Pontiac Grand Am (2002 year). Manual - part 14

5-7

9. Connect the other end of the negative (

-

) cable at

least 18 inches (45 cm) away from the dead battery,
but not near engine parts that move. The electrical
connection is just as good there, and the chance of
sparks getting back to the battery is much less.

10. Now start the vehicle with the good battery and run

the engine for a while.

11. Try to start the vehicle that has the dead battery. 

If it won’t start after a few tries, it probably 
needs service.

NOTICE:

Damage to your vehicle may result from
electrical shorting if jumper cables are removed
incorrectly. To prevent electrical shorting, take
care that the cables don’t touch each other or any
other metal. The repairs wouldn’t be covered by
your warranty.

5-8

Jumper Cable Removal

A. Heavy, Unpainted Metal Engine Part

B. Good Battery

C. Dead Battery

To disconnect the jumper cables from both vehicles, 
do the following:

1. Disconnect the black negative (

-

) cable from the

vehicle that had the dead battery.

2. Disconnect the black negative (

-

) cable from the

vehicle with good battery.

3. Disconnect the red positive (+) cable from the

vehicle with the good battery.

4. Disconnect the red positive (+) cable from the 

other vehicle.

Towing Your Vehicle

Consult your dealer or a professional towing service 
if you need to have your disabled vehicle towed. See
“Roadside Assistance” in the Index. If you want to 
tow your vehicle behind another vehicle for recreational
purposes (such as behind a motorhome), see
“Recreational Vehicle Towing” in the Index.

Engine Overheating

You will find a coolant temperature gage and a low
coolant warning light on your vehicle’s instrument
panel. See “Engine Coolant Temperature Gage” and
“Low Coolant Warning Light” in the Index.

5-9

If Steam Is Coming From Your Engine

CAUTION:

Steam from an overheated engine can burn you
badly, even if you just open the hood. Stay away
from the engine if you see or hear steam coming
from it. Just turn it off and get everyone away
from the vehicle until it cools down. Wait until
there is no sign of steam or coolant before you
open the hood.

If you keep driving when your engine is
overheated, the liquids in it can catch fire. You or
others could be badly burned. Stop your engine if
it overheats, and get out of the vehicle until the
engine is cool.

NOTICE:

If your engine catches fire because you keep
driving with no coolant, your vehicle can be
badly damaged. The costly repairs would not be
covered by your warranty.

5-10

If No Steam Is Coming From Your Engine

An overheat warning, along with a low coolant light,
can indicate a serious problem. See “Low Coolant
Light” in the Index.

If you get an engine overheat warning with no low
coolant light, but see or hear no steam, the problem 
may not be too serious. Sometimes the engine can 
get a little too hot when you:
D Climb a long hill on a hot day.
D Stop after high

-

speed driving.

D Idle for long periods in traffic.
D Tow a trailer.
If you get the overheat warning with no sign of steam,
try this for a minute or so:

1. If your air conditioner is on, turn it off.

2. Turn on your heater to full hot at the highest fan

speed and open the window as necessary.

3. If you’re in a traffic jam, shift to NEUTRAL (N);

otherwise, shift to the highest gear while 
driving 

--

 AUTOMATIC OVERDRIVE (D) for 

an automatic transaxle, or for a manual transaxle
shift to FIFTH (5) or FOURTH (4).

If you no longer have the overheat warning, you 
can drive. Just to be safe, drive slower for about
10 minutes. If the warning doesn’t come back on, 
you can drive normally.

If the warning continues, pull over, stop, and park your
vehicle right away.

If there’s still no sign of steam, idle the engine for 
three minutes while you’re parked. If you still have the
warning, turn off the engine and get everyone out of 
the vehicle until it cools down.

You may decide not to lift the hood but to get service
help right away.

5-11

Cooling System

When you decide it’s safe to lift the hood, here’s what
you’ll see:

A. Coolant Surge Tank with Pressure Cap

B. Electric Engine Cooling Fans

CAUTION:

An electric engine cooling fan under the hood can
start up even when the engine is not running and
can injure you. Keep hands, clothing and tools
away from any underhood electric fan.

