2014 Ford Flex Owner Manual Printing 1 - Page 297

296 Maintenance 3. Turn the engine off and wait for it to cool before checking the coolant level. WARNING: Never remove the coolant reservoir cap while the engine is running or hot. 4. If the coolant level is normal, you may restart your engine and continue on. 5. If the coolant is low, add coolant, restart the engine and take your vehicle to an authorized dealer. See Adding engine coolant in this chapter for more information. Refer to fail-safe cooling for additional information. What You Should Know About Fail-Safe Cooling If the engine coolant supply is depleted, this feature allows the vehicle to be driven temporarily before incremental component damage is incurred. The fail-safe distance depends on ambient temperatures, vehicle load and terrain. How Fail-Safe Cooling Works If the engine begins to overheat, the engine coolant temperature gauge will move to the red (hot) area and: The coolant temperature warning light will illuminate. The service engine soon indicator will illuminate. If the engine reaches a preset over-temperature condition, the engine will automatically switch to alternating cylinder operation. Each disabled cylinder acts as an air pump and cools the engine. When this occurs the vehicle will still operate. However: • The engine power will be limited. • The air conditioning system will be disabled. Continued operation will increase the engine temperature and the engine will completely shut down, causing steering and braking effort to increase. Once the engine temperature cools, the engine can be restarted. Take your vehicle to an authorized dealer as soon as possible to minimize engine damage. 2014 Flex (471) Owners Guide gf, 1st Printing, April 2013 USA (fus)