1998 Pontiac Firebird Owner's Manual - Page 95

Leaving Your Vehicle With the Engine Running (Automatic TransmissionOnly) Torque Lock (Automatic Transmission) If you are parking on a hill you don't shift your and transmission intoPARK (P) properly, the weight of the vehicle may put too much force on the parking pawl in the transmission.You may find it difficult topull the shift lever out PARK (P). This is called "torque lock." of 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)" in the Index. When you are ready drive, move the shift lever out of to PARK (P)before you release the parking brake. If torque lockdoes occur, youmay need to have another vehicle pushyours a little uphill to take someof the pressure from the parking pawl in the transmission,so you can pull theshift lever out of PARK (P). It can be dangerous to leave your vehicle with the engine running. Your vehicle could move suddenly if the shift lever not fullyin PARK (P) is with the parking brake firmly And, if you set. leave the vehicle with the engine running, could it overheat andeven catch fire. You or others could be injured. Don't leave your vehicle with the engine running unless you have to. 2-40