If the coolant inside the coolant surge tank is boiling,
don’t do anything else until it cools down. The vehicle
should be parked on a level surface.

5-12

The coolant level should be at or above the FULL COLD
mark. If it isn’t, you may have a leak at the pressure cap
or in the radiator hoses, heater hoses, radiator, water
pump or somewhere else in the cooling system.

CAUTION:

Heater and radiator hoses, and other engine
parts, can be very hot. Don’t touch them. If you
do, you can be burned.

Don’t run the engine if there is a leak. If you run
the engine, it could lose all coolant. That could
cause an engine fire, and you could be burned.
Get any leak fixed before you drive the vehicle.

If there seems to be no leak, with the engine on, check to
see if the electric engine cooling fans are running. If the
engine is overheating, both fans should be running. If
they aren’t, your vehicle needs service.

NOTICE:

Engine damage from running your engine
without coolant isn’t covered by your warranty.

5-13

NOTICE:

When adding coolant, it is important that you 
use only DEX

-

COOL

R

 (silicate

-

free) coolant.

If coolant other than DEX

-

COOL is added to 

the system, premature engine, heater core or
radiator corrosion may result. In addition, the
engine coolant will require change sooner 

--

 at

30,000 miles (50 000 km) or 24 months,
whichever occurs first. Damage caused by the 
use of coolant other than DEX

-

COOL

R

 is not

covered by your new vehicle warranty.

How to Add Coolant to the Coolant 
Surge Tank

NOTICE:

This vehicle has a specific coolant fill procedure.
Failure to follow this procedure could cause your
engine to overheat and be severely damaged.

If you haven’t found a problem yet, check to see if
coolant is visible in the surge tank. If coolant is visible
but the coolant level isn’t at or above the FULL COLD
mark, add a 50/50 mixture of clean, drinkable water and
DEX

-

COOL

R

 coolant at the coolant surge tank, but be

sure the cooling system, including the coolant surge tank
pressure cap, is cool before you do it. See “Engine
Coolant” in the Index for more information.

5-14

If no coolant is visible in the surge tank, add coolant 
as follows:

CAUTION:

Steam and scalding liquids from a hot cooling
system can blow out and burn you badly. They are
under pressure, and if you turn the coolant surge
tank pressure cap 

--

 even a little 

--

 they can come

out at high speed. Never turn the cap when the
cooling system, including the coolant surge tank
pressure cap, is hot. Wait for the cooling system
and coolant surge tank pressure cap to cool if you
ever have to turn the pressure cap.

5-15

CAUTION:

Adding only plain water to your cooling system
can be dangerous. Plain water, or some other
liquid such as alcohol, can boil before the proper
coolant mixture will. Your vehicle’s coolant
warning system is set for the proper coolant
mixture. With plain water or the wrong mixture,
your engine could get too hot but you wouldn’t
get the overheat warning. Your engine could
catch fire and you or others could be burned. 
Use a 50/50 mixture of clean, drinkable water
and DEX

-

COOL

R

 coolant.

NOTICE:

In cold weather, water can freeze and crack the
engine, radiator, heater core and other parts. 
So use the recommended coolant.

CAUTION:

You can be burned if you spill coolant on hot
engine parts. Coolant contains ethylene glycol
and it will burn if the engine parts are hot
enough. Don’t spill coolant on a hot engine.

5-16

1. Park the vehicle on

a level surface.

You can remove the coolant surge tank pressure cap
when the cooling system, including the coolant surge
tank pressure cap and upper radiator hose, is no
longer hot. Turn the pressure cap slowly
counterclockwise (left) about two or two and
one

-

half turns. If you hear a hiss, wait for that to

stop. This will allow any pressure still left to be
vented out the discharge hose.

2. Then keep turning

the pressure cap
slowly, and 
remove it.

5-17

3. Then fill the coolant surge tank with the proper

mixture, to the hash mark on the label. Wait about
five minutes, then check to see if the level is below
the hash mark. If the level is below the hash mark,
add additional coolant to bring the level up to the
hash mark. Repeat this procedure until the level
remains constant at the hash mark for at least 
five minutes.

