
fuel. When you run the engine, make it go a little
faster than just idle. That is, push the accelerator
slightly. This uses less fuel for the heat that you get and
it keeps the battery charged. You will need a
well-charged battery to restart the vehicle, and possibly
for signaling later on with your headlamps. Let the
heater run for a while.
4-27

When towing a trailer, the arrows on your instrument
panel will ash 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
is important to check occasionally to be sure the trailer
bulbs are still working.
Your vehicle has bulb warning lights. When you plug a
trailer lighting system into your vehicle’s lighting
system, its bulb warning lights may not let you know if
one of your lamps goes out. So, when you have a trailer
lighting system plugged in, be sure to check your
vehicle and trailer lamps from time to time to be sure
they are all working. Once you disconnect the trailer
lamps, the bulb warning lights again can tell you if one
of your vehicle lamps is out.
Driving On Grades
Reduce speed and shift to a lower gearbeforeyou start
down a long or steep downgrade. If you do not 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 to THIRD (3) and
reduce your speed to around 45 mph (70 km/h) to
reduce the possibility of the engine and transaxle
overheating.
Parking on Hills
{CAUTION:
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 is
how to do it:
1. Apply your regular brakes, but do not shift into
PARK (P) yet.
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 brake, and then shift to PARK (P).
5. Release the regular brakes.
4-42

Engine Oil
If the CHECK OIL LEVEL
light appears on the
instrument cluster, or the
OIL LEVEL LOW message
appears on the DIC,
it means you need to
check your engine oil level
right away.
For more information, seeCheck Oil Level Light on
page 3-53orDIC Warnings and Messages on
page 3-62.
You should check your engine oil level regularly; this is
an added reminder.
Checking Engine Oil
It is a good idea to check your engine oil every time you
get fuel. In order to get an accurate reading, the oil
must be warm and the vehicle must be on level ground.
The engine oil dipstick handle is a yellow loop.
SeeEngine Compartment Overview on page 5-12for
the location of the engine oil dipstick.
1. Turn off the engine and give the oil several minutes
to drain back into the oil pan. If you do not do this,
the oil dipstick might not show the actual level.
2. Pull out the dipstick and clean it with a paper towel
or cloth, then push it back in all the way. Remove it
again, keeping the tip down, and check the level.
3.8L V6 Engine
5-16