instrument panel GMC SIERRA DENALI 2003 Owners Manual

The 2003 GMC Sierra Denali Owner Manual a
Seats and Restraint Systems ........................... 1-1
Front Seats ............................................... 1-2
Rear Seats
............................................... 1-7
Safety Belts
.............................................. 1-8
Child Restraints
....................................... 1-30
Air Bag Systems
...................................... 1-57
Restraint System Check
............................ 1-73
Features and Controls
..................................... 2-1
Keys
........................................................ 2-2
Doors and Locks
....................................... 2-6
Windows
................................................. 2-1 0
Theft-Deterrent Systems ............................ 2-1 3
Starting and Operating Your Vehicle ........... 2-15
Mirrors
.................................................... 2-28
Onstar@ System
...................................... 2-33
HomeLink@ Transmitter
............................. 2-35
Storage Areas
......................................... 2-39
Instrument Panel
............................................. 3-1
Vehicle
Personalization
............................. 2-42
Instrument Panel Overview
.......................... 3-2
Climate Controls
...................................... 3-1 8
Warning Lights, Gages and Indicators
......... 3-24
Driver Information Center (DIC)
.................. 3-43
Audio System(s)
....................................... 3-61 Driving Your Vehicle
....................................... 4-1
Your
Driving, the Road, and Your Vehicle ..... 4-2
Towing
................................................... 4-45
Service and Appearance Care
.......................... 5-1
Service
..................................................... 5-3
Fuel
......................................................... 5-5
Checking Things Under the Hood
............................................. 5-10
All-Wheel Drive
........................................ 5-49
Rear Axle
............................................... 5-50
Front Axle
............................................... 5-51
Bulb Replacement
.................................... 5-52
Windshield Wiper Blade Replacement
......... 5-60
Tires
...................................................... 5-61
Appearance Care
..................................... 5-86
Vehicle Identification
................................. 5-94
Electrical System
...................................... 5-95
Capacities and Specifications
................... 5-1 04
Normal Maintenance Replacement Parts
.... 5-1 05
Maintenance Schedule
..................................... 6-1
Maintenance Schedule
................................ 6-2
Customer Assistance Information
.................... 7-1
Customer Assistance Information
.................. 7-2
Reporting Safety Defects
............................ 7-9
Index
................................................................. 1

Vehicle Damage Warnings
Also, in this book you will find these notices:
Notice: These mean there is something that could
damage
your vehicle.
A notice will tell you about something that can damage
your vehicle. Many times, this damage would not be
covered by your warranty, and it could be costly. But the
notice will tell you what to do to help avoid the
damage.
When you read other manuals, you might see CAUTION
and NOTICE warnings in different colors or
in different
words.
You’ll also see warning labels on your vehicle. They use
the same words, CAUTION or NOTICE.
Vehicle Symbols
Your vehicle has components and labels that use
symbols instead
of text. Symbols, used on your vehicle,
are shown along with the text describing the operation
or information relating to a specific component, control,
message, gage or indicator.
If you need help figuring out a specific name of a
component, gage or indicator reference the following
topics in the Index:
Seats and Restraint Systems in Section 1
Features and Controls in Section 2
Instrument Panel Overview in Section 3
Climate Controls in Section 3
Warning Lights, Gages and Indicators in Section 3
Audio System(s) in Section 3
Engine Compartment Overview in Section 5
iv

5. To tighten the belt, pull its free end while you push
down on the child restraint as you tighten the belt.
directions to be sure it is secure.
6. Push and pull the child restraint in different
To remove the child restraint, just unbuckle the vehicle’s
safety belt. It will be ready to work for an adult or
larger child passenger. Your
vehicle has a right front passenger air bag.
There’s a switch on the instrument panel that you can
use to turn
off the right front passenger’s air bag
when you need to secure a rear-facing child restraint at
the right front passenger’s position. See the following
illustration. Your switch may vary slightly. See
Air
Bag
Off Switch on page 1-64 for more on this, including
important safety information.
Securing a Child Restraint in the
Right Front Seat Position
If your child restraint is equipped with the LATCH
system, see Lower Anchorages and Top Tethers for
Children (LATCH System) on page
1-43.
1-50

