2003 CHEVROLET ASTRO Owners Manual

Aluminum Wheels
Keep your wheels clean using a soft clean cloth
with mild soap and water. Rinse with clean water.
After rinsing thoroughly, dry with a
soft clean towel.
A wax may then be applied.
The surface of these wheels is similar
to the painted
surface of your vehicle. Don’t use strong soaps,
chemicals, abrasive polishes, abrasive cleaners,
cleaners with acid, or abrasive cleaning brushes on
them because you could damage the surface.
Do not use chrome polish on aluminum wheels.
Don’t take your vehicle through an automatic car wash
that has silicone carbide tire cleaning brushes. These
brushes can also damage the surface of these wheels.
Tires
To clean your tires, use a stiff brush with tire cleaner.
Nofice: When applying a tire dressing, always take
care to wipe
off any overspray or splash from all
painted surfaces
on the body or wheels of the
vehicle. Petroleum-based products may damage
the paint finish and tires.
Sheet Metal Damage
If your vehicle is damaged and requires sheet metal
repair or replacement, make sure the body repair shop
applies anti-corrosion material to parts repaired or
replaced
to restore corrosion protection.
Original manufacturer replacement parts will provide the
corrosion protection while maintaining the warranty.
Finish Damage
Any stone chips, fractures or deep scratches in the
finish should be repaired right away. Bare metal
will corrode quickly and may develop into major
repair expense.
Minor chips and scratches can be repaired with touch-up
materials avaliable from your dealer or other service
outlets. Larger areas
of finish damage can be corrected
in your dealer’s body and paint shop.
5-88

Underbody Maintenance
Chemicals used for ice and snow removal and dust
control can collect on the underbody.
If these are not
removed, accelerated corrosion (rust} can occur on
the underbody parts such as fuel lines, frame, floor pan
and exhaust system even though they have corrosion
protection.
At least every spring, flush these materials from the
underbody with plain water. Clean any areas where mud
and debris can collect. Dirt packed in close areas of
the frame should be loosened before being flushed.
Your dealer or an underbody car washing system can
do this for you.
Chemical Paint Spotting
Some weather and atmospheric conditions can create a
chemical fallout. Airborne pollutants can fall upon and
attack painted surfaces on your vehicle. This damage can
take two forms; blotchy, ringlet-shaped discolorations,
and small irregular dark spots etched into the paint
surface.
Although no defect in the paint job causes this, GM will
repair, at no charge to the owner, the surfaces of
new vehicles damaged by this fallout condition within
12 months or 12,000 miles (20 000 km) of purchase,
whichever occurs first.
GM Vehicle Care/Appearance
Materials
See your GM dealer for more information on purchasing
the following products.
GM Vehicle Care/Appearance Materials
Descrbtion Usaae I
Polishing Cloth
Dolishina cloth.
Wax-Treated Interior and exterior
Tar and Road Oil
and asPhalt.
Remover Removes
tar, road oil
Chrome Cleaner
stainless steel.
and Polish Use on chrome or
White Sidewall
marks from whitewalls.
Tire Cleaner Removes
soil and black
Vinyl Cleaner Cleans
vinyl tops,
upholstery and
convertible tom.
Glass Cleaner Removes
dirt, grime,
smoke and finaerprints.
5-89

GM Vehicle Care/Appearance Materials (cont’d)
I DescriDtion I Usage
Chrome and Wire
Wheel Cleaner Removes
dirt and grime
from chrome wheels and
wire wheel covers.
I
I Removes dust, I
Finish Enhancer fingerprints,
and surface
contaminants, Spray on
wipe
off.
I I Removes swirl marks, I
I Swirl Remover Polish fine scratches and
other light surface
I I contamination.
Removes light scratches
and protects finish.
Foaming Tire Shine
Low Gloss Cleans, shines
and
protects in one easy step,
no wiDinq necessary.
GM Vehicle Care/Appearance Materials
(cont’d)
I Description I Usage
Wash Wax Concentrate Medium foaming
shampoo. Cleans and lightly waxes.
Biodegradable and
DhosDhate free.
Spot Lifter Quickly and easily
removes spots and stains
from carpets, vinyl and
cloth upholstery.
Odor Eliminator Odorless
spray odor
eliminator used on
fabrics, vinyl, leather
and carpet.
See your General Motors parts department for these
products. See
Part D: Recommended Fluids and
Lubricants on page
6-32.
5-90

Vehicle Identification
Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) Service Parts Identification
Label
You’ll find this label on the front passenger door frame.
It’s very helpful
if you ever need to order parts. On this
label is:
your VIN,
the model designation,
paint information and
a list of all production options and special equipment.
Be sure that this label is not removed from the
vehicle.
This is the legal identifier for your vehicle. It appears on
a plate in the front corner of the instrument panel, on
the driver’s side. You can see it
if you look through the
windshield from outside your vehicle. The VIN also
appears on the Vehicle Certification and Service Parts
labels and the certificates of title and registration.
Engine Identification
The 8th character in your VIN is the engine code.
This code will help you identify your engine,
specifications and replacement parts.
5-9 1

