Engine Trouble: Overheating - Suzuki VITARA series Owner's Manual

Engine trouble: Overheating

The engine could overheat temporarily
under severe driving conditions. If the
engine coolant temperature gauge indi-
cates overheating during driving:
1) Turn off the air conditioner, if equipped.
2) Take the vehicle to a safe place and
park.
3) Run the engine at a normal idle speed
for a few minutes until the indicator is
within the normal, acceptable tempera-
ture range between "H" and "C".
WARNING
If you see or hear escaping steam,
stop the vehicle in a safe place and
immediately turn off the engine to
cool it. Do not open the hood when
steam is present. When the steam
can no longer be seen or heard, open
the hood to see if the coolant is still
boiling. If it is, you must wait until it
stops boiling before you proceed.
If the temperature indication does not
come down to within the normal, accept-
able range:
1) Turn off the engine and check that the
water pump belt and pulleys are not
damaged or slipping. If any abnormality
is found, correct it.
2) Check the coolant level in the reservoir.
If it is found to be lower than "LOW"
line, check radiator, water pump, radia-
tor hoses and heater hoses for leakage.
If leakage that may cause overheating
is found, do not run the engine until
these problems have been corrected.
3) If leakage is not found, carefully add
coolant to the reservoir and then the
radiator, if necessary. (Refer to "Engine
coolant" in "INSPECTION AND MAIN-
TENANCE" section.)
NOTE:
If engine overheats and you are not sure
what to do, contact your SUZUKI dealer.
EMERGENCY SERVICE
WARNING
• It is hazardous to remove the radia-
tor cap (or degassing tank cap for a
diesel engine) when the water tem-
perature is high, because scalding
fluid and steam may be blown out
under pressure. The cap should
only be taken off when the coolant
temperature has lowered.
• To help prevent personal injury,
keep hands, tools and clothing
away from the engine cooling fan
and air-conditioner fan
equipped). These electric fans can
automatically turn on without warn-
ing.
8-12
54P00-01E
79J007
(if