Never put a rear facing child restraint in the right front
passenger seat unless the air bag is
off. Here’s why:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint ca
seriously injured or killed if the right front passenger’s air bag inflates. This is because
the back of the rear-facing child restraint
would be very close to the inflating air bag. Be
sure to turn
off the air bag before using a
rear-facing child restraint
in the right front seat
position. If a forward-facing child restraint
is
suitable for your child, always move the passenger seat as far back as
it will go.
A rear seat is a safer place to secure a forward-facing
child restraint. If you need to secure a forward-facing
child restraint in the right front seat position, see
Where
to Put the Restraint
on page 1-38
If the air bag readiness light in the instrument
panel cluster ever comes on when you have
turned
off the air bag, it means that something
may be wrong with the air bag system. The
right front passenger’s air bag could inflate
even though the switch
is off. If this ever
happens, have the vehicle serviced promptly.
Until you have the vehicle serviced, don’t let
anyone whom the national government has identified as a member of a passenger air bag
risk group
sit in the right front passenger’s
position (for example, don’t secure a
rear-facing child restraint
in your vehicle). See
”Air Bag Off Switch’’
in the Index.
In addition to the
AIR BAG OFF switch, your vehicle
may have the passenger sensing system. See
Passenger Sensing System on page 1-68 and
Passenger Air Bag Status Indicator on page 3-30 for
more on this, including important safety information.
1-51

The passenger sensing system is designed to turn off
the right front passenger’s frontal air bag when a
rear facing child restraint is in the right front seat. In
addition to the passenger sensing system, you may use
the AIR BAG
OFF switch located on the instrument
panel to turn the air bag
off. Never put a rear facing child
restraint in the right front passenger seat unless the
air bag is
off. Here’s why:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured or killed if the right front
passenger’s air bag inflates. This is because
the back of the rear facing child restraint
would be very close to the inflating air bag. Be
sure the air bag
is off before using a
rear-facing child restraint
in the right front seat
position.
CAUTION: (Continued)
’ Even though the passenger sensing system is
~ designed to turn off the passenger’s frontal air
~ bag if the system detects a rear-facing child
restraint, no system is fail-safe, and no one
can guarantee that an air bag
will not deploy
under some unusual circumstance, even
though
it is turned off. General Motors
therefore recommends that rear-facing child restraints be secured in the rear seat whenever
possible, even if the air bag is
off.
You’ll be using the lap-shoulder belt. See Top Strap on
page
1-40 if the child restraint has one. Be sure to
follow the instructions that came with the child restraint.
Secure the child in the child restraint when and as
the instructions say.
1. Your vehicle has a right front passenger’s air bag. If
you are using a rear-facing child restraint in this seat,
make sure the air bag is turned
off. See Air Bag Off
Switch on page 1-64 and Passenger Sensing
System
on page 1-68. Always move the seat as far
back as it will
go before securing the child restraint in
this seat. See ‘Seats” in the Index.
1-52

When either the passenger sensing system and/or
the AIR BAG
OFF switch has turned off the
right front passenger’s frontal air bag, the
off
indicator in the passenger air bag status indicator
on the rearview mirror will light and stay lit
when
y-” turn the ignition to RUN or START.
2. Put the restraint on the seat.
3. Pick up the latch plate, and run the lap and shoulder
portions
of the vehicle’s safety belt through or
around the restraint. The child restraint instructions
will show you how.
If the air bag readiness light
in the instrument
panel cluster ever comes
on when you have
turned
off the air bag, it means that something
may be wrong with the air bag system. The
right front passenger’s air bag could inflate
even though the switch
is off. If this ever
happens, have the vehicle serviced promptly.
Until
you have the vehicle serviced, don’t let
anyone whom the national government has identified as a member of a passenger air bag
risk group sit in the right front passenger’s
position (for example, don’t secure a
rear-facing child restraint
in your vehicle). See
”Air Bag
Off Switch” in the Index. 4. Buckle the belt. Make sure the release button is
positioned
so you would be able to unbuckle the
safety belt quickly
if you ever had to.
1-53

