Leaving Your Vehicle With The Engine Running; Torque Lock - Pontiac Solstice 2008 Owner's Manual

Leaving Your Vehicle With
the Engine Running
(Automatic Transmission)
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. If the vehicle has an automatic
transmission, see if you can move the shift lever away
from PARK (P) without first pushing the shift lock release
button. If you can, it means that the shift lever was not
fully locked into PARK (P).

Torque Lock

(Automatic Transmission)
If you are parking on a hill and you do not shift your
transmission into PARK (P) properly, the weight of the
vehicle may put too much force on the parking pawl
in the transmission. 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) (Automatic Transmission) on page 2-26.
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 parking pawl in the transmission,
so you can pull the shift lever out of PARK (P).
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