steering CHEVROLET SILVERADO 2004 1.G User Guide

Hazard Warning Flashers
Your hazard warning ashers let you warn others. They
also let police know you have a problem. Your front
and rear turn signal lamps will ash on and off.The hazard warning
asher button is located
at the top of the
steering column.
Your hazard warning ashers work no matter what
position your key is in, and even if the key isn’t in.
Press the button to make the front and rear turn signal
lamps ash on and off. Press the button again to
turn the ashers off.
When the hazard warning ashers are on, your turn
signals won’t work.Other Warning Devices
If you carry reective triangles, you can use them to
warn others. Set one up at the side of the road about
300 feet (100 m) behind your vehicle.
Horn
To sound the horn, press the center pad on the
steering wheel.
3-6

Tilt Wheel
If your vehicle is equipped with a tilt wheel, it will allow
you to adjust the steering wheel before you drive.
You can raise it to the highest level to give your legs
more room when you exit and enter your vehicle.
The tilt steering wheel lever is located on the lower left
side of the column.
To tilt the wheel, hold the steering wheel and pull the
lever. Then move the steering wheel to a comfortable
position and release the lever to lock the wheel in place.
Turn Signal/Multifunction Lever
The lever on the left side of the steering column
includes the following:
Turn and Lane Change Signals
Headlamp High/Low-Beam Changer
Flash-to-Pass
Windshield Wipers
Windshield Washer
Cruise Control
For information on the exterior lamps, seeExterior
Lamps on page 3-13.
3-7

Traction Off Light
If you have the Traction
Assist System, this light
should come on briey
when you turn the ignition
to RUN.
If the light doesn’t come on then, the system may
require service; have it xed so it will be there to warn
you if the system is turned off.
If the light stays on, or comes on when you’re driving,
there may be a problem with your Traction Assist
System and your vehicle may need service. When this
light is on, the system will not limit wheel spin. Adjust
your driving accordingly.
The traction off light may come on for the
following reasons:
If you turn the system off by pressing the TAS
on/off button located to the left of the steering wheel,
the light will come on and stay on. To turn the
system back on, press the button again; the light
should go off.
If you move the shift lever to FIRST (1), the light
will come on and stay on to indicate that the
traction system is off. This is normal operation. To
turn the system back on, move the shift lever
back to a position other than FIRST (1); the light
should go off. SeeTraction Assist System (TAS) on
page 4-9.
The light will come on and stay on if the TAS
automatic engagement feature has been turned off.
To turn the system on, press the TAS off/on
button; the light should go off. To turn the automatic
engagement feature back on, seeTraction Assist
System (TAS) on page 4-9.
If the Traction Assist System is affected by an
anti-lock brake system, TAS or engine-related
problem, the system will turn off and the light will
come on. Have your vehicle serviced.
If the vehicle is driven over an extremely rough
road, the system will turn off and the light will
come on. The light will go off a few seconds after
the rough road conditions go away or when
the vehicle comes to a complete stop. This is
normal operation.
3-45

