weight CHEVROLET EXPRESS CARGO VAN 2004 1.G Owners Manual

{CAUTION:
Children who are up against, or very close to,
any air bag when it inates can be seriously
injured or killed. Air bags plus lap-shoulder
belts offer outstanding protection for adults
and older children, but not for young children
and infants. Neither the vehicle’s safety belt
system nor its air bag system is designed for
them. Young children and infants need the
protection that a child restraint system can
provide.
Q:What are the different types of add-on child
restraints?
A:Add-on child restraints, which are purchased by the
vehicle’s owner, are available in four basic types.
Selection of a particular restraint should take
into consideration not only the child’s weight, height,
and age but also whether or not the restraint will
be compatible with the motor vehicle in which it will
be used.
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For most basic types of child restraints, there are
many different models available. When purchasing a
child restraint, be sure it is designed to be used
in a motor vehicle. If it is, the restraint will have a
label saying that it meets federal motor vehicle
safety standards.
The restraint manufacturer’s instructions that come
with the restraint state the weight and height
limitations for a particular child restraint. In addition,
there are many kinds of restraints available for
children with special needs.
{CAUTION:
Newborn infants need complete support,
including support for the head and neck. This
is necessary because a newborn infant’s neck
is weak and its head weighs so much
compared with the rest of its body. In a crash,
an infant in a rear-facing seat settles into the
restraint, so the crash forces can be
distributed across the strongest part of an
infant’s body, the back and shoulders. Infants
always should be secured in appropriate infant
restraints.
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When Should an Air Bag Inate?
An air bag is designed to inate in a moderate to severe
frontal, or near-frontal crash. The air bag will inate
only if the impact speed is above the system’s designed
“threshold level.”
If the GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) of your
vehicle is 8600 or above, your vehicle has single stage
air bags. If the GVWR is below 8600 then your
vehicle has dual stage air bags. You can nd the GVWR
on the certication label on the rear edge of the
driver’s door. SeeLoading Your Vehicle on page 4-33
for more information.
Single Stage Air Bags
If your vehicle has frontal air bags with single stage
deployment and your vehicle goes straight into a wall
that doesn’t move or deform, the threshold level is about
9 to 16 mph (14 to 26 km/h). The threshold level can
vary, however, with specic vehicle design, so that it can
be somewhat above or below this range. If your
vehicle strikes something that will move or deform, such
as a parked car, the threshold level will be higher.
The air bag is not designed to inate in rollovers, rear
impacts, or in many side impacts because ination
would not help the occupant.In any particular crash, no one can say whether an air
bag should have inated simply because of the damage
to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs were.
Ination is determined by the angle of the impact
and how quickly the vehicle slows down in frontal or
near-frontal impacts.
Dual Stage Air Bags
If your vehicle has frontal air bags with dual stage
deployment, the amount of restraint will adjust according
to the crash severity. For moderate frontal impacts,
these air bags inate at a level less than full deployment.
For more severe frontal impacts, full deployment
occurs. If the front of your vehicle goes straight into a
wall that doesn’t move or deform, the threshold level for
the reduced deployment is about 12 to 16 mph
(19 to 26 km/h), and the threshold level for a full
deployment is about 16 to 25 mph (26 to 40 km/h).
The threshold level can vary, however, with specic
vehicle design, so that it can be somewhat above
or below this range.
If your vehicle strikes something that will move or
deform, such as a parked car, the threshold level will be
higher. The driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal
air bags are not designed to inate in rollovers, rear
impacts, or many side impacts because ination would
not help the occupant.
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Your vehicle is equipped with a crash sensing and
diagnostic module, which records information about
the air bag system. The module records information
about the readiness of the system, when the system
commands air bag ination and driver’s safety belt
usage at deployment. The module also records
speed, engine rpm, brake and throttle data.
Let only qualied technicians work on your air bag
system. Improper service can mean that your air bag
system won’t work properly. See your dealer for
service.
Notice:If you damage the covering for the driver’s
or the right front passenger’s air bag, the bag
may not work properly. You may have to replace the
air bag module in the steering wheel or both the
air bag module and the instrument panel for
the right front passenger’s air bag. Do not open or
break the air bag coverings.
Air Bag Off Switch
If the GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) of your
vehicle is 8600 or above, your vehicle has an air bag off
switch. You can nd the GVWR on the certication/tire
label on the rear edge of the driver’s door. SeeLoading
Your Vehicle on page 4-33for more information.
