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Leaving Your Vehicle With the Engine
Running (Automatic Transmission Only)
CAUTION:
It can be dangerous to leave your vehicle with
the engine running. Your vehicle could move
suddenly if the shift lever is not fully in PARK (P)
with the parking brake firmly set. If you have
four
-wheel drive, your vehicle will be free to
roll
-- even if your shift lever is in PARK (P) -- if
your transfer case is in NEUTRAL. So be sure
the transfer case is in a drive gear
-- not in
NEUTRAL. See “Four
-Wheel Drive (Automatic
Transfer Case)” in the Index. And, if you leave
the vehicle with the engine running, it could
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 PARK (P), hold
the regular brake pedal down. Then, see if you can move
the shift lever away from PARK (P) without first pulling
it toward you (or pressing the button on a console shift
lever). If you can, it means that the shift lever wasn’t
fully locked into PARK (P).
Torque Lock (Automatic Transmission)
If you are parking on a hill and you don’t shift your
transmission into PARK (P) properly, the weight of the
vehicle may put too much force on the parking pawl in
the transmission. You may find it difficult to pull the
shift lever out of PARK (P). This is called “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, see “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.
If torque lock does occur, you may need to have another
vehicle push yours a little uphill to take some of the
pressure from the parking pawl in the transmission,
so you can pull the shift lever out of PARK (P).