2003 CHEVROLET EXPRESS CARGO VAN brake light

All-Wheel Drive
If your vehicle has all-wheel drive, your engine's driving
power is sent to all four wheels for extra traction
when needed.
This is like four-wheel drive, but there is no separate
lever or switch to engage or disengage the front axle.
It is fully automatic, and adjusts itself as needed for road
conditions.
You may experience a brief vehicle vibration upon
acceleration when driving in slippery conditions. This is
normal and is an indication that the all-wheel drive
system is functioning properly.
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.
If the ignition is on, the brake system warning light will
come on.
To release the parking brake, hold the regular brake
pedal down. Pull the handle, located just above
the parking brake pedal, marked BRAKE RELEASE 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. Always check to be
sure your parking brake is fully released before
you drive.
If you are towing a trailer and are parking on any hill,
see
Towing a Trailer on page 4-31. That section shows
what to do ®rst to keep the trailer from moving.
Shifting Into Park (P)
{CAUTION:
It can be dangerous to get out of your vehicle
if the shift lever is not fully in PARK (P) with
the parking brake ®rmly set. Your vehicle can
roll. If you have left the engine running, the
vehicle can move suddenly. You or others
could be injured. To be sure your vehicle won't
move, even when you're on fairly level ground,
use the steps that follow. If you're pulling a
trailer, see ªTowing a Trailerº in the Index.
2-26

Instrument Panel Overview...............................3-4
Hazard Warning Flashers................................3-5
Other Warning Devices...................................3-6
Horn.............................................................3-6
Tilt Wheel.....................................................3-7
Turn Signal/Multifunction Lever.........................3-7
Exterior Lamps.............................................3-13
Interior Lamps..............................................3-16
Accessory Power Outlets...............................3-18
Ashtrays and Cigarette Lighter........................3-18
Climate Controls............................................3-19
Climate Control System.................................3-19
Rear Heating System....................................3-20
Rear Air Conditioning and Heating System.......3-21Warning Lights, Gages and Indicators.............3-23
Instrument Panel Cluster................................3-24
Speedometer...............................................3-25
Safety Belt Reminder Light.............................3-26
Air Bag Readiness Light................................3-27
Air Bag Off Light..........................................3-28
Charging System Light..................................3-29
Voltmeter Gage............................................3-30
Brake System Warning Light..........................3-31
Anti-Lock Brake System
Warning Light...........................................3-32
Engine Coolant Temperature Gage..................3-32
Low Coolant Warning Light............................3-33
Malfunction Indicator Lamp.............................3-33
Section 3 Instrument Panel
3-1

Using Cruise Control on Hills
How well your cruise control will work on hills depends
upon your speed, load and the steepness of the
hills. When going up steep hills, you may want to step
on the accelerator pedal to maintain your speed.
When going downhill, you may have to brake or shift to
a lower gear to keep your speed down. Of course,
applying the brake takes you out of cruise control. Many
drivers ®nd this to be too much trouble and don't use
cruise control on steep hills.
Ending Cruise Control
There are two ways to turn off the cruise control:
·Step lightly on the brake pedal,
·or move the cruise control switch to off.
Erasing Speed Memory
When you turn off the cruise control or the ignition, your
cruise control set speed memory is erased.
Exterior Lamps
The control on the driver's
side of your instrument
panel operates the exterior
lamps. Turn the control
clockwise to operate
the lamps.
The exterior lamp control has four positions:
é (Defeat):Turn and release the control to this
position to turn off the DRLs. To turn them back on, turn
and release the control to this position again. Shutting
the vehicle off and restarting it will also reactivate
the DRLs.
This feature is not available on vehicles ®rst sold
in Canada.
3-13

Brake System Warning Light
With the ignition on, the brake system warning light will
come on when you set your parking brake. The light
will stay on if your parking brake doesn't release fully.
If it stays on after your parking brake is fully released, it
means you have a brake problem.
Your vehicle's hydraulic brake system is divided into two
parts. If one part isn't working, the other part can still
work and stop you. For good braking, though, you need
both parts working well.
If the warning light comes on, there could be a brake
problem. Have your brake system inspected right away.This light should come on brie¯y when you turn the
ignition key to RUN. If it doesn't come on then, have it
®xed so it will be ready to warn you if there's a
problem.
If the light comes on while you are driving, pull off the
road and stop carefully. You may notice that the pedal is
harder to push. Or, the pedal may go closer to the
¯oor. It may take longer to stop. If the light is still on,
have the vehicle towed for service. See
Towing
Your Vehicle on page 4-29.
{CAUTION:
Your brake system may not be working
properly if the brake system warning light is
on. Driving with the brake system warning light
on can lead to an accident. If the light is still
on after you've pulled off the road and stopped
carefully, have the vehicle towed for service.
United States
Canada
3-31

