Shifting Out Of Park - Chevrolet Malibu 2012 Owner's Manual

9-22 Driving and Operating
Leaving the Vehicle with the
Engine Running
{
WARNING
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 the 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 regular 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 in
P (Park).
Torque Lock
Torque lock is when the weight
of the vehicle puts too much
force on the parking pawl in the
transmission. This happens when
parking on a hill and shifting the
transmission into P (Park) is not
done properly and then it is difficult
to shift out of P (Park). To prevent
torque lock, set the parking brake
and then shift into P (Park). To find
out how, see Shifting Into Park
listed previously.
If torque lock does occur, your
vehicle may need to be pushed
uphill by another vehicle to relieve
the parking pawl pressure, so you
can shift out of P (Park).

Shifting out of Park

This vehicle is equipped with
an electronic shift lock release
system. The shift lock release is
designed to:
Prevent ignition key removal
unless the shift lever is in
P (Park) with the shift lever
button fully released.
Prevent movement of the shift
lever out of P (Park), unless
the ignition is in ON/RUN or
ACC/ACCESSORY and the
brake pedal is applied.
The shift lock release is always
functional except in the case of an
uncharged or low voltage (less than
9 volt) battery.
If the vehicle has an uncharged
battery or a battery with low voltage,
try charging or jump starting the
battery. See Jump Starting on
page 10 83.