You will find an engine coolant temperature gage on the instrument panel cluster. For pickup models, the ENGINE OVERHEATED message may appear in the Driver Information Center (DIC). See your owner's manual for more information.

Caution: Steam from an overheated engine can burn you badly, even if you just open the hood. Stay away from the engine if you see or hear steam coming from it. Just turn it off and get everyone away from the vehicle until it cools down. Wait until there is no sign of steam or coolant before you open the hood.

Notice: If the engine catches fire because of being driven with no coolant, your vehicle can be badly damaged. The costly repairs would not be covered by the vehicle warranty.

The ENGINE OVERHEATED STOP ENGINE, or ENGINE OVERHEATED IDLE ENGINE Driver Information Center (DIC) message, along with a low coolant condition can indicate a serious problem.

If you get an engine overheat warning and do not have a low coolant condition, but see or hear no steam, the problem may not be too serious. Sometimes the engine can get a little too hot when you:

If you get the ENGINE OVERHEATED STOP ENGINE, or ENGINE OVERHEATED IDLE ENGINE Driver Information Center (DIC) message with no sign of steam, try this for a minute or so:

1. In heavy traffic, let the engine idle in N (Neutral) while stopped. If it is safe to do so, pull off the road, shift to P (Park) or N (Neutral) and let the engine idle.
2. Turn on your heater to full hot at the highest fan speed and open the window as necessary.

If you no longer have the overheat warning, you can drive. Just to be safe, drive slower for about 10 minutes. If the warning does not come back on, you can drive normally.

If the warning continues, pull over, stop, and park your vehicle right away.

If there is still no sign of steam and your vehicle is equipped with an engine driven cooling fan, push down the accelerator until the engine speed is about twice as fast as normal idle speed for at least five minutes while you are parked. If you still have the warning, turn off the engine and get everyone out of the vehicle until it cools down.

You may decide not to lift the hood but to get service help right away.

If your vehicle has the DURAMAX Diesel engine, see the DURAMAX Diesel manual for more information.

The vehicle has an indicator to warn of engine overheating.

You will find an engine coolant temperature gage on your vehicle's instrument panel. See Engine Coolant Temperature Gagefor more information.

You may decide not to lift the hood when this warning appears, but instead get service help right away. See Roadside Assistance Program.

If you do decide to lift the hood , make sure the vehicle is parked on a level surface.

Then check to see if the engine cooling fans are running. If the engine is overheating, both fans should be running. If they are not, do not continue to run the engine and have the vehicle serviced.

See if the engine cooling fan speed increases when idle speed is doubled by pushing the accelerator pedal down. If it does not, your vehicle needs service. Turn off the engine.

Notice: Engine damage from running the engine without coolant is not covered by the warranty.

Notice: If the engine catches fire because of being driven with no coolant, your vehicle can be badly damaged. The costly repairs would not be covered by the vehicle warranty.

Caution: Steam from an overheated engine can burn you badly, even if you just open the hood. Stay away from the engine if you see or hear steam coming from it. Just turn it off and get everyone away from the vehicle until it cools down. Wait until there is no sign of steam or coolant before you open the hood.

If an engine overheat warning is displayed but no steam can be seen or heard, the problem may not be too serious. Sometimes the engine can get a little too hot when the vehicle:

If the overheat warning is displayed with no sign of steam:

1. Turn the air off.
2. Turn the heater on to the highest temperature and to the highest fan speed. Open the windows as necessary.
3. In heavy traffic, let the engine idle in N (Neutral) while stopped. If it is safe to do so, pull off the road, shift to P (Park) or N (Neutral) and let the engine idle.

If the temperature overheat gage is no longer in the overheat zone or an overheat warning no longer displays, the vehicle can be driven. Continue to drive the vehicle slow for about 10 minutes. Keep a safe vehicle distance from the car in front of you. If the warning does not come back on, continue to drive normally.

If the warning continues, pull over, stop, and park the vehicle right away.

If there is still no sign of steam, push down the accelerator until the engine speed is about twice as fast as normal idle speed for at least three minutes while you are parked. If you still have the warning, turn off the engine until it cools down.

You may decide not to lift the hood but to get service help right away.