check engine PONTIAC GRAND PRIX 1998 User Guide

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’re driving, brake
normally but don’t 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 Brakes (ABS)
Your vehicle has anti-lock brakes (ABS). 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’s a problem with the
anti-lock brake system,
this
warning light will stay on.
See “Anti-Lock Brake
System Warning Light” in
the Index.

The exit speed is usually posted.
Reduce your speed according
to your speedometer, not
to your sense
of motion. After driving for any distance
at higher speeds, you may tend to think you are going
slower than you actually
are.
Before Leaving on a Long Trip
Make sure you’re ready. Try to be well rested. If you
must
start when you’re not fresh -- such as after a day’s
work
-- don’t plan to make too many miles that first part
of the journey. Wear comfortable clothing and shoes you
can easily
drive in.
Is your vehicle ready for a long trip? If you keep it
serviced
and maintained, it’s ready to go. If it needs
service, have it done before starting out.
Of course,
you’ll find experienced
and able service experts in
Pontiac dealerships all across North America. They’ll be
ready and willing to help if you need it. Here are some things you can check before a trip:
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Windshield Washer Fluid: Is the reservoir
full? Are
all windows clean inside and outside?
Wiper Blades: Are they in good shape?
Fuel, Engine Oil, Other Fluids: Have you checked
all levels?
Lamps: Are they all working? Are the lenses clean?
Tires: They are vitally important to a safe,
trouble-free trip.
Is the tread good enough for
long-distance driving? Are the tires all inflated to the
recommended pressure?
Weather Forecasts: What’s the weather outlook
along
your route? Should you delay your trip a short
time to avoid
a major storm system?
Maps: Do you have up-to-date maps?
4-24

Highway Hypnosis
Is there actually such a condition as “highway hypnosis”?
Or is it just plain falling asleep at the wheel? Call it
highway hypnosis, lack
of awareness, or whatever.
There is something about
an easy stretch of road with
the
same scenery, along with the hum of the tires on the
road, the drone of the engine, and the
rush of the wind
against the vehicle that can make you sleepy. Don’t let it \
happen
to you! If it does, your vehicle can leave the
road in
less than a second, and you could crash
and be injured.
What can you do about highway hypnosis? First, be
aware that it can happen.
Then here are some tips:
Make sure your vehicle is well ventilated, with a
comfortably cool interior.
Keep your eyes moving. Scan the road ahead and to
the sides. Check your rearview
mirrors and your
instruments frequently.
If you get sleepy, pull off the road into a rest, service
or parking area and take a nap, get some exercise, or
both. For safety, treat drowsiness on the highway as
an emergency.
Hill and Mountain Roads
Driving on steep hills or mountains is different from
driving in flat or rolling terrain.
4-25

If you drive regularly in steep country, or if you’re
planning to visit there, here are some
tips that can make
your trips safer and more enjoyable.
Keep your vehicle in good shape. Check all fluid
levels and
also the brakes, tires, cooling system
and transaxle. These parts can work hard on
mountain roads.
Know how to go down hills. The most important
thing to know is
this: let your engine do some of the
slowing down. Shift to a lower gear when you go
down a steep or long hill.
A
/I CAUTION:
If you don’t shift down, your brakes could
get
so hot that they wouldn’t work well. You
would then have poor braking or even none going
down
a hill. You could crash. Shift down to let
your engine
assist your brakes on a steep
downhill slope.
I /I CAUTION:
Coasting downhill in NEUTRAL (N) or with the
ignition
off is dangerous. Your brakes will have to
do all the work of slowing down. They could get so
hot that they wouldn’t work well. You would then
have
poor braking or even none going down a hill.
You could crash. Always have your engine running
and your vehicle in gear when you go downhill.
e
e
e
e
Know how to go uphill. You may want to shift down
to a lower gear. The lower gears help cool your engine
and
transaxle, and you can climb the hill better.
Stay
in your own lane when driving on two-lane
roads in hills
or mountains. Don’t swing wide or cut
across the center
of the road. Drive at speeds that let
you stay in your own lane.
As you go over the top of a hill, be alert. There could be
something in your lane, like a stalled car or an accident.
You may see highway signs on mountains that warn of
special problems. Examples are long grades, passing or
no-passing zones, a falling rocks area or winding
roads. Be alert to these and take appropriate action.
4-26