Anti-Lock Brake System
Warning Light
With the anti-lock brake
system, this light will come
on when you start your
engine and may stay on for
several seconds. That's
normal.
If the light stays on, or comes on when you're driving,
your vehicle needs service. If the regular brake
system warning light isn't on, you still have brakes, but
you don't have anti-lock brakes. If the regular brake
system warning light is also on, you don't have anti-lock
brakes and there's a problem with your regular
brakes. See ªBrake System Warning Lightº earlier in this
section.
The anti-lock brake system warning light should come
on brie¯y when you turn the ignition key to RUN. If
the light doesn't come on then, have it ®xed so it will be
ready to warn you if there is a problem.
Engine Coolant Temperature Gage
This gage shows the engine coolant temperature. If the
gage pointer moves into the red area your engine is
too hot!
It means that your engine coolant has overheated. If
you have been operating your vehicle under normal
operating conditions, you should pull off the road, stop
your vehicle, and turn off the engine as soon as
possible.
See
Engine Overheating on page 5-24.
United StatesCanada
3-32

Avoid needless heavy braking. Some people drive
in spurts Ð heavy acceleration followed by heavy
braking Ð rather than keeping pace with traffic. This is
a mistake. Your brakes may not have time to cool
between hard stops. Your brakes will wear out much
faster if you do a lot of heavy braking. If you keep pace
with the traffic and allow realistic following distances,
you will eliminate a lot of unnecessary braking.
That means better braking and longer brake life.
If your engine ever stops while you're driving, brake
normally but don't pump your brakes. If you do,
the pedal may get harder to push down. If your engine
stops, you will still have some power brake assist.
But you will use it when you brake. Once the power
assist is used up, it may take longer to stop and
the brake pedal will be harder to push.Anti-lock Brake System
Your vehicle has anti-lock brakes. ABS is an advanced
electronic braking system that will help prevent a
braking skid.
When you start your engine and begin to drive away,
your anti-lock brake system will check itself. You
may hear a momentary motor or clicking noise while
this test is going on. This is normal.
If there's a problem with
the anti-lock brake system,
this warning light will
stay on. See
Anti-Lock
Brake System Warning
Light on page 3-32
.
4-6

Driving too fast through large water puddles or even
going through some car washes can cause problems,
too. The water may affect your brakes. Try to avoid
puddles. But if you can't, try to slow down before you
hit them.
{CAUTION:
Wet brakes can cause accidents. They won't
work as well in a quick stop and may cause
pulling to one side. You could lose control of
the vehicle.
After driving through a large puddle of water
or a car wash, apply your brake pedal lightly
until your brakes work normally.
Hydroplaning
Hydroplaning is dangerous. So much water can build up
under your tires that they can actually ride on the
water. This can happen if the road is wet enough and
you're going fast enough. When your vehicle is
hydroplaning, it has little or no contact with the road.
4-16

Trailer Wiring Harness
The optional heavy-duty trailer wiring package includes
a seven-wire harness assembly at the rear of the
vehicle and a four-wire harness assembly under the left
hand side of the instrument panel. The seven-wire
harness assembly is taped together and located in a
frame pocket at the driver side rear left corner of
the frame. The seven-wire harness includes a
30-amp feed wire. Both harnesses come without
connectors and should be wired by a quali®ed electrical
technician. The technician can use the following
color code chart when connecting the wiring harness to
your trailer and trailer brake controller.Seven-Wire Harness·Light Green: Back-up lamps
·Brown: Parking lamps
·Yellow: Left stoplamp and turn signal
·Dark Green: Right stoplamp and turn signal
·Dark Blue: Use for electric trailer brakes
·Orange: Trailer accessory
·White (heavy gage): Ground wire
Four-Wire Harness (Trailer Brake Controller)
·Black: Ground
·Red/White Stripe: Fused Battery
·Dark Blue: Trailer Brake Feed
·Light Blue: Fused Stop/CHMSL
4-44