4. With the coolant surge tank pressure cap off, start the

engine and let it run until you can feel the upper
radiator hose getting hot. Watch out for the engine
cooling fans.

By this time, the coolant level inside the coolant
surge tank may be lower. If the level is lower than
the FULL COLD mark add more of the proper
mixture to the coolant surge tank until the level
reaches the FULL COLD mark.

5. Then replace the

pressure cap. Be
sure the pressure
cap is hand

-

tight

and fully seated.

See your dealer, if necessary.

5-18

If a Tire Goes Flat

It’s unusual for a tire to “blow out” while you’re driving,
especially if you maintain your tires properly. If air goes
out of a tire, it’s much more likely to leak out slowly.
But if you should ever have a “blowout,” here are a 
few tips about what to expect and what to do:

If a front tire fails, the flat tire will create a drag that
pulls the vehicle toward that side. Take your foot off 
the accelerator pedal and grip the steering wheel firmly.
Steer to maintain lane position, and then gently brake 
to a stop well out of the traffic lane.

A rear blowout, particularly on a curve, acts much like 
a skid and may require the same correction you’d use in
a skid. In any rear blowout, remove your foot from the
accelerator pedal. Get the vehicle under control by
steering the way you want the vehicle to go. It may be
very bumpy and noisy, but you can still steer. Gently
brake to a stop 

--

 well off the road if possible.

If a tire goes flat, the next part shows how to use your
jacking equipment to change a flat tire safely.

Changing a Flat Tire

If a tire goes flat, avoid further tire and wheel damage
by driving slowly to a level place. Turn on your hazard
warning flashers.

CAUTION:

Changing a tire can cause an injury. The vehicle
can slip off the jack and roll over you or other
people. You and they could be badly injured.
Find a level place to change your tire. To help
prevent the vehicle from moving:

1. Set the parking brake firmly.
2. Put an automatic transaxle shift lever in

PARK (P), or shift a manual transaxle to
FIRST (1) or REVERSE (R).

3. Turn off the engine.

To be even more certain the vehicle won’t move,
you can put blocks at the front and rear of the
tire farthest away from the one being changed.
That would be the tire on the other side of the
vehicle, at the opposite end.

5-19

The following steps will tell you how to use the jack and
change a tire.

Removing the Spare Tire and Tools

The equipment you’ll 
need is in the trunk.

1. Pull the carpeting from the floor of the trunk. 

Turn the center retainer nut on the compact spare 
tire cover counterclockwise to remove it.

2. Lift and remove the cover. See “Compact Spare

Tire” later in this section for more information 
about the compact spare.

5-20

3. Turn the wing nut

counterclockwise and
remove it. Then lift off
the spacer and remove
the compact spare tire.

4. Remove the jack and wheel wrench from the trunk.

Your vehicle’s jack and wheel wrench are stored in a
foam tray. Remove the band around the jack.

The tools you’ll be using include the jack (A) and wheel
wrench (B).

5-21

Removing the Flat Tire and Installing the
Spare Tire

1. If your vehicle is equipped with a wheel cover or

hubcap that has plastic wheel nut caps, then loosen
the plastic nut caps (you may need to use the wheel
wrench to loosen them). Do not pry off wheel covers
or center caps that have plastic wheel nut caps. Then
remove the wheel cover or center cap.

2. Then use the wheel wrench to loosen all the wheel

nuts. Don’t remove them yet.

5-22

3. Position the jack and raise the jack head until it fits

firmly into the notch in the vehicle’s frame nearest
the flat tire. Put the compact spare tire near you.

CAUTION:

Getting under a vehicle when it is jacked up is
dangerous. If the vehicle slips off the jack, you
could be badly injured or killed. Never get under
a vehicle when it is supported only by a jack.

CAUTION:

Raising your vehicle with the jack improperly
positioned can damage the vehicle and even 
make the vehicle fall. To help avoid personal
injury and vehicle damage, be sure to fit the jack
lift head into the proper location before raising
the vehicle.