Thread: P0440 error/fault code

10-15 mins tops. Long enough that I revved it a few times (5 or 6) and that was pretty much it.

The exhaust left a black mark on my moms garage. If you look, you would probably see it.

The coolant reservoir is tinted brown/black from oil (Im guessing) and it makes it hard to see where exactly the level is at (hot or cold etc.). From looking through the cap of the reservoir, I can tell that there is some in it, but it doesnt look like much. And doesnt look like it was green or red(orange like). If I had to guess the colour, Id say DARK green which I thought there was only supposed to be the Red coloured one in it.

Oh ya. And it seemed to kind of linger.

My boyfriend told me he wanted to do an "Engine/Drive Cycle". I dont know exactly when he plans on doing, but that will probably be on the weekend.

Hes a mechanic, but he works on Diesel trucks and older cars. Hes not really happy to have to be working on my car because of all the electronics involved lol. But, hes gonna fix it, when we figure out whats wrong with it and how to fix it lol.

Originally Posted by scottydoggs

how long was the car just sitting there idling? some water will drip out the tail pipes due to condensation. but that seems like a lot of water under there.

and are you losing coolant from the radiator?

that smoke may have been steam too? maybe? did it disappear fast or linger?

BTW.. Any idea what that noise is when the car was idling? My boyfriend told me that it's normal, but I doubt it sounded like that when it was brand new.

It's kind of annoying because it sounds like crap.. but if that's the way it is, then I guess that's the way it is lol.

Originally Posted by scottydoggs

when the cars cooled off, open the radiator cap, not the res tank. look inside fill if needed. bleed it, then watch for it to drop or not.

Ok.. So a few questions to your suggestion about bleeding the Radiator. My boyfriend doesn't believe I should be doing this (he thinks you can just top it off because as I said before, he works on old school cars and Diesel Trucks), so therefore, will not help me do this as he doesn't think it is necessary or Transmission Fluid (even though I showed him that the original warranty even states this).

1. I found this webpage about how to do it myself and am wondering if this is correct, or if there is anything else I have to do or not do? Again, it's a 2000 Grand Prix - GT How to Flush the Radiator in a Pontiac Grand Prix | eHow.com

2. If these steps are correct.. Step 2 states to turn the cap one full turn. Does that mean not to completely open it until I am sure that there is no pressure or whatever?

3. How do you "blow" the drain plug? Meaning just to open it or actually use something that blows the liquid out?

4. Step 8 says to turn the heat to "high", however, "high" (or 5) doesn't work on my car. It's the only heat/cold setting that doesn't work. Is putting it on 4 good enough?

5. What is the cooling fan and how do I know if it came on twice?

6. After I've done all this, it says to recheck the coolant level. I assume they mean after the engine cooled off again, right?


I'm sorry that my questions are probably ridiculous to you, because they seem to me like they are as I'm asking them (like the answers should be obvious), but I legitimately don't know the answers. I've never worked on a car in my life and don't the first thing about them other than putting the key in the ignition, turning it on and driving. I'm learning as I go though, but it's just a lot to take in when there's so much to learn.