2003 GMC SIERRA DENALI child restraint

United States with
Passenger Sensing
System
Canada with Passenger
Sensing System United
StaG without
Passenger Sensing System
Canada without
Passenger Sensing System To turn
off the
right front passenger’s air bag, insert
your ignition key into the switch,
push in, and move the
switch
to the off position.
The AIR BAG
OFF light will come on to let you know
that the right front passenger’s air bag is
off. The
right front passenger’s air bag will remain
off until you
turn it back on again, and the
AIR BAG OFF light
will stay on
to remind you that the air bag is off.
If the ai. Jag readiness light ever comes on
when you have turned
off the air bag, it means
that something may be wrong with the air bag system. The right front passenger’s air bag
could inflate even though the switch
is off. If
this ever happens, don’t
let anyone whom the
national government has identified as a
member of
a passenger air bag risk group sit
in the right front passenger’s position (for
example, don’t secure a rear-facing child
restraint in your vehicle)
until you have your
vehicle serviced.
1-67

Passenger Air Bag
Status
Indicator
- Canada
The passenger sensing system will turn
off the right
front passenger’s frontal air bag under certain
conditions. The driver’s air bag and the side air bags
are not part of the passenger sensing system. In
addition to the passenger sensing system, your vehicle
also has an air bag
off switch located on the instrument
panel as required by the government.
The passenger sensing system works with sensors that
are part of the right front passenger’s seat and safety
belt. The sensors are designed to detect the presence of
a properly seated occupant and determine
if the
passenger’s frontal air bag should be enabled (may
inflate) or not. The passenger
sensing system is designed to turn
oft
the right front passenger’s frontal air bag if:
the right front passenger seat is unoccupied
the system determines that an infant is present in a
rear-facing infant seat
J the system determines that a small child is present
in a forward-facing child restraint
the system determines that a small child is present
in a booster seat,
0 a right front passenger takes hidher weight off of
the seat for a period of time
the right front passenger seat is occupied by a
smaller person, such as a child who has outgrown
child restraints or a very small person
the air bag off switch is in the off position
or if there is a critical problem with the air bag
system or the passenger sensing system
When the passenger’s frontal air bag has been turned
off either by the passenger sensing system or by the air
bag
off switch, the off indicator will light and stay lit to
remind you that the air bag is
off.
1-69

The passenger sensing system is designed to turn off
the passenger’s frontal air bag when a rear facing infant
seat, a forward-facing child restraint or a booster seat
is detected.
If the child restraint has been installed
and the on indicator is lit, turn the vehicle
off, remove
the child restraint from the vehicle and reinstall the
restraint following the child restraint manufacturer’s
directions and refer to
Securing a Child Restraint in the
Right Front Seat Position
on page 1-50 of this manual.
If after reinstalling the child restraint and restarting
the vehicle, the on indicator is still lit, secure the child in
the child restraint in a rear seat position in the vehicle
and check with your dealer.
The passenger sensing system is designed to enable
(may inflate) the right front passenger’s frontal air
bag anytime the system senses that
a person of adult
size is sitting properly in the right front passenger’s seat.
When the passenger sensing system has allowed the
air bag to be enabled, the on indicator will light and stay
lit to remind you that the air bag is active.
If a person of adult-size is sitting in the right front
passenger’s seat, but the
off indicator is lit, it could be
because that person isn’t sitting properly in the seat
or the air bag
off switch is in the off position. If this
happens and the switch is in the proper position, turn
the vehicle
off and ask the person to place the seatback
in the full upright position, then sit upright in the seat,
centered on the seat cushion, with the person’s
legs comfortably extended. Restart the vehicle and have
the person remain in this position for about two
minutes. This will allow the system to detect that person
and then enable the passenger’s air bag.
1-70

If the right front passenger’s air bag is turned
off for a person who isn’t in a risk group
identified by the national government, that
person won’t have the extra protection of an
air bag.
In a crash, the air bag wouldn’t be able
to inflate and help protect the person sitting
there. Don’t
turn off the passenger’s air bag
unless the person
sitting there is in a risk
group. See
”Air Bag Off Switch” in the Index
for more on this, including important safety
information.
I he air bag readiness I r. It ever comes ~ 7
when you have turned off the air bag, it means
that something may be wrong with the air bag
system. The right front passenger’s air bag
CAUTION: (Continued)
wuld inflate even though the svvl;ch is off. If
this ever happens, don’t let anyone whom the
national government has identified as a
member of a passenger air bag risk group
sit
in the right front passenger’s position (for
example, don’t secure a rear-facing child
restraint
in your vehicle) until you have your
vehicle serviced.
Passenger Air Bag Status Indicator
If your vehicle has the passenger sensing system your
rearview mirror will have a passenger air bag status
indicator.
Passenger Air Bag Status Indicator
- United States
3-30

