2003 CHEVROLET AVALANCHE ESP

Q:If my vehicle has air bags, why should I have to
wear safety belts?
A:Air bags are in many vehicles today and will be in
most of them in the future. But they are
supplemental systems only; so they work
with
safety belts ± not instead of them. Every air bag
system ever offered for sale has required the
use of safety belts. Even if you're in a vehicle that
has air bags, you still have to buckle up to get
the most protection. That's true not only in frontal
collisions, but especially in side and other
collisions.
Q:If I'm a good driver, and I never drive far from
home, why should I wear safety belts?
A:You may be an excellent driver, but if you're in an
accident ± even one that isn't your fault ± you and
your passengers can be hurt. Being a good
driver doesn't protect you from things beyond your
control, such as bad drivers.
Most accidents occur within 25 miles (40 km) of
home. And the greatest number of serious injuries
and deaths occur at speeds of less than 40 mph
(65 km/h).
Safety belts are for everyone.
1-15

Seat Position Sensors
Vehicles 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.
Side Impact Air Bags
Your vehicle may or may not have a side impact air
bag. SeeAir Bag Systems on page 1-52. Side impact air
bags are designed to in¯ate in moderate to severe
side crashes. A side impact air bag will in¯ate if
the crash severity is above the system's designed
ªthreshold level.º The threshold level can vary with
speci®c vehicle design. Side impact air bags are
not designed to in¯ate in frontal or near-frontal impacts,
rollovers or rear impacts, because in¯ation would not
help the occupant. A side impact air bag will only deploy
on the side of the vehicle that is struck.
Air Bag Systems
In any particular crash, no one can say whether an air
bag should have in¯ated simply because of the damage
to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs were.
For frontal air bags, in¯ation is determined by the angle
of the impact and how quickly the vehicle slows down
in frontal and near-frontal impacts. For side impact
air bags, in¯ation is determined by the location
and severity of the impact.
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 with Your Four-Wheel Drive Vehicle in the
Index for tips on off-road driving.
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Doors and Locks
Door Locks
{CAUTION:
Unlocked doors can be dangerous.
·Passengers Ð especially children Ð can
easily open the doors and fall out of a
moving vehicle. When a door is locked, the
handle won't open it. You increase the
chance of being thrown out of the vehicle
in a crash if the doors aren't locked. So,
wear safety belts properly and lock the
doors whenever you drive.
·Young children who get into unlocked
vehicles may be unable to get out. A child
can be overcome by extreme heat and can
suffer permanent injuries or even death
from heat stroke. Always lock your vehicle
whenever you leave it.
·Outsiders can easily enter through an
unlocked door when you slow down or
stop your vehicle. Locking your doors can
help prevent this from happening.There are several ways to lock and unlock your vehicle.
You can use the keyless entry system.
You can use your key.
You can also use the manual lock/unlock levers (from
the inside).
To lock the door from the
inside, slide the manual
lock/unlock lever rearward.
To unlock the door,
slide the manual
lock/unlock lever forward.
2-7

