Chevrolet MONTE CARLO 1998 Manual page 86

Leaving Your Vehicle With the
Engine Running
r
It can be dangerous to leave your vehicle with the
engine running. Your vehicle could move
I
suddenly if the shift lever is not fully in PARK (P)
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. Don't leave your vehicle with the
engine running unless you have to.
If you have to leave your vehicle with the engine
running, be sure your vehicle is in PARK (P) and your
parking brake is firmly set before you leave it. After
you've moved the shft lever into the PARK (P)
position, hold the regular brake pedal down. Then,
see if you can move the shift lever away from PARK (P)
without first pulling it toward you (or, if you have the
console shift lever, without first pushing the button). If
you can, it means that the shift lever wasn't fully locked
into PARK (P).
Torque Lock
If you are parking on a hill and you don't shift your
transaxle into PARK (P) properly, the weight of the
vehicle may put too much force
on
the parking pawl in
the transaxle. You may find it difficult to pull the shift
lever out of PARK
(P). This is
called "torque lock." To
prevent torque lock, set the parking brake and then shift
into PARK (P) properly before you leave the driver's
seat. To find out how, see "Shifting Into PARK
(P)"
in
the Index.
When you are ready to drive, move the shift lever out
of PARK (P) 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 parlung pawl in the transaxle, so you
can pull the shift lever out of PARK (P).
2-25
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