2003 CHEVROLET TAHOE brake

REDUCED ENGINE POWER
This message is displayed when the cooling system
temperature gets too hot and the engine further enters
the engine coolant protection mode.
See
Engine Overheating on page 5-33for further
information.
REPLACE LIFTGATE FUSE
This message will be displayed if the liftgate lock
malfunctions and/or the liftgate fuse blows. For more
information on fuses, see
Fuses and Circuit Breakers on
page 5-109.
If the message returns after replacing the fuse, see you
dealer for service.
KEYFOB X BATTERY LOW
If a remote keyless entry transmitter battery is low, this
message will appear on the DIC. The battery needs
to be replaced in the transmitter. Press the select button
to acknowledge the message and clear it from the
DIC display.
SERVICE AIRBAG
If there is a problem with the air bag system, this
message will be displayed on the DIC. Have a quali®ed
technician inspect the system for problems. Press
the select button to acknowledge this message and clear
it from the DIC display.
SERVICE BRAKE SYSTEM
If there is a problem with the brake system, this
message will be displayed on the DIC. If this message
appears, stop as soon as possible and turn off the
vehicle. Restart the vehicle and check for the message
on the DIC display. If the message is still displayed,
or appears again when you begin driving, the brake
system needs service. Press the select button to
acknowledge the message.
SERVICE 4 WHEEL STEER
If a problem occurs with the 4 wheel steer system, this
message will appear on the DIC. If the message
appears, stop as soon as possible, and turn off the
vehicle. Restart the vehicle and check for the message
on the DIC display. If the message is still displayed,
or appears again when you begin driving, the four wheel
steer system needs service. Press the select button
to acknowledge the message.
3-68

STABILITY SYS ACTIVE
You may see the STABILITY SYS ACTIVE message on
the DIC. It means that an advanced computer-controlled
system has come on to help your vehicle continue to go
in the direction in which you're steering.
Stabilitrak
žactivates when the computer senses that
your vehicle is just starting to spin, as it might if you hit a
patch of ice or other slippery spot on the road. When the
system activates, you may hear a noise or feel a vibration
in the brake pedal. This is normal. When the STABILITY
SYS ACTIVE message is on, you should continue to
steer in the direction you want to go. The system is
designed to help you in bad weather or other difficult
driving situations by making the most of whatever road
conditions will permit.
STABILITY SYS DISABLED
The STABILITY SYS DISABLED message will turn on
when you press the Stabilitrakžbutton, or when the
stability control has been automatically disabled. To limit
wheel spin and realize the full bene®ts of the stability
enhancement system, you should normally leave
Stabilitrak
žon. However, you should turn Stabilitrakžoff
if your vehicle gets stuck in sand, mud, ice or snow and
you want to ªrockº your vehicle to attempt to free it, or if
you are driving in extreme off-road conditions and require
more wheel spin. See
If You Are Stuck: In Sand, Mud, Ice
or Snow on page 4-56. To turn the Stabilitrakžsystem
back on press the Stabilitrakžbutton again. There arefour conditions that can cause this message to appear.
One condition is overheating, which could occur if
Stabilitrak
žactivates continuously for an extended period
of time. The message will also be displayed if the brake
system warning light is on. See
Brake System Warning
Light on page 3-42. The message could be displayed if
the stability system takes longer than usual to complete
its diagnostic checks due to driving conditions. Also, if an
engine or vehicle related problem has been detected, and
the vehicle needs service, the message will appear.
The message will turn off as soon as the conditions that
caused the message to be displayed are no longer
present.
STABILITY SYS READY
Text under development.
TIGHTEN FUEL CAP
If the vehicle's fuel cap is not tightened properly this
message may appear along with the check engine light
on the instrument panel. Reinstall the fuel cap,
making sure to fully install the cap. See
Filling Your
Tank on page 5-9. The diganostic system can determine
if the fuel cap has been left off or improperly installed.
A loose or missing fuel cap will allow fuel to evaporate
into the atmosphere. A few driving trips with the cap
properly installed should turn the light and message off.
3-70

Your Driving, the Road, and
Your Vehicle
Defensive Driving
The best advice anyone can give about driving is: Drive
defensively.
Please start with a very important safety device in your
vehicle: Buckle up. See
Safety Belts: They Are for
Everyone on page 1-24.
Defensive driving really means ªbe ready for anything.º
On city streets, rural roads or freeways, it means
ªalways expect the unexpected.º
Assume that pedestrians or other drivers are going to
be careless and make mistakes. Anticipate what
they might do. Be ready for their mistakes.
Rear-end collisions are about the most preventable of
accidents. Yet they are common. Allow enough following
distance. It is the best defensive driving maneuver, in
both city and rural driving. You never know when the
vehicle in front of you is going to brake or turn suddenly.Defensive driving requires that a driver concentrate on
the driving task. Anything that distracts from the driving
task Ð such as concentrating on a cellular telephone call,
reading, or reaching for something on the ¯oor Ð makes
proper defensive driving more difficult and can even
cause a collision, with resulting injury. Ask a passenger to
help do things like this, or pull off the road in a safe place
to do them yourself. These simple defensive driving
techniques could save your life.Drunken Driving
Death and injury associated with drinking and driving is
a national tragedy. It is the number one contributor
to the highway death toll, claiming thousands of victims
every year.
Alcohol affects four things that anyone needs to drive a
vehicle:
·Judgment
·Muscular Coordination
·Vision
·Attentiveness.
4-2