Electrical System
Add-on Electrical Equipment
Notice: Don’t add anything electrical to your vehicle
unless you check with your dealer first. Some
electrical equipment can damage your vehicle and
the damage wouldn’t be covered by your warranty.
Some add-on electrical equipment can keep other
components from working
as they should.
Your vehicle has an air bag system. Before attempting to
add anything electrical to your vehicle, see
Servicing
Your Air Bag-Equipped Vehicle on page
1-69.
Headlamp Wiring
The headlamp wiring is protected by a circuit breaker in
the lamp switch. An electrical overload will cause the
lamps to flicker on and
off, or in some cases to remain
off. If this happens, have your headlamp wiring
checked right away.
Windshield Wiper Fuses
The windshield wiper motor is protected by a circuit
breaker and a fuse.
If the motor overheats due to heavy
snow, etc., the wiper will stop until the motor cools.
Although the circuit is protected from electrical overload,
overload due to heavy snow, etc., may cause wiper
linkage damage. Always clear ice and heavy snow
from the windshield before using the windshield wipers.
If the overload
is caused by some electrical problem
and not snow, etc., be sure to get it fixed.
Power Windows and Other
Power Options
Circuit breakers in the fuse panel protect the power
windows and other power accessories. When the
current load is too heavy, the circuit breaker opens and
closes, protecting the circuit until the problem is fixed
or goes away.
5-92

Fuses and Circuit Breakers
The wiring circuits in your vehicle are protected from
short circuits by a combination of fuses, circuit breakers
and fusible thermal links. This greatly reduces the
chance of fires caused by electrical problems.
Look at the silver-colored band inside the fuse.
If the
band is broken or melted, replace the fuse. Be sure you
replace a bad fuse with a new one of the identical
size and rating.
Spare fuses and a fuse puller are located in the
underhood fuse block. You can remove fuses with
the fuse puller. Remember to replace any of the spare
fuses you use,
so you will have some if you ever
need them again.
If you ever have a problem on the road and don’t have
a spare fuse, you can borrow one that has the same
amperage. Just pick some feature of your vehicle
that you can get along without
- like the radio or
cigarette lighter
- and use its fuse, if it is the correct
amperage. Replace it as soon as you can.
There are two fuse blocks in your vehicle: one
is inside
the vehicle and one is in the engine compartment.
Instrument Panel Fuse Block
The fuse block is located on the lower portion of the
instrument panel on the driver’s side.
5-93

FuseKircuit Usage
Breaker
1
2
Stop/Turn/Hazard Lamps,
Center High Mounted Stop Lamp,
Anti-Lock Brakes
Radio Accy, Rear Seat
Audio Controls
FuseKircuit
Breaker
3
4
5
6
8
9
Usage
Courtesy Lamps, Glove Box Lamp,
Dome Reading Lamps, Vanity Mirror
Lamps, Courtesy Lamps
Daytime Running Lamps Relay,
Instrument Panel Cluster
Rear Defogger
Cruise Module, Truck Body Control Module, Instrument Panel Cluster,
Cruise Control Switch,
Electrochromic Mirror
Power Outlets, DLC,
Subwoofer Amplifier
Crank Circuit Fuse, ParWNeutral
Switch, Starter Enabler Relay
License Plate Lamp, Tailamps,
Parking Lamps, Ashtray Lamp,
Panel Lights, Trailer Taillamps,
Front and Rear Sidemarker Lamps,
Door Switch Illumination, Headlamp
Switch Illumination, Rear Seat
Audio Illumination, Truck Body
Control Module
5-94

13
14
15
16
Fuse/Circuit Usage Breaker
10 Air Bag System
11 Not Used
12 L, MI, M2 Blower Motor, Rear Air
Conditioning Relay Coil, Front Cont.
Temp. Door Motor, HI Blower Relay.
Defogger Timer Coil
Cigarette Lighter, Door Lock
Switches, Dutch Door Release Module
Cluster Illum, Climate Controls,
Chime Module, Radio Illumination,
Rear Heat Switch Illumination, Rear
Wipermasher Switch Illumination,
Rear Liftgate Switch Illumination,
Remote Cassette Illumination,
Overhead Console, Truck Body
Control Illurnination
Truck Body Module, Headlamp Relay
Front Turn Signals, Rear Turn
Signals, Trailer Turn Signals,
Back-up Lamps, Brake Transmission
Shift Interlock Solenoid 21
22
23
24
A
19
20
FuseKircuit
Usage
Breaker
17 Front Wipers, Front Washer Pump
18 VCM-lgn
3, VCM-Brake, Cruise
Stepper Motor Signal, ATC Module
Instrument Panel Radio: ATC
(Main Feed),
2000 Series (Standby)
PRNDUOdometer, TCC Enable and
PWM Solenoid, Shift A and Shift B
Solenoids, 3-2 Downshift Solenoid, Instrument Panel Cluster, VCM
Module
Powr Adjust Mirrors
Not Used
Rear Wiper, Rear Washer Pump
Not Used
(Circuit Breaker) Power Door Lock
Relay, 6-Way Power Seats
(Circuit Breaker) Power Windows
B
5-95