1997 Pontiac Bonneville Owner's Manual - Page 85
1997 Pontiac Bonneville Manual
Page 85 highlights
Leaving Your Vehicle With the Engine Running Torque Lock If you are parking on a hill and you don't shift your transaxle into PARK (P) properly, the weight of the vehicle may put too much force on the parkingpawl in the transaxle. You may find it difficult to pull the shift lever out of PARK (P). This iscalled "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, se'e"Shifting Into PARK (P)" in the Index. When you are ready to drive, move the shift lever out of PARK (P) before you release the parking brake. It can be ldangerous leave your vehicle with to the engine running.Your vehicle could move sudldenly if theshift lever is not fullyin PARK (P) with the parking brake firmly And, if you set, leave the vehicle with the engine running, ,could it overheat and even catch fire. You or others could be injured. Don't leave your vehicle with the engine running unless you have to. 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've moved the shift lever into the PARK ( ? I) position, hold the regular brake pedal down. Them, see if you can move the shift lever away from PARK (P) without first pulling it toward you (or, if you have the console shift lever, without f i s t pushing the button). If you can, it means that the shift lever wasn't fully locked into PARK (P). If torque lock does occur, you may need to have another vehicle push yours a little uphill to take some of the pressure from thepaking pawl in the transaxle, so you can pull the shift lever out of PARK (P).