1996 Buick Century Owner's Manual

Leaving Your Vehicle With theEngine RunningA CAUTIONIt can be dangerous to leave your vehicle with theengine running. Your vehicle could movesuddenly if the shift lever is not fully in PARK (P)with the parking brake firmly set. And, if youleave the vehicle with the engine running, it couldoverheat and even catch fire. You or others couldbe injured. Don’t leave your vehicle with theengine running unless you have to.If you have to leave your vehicle with the enginerunning, be sure your vehicle is in PARK (P) and yourparking brake is firmly set before you leave it. Afteryou’ve moved the shift lever into the PARK (P)position, hold the regular brake pedal down. Then, see ifyou can move the shift lever away from PARK (P)without first pulling it toward you. If you can, it meansthat the shift lever wasn’t fully locked into PARK (P).Note: If for some reason you leave your vehicle runningand it is not in PARK (P) and the parking brake isapplied, your doors will automatically lock when youclose the door.Torque LockIf you are parking on a hill and you don’t shift yourtransaxle into PARK (P) properly, the weight of thevehicle may put too much force on the parking pawl inthe transaxle. You may find it difficult to pull the shiftlever out of PARK (P). This is called “torque lock.” Toprevent torque lock, set the parking brake and then shiftinto PARK (P) properly before you leave the driver’sseat. To find out how, see “Shifting Into PARK (P)” inthe Index.When you are ready to drive, move the shift lever out ofPARK (P) before you release the parking brake.If torque lock does occur, you may need to have anothervehicle push yours a little uphill to take some of thepressure from the transaxle, so you can pull the shiftlever out of PARK (P).2-22