2003 CHEVROLET AVALANCHE tow

Seats and Restraint Systems........................... 1-1
Front Seats
............................................... 1-2
Rear Seats
............................................... 1-8
Safety Belts
.............................................1-10
Child Restraints
.......................................1-32
Air Bag Systems
......................................1-52
Restraint System Check
............................1-67
Features and Controls..................................... 2-1
Keys
........................................................ 2-3
Doors and Locks
....................................... 2-7
Windows
.................................................2-23
Theft-Deterrent Systems
............................2-25
Starting and Operating Your Vehicle
...........2-27
Mirrors
....................................................2-46
OnStar
žSystem
......................................2-53
HomeLinkžTransmitter
.............................2-55
Storage Areas
.........................................2-59
Sunroof
..................................................2-84
Vehicle Personalization
.............................2-85
Instrument Panel............................................. 3-1
Instrument Panel Overview
.......................... 3-4
Climate Controls
......................................3-20
Warning Lights, Gages and Indicators
.........3-30
Driver Information Center (DIC)
..................3-46
Audio System(s)
.......................................3-64Driving Your Vehicle....................................... 4-1
Your Driving, the Road, and Your Vehicle
..... 4-2
Towing
...................................................4-48
Service and Appearance Care.......................... 5-1
Service
..................................................... 5-3
Fuel
......................................................... 5-5
Checking Things Under the Hood
...............5-10
Rear Axle
...............................................5-49
Four-Wheel Drive
.....................................5-50
Front Axle
...............................................5-51
Bulb Replacement
....................................5-52
Windshield Wiper Blade Replacement
.........5-60
Tires
......................................................5-61
Appearance Care
.....................................5-88
Vehicle Identi®cation
.................................5-96
Electrical System
......................................5-96
Capacities and Speci®cations
...................5-106
Normal Maintenance Replacement Parts
....5-108
Maintenance Schedule..................................... 6-1
Maintenance Schedule
................................ 6-2
Customer Assistance Information.................... 7-1
Customer Assistance Information
.................. 7-2
Reporting Safety Defects
...........................7-10
Index................................................................ 1
2003 Chevrolet Avalanche Owner ManualM

·Move the seat forward or rearward by moving the
whole control toward the front or toward the rear
of the vehicle.
·Moving the whole control up or down raises or
lowers the entire seat cushion.
Vertical Control:If your vehicle has power reclining
seats, you can use the vertical control to adjust the
angle of the seatback. Move the reclining front seatback
rearward or forward by moving the control toward the
rear or toward the front of the vehicle. See
Reclining
Seatbacks on page 1-5for further information.
Power Lumbar
If you have power lumbar
adjustment, you can
increase or decrease
lumbar support in the lower
seatback. The control is
located on the outboard
side of the seat cushion.
·To increase support in the lower back area, press
and hold the front of the control. Let go of the
control when the lower seatback reaches the
desired level of support.
·To decrease support in the lower back area, press
and hold the rear of the control. Let go of the
control when the lower seatback reaches the
desired level of support.
1-3

Rear Seats
Rear Seat Operation
The rear seat is a 60/40 split rear seat that can be
folded to give you more cargo space and access to the
folding midgate. See
Midgate on page 2-12for more
information on operation of the folding midgate.
To fold either side of the seat do the following:
1. Push the rear head restraints all the way down.
2. Pull the seat loop
located where the
seatback and
seat cushion meet. The
seat will release and
allow you to tilt it
toward the front of the
vehicle.3. Grasp the seatback and pull it toward the front of
the vehicle. Push it down until it is ¯at. You may
have to move the front seats forward slightly to do
this.
4. Repeat the procedure for the other side.
To return the seats to the normal position, pull the
seatback up and fold the seat cushion down.
1-8

{CAUTION:
Never do this.
Here two children are wearing the same belt.
The belt can't properly spread the impact
forces. In a crash, the two children can be
crushed together and seriously injured. A belt
must be used by only one person at a time.
Q:What if a child is wearing a lap-shoulder belt,
but the child is so small that the shoulder belt
is very close to the child's face or neck?
A:If the child is sitting in a rear seat outside position,
move the child toward the center of the vehicle.
See
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for Children
and Small Adults on page 1-29
. If the child is
sitting in the center position, move the child toward
the safety belt buckle. In either case, be sure
that the shoulder belt still is on the child's shoulder,
so that in a crash the child's upper body would
have the restraint that belts provide.
If the child is so small that the shoulder belt is still
very close to the child's face or neck, you might
want to place the child in a seat that has a lap belt,
if your vehicle has one.
1-33