r
There is an air bag
readiness light on the
instrument panel cluster,
which shows the air
bag
symbol.
Where Are the Air Bags?
The system checks the air bag electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells you
if there is an electrical
problem. See
Air Bag Readiness Light on page 3-27
for more information.
The driver’s air bag is in the middle of the steering
wheel.
1-59

If something is between an occupant and an
air bag, the bag might not inflate properly or
it
might force the object into that person causing
severe injury or even death. The path of an
inflating air bag must be kept clear. Don’t put
anything between an occupant and an air bag,
and don’t attach or put anything on the
steering wheel hub or on or near any other air
bag covering.
The right front passenger’s air bag is in the instrument
panel
on the passenger’s side.
1-60

When Should an Air Bag Inflate?
An air bag is designed to inflate in a moderate to severe
frontal, or near-frontal crash. The air bag will inflate
only
if the impact speed is above the system’s designed
“threshold level.”
In addition, your vehicle has “dual stage” frontal air
bags, which adjust the amount of restraint according to
crash severity. For moderate frontal impacts, these
air bags inflate 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
10 to 16 mph
(16 to 25 km/h), and the threshold level for a full
deployment is about
20 to 25 mph (32 to 40 km/h). The
threshold level can vary, however, with specific
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 inflate in
rollovers, rear impacts, or in many side impacts because
inflation would not help the occupant.
In any particular crash, no one can say whether an air
bag should have inflated simply because of the damage
to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs were. Inflation
is determined by the angle of the impact and
how quickly the vehicle slows down in frontal or
near-frontal impacts.
The air bag system
is designed to work properly under
a wide range
of conditions, including off-road usage.
Observe safe driving speeds, especially on rough
terrain.
As always, wear your safety belt. See “Off-Road
Driving” in the Index for more tips on off-road driving.
Seat Position Sensors
Vehicle’s with dual stage air bags are also equipped
with special sensors which enable the sensing system to
monitor the position of both the driver and passenger
front seats. The seat position sensor provides
information which is used to determine
if the air bags
should deploy at a reduced level or at full depoyment.
What Makes an Air Bag Inflate?
In an impact of sufficient severity, the air bag sensing
system detects that the vehicle is in a crash. The
sensing system triggers a release of gas from the
inflator, which inflates the air bag. The inflator, air bag,
and related hardware are all part of the air bag
modules inside the steering wheel and in the instrument
panel in front of the right front passenger.
1-61

How Does an Air Bag Restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions,
even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel or
the instrument panel. Air bags supplement the
protection provided by safety belts. Air bags distribute
the force of the impact more evenly over the occupant’s
upper body, stopping the occupant more gradually.
But air bags would not help you in many types of
collisions, including rollovers, rear impacts and many
side impacts, primarily because an occupant’s motion is
not toward those air bags. Air bags should never be
regarded as anything more than a supplement to safety
belts, and then only in moderate to severe frontal or
near-frontal collisions.
What Will You See After an Air Bag
Inflates?
After an air bag inflates, it quickly deflates, so quickly
that some people may not even realize the air bag
inflated. Some components of the air bag module
- the
steering wheel hub for the driver’s air bag, or the
instrument panel for the right front passenger’s
bag
- will be hot for a short time. The parts of the bag
that come into contact with you may be warm, but
not too hot to touch. There will be some smoke and dust
coming from the vents in the deflated air bags. Air
bag inflation doesn’t prevent the driver from seeing or
being able to steer the vehicle, nor does it stop
people from leaving the vehicle.
1-62