ECU GMC SIERRA 2008 Owner's Manual

Front Seats......................................................1-3
Manual Seats................................................1-3
Power Seats..................................................1-4
Manual Lumbar..............................................1-5
Power Lumbar...............................................1-5
Heated Seats.................................................1-6
Memory Seat, Mirrors, and Pedals....................1-6
Reclining Seatbacks........................................1-8
Head Restraints............................................1-10
Seatback Latches.........................................1-11
Center Seat.................................................1-12
Rear Seats.....................................................1-12
Rear Seat Operation (Full Bench)...................1-12
Rear Seat Operation (Split Bench)..................1-13
Safety Belts...................................................1-14
Safety Belts: They Are for Everyone................1-14
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly.................1-19
Lap-Shoulder Belt.........................................1-28
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy..................1-33
Lap Belt (Crew and Extended Cab).................1-34
Safety Belt Extender.....................................1-35Child Restraints.............................................1-35
Older Children..............................................1-35
Infants and Young Children............................1-38
Child Restraint Systems.................................1-42
Where to Put the Restraint.............................1-44
Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children
(LATCH)..................................................1-45
Securing a Child Restraint in a Rear Seat
Position...................................................1-55
Securing a Child Restraint in the Center Front
Seat Position............................................1-57
Securing a Child Restraint in the Right Front
Seat Position (With Airbag Off Switch)..........1-58
Securing a Child Restraint in the Right Front
Seat Position (With Passenger Sensing
System)...................................................1-62
Securing a Child Restraint in the Right
Front Seat Position (Heavy Duty Crew
Cab Only)...............................................
.1-66
Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
1-1

Lap-Shoulder Belt
All seating positions in your vehicle have a lap-shoulder
belt except for the center front passenger position (if
equipped) if your vehicle is a crew or extended
cab, which has a lap belt. SeeLap Belt (Crew and
Extended Cab) on page 1-34for more information.
Here is how to wear a lap-shoulder belt properly.
1. Adjust the seat, if the seat is adjustable, so you can
sit up straight. To see how, see “Seats” in the Index.
2. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Do not let it get twisted.
The lap-shoulder belt may lock if you pull the belt
across you very quickly. If this happens, let the belt
go back slightly to unlock it. Then pull the belt
across you more slowly.
If you ever pull the shoulder portion of a passenger
belt out all the way, you may engage the child
restraint locking feature. If this happens, just let the
belt go back all the way and start again.
Engaging the child restraint locking feature may
affect the passenger sensing system. See
Passenger Sensing System on page 1-80.3. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.
If the belt is not long enough, seeSafety Belt
Extender on page 1-35.
Make sure the release button on the buckle is
positioned so you would be able to unbuckle the
safety belt quickly if necessary.
4. If equipped with a shoulder belt height adjuster,
move it to the height that is right for you. Improper
shoulder belt height adjustment could reduce
the effectiveness of the safety belt in a crash. See
“Shoulder Belt Height Adjustment” later in this
section.
1-28

Safety Belt Extender
If the vehicle’s safety belt will fasten around you, you
should use it.
But if a safety belt is not long enough, your dealer/
retailer will order you an extender. When you go in to
order it, take the heaviest coat you will wear, so
the extender will be long enough for you. To help avoid
personal injury, do not let someone else use it, and
use it only for the seat it is made to t. The extender has
been designed for adults. Never use it for securing
child seats. To wear it, attach it to the regular safety belt.
For more information, see the instruction sheet that
comes with the extender.
Child Restraints
Older Children
Older children who have outgrown booster seats should
wear the vehicle’s safety belts.
1-35

{CAUTION:
Children can be seriously injured or strangled if
a shoulder belt is wrapped around their neck
and the safety belt continues to tighten. Never
leave children unattended in a vehicle and never
allow children to play with the safety belts.
Every time infants and young children ride in vehicles,
they should have the protection provided by appropriate
restraints. Children who are not restrained properly can
strike other people, or can be thrown out of the vehicle. In
addition, young children should not use the vehicle’s
adult safety belts alone; they need to use a child restraint.
{CAUTION:
People should never hold an infant in their
arms while riding in a vehicle. An infant does
not weigh much — until a crash. During a
crash an infant will become so heavy it is not
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
possible to hold it. For example, in a crash at
only 25 mph (40 km/h), a 12 lb (5.5 kg) infant
will suddenly become a 240 lb (110 kg) force
on a person’s arms. An infant should be
secured in an appropriate restraint.
1-39

{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
should always be secured in appropriate infant
restraints.
{CAUTION:
The body structure of a young child is quite
unlike that of an adult or older child, for whom
the safety belts are designed. A young child’s
hip bones are still so small that the vehicle’s
regular safety belt may not remain low on the
hip bones, as it should. Instead, it may settle
up around the child’s abdomen. In a crash, the
belt would apply force on a body area that is
unprotected by any bony structure. This alone
could cause serious or fatal injuries. Young
children should always be secured in
appropriate child restraints.
1-41