Child Restraint Systems
An infant car bed (A), a special bed made for use in a
motor vehicle, is an infant restraint system designed
to restrain or position a child on a continuous ¯at
surface. Make sure that the infant's head rests toward
the center of the vehicle.A rear-facing infant seat (B) provides restraint with the
seating surface against the back of the infant. The
harness system holds the infant in place and, in a crash,
acts to keep the infant positioned in the restraint.
1-38

What Makes an Air Bag In¯ate?
In an impact of sufficient severity, the air bag sensing
system detects that the vehicle is in a crash. For
both frontal and side impact air bags, the sensing
system triggers a release of gas from the in¯ator, which
in¯ates the air bag. The in¯ator, the air bag and
related hardware are all part of the air bag modules.
Frontal air bag modules are located inside the steering
wheel and instrument panel. For vehicles with side
impact air bags, the air bag modules are located in the
seatback closest to the driver's and/or right front
passenger's door.
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. In moderate to severe side
collisions, even belted occupants can contact the inside
of the vehicle. The air bag supplements 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 the
frontal 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 the air bag. Side impact air bags would not
help you in many types of collisions, including frontal
or near frontal collisions, rollovers, and rear 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 for the driver's and right front passenger's
frontal air bags, and only in moderate to severe
side collisions for vehicles with a driver's and right front
passenger's side impact air bag.
1-59

{CAUTION:
If the air bag readiness light in the instrument
panel cluster ever comes on and stays on, it
means that something may be wrong with the
air bag system. If this ever happens, have the
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
vehicle serviced promptly, because an
adult-size person sitting in the right front
passenger's seat may not have the protection
of the frontal air bag. See ªAir Bag Readiness
Lightº in the Index for more on this, including
important safety information.
Aftermarket equipment, such as seat covers, can affect
how well the passenger sensing system operates.
You may want to consider not using seat covers or other
aftermarket equipment if your vehicle has the passenger
sensing system.
{CAUTION:
Stowing of articles under the passenger's seat
or between the passenger's seat cushion and
seatback may interfere with the proper
operation of the passenger sensing system.
1-65

Programmable Locking Feature
The following is the list of available programming
options:
Mode 1:All doors lock when the transmission is shifted
into gear. This is the mode that is pre-programmed in
the factory for your vehicle.
Mode 2:All doors lock when the vehicle speed is
greater than 8 mph (13 km/h).
Mode 3:No automatic door locking.
The following instructions tell you how to change the
automatic door lock mode. Choose one of the three
programming options listed above before entering the
program mode. To enter the program mode, do the
following:
1. Begin with the ignition off. Then pull the turn
signal/multifunction lever toward you and hold
it there while you perform the next step.
2. Turn the key to RUN then back to LOCK twice.
Then, with the key in LOCK, release the turn
signal/multifunction lever. Once you do this, the
doors will lock and unlock, the horn will chirp twice,
and a 30-second timer will begin. You are now
ready to program the automatic door lock feature.3. Press the door lock switch once. You will hear one,
two, or three chimes. The number of chimes tells you
which lock mode is currently selected. Continue to
press the door lock switch until the number of chimes
that you hear matches the number of the mode that
you want. If you take longer than 30 seconds, the
locks will automatically lock and unlock and the horn
will chirp twice to indicate that you have left the
program mode. If this occurs, you can repeat the
procedure beginning with Step 1 to re-enter the
programming mode.
You can exit the program mode any time by turning the
ignition to RUN (the doors will automatically lock and
unlock and the horn will chirp twice to indicate that you
are leaving the program mode). If the lock/unlock
switches are not pressed while in the programming
mode, the current automatic settings will not be
modi®ed.
See your dealer for more information.
Programmable Unlocking Feature
The following is the list of available programming
options:
Mode 1:Driver's door unlocks when the transmission is
shifted into PARK (P).
Mode 2:All doors unlock when the transmission is
shifted into PARK (P). This is the mode that is
pre-programmed in the factory for your vehicle.
2-9