Leaving Your Vehicle With The Engine Running; Torque Lock - Pontiac Grand Prix 2007 Owner's Manual

Leaving Your Vehicle With the Engine
Running
CAUTION:
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It can be dangerous to leave your vehicle
with the engine running. Your vehicle
could move 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. Do not leave your
vehicle with the engine running.
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 have moved the shift lever into PARK (P),
hold the regular brake pedal down. Then, see if you
can move the shift lever away from PARK (P)
without first pushing the button.
If you can, it means that the shift lever was not
fully locked in PARK (P).
120

Torque Lock

If you are parking on a hill and you do not 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) on page 119.
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 your vehicle a little uphill
to take some of the pressure from the parking pawl
in the transaxle, so you can pull the shift lever
out of PARK (P).