Here are some situations you may experience with your
fuel gage. None of these indicate a problem with the
fuel gage.
At the gas station, the fuel pump shuts off before
the gage reads full.
It takes a little more or less fuel to ll up than the
fuel gage indicated. For example, the gage may
have indicated the tank was half full, but it actually
took a little more or less than half the tank’s
capacity to ll the tank.
The gage goes back to empty when you turn off
the ignition.
If you have a diesel engine, see “Fuel Gage” in the
Diesel Engine Supplement.
Low Fuel Warning Light
The light next to the fuel gage will come on briey when
you are starting the engine.
This light comes on when the fuel tank is low on fuel.
To turn it off, add fuel to the fuel tank. SeeFuel on
page 5-5.
Driver Information Center (DIC)
The DIC display is located on the instrument panel
cluster above the steering wheel. The DIC can display
information such as the trip odometer, fuel economy and
personalization features.
A (Trip Information):This button will display the
odometer, personal trip odometer, business trip
odometer, hourmeter, annual log and the timer.
B (Fuel Information):This button will display the
current range, average fuel economy, instant fuel
economy and engine oil life.
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C (Personalization):This button will change personal
options available on your vehicle.
D (Select):This button resets certain functions and
turns off or acknowledges messages on the DIC.
If your vehicle is not equipped with the DIC steering
wheel buttons you will not have all of the features listed
above, and you will turn off, or acknowledge DIC
messages by using the trip odometer reset stem located
on the instrument panel cluster.
DIC Operation and Displays
The DIC comes on when the ignition is on. After a short
delay the DIC will display the current driver (1 or 2)
and the information that was last displayed before the
engine was turned off.
If a problem is detected, a warning message will appear
on the display. Pressing any of the four buttons will
acknowledge (clear) most current warnings or service
messages. Some warnings that cannot be
acknowledged (cleared) are: ENGINE OVERHEATED,
OIL PRESSURE LOW, REDUCED ENGINE POWER,
TRANS HOT IDLE ENGINE. These warnings must
be dealt with immediately and therefore cannot
be cleared until the problem has been corrected.
The DIC has different modes which can be accessed by
pressing the four buttons on the DIC. These buttons are
trip information, fuel information, personalization and
select. The button functions are detailed in the following.
Trip Information Button
Press the trip information button to scroll through the
ODOMETER, PERSONAL TRIP ON/OFF, BUSINESS
TRIP ON/OFF, HOURMETER, ANNUAL LOG and
TIMER. If the personal trip and/or the business trip are
set to ON, you will also be able to scroll through
more messages. See “Personal Trip” and “Business
Trip” next for more information.
If your vehicle is not equipped with the DIC steering
wheel buttons you can select the trip information
by pressing the trip odometer reset stem on the
instrument panel cluster.
Personal Trip
Turn PERSONAL TRIP on or off by pressing the
select button. When it is on, you will also be able to
scroll through the following by pressing the trip
information button:
PERSONAL: XXXXXX.X MI — This shows the
current distance traveled since the last reset for the
personal trip odometer in either miles or kilometers.
PERSONAL: XXXX.X GAL — This shows the
amount of fuel used for the personal trip.
PERSONAL: XX.X MPG— This shows how
many miles per gallon of fuel your vehicle is getting
for the personal trip based on current and past
driving conditions.
3-54

Annual Log
Press the trip information button to scroll to the annual
log. The annual log shows the mileage accumulated
since it was last reset. To reset the annual log,
press and hold the select button, or the trip odometer
reset stem, for approximately one second.
Timer
The DIC can be used as a stopwatch. Press the select
button while TIMER is displayed to start the timer.
The display will show the amount of time that has
passed since the timer was last reset (not including time
the ignition is off). Time will continue to be counted as
long as the ignition is on, even if another display is being
shown on the DIC. The timer will record up to 99 hours,
59 minutes and 59 seconds (99:59:59), after which
the display will roll back to zero.
To stop the counting of time, press the select button
briey while TIMER is displayed.
To reset the timer to zero, press and hold the select
button, or the trip odometer reset stem, while TIMER
is displayed.
Fuel Information Button
Use the fuel information button to scroll through the
range, average fuel economy, instant fuel economy and
the GM Oil Life System.If your vehicle is not equipped with DIC steering wheel
control buttons you will not be able to display the
fuel information.
Fuel Range
Press the fuel information button until RANGE appears
to display the remaining distance you can drive
without refueling. It’s based on fuel economy and the
fuel remaining in the tank. The display will show LOW if
the fuel level is low.
The fuel economy data used to determine fuel range is
an average of recent driving conditions. As your
driving conditions change, this data is gradually updated.
Fuel range cannot be reset.
Average Fuel Economy
Press the fuel information button until AVG ECON
appears in the display. Average fuel economy is how
many miles per gallon your vehicle is getting based on
current and past driving conditions.
Press and hold the select button for two seconds while
AVG ECON is displayed to reset the average fuel
economy. Average fuel economy will then be calculated
starting from that point. If the average fuel economy
is not reset, it will be continually updated each time
you drive.
3-56

Instant Fuel Economy
Press the fuel information button until INST ECON
appears in the display. Instant fuel economy is how
many miles per gallon your vehicle is getting at
the particular moment in time. The instant fuel economy
cannot be reset.
GM Oil Life System
Press the fuel information button until ENGINE OIL LIFE
appears in the display. The GM Oil Life System shows
an estimate of the oil’s remaining useful life. It will show
100% when the system is reset after an oil change. It
will alert you to change your oil on a schedule consistent
with your driving conditions.
Always reset the engine oil life after an oil change. To
reset the Oil Life System use the fuel button to reach the
ENGINE OIL LIFE screen and then press and hold
the select button for ve seconds while ENGINE OIL
LIFE is displayed. OIL LIFE RESET will appear on
the display for 10 seconds to let you know the system
is reset.
The DIC does not replace the need to maintain your
vehicle as recommended in the Maintenance Schedule
in this manual. SeeEngine Oil on page 5-20.
Personalization Button
You can program certain features to a preferred setting
for up to two people. Press the personalization button
to scroll through the following personalization features.
All of the personalization options may not be available
on your vehicle. Only the options available will be
displayed on your DIC.
If your vehicle is not equipped with the DIC steering
wheel buttons you will not have any of the following
personalization options except for DISPLAY
LANGUAGE. See DISPLAY LANGUAGE later in this
section for more information.
AUTOMATIC LOCKING
AUTOMATIC UNLOCKING
DELAYED LOCKING
REMOTE LOCK FEEDBACK
ALARM WARNING TYPE
REMOTE UNLOCK FEEDBACK
HEADLAMPS ON AT EXIT
PERIMETER LIGHTING
SEAT POSITION RECALL
EASY EXIT DRIVER SEAT
CURB VIEW ASSIST
DISPLAY LANGUAGE
DISPLAY UNITS (ENG/MET)
3-57

