2000 Cadillac Catera Owners Manual

3. Turn the ignition key to LOCK.4. Remove the ignition key and take it with you.If you can leave your vehicle with the key in yourhand, your vehicle is in PARK (P).Leaving Your Vehicle With theEngine RunningCAUTION:It can be dangerous to leave your vehicle withthe engine 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 theparking brake is firmly set before you leave it. Afteryou’ve moved the shift lever into PARK (P), hold theregular brake pedal down. Then, see if you can movethe shift lever away from PARK (P) without pressing thebutton on the shift lever handle. If you can, it meansthat the shift lever wasn’t fully locked into PARK (P).Torque LockIf you are parking on a hill and you don’t shift yourtransmission into PARK (P) properly, the weight of thevehicle may put too much force on the parking pawl inthe transmission. You may find it difficult to pull theshift lever out of PARK (P). This is called “torque lock.”To prevent torque lock, set the parking brake and thenshift into PARK (P) properly before you leave thedriver’s seat. To find out how, see “Shifting IntoPARK (P)” in the Index.If torque lock does occur, you may need to have anothervehicle push yours a little uphill to take some of thepressure from the parking pawl in the transmission,so you can pull the shift lever out of PARK (P).2-28