Oldsmobile Aurora (2001 year). Instruction - part 15

5-9

NOTICE:

Use the proper towing equipment to avoid
damage to the bumper, fascia or fog lamp areas
of the vehicle.

With current trends in automotive styles and design, 
it is essential that the correct towing equipment is used
to tow a vehicle. Your vehicle can be towed with
wheel

-

lift or car

-

carrier equipment only.

Consult your dealer or a professional towing service if
you need to have your vehicle towed. See “Roadside
Assistance” in the Index.

Engine Overheating

You will find a coolant temperature gage on your
vehicle’s instrument panel. Your driver information center
will also display messages about engine overheating. 
See “Engine Coolant Temperature Gage” in the Index.

Overheated Engine Protection 
Operating Mode

Should an overheated engine condition exist and the
message HOT STOP ENGINE is displayed, an overheat
protection mode which alternates firing groups of
cylinders helps prevent engine damage. In this mode,
you will notice a loss in power and engine performance.
This operating mode allows your vehicle to be driven 
to a safe place in an emergency; you may drive up to 
50 miles (80 km). Towing a trailer in the overheat
protection mode should be avoided.

NOTICE:

After driving in the overheated engine protection
operating mode, to avoid engine damage, allow the
engine to cool before attempting any repair. The
engine oil will be severely degraded. Repair the
cause of coolant loss, change the oil and reset the
oil life indicator. See “Engine Oil” in the Index.

5-10

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. See “Overheated Engine
Protection Operating Mode” in the Index.

5-11

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. See “Overheated
Engine Protection Operating Mode” in the Index.

If No Steam Is Coming From Your Engine

If you get an engine overheat warning 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) 

or THIRD (3).

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. Also, see “Overheated
Engine Protection Operating Mode” listed previously 
in this section.

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

5-12

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. Two 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.

5-13

A low coolant level should be indicated by a CHECK
COOLANT LEVEL message on the Driver Information
Center. If it is, you may have a leak 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.

NOTICE:

Engine damage from running your engine 
without coolant isn’t covered by your warranty.
See “Overheated Engine Protection Operating
Mode” in the Index.

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.

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.

5-14

How to Add Coolant to the Coolant 
Surge Tank

If you haven’t found a problem yet, but the coolant level
isn’t at at the proper level (below the base of the filler
neck), 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.

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

CAUTION: (Continued)

CAUTION: (Continued)

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 like 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. 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 one

-

quarter turn and

then stop.

If you hear a hiss, wait for that to stop. A hiss means
there is still some pressure left.

2. Then keep turning the

pressure cap slowly, 
and remove it.

3. Then fill the coolant

surge tank with the
proper mixture, to the
base of the filler neck.

5-17

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, add
more of the proper mixture to the coolant surge tank
until the level reaches the base of the filler neck.

5. Then replace the pressure cap. Be sure the arrows on

the pressure cap line up like this.

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 the shift lever in PARK (P).
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.

Instructions for changing your tires are on the inside of
the tire cover. You can rest the cover near you for easy
reference while you change the tire.

1. Lift the tire cover to gain access to the spare tire 

and jacking equipment. See “Compact Spare Tire”
later in this section for more information about the
compact spare.

5-20

2. Remove the wheel wrench and jack from the 

jack container.

3. Remove the spare tire from the trunk.

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

Removing the Wheel Cover

Insert the hooked end of the wheel wrench in one of the
two small notches in the center cover and pry the cover
off. Do not drop the cover or lay it face down, as it
could be scratched or damaged.

5-21

Removing the Flat Tire and Installing the
Spare Tire

1. Position the wheel wrench securely over the wheel

nuts to loosen, but don’t remove them.

2. Attach the wheel wrench to the bolt on the end of 

the jack to create a jack handle.

3. Turn the wheel wrench counterclockwise by hand to

lower the jack head until it fits under the vehicle.

5-22

4. Near each wheel well is a notch in the frame to

position the jack head. Position the jack under the
vehicle and raise the jack head until it fits firmly
against the sheet metal. Do not raise the vehicle yet.
Put the compact spare 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.

5-23

5. Raise the vehicle by turning the wheel wrench

clockwise on the jack. Raise the vehicle far enough
off the ground so there’s enough room for the spare
tire to fit.

6. Remove all the wheel nuts and take off the flat tire.

7. Remove any rust or dirt

from the wheel bolts,
mounting surfaces and
spare wheel.

CAUTION:

Rust or dirt on the wheel, or on the parts to
which it is fastened, can make the wheel nuts
become loose after a time. The wheel could come
off and cause an accident. When you change a
wheel, remove any rust or dirt from the places
where the wheel attaches to the vehicle. In an
emergency, you can use a cloth or a paper towel
to do this; but be sure to use a scraper or wire
brush later, if you need to, to get all the rust or
dirt off.

CAUTION:

Never use oil or grease on studs or nuts. If you
do, the nuts might come loose. Your wheel could
fall off, causing a serious accident.

5-24

8. Place the spare tire on the wheel

-

mounting surface.

9. Put the wheel nuts back

on with the rounded end
of the nuts toward the
wheel. Tighten each nut
by hand until the wheel
is held against the hub.

If a nut cannot be tightened by hand, use the wheel
wrench, and see your dealer right away.

10. Lower the vehicle by turning the wheel wrench

counterclockwise on the jack. Lower the 
jack completely.