When a cassette tape is playing, press this button
to go to the other side of the tape. This function
is inactive if the front seat passengers are listening to a
cassette tape.
When a CD is playing, press this button to go to the
beginning of the CD. This function is inactive if the front
seat passengers are listening to a CD.
When a CD is playing in the six-disc CD changer, press
this button to select the next CD, if multiple CDs are
loaded. This function is inactive if the front seat
passengers are listening to a CD.
Theft-Deterrent Feature
THEFTLOCK®is designed to discourage theft of your
vehicle’s radio. The feature works automatically by
learning a portion of the Vehicle Identication Number
(VIN). If the radio is moved to a different vehicle, it
will not operate and LOCKED will appear on the display.
When the radio and vehicle are turned off, the blinking
red light indicates that THEFTLOCK
®is armed.
With THEFTLOCK
®activated, the radio will not operate
if stolen.
Audio Steering Wheel Controls
Some audio controls can be adjusted at the steering
wheel. They include the following:
g(OnStar/Voice Recognition):If your vehicle has
OnStar®, press this button to interact with the OnStar®
system. See the OnStar®manual provided with your
vehicle for more information.
If your vehicle does not have OnStar
®, press this button
to silence the system. Press it again, or any other
radio button, to turn on the sound.
PROG (Program):Press this button to play a station
you have programmed on the radio preset pushbuttons.
The radio will only seek preset stations with a strong
signal that are in the selected band.
3-127

Your Driving, the Road, and Your Vehicle..........4-2
Defensive Driving...........................................4-2
Drunken Driving.............................................4-2
Control of a Vehicle........................................4-5
Braking.........................................................4-6
Traction Assist System (TAS)...........................4-9
Manual Selectable Ride.................................4-11
Locking Rear Axle........................................4-12
Steering......................................................4-13
QUADRASTEER™........................................4-15
Off-Road Recovery.......................................4-18
Passing.......................................................4-18
Loss of Control.............................................4-20
Off-Road Driving...........................................4-21
Driving at Night............................................4-36
Driving in Rain and on Wet Roads..................4-37
City Driving..................................................4-40Freeway Driving...........................................4-41
Before Leaving on a Long Trip.......................4-42
Highway Hypnosis........................................4-43
Hill and Mountain Roads................................4-44
Winter Driving..............................................4-46
If You Are Stuck: In Sand, Mud,
Ice or Snow..............................................4-50
Towing..........................................................4-52
Towing Your Vehicle.....................................4-52
Recreational Vehicle Towing...........................4-53
Loading Your Vehicle....................................4-56
Adding a Snow Plow or Similar Equipment.......4-63
Truck-Camper Loading Information..................4-67
Trailer Recommendations...............................4-69
Pickup Conversion to Chassis Cab..................4-69
Towing a Trailer...........................................4-70
Power Take-Off (PTO).................................4-100
Section 4 Driving Your Vehicle
4-1

{CAUTION:
Drinking and then driving is very dangerous.
Your reexes, perceptions, attentiveness, and
judgment can be affected by even a small
amount of alcohol. You can have a serious — or
even fatal — collision if you drive after drinking.
Please do not drink and drive or ride with a
driver who has been drinking. Ride home in a
cab; or if you are with a group, designate a
driver who will not drink.
Control of a Vehicle
You have three systems that make your vehicle go
where you want it to go. They are the brakes, the steering
and the accelerator. All three systems have to do their
work at the places where the tires meet the road.
Sometimes, as when you are driving on snow or ice, it
is easy to ask more of those control systems than
the tires and road can provide. That means you can lose
control of your vehicle. Also seeTraction Assist
System (TAS) on page 4-9.
4-5