Pontiac G5 Automobile User Manual


 
Leaving the Vehicle With the Engine
Running (Automatic Transmission)
{ CAUTION:
It can be dangerous to leave the vehicle with the
engine running. The vehicle could move suddenly
if the shift lever is not fully in P (Park) 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. Do not leave the vehicle with the engine
running.
If you have to leave an automatic transmission vehicle
with the engine running, be sure the vehicle is in
P (Park) and the parking brake is firmly set before you
leave it. After you have moved the shift lever into
P (Park), hold the brake pedal down. Then, see if you
can move the shift lever away from P (Park) without first
pushing the button. If you can, it means that the shift
lever was not fully locked into P (Park).
Torque Lock (Automatic Transmission)
If you are parking on a hill and you do not shift into
P (Park) 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
P (Park). This is called “torque lock.” To prevent torque
lock, set the parking brake and then shift into P (Park)
properly before you leave the driver seat. To find
out how, see Shifting Into Park (Automatic Transmission)
on page 2-31.
Move the shift lever out of P (Park) before 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 from the parking pawl in the transmission,
so you can pull the shift lever out of P (Park).
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