Tie a red cloth to your vehicle to alert police that
you’ve been stopped by the snow.
0 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, floor
mats
-- anything you can wrap around yourself or
tuck under your clothing
to keep warm.
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 can’t 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
doesn’t collect there.
Open a window just a little
on the side of the
vehicle that’s away from
the wind. This will help
keep
CO out.
You can run the engine to keep warm, but be careful.
4-30

When You Are Ready to Leave After
Parking on
a Hill
1. Apply your regular brakes and hold the pedal down
while you:
0 Start your engine;
0 Shift into a gear; and
0 Release the parking brake.
2. Let up on the brake pedal.
3. Drive slowly until the trailer is clear of the chocks.
4. Stop and have someone pick up and store the chocks.
Maintenance When Trailer Towing
Your vehicle will need service more often when you’re
pulling a trailer. See the Maintenance Schedule for more
on
this. Things that are especially important in trailer
operation are automatic transaxle fluid (don’t overfill),
engine oil,
drive belts, cooling system and brake
adjustment. Each
of these is covered in this manual, and
the Index will help you find them quickly. If you’re
trailering, it’s a good idea to review
this information
before you
start your trip.
Check periodically to see that all hitch nuts and bolts
are tight.
Engine Cooling When Trailer Towing
Your cooling system may temporarily overheat during
severe operating conditions. See “Engine Overheating”
in the Index.
4-40

5. Check that the jumper cables don’t have loose or
missing insulation.
If they do, you could get a shock.
The vehicles could be damaged, too.
I
CAUTION: 4
Before you connect the cables, here are some basic
things you should
know. Positive (+) will go to
positive (+) and negative (-) will go to negative (-)
or a metal engine part. Don’t connect positive (+) to
negative
(-), or you’ll get a short that would damage
the battery and maybe other
parts, too.
1
Fans or other moving engine parts can injure you
badly. Keep
your hands away from moving parts
once the engine
is running.
6. Connect the red positive (+) cable to the positive (+)
terminal of the vehicle with the dead battery. Use a
remote positive
(+) terminal if the vehicle has one.

’ A CAUTION:
An electric engine cooling fan under 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 coolant level should be at or above the COLD mark
on the overflow hose
in the coolant recovery tank. To
check the coolant level, remove the cap on the coolant
recovery tank. Check to make sure that the coolant level
is up to the COLD fill level on the hose attached to
the cap.
If it isn’t,
you may have a leak in the radiator hoses,
heater hoses, radiator, water pump or somewhere else in
the cooling system.
5-19

I A CAUTION: I
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 fined before you drive the vehicle.
NOTICE:
Engine damage if you keep running your engine
without coolant isn’t covered by your warranty.
See “Overheated Engine Protection Operating
Mode” in the Index.
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.
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
COLD mark, add a 50/50 mixture of clean
wuter (preferably distilled) and DEX-COOL@ engine
coolant at the coolant recovery tank. (See “Engine
Coolant”
in the Index for more information.)
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.
5-20

10. Then replace the pressure cap. At any time during
this procedure if coolant begins to flow out of the
filler neck, reinstall the pressure cap. Be sure the
arrows on the pressure cap line up like this.
11. Check the coolant in the recovery tank. The level in
the coolant recovery tank should be at the
HOT
mark when the engine is hot or at the COLD mark
when the engine
is cold.
If a Tire Goes Flat
It’s unusual for a tire to “blow out” while you’re driving,
especially if
you maintain your tires properly. If air goes
out
of a tire, it’s much more likely to leak out slowly.
But if
you should ever have a “blowout,” here are a few
tips about what to expect and what to do:
If a front tire fails, the flat tire will create a drag that
pulls the vehicle toward that side. Take your foot
off the
accelerator pedal
and grip the steering wheel firmly.
Steer to maintain lane position,
and then gently brake to
a stop well out of the tr&k lane.
A rear blowout, particularly on a curve, acts much like a
skid and may require the same correction you’d use in a
skid. In any rear blowout, remove your foot from the
accelerator pedal. Get
the vehicle under control by
steering the way you want the vehicle to
go. It may be
very bumpy and noisy, but you can still steer. Gently
brake to a stop
-- well off the road if possible.
If a tire goes flat, the next part shows how to use your
jacking equipment
to change a flat tire safely.
5-26