Chevrolet 1999 Prizm, Owner'S Manual

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yellow blue
2-14
Manual Transaxle
The gear selector should be in NEUTRAL and the
parking brake engaged. Hold the clutch pedal to the
floor and start the engine. Your vehicle won’t start if
the clutch pedal is not all the way down
--
that’s a
safety feature.
Starting Your 1.8 Liter L4 Engine
1. Without pushing the accelerator pedal, turn your
ignition key to START. When the engine starts, let
go of the key. The idle speed will go down as your
engine gets warm.
NOTICE:
Holding your key in START for longer than
15 seconds at a time will cause your battery to be
drained much sooner. And the excessive heat can
damage your starter motor. Wait about
15 seconds between each try to help avoid
draining your battery or damaging your starter.
2. If it doesn’t start in three seconds, wait about
15 seconds and try again to start the engine by
turning the ignition key to START. Wait about
15 seconds between each try to help avoid draining
your battery or damaging your starter.
When your engine has run about 10 seconds to warm
up, your vehicle is ready to be driven. Don’t “race”
your engine when it’s cold.
If the weather is below freezing (32
_F or 0_C), let
the engine run for a few minutes to warm up.
3. If your engine still won’t start (or starts but then
stops), it could be flooded with too much gasoline.
Try pushing your accelerator pedal all the way to the
floor and holding it there as you hold the key in
START for about three seconds. If the vehicle starts
briefly but then stops again, do the same thing, but
this time keep the pedal down for five or six seconds.
This clears the extra gasoline from the engine.