Windows
{CAUTION:
Leaving children in a vehicle with the windows
closed is dangerous. A child can be overcome
by the extreme heat and can suffer permanent
injuries or even death from heat stroke. Never
leave a child alone in a vehicle, especially with
the windows closed in warm or hot weather.
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Theft-Deterrent Systems
Vehicle theft is big business, especially in some cities.
Although your vehicle has a number of theft-deterrent
features, we know that nothing we put on it can make it
impossible to steal.
Content Theft-Deterrent
Your vehicle is equipped with a content theft-deterrent
alarm system.
With this system, the
security light in the
instrument panel cluster
will ¯ash as you open
the door if your ignition is
off.
This light reminds you to activate the theft-deterrent
system. Here's how to do it:
1. Open the door.
2. Lock the door with the power door lock switch or
the remote keyless entry transmitter. The security
light should come on and stay on.
3. Close all doors. The security light should go off
after about 30 seconds. The alarm is not armed
until the security light goes off.If a locked door is opened without the key or the remote
keyless entry transmitter, the alarm will go off. The
headlamps and parking lamps will ¯ash for two minutes,
and the horn will sound for 30 seconds, then will turn
off to save the battery power. You can choose different
feedback options for the alarm. See
Driver Information
Center (DIC) on page 3-46.
Remember, the theft-deterrent system won't activate if
you lock the doors with a key or use the manual
door lock. It activates only if you use a power door lock
switch with the door open, or with the remote keyless
entry transmitter. You should also remember that
you can start your vehicle with the correct ignition key if
the alarm has been set off.
Here's how to avoid setting off the alarm by accident:
·If you don't want to activate the theft-deterrent
system, the vehicle should be locked with the door
key
afterthe doors are closed.
·Always unlock a door with a key, or use the remote
keyless entry transmitter. Unlocking a door any
other way will set off the alarm.
If you set off the alarm by accident, unlock any door
with the key. You can also turn off the alarm by pressing
unlock on the remote keyless entry transmitter. The
alarm won't stop if you try to unlock a door any other
way.
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Excessively shifting the transfer case into or out of the
different modes may cause the transfer case to
enter the shift protection mode. This will protect the
transfer case from possible damage and will only allow
the transfer case to respond to one shift per 10
seconds. The transfer case may stay in this mode for
up to three minutes.
Parking Brake
To set the parking brake, hold the regular brake pedal
down with your right foot. Push down the parking
brake pedal with your left foot.
A chime will activate and the warning light will ¯ash
when the parking brake is applied and the vehicle
is moving at least 3 mph (5 km/h) for at least three
seconds.To release the parking brake, hold the regular brake
pedal down. Pull the bottom edge of the lever, located
above the parking brake pedal, with the parking
brake symbol, to release the parking brake.
If the ignition is on when the parking brake is released,
the brake system warning light will go off.
Notice:Driving with the parking brake on can
cause your rear brakes to overheat. You may have
to replace them, and you could also damage
other parts of your vehicle.
If you are towing a trailer and are parking on any hill,
see
Towing a Trailer on page 4-58.
2-39

Vehicle Personalization
Memory Seat
If your vehicle has this
feature, then the controls
for the memory function
are located on the driver's
door.
These buttons are used to program and recall memory
settings for the driver's seat, throttle and brake
pedals, both the driver's and passenger's outside mirror,
and the radio station presets. The settings for these
features can be personalized for both driver 1 and
driver 2. Driver 1 or driver 2 corresponds to the memory
buttons labeled 1 and 2 on the driver's door and the
numbers on the back of the remote keyless entry
transmitters.To store your memory seat, throttle and brake pedals,
mirrors and radio presets, do the following:
1. Adjust the driver's seat (including the seatback
recliner, lumbar, and side wing area), throttle
and brake pedals, both of the outside mirrors, and
the radio station presets to your preference.
2. Press and hold the 1 or 2 (for driver 1 or 2) button
of the memory control for three seconds. A double
chime will sound to let you know that the position
has been stored.
To repeat the procedure for a second driver, follow the
preceding steps, but press the other numbered
memory control button.
Each time button 1 or 2 is pressed and released while
the vehicle is in PARK (P), a single chime will sound and
the memory position will be recalled.
2-85

If you use the unlock button on the remote keyless entry
transmitter to enter your vehicle, the preset driver's
seat, throttle and brake pedal, mirror positions and the
radio station presets will be recalled if programmed
to do so through the Driver Information Center (DIC).
See
DIC Operation and Displays on page 3-46.
The numbers on the back of the transmitters, 1 or 2,
correspond to the numbers on the memory controls.
The seat, throttle and brake pedals and mirror positions
can also be recalled when placing the key in the
ignition if programmed to do so through the Driver
Information Center (DIC). See
DIC Operation and
Displays on page 3-46.
To stop recall movement of the memory seat feature at
any time, press one of the memory buttons or power
seat controls.
Easy Exit Seat
The controls for this memory function are located on the
driver's door.
B(Easy Exit Seat):This button is used to program
and recall the desired driver's seat position when
exiting/entering the vehicle. The seat position, can be
personalized for both driver 1 and driver 2.To store the seat exit position for driver 1 or 2, do the
following:
1. Select the desired driver number by pressing and
releasing the 1 or 2 button or by pressing the
unlock button on the number 1 or 2 remote keyless
entry transmitter. The seat will move to the stored
memory position.
2. Adjust the seat to the desired exit position.
3. Press and hold the exit button of the memory
control for three seconds. A double chime will sound
to let you know that the position has been stored
for the identi®ed driver (1 or 2).
To use the seat exit position, do one of the following:
·Press the exit button on the memory control.
·Or, if this feature is enabled (active) in the DIC,
then removing the key from the ignition will
cause the seat to move to the exit position.
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