~~ ~~ Passenger
Air
Bag Status
Indicator
- Canada
When the ignition key is turned to RUN or START, the
passenger air bag status indicator will light ON and
OFF, or the symbol for on and off, for several seconds
as a system check. Then, after several more seconds,
the status indicator will light either ON or OFF, or either
the on or
off symbol to let you know the status of the
right front passenger’s frontal air bag.
If the word ON or the on symbol is lit on the passenger
air bag status indicator, it means that the right front
passenger’s frontal air bag is enabled (may inflate). If the
ON indicator comes on when you have a
rear-facing child restraint installed
in the right
front passenger’s seat, it means that the
passenger sensing system has not turned
off
the passenger’s frontal air bag. A child in a
rear-facing child restraint can be seriously
injured or killed if the right front passenger’s air
bag inflates. This is because the back of the
rear-facing child restraint would be very close
to the inflating air bag. Don’t use a rear-facing
child restraint in the right front passenger’s seat unless the air bag has been turned
off.
If the word OFF or the off symbol is lit on the passenger
air bag status indicator, it means that the passenger
sensing system or the air bag
off switch has turned off the
right front passenger’s air bag. See
Passenger Sensing
System on page
1-68 or Air Bag Off Switch on page 1-64
for more on this, including important safety information.
3-3 1

Th.,,ds yo^ pur inside your vehicle can strike
and injure people in a sudden stop or turn, or
in a crash.
Put things in the trunk of your vehicle. In a
trunk, put them
as far forward as you can.
Try to spread the weight evenly.
Never stack heavier things, like suitcases,
inside the vehicle
so that some of them
are above the tops of the seats.
Don’t leave an unsecured child restraint in
your vehicle.
When you carry something inside the
vehicle, secure it whenever you can.
There’s also important loading information for off-road
driving in this manual. See “Loading Your Vehicle
for Off-Road Driving“ under
Operating Your
All- Wheel-Drive Vehicle Off Paved Roads on page 4- 16.
Payload
Payload capacity is the maximum load capacity that your
vehicle can carry. Be sure to include the weight of the
occupants as part of your load.
If you added any accessories or
equipment after your vehicle left the
factory, remember to subtract the weight of these things
from the payload. Your dealer can help you with this.
Remember not to exceed the Gross Axle Weight Rating
(GAWR) of the front or rear axle.
Two-Tiered Loading
By positioning four 2’’ x 6’’ wooden planks across the
width of the pickup box, you can create an upper
load platform. The planks must be inserted in the pickup
box depressions. The length of the planks must allow
for at least a
3/4 inch (2 cm) bearing surface on
each end of the plank.
When using this upper load platform, be sure the load is
securely tied down to prevent it from shifting. The
load’s center of gravity should be positioned in a zone
over the rear axle. The zone is located in the area
between the front of each wheel well and the rear of
each wheel well. The center of gravity height must not
extend above the top of the pickup box flareboard.
Any load that extends beyond the vehicle’s taillamp area
must be properly marked according to local laws and
regulations.
Remember not to exceed the Gross Axle Weight Rating
(GAWR) of the front or rear axle.
4-47

Supplement to the 2003 Silverado, Sierra, Tahoe, Suburban,
r’s Manual
Passenger Sensing System
Accident statistics show that children are safer if they are I
restrained in the rear rather than the front seat. General
Motors, therefore, recommends that child restraints be
secured in
a rear seat, including an infant riding in a
rear-facing infant seat,
a child riding in a forward-facing
child seat and an older child riding in a booster seat.
Never put a child in rear-facing child restraint in the tight
front passenger seat unless your vehicle has the
passenger sensing system and the passenger air bag
status indicator
shows off. Never put a rear-facing child
restraint in the right front passenger seat unless the air
bag
is off.
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can be
seriously injured or killed
if the right front
passenger’s air bag inflates. This
is because
the back
of the rear-facing child restraint
would be very close to the inflating air bag.
Be
sure the air bag is off before using a
rear-facing child restraint in the right front seat
position.
CAUTION: (Continued)
Litho in
U.S.A.
Part No. 15189747 ‘Copyright General Motors
Corporation
06/24/02
All Rights Reserved

Even though the passenger sensing system is
designed to turn
off the passenger’s frontal air
bag if
the system detects a rear-facing child
restraint, no system
is fail-safe, and no one
can guarantee that an air bag will not deploy
under some unusual circumstance, even
though it
is turned off. General Motors,
therefore, recommends that rear-facing child
restraints be secured
in the rear seat whenever
~ possible, even if the air bag is off.
The passenger sensing system is designed to turn off
the right front passenger’s frontal air bag if:
the right front passenger seat is unoccupied
the system determines that an infant is present in a
the system determines that a small child is present
rear-facing infant seat
in a forward-facing child restraint
the system determines that a small child is present
in
a booster seat
a right front passenger takes hislher weight off of
the seat for a period of time
the right front passenger seat is occupied by a
smaller person, such as a child
who has outgrown
child restraints
or if there is a critical problem with the air bag
system or the passenger sensing system.
For
some children who have outgrown child restraints
and for
very small adults, the passenger sensing system
may
or may not turn off the right front passenger’s
frontal air bag, depending upon the person’s seating
posture and body build. Everyone in your vehicle
who has outgrown child restraints should wear
a safety
belt properly
- whether or not there is an air bag
for that person.
2