You can use the air bag off switch on the instrument
panel to turn off the right front passenger’s air bag.
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Torque Lock
If you are parking on a hill and you don’t shift your
transmission into PARK (P) properly, the weight of the
vehicle may put too much force on the parking pawl
in the transmission. You may nd 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 nd out how, seeShifting Into
Park (P) on page 2-27.
When you are ready to drive, move the shift lever out of
PARK (P)beforeyou 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 transmission, so
you can pull the shift lever out of PARK (P).
Shifting Out of Park (P)
Your vehicle has an automatic transmission shift lock
control system. You have to fully apply your regular
brakes before you can shift from PARK (P) when the
ignition is in RUN. SeeAutomatic Transmission
Operation on page 2-24.
If you cannot shift out of PARK (P), ease pressure on
the shift lever and push the shift lever all the way up into
PARK (P) as you maintain brake application. Then,
move the shift lever into the gear you want.
If you ever hold the brake pedal down but still can’t shift
out of PARK (P), try this:
1. Turn the key to OFF.
2. Apply and hold the brake until the end of Step 4.
3. Shift to NEUTRAL (N).
4. Start the vehicle and then shift to the drive gear
you want.
5. Have the system xed as soon as you can.
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Many adults — by some estimates, nearly half the adult
population — choose never to drink alcohol, so they
never drive after drinking. For persons under 21,
it is against the law in every U.S. state to drink alcohol.
There are good medical, psychological and
developmental reasons for these laws.
The obvious way to eliminate the leading highway
safety problem is for people never to drink alcohol and
then drive. But what if people do? How much is “too
much” if someone plans to drive? It is a lot less
than many might think. Although it depends on each
person and situation, here is some general information
on the problem.
The Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of someone
who is drinking depends upon four things:
The amount of alcohol consumed
The drinker’s body weight
The amount of food that is consumed before and
during drinking
The length of time it has taken the drinker to
consume the alcohol.
According to the American Medical Association, a 180 lb
(82 kg) person who drinks three 12 ounce (355 ml)
bottles of beer in an hour will end up with a BAC
of about 0.06 percent. The person would reach thesame BAC by drinking three 4 ounce (120 ml) glasses
of wine or three mixed drinks if each had 1-1/2 ounces
(45 ml) of liquors like whiskey, gin or vodka.
It is the amount of alcohol that counts. For example, if
the same person drank three double martinis (3 ounces
or 90 ml of liquor each) within an hour, the person’s
BAC would be close to 0.12 percent. A person
who consumes food just before or during drinking will
have a somewhat lower BAC level.
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There is a gender difference, too. Women generally
have a lower relative percentage of body water
than men. Since alcohol is carried in body water, this
means that a woman generally will reach a higher BAC
level than a man of her same body weight will when
each has the same number of drinks.
The law in an increasing number of U.S. states, and
throughout Canada, sets the legal limit at 0.08 percent.
In some other countries, the limit is even lower. For
example, it is 0.05 percent in both France and Germany.
The BAC limit for all commercial drivers in the United
States is 0.04 percent.
The BAC will be over 0.10 percent after three to six
drinks (in one hour). Of course, as we have seen,
it depends on how much alcohol is in the drinks, and
how quickly the person drinks them.
But the ability to drive is affected well below a BAC of
0.10 percent. Research shows that the driving skills
of many people are impaired at a BAC approaching
0.05 percent, and that the effects are worse at night. All
drivers are impaired at BAC levels above 0.05 percent.
Statistics show that the chance of being in a collision
increases sharply for drivers who have a BAC of
0.05 percent or above. A driver with a BAC level of
0.06 percent has doubled his or her chance of having a
collision. At a BAC level of 0.10 percent, the chance
of this driver having a collision is 12 times greater; at a
level of 0.15 percent, the chance is 25 times greater!The body takes about an hour to rid itself of the alcohol
in one drink. No amount of coffee or number of cold
showers will speed that up. “I will be careful” is not the
right answer. What if there is an emergency, a need
to take sudden action, as when a child darts into
the street? A person with even a moderate BAC might
not be able to react quickly enough to avoid the
collision.