Control of a Vehicle
You have three systems that make your vehicle go where
you want it to go. They are the brakes, the steering and
the accelerator. All three systems have to do their work at
the places where the tires meet the road.
Sometimes, as when you are driving on snow or ice, it
is easy to ask more of those control systems than
the tires and road can provide. That means you can lose
control of your vehicle. Also see
Traction Assist
System (TAS) on page 4-10.
Braking
Braking action involvesperception timeandreaction time.
First, you have to decide to push on the brake pedal.
That isperception time.Then you have to bring up your
foot and do it. That isreaction time.
Averagereaction timeis about 3/4 of a second. But that is
only an average. It might be less with one driver and as
long as two or three seconds or more with another. Age,
physical condition, alertness, coordination and eyesight
all play a part. So do alcohol, drugs and frustration. But
even in 3/4 of a second, a vehicle moving at 60 mph
(100 km/h) travels 66 feet (20 m). That could be a lot of
distance in an emergency, so keeping enough space
between your vehicle and others is important.
And, of course, actual stopping distances vary greatly
with the surface of the road (whether it is pavement
or gravel); the condition of the road (wet, dry, icy); tire
tread; the condition of your brakes; the weight of
the vehicle and the amount of brake force applied.
4-6

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 are driving, brake
normally but do not 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 is a problem with
the anti-lock brake system,
this warning light will
stay on. See
Anti-Lock
Brake System Warning
Light on page 3-44
.
Along with ABS, your vehicle has a Dynamic Rear
Proportioning (DRP) system. If there is a DRP problem,
both the brake and ABS warning lights will come on
accompanied by a 10-second chime. The lights
and chime will come on each time the ignition is turned
on until the problem is repaired. See your dealer for
service.
4-7

Let us say the road is wet and you are driving safely.
Suddenly, an animal jumps out in front of you. You slam
on the brakes and continue braking. Here's what
happens with ABS:
A computer senses that wheels are slowing down. If one
of the wheels is about to stop rolling, the computer will
separately work the brakes at each front wheel and at
both rear wheels.The anti-lock system can change the brake pressure
faster than any driver could. The computer is
programmed to make the most of available tire and road
conditions. This can help you steer around the obstacle
while braking hard.
As you brake, your computer keeps receiving updates
on wheel speed and controls braking pressure
accordingly.
4-8

Remember: Anti-lock does not change the time you
need to get your foot up to the brake pedal or always
decrease stopping distance. If you get too close to
the vehicle in front of you, you will not have time to apply
your brakes if that vehicle suddenly slows or stops.
Always leave enough room up ahead to stop, even
though you have anti-lock brakes.
Using Anti-Lock
Do not pump the brakes. Just hold the brake pedal
down ®rmly and let anti-lock work for you. You may feel
the brakes vibrate, or you may notice some noise,
but this is normal.
Braking in Emergencies
With anti-lock, you can steer and brake at the same
time. In many emergencies, steering can help you more
than even the very best braking.
Supplemental Brake Assist System
If your vehicle has vacuum assist power brakes, it is also
equipped with a supplemental brake assist system that
supplies additional vacuum to the vacuum brake booster
if engine vacuum is reduced. Under certain conditions,
the supplemental brake assist system may run brie¯y
after starting your vehicle or when you apply and release
the brake pedal and it may continue to run even after you
have removed your foot from the brake pedal. When the
supplemental brake assist system is operating, you mayhear a motor running or feel a slight vibration in the
steering wheel or brake pedal. This indicates that the
supplemental brake assist system is working to supply
additional vacuum for your vacuum assist power brakes.
This is a normal operation of your brake system and does
not require that the brake system be serviced.
Each time you start your vehicle and accelerate to 10
mph, the supplemental brake assist system will perform a
self-diagnostic check of the system and you may hear or
feel the supplemental brake assist motor run brie¯y.
While you are driving your vehicle, the supplemental
brake assist system monitors itself to ensure that it is
operating properly. If there is a problem with the
supplemental brake assist system, the SERVICE BRAKE
BOOSTER message will be displayed on the Driver
Information Center. See
DIC Warnings and Messages on
page 3-64.
If your supplemental brake assist system runs every
time you apply and release the brake pedal or you notice
that the brake pedal has suddenly become much
harder to push and the vehicle takes longer to stop, you
should have your vehicle serviced as soon as possible.
4-9

The traction off light will come on under the following
conditions:
·The Traction Assist System is turned off, either by
pressing the TAS on/off button or turning off the
automatic engagement feature of the TAS.
·The transmission is in FIRST (1); TAS will not
operate in this gear. This is normal.
·The vehicle is driven on an extremely rough road.
When the vehicle leaves the rough surface, slows
down or stops, the light will go off and TAS will
be on again. This is normal.
·A Traction Assist System, Anti-Lock Brake System
or engine-related problem has been detected and
the vehicle needs service.
·If the vehicle has been driven with the TAS system
on for long periods of time, or if the vehicle has
gone through many several high speed braking
maneuvers the system may be automatically
disabled. The system will automatically re-enable
after approximately two minutes of not using
the brakes.
See
Traction Off Light on page 3-44.The Traction Assist System, as delivered from the
factory, will automatically come on whenever you start
your vehicle. To limit wheel spin, especially in
slippery road conditions, you should always leave the
system on. But you can turn the TAS off if you ever need
to. You should turn the TAS off if your vehicle ever
gets stuck in sand, mud or snow and rocking the vehicle
is required. See ªRocking Your Vehicleº under
If You
Are Stuck: In Sand, Mud, Ice or Snow on page 4-56.
To turn the system on or
off, press the TAS on/off
button located on the
instrument panel.
If you used the button to turn the system off, the traction
off light will come on and stay on. You can turn the
system back on at any time by pressing the button
again. The traction off light should go off.
4-11