If Your Engine Overheats; Freeing A Stuck Vehicle - Dodge Grand Caravan 2018 Owner's Manual

IF YOUR ENGINE OVERHEATS

In any of the following situations, you can reduce the
potential for overheating your engine by taking the appro-
priate action.
• On the highways — slow down.
• In city traffic — while stopped, place the transmission in
NEUTRAL, but do not increase engine idle speed.
CAUTION!
Driving with a hot cooling system could damage your
vehicle. If the temperature gauge reads "H," pull over
and stop the vehicle. Idle the vehicle with the air
conditioner turned off until the pointer drops back
into the normal range. If the pointer remains on the
"H" and you hear continuous chimes, turn the engine
off immediately and call for service.
NOTE: There are steps that you can take to slow down an
impending overheat condition:
• If your Air Conditioner (A/C) is on, turn it off. The A/C
system adds heat to the engine cooling system and
turning the A/C off can help remove this heat.
• You can also turn the temperature control to maximum
heat, the mode control to floor and the blower control to
high. This allows the heater core to act as a supplement
to the radiator and aids in removing heat from the
engine cooling system.
WARNING!
You or others can be badly burned by hot engine
coolant (antifreeze) or steam from your radiator. If you
see or hear steam coming from under the hood, do not
open the hood until the radiator has had time to cool.
Never try to open a cooling system pressure cap when
the radiator or coolant bottle is hot.

FREEING A STUCK VEHICLE

If your vehicle becomes stuck in mud, sand, or snow, it can
often be moved using a rocking motion. Turn the steering
wheel right and left to clear the area around the front
wheels. Then, shift back and forth between DRIVE and
REVERSE while gently pressing the accelerator. Use the
least amount of accelerator pedal pressure that will main-
tain the rocking motion, without spinning the wheels or
racing the engine.
IN CASE OF EMERGENCY 323
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