There is something else about drinking and driving that
many people do not know. Medical research shows that
alcohol in a person’s system can make crash injuries
worse, especially injuries to the brain, spinal cord or
heart. This means that when anyone who has been
drinking — driver or passenger — is in a crash, that
person’s chance of being killed or permanently disabled
is higher than if the person had not been drinking.
4-4

Braking
Braking action involvesperception timeand
reaction time.
First, you have to decide to push on the brake pedal.
That isperception time.Then you have to bring up your
foot and do it. That isreaction time.
Averagereaction timeis about 3/4 of a second. But that
is only an average. It might be less with one driver
and as long as two or three seconds or more with
another. Age, physical condition, alertness, coordination
and eyesight all play a part. So do alcohol, drugs and
frustration. But even in 3/4 of a second, a vehicle moving
at 60 mph (100 km/h) travels 66 feet (20 m). That
could be a lot of distance in an emergency, so keeping
enough space between your vehicle and others is
important.
And, of course, actual stopping distances vary greatly
with the surface of the road (whether it is pavement
or gravel); the condition of the road (wet, dry, icy); tire
tread; the condition of your brakes; the weight of
the vehicle and the amount of brake force applied.Avoid needless heavy braking. Some people drive in
spurts — heavy acceleration followed by heavy
braking — rather than keeping pace with traffic. This is
a mistake. Your brakes may not have time to cool
between hard stops. Your brakes will wear out much
faster if you do a lot of heavy braking. If you keep pace
with the traffic and allow realistic following distances,
you will eliminate a lot of unnecessary braking.
That means better braking and longer brake life.
If your engine ever stops while you are driving, brake
normally but do not pump your brakes. If you do,
the pedal may get harder to push down. If your engine
stops, you will still have some power brake assist.
But you will use it when you brake. Once the power
assist is used up, it may take longer to stop and
the brake pedal will be harder to push.
4-6

Loading Your Vehicle
It is very important to know how much weight your
vehicle can carry. This weight is called the vehicle
capacity weight and includes the weight of all occupants,
cargo and all nonfactory-installed options. Two labels
on your vehicle show how much weight it may properly
carry, the Tire and Loading Information label and the
Certication/Tire label.
{CAUTION:
Do not load your vehicle any heavier than the
GVWR, or either the maximum front or rear
GAWR. If you do, parts on your vehicle can
break, and it can change the way your vehicle
handles. These could cause you to lose
control and crash. Also, overloading can
shorten the life of your vehicle.
Tire and Loading Information Label
A. Vehicle Capacity Weight
The Tire and Loading Information label is attached to
the center pillar, near the driver’s door latch. Vehicles
without a center pillar will have the Tire and Loading
Information label attached to the driver’s door edge. This
label lists the number of people that can be in your
vehicle and the total weight it can carry. This weight is
called the vehicle capacity weight.
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The Tire and Loading Information label also tells you
the size and recommended ination pressure for
the original equipment tires on your vehicle. For more
information on tires and ination seeTires on page 5-58
andInation - Tire Pressure on page 5-66.
If your vehicle does not have the Tire and Loading
Information label, the Certication/Tire label shows the
tire size and recommended ination pressures
needed to obtain the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
(GVWR) and the Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) for
the front and rear axles. See “Certication/Tire Label”
later in this section.
Steps for Determining Correct Load Limit
1. Locate the statement “The combined weight of
occupants and cargo should never exceed XXX
pounds” on your vehicle placard.
2. Determine the combined weight of the driver and
passengers that will be riding in your vehicle.
3. Subtract the combined weight of the driver and
passengers from XXX kilograms or XXX pounds.4. The resulting gure equals the available amount of
cargo and luggage load capacity. For example, if the
“XXX” amount equals 1400 lbs. and there will be ve
150 lb. passengers in your vehicle, the amount of
available cargo and luggage load capacity is 650 lbs.
(1400−750 (5 x 150) = 650 lbs.).
5. Determine the combined weight of luggage and
cargo being loaded on the vehicle. That weight
may not safely exceed the available cargo
and luggage load capacity calculated in Step 4.
6. If your vehicle will be towing a trailer, the load from
your trailer will be transferred to your vehicle.
Consult this manual to determine how this reduces
the available cargo and luggage load capacity of
your vehicle. SeeTowing a Trailer on page 4-38for
important information on towing a trailer, towing
safety rules and trailering tips.
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