Leaving Your Vehicle With the Engine Running; Torque Lock; Engine Running- Page 97

2-32

Leaving Your Vehicle With the 
Engine Running

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. 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. If you can, it means that 
the shift lever wasn’t fully locked into PARK (P).

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 parking pawl in
the transaxle. 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 transaxle, so you
can pull the shift lever out of PARK (P).