Securing an Add-On Child Restraint in
the Vehicle
{CAUTION:
A child can be seriously injured or killed in a
crash if the child restraint is not properly
secured in the vehicle. Make sure the child
restraint is properly installed in the vehicle
using the vehicle’s safety belt or LATCH
system, following the instructions that came
with that restraint, and also the instructions in
this manual.
To help reduce the chance of injury, the child restraint
must be secured in the vehicle. Child restraint systems
must be secured in vehicle seats by lap belts or the
lap belt portion of a lap-shoulder belt, or by the LATCH
system. SeeLower Anchors and Tethers for Children
(LATCH) on page 1-45for more information. A child can
be endangered in a crash if the child restraint is not
properly secured in the vehicle.When securing an add-on child restraint, refer to the
instructions that come with the restraint which may be on
the restraint itself or in a booklet, or both, and to this
manual. The child restraint instructions are important, so
if they are not available, obtain a replacement copy
from the manufacturer.
Keep in mind that an unsecured child restraint can
move around in a collision or sudden stop and injure
people in the vehicle. Be sure to properly secure
any child restraint in your vehicle — even when no child
is in it.
Securing the Child Within the Child
Restraint
{CAUTION:
A child can be seriously injured or killed in a
crash if the child is not properly secured in the
child restraint. Because there are different
systems, it is important to refer to the
instructions that come with the restraint. Make
sure the child is properly secured, following
the instructions that came with that restraint.
1-43

Where to Put the Restraint
Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained in the rear rather than the front seat.
We recommend that children and child restraints
be secured in a rear seat, including: an infant or a child
riding in a rear-facing child restraint; a child riding in
a forward-facing child seat; an older child riding in
a booster seat; and children, who are large enough,
using safety belts.
A label on your sun visor says, “Never put a rear-facing
child seat in the front.” This is because the risk to the
rear-facing child is so great, if the airbag deploys.
{CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured or killed if the right front
passenger’s airbag inates. This is because
the back of the rear-facing child restraint
would be very close to the inating airbag.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
Even though the passenger sensing system or
the airbag off switch is designed to turn off the
right front passenger’s frontal airbag if the
system detects a rear-facing child restraint, no
system is fail-safe, and no one can guarantee
that an airbag will not deploy under some
unusual circumstance, even though it is turned
off. We recommend that rear-facing child
restraints be secured in a rear seat, even if the
airbag is off.
If you secure a forward-facing child restraint in
the right front seat, always move the front
passenger seat as far back as it will go. It is
better to secure the child restraint in a rear seat.
1-44

{CAUTION:
A child in a child restraint in the center front
seat can be badly injured or killed by the
frontal airbags if they inate. Never secure a
child restraint in the center front seat. It is
always better to secure a child restraint in a
rear seat.
Do not use child restraints in the center front seat
position.
When securing a child restraint in a rear seating
position, study the instructions that came with your child
restraint to make sure it is compatible with this vehicle.
If your vehicle does not have a rear seat that will
accommodate a rear-facing child restraint, we
recommend that rear-facing child restraints not be
transported in your vehicle, even if the airbag is off.
Wherever you install a child restraint, be sure to secure
the child restraint properly.
Keep in mind that an unsecured child restraint can
move around in a collision or sudden stop and injure
people in the vehicle. Be sure to properly secure
any child restraint in your vehicle — even when no
child is in it.
Lower Anchors and Tethers for
Children (LATCH)
The LATCH system holds a child restraint during driving
or in a crash. This system is designed to make
installation of a child restraint easier. The LATCH
system uses anchors in the vehicle and attachments on
the child restraint that are made for use with the
LATCH system.
Make sure that a LATCH-compatible child restraint is
properly installed using the anchors, or use the vehicle’s
safety belts to secure the restraint, following the
instructions that came with that restraint, and also the
instructions in this manual. When installing a child
restraint with a top tether, you must also use either the
lower anchors or the safety belts to properly secure
the child restraint. A child restraint must never be
installed using only the top tether and anchor.
In order to use the LATCH system in your vehicle, you
need a child restraint that has LATCH attachments.
The child restraint manufacturer will provide you
with instructions on how to use the child restraint and its
attachments. The following explains how to attach a
child restraint with these attachments in your vehicle.
Not all vehicle seating positions or child restraints have
lower anchors and attachments or top tether anchors
and attachments.
1-45

Lower Anchors
Lower anchors (A) are metal bars built into the vehicle.
There are two lower anchors for each LATCH seating
position that will accommodate a child restraint with
lower attachments (B).
Top Tether Anchor
A top tether (A, C) anchors the top of the child restraint
to the vehicle. A top tether anchor is built into the
vehicle. The top tether attachment (B) on the child
restraint connects to the top tether anchor in the vehicle
in order to reduce the forward movement and rotation
of the child restraint during driving or in a crash.
Your child restraint may have a single tether (A) or a
dual tether (C). Either will have a single attachment (B)
to secure the top tether to the anchor.
1-46

Some child restraints that have a top tether are designed
for use with or without the top tether being attached.
Others require the top tether always to be attached. In
Canada, the law requires that forward-facing child
restraints have a top tether, and that the tether be
attached. Be sure to read and follow the instructions for
your child restraint.
If the child restraint does not have a top tether, one can
be obtained, in kit form, for many child restraints. Ask
the child restraint manufacturer whether or not a kit
is available.
Lower Anchor and Top Tether Anchor
Locations
i(Top Tether Anchor):
Seating positions with top
tether anchors.
Do not install a child restraint in the center front seat
position. SeeSecuring a Child Restraint in the Center
Front Seat Position on page 1-57for more information.
Regular
Cab — Two-Passenger
Front Seat
Regular
Cab — Three-Passenger
Front Seat
1-47