The 2003 GMC Sierra Denali Owner Manual a
Seats and Restraint Systems ........................... 1-1
Front Seats ............................................... 1-2
Rear Seats
............................................... 1-7
Safety Belts
.............................................. 1-8
Child Restraints
....................................... 1-30
Air Bag Systems
...................................... 1-57
Restraint System Check
............................ 1-73
Features and Controls
..................................... 2-1
Keys
........................................................ 2-2
Doors and Locks
....................................... 2-6
Windows
................................................. 2-1 0
Theft-Deterrent Systems ............................ 2-1 3
Starting and Operating Your Vehicle ........... 2-15
Mirrors
.................................................... 2-28
Onstar@ System
...................................... 2-33
HomeLink@ Transmitter
............................. 2-35
Storage Areas
......................................... 2-39
Instrument Panel
............................................. 3-1
Vehicle
Personalization
............................. 2-42
Instrument Panel Overview
.......................... 3-2
Climate Controls
...................................... 3-1 8
Warning Lights, Gages and Indicators
......... 3-24
Driver Information Center (DIC)
.................. 3-43
Audio System(s)
....................................... 3-61 Driving Your Vehicle
....................................... 4-1
Your
Driving, the Road, and Your Vehicle ..... 4-2
Towing
................................................... 4-45
Service and Appearance Care
.......................... 5-1
Service
..................................................... 5-3
Fuel
......................................................... 5-5
Checking Things Under the Hood
............................................. 5-10
All-Wheel Drive
........................................ 5-49
Rear Axle
............................................... 5-50
Front Axle
............................................... 5-51
Bulb Replacement
.................................... 5-52
Windshield Wiper Blade Replacement
......... 5-60
Tires
...................................................... 5-61
Appearance Care
..................................... 5-86
Vehicle Identification
................................. 5-94
Electrical System
...................................... 5-95
Capacities and Specifications
................... 5-1 04
Normal Maintenance Replacement Parts
.... 5-1 05
Maintenance Schedule
..................................... 6-1
Maintenance Schedule
................................ 6-2
Customer Assistance Information
.................... 7-1
Customer Assistance Information
.................. 7-2
Reporting Safety Defects
............................ 7-9
Index
................................................................. 1
Vehicle Damage Warnings
Also, in this book you will find these notices:
Notice: These mean there is something that could
damage
your vehicle.
A notice will tell you about something that can damage
your vehicle. Many times, this damage would not be
covered by your warranty, and it could be costly. But the
notice will tell you what to do to help avoid the
damage.
When you read other manuals, you might see CAUTION
and NOTICE warnings in different colors or
in different
words.
You’ll also see warning labels on your vehicle. They use
the same words, CAUTION or NOTICE.
Vehicle Symbols
Your vehicle has components and labels that use
symbols instead
of text. Symbols, used on your vehicle,
are shown along with the text describing the operation
or information relating to a specific component, control,
message, gage or indicator.
If you need help figuring out a specific name of a
component, gage or indicator reference the following
topics in the Index:
Seats and Restraint Systems in Section 1
Features and Controls in Section 2
Instrument Panel Overview in Section 3
Climate Controls in Section 3
Warning Lights, Gages and Indicators in Section 3
Audio System(s) in Section 3
Engine Compartment Overview in Section 5
iv
Power Lumbar
, If your vehicle has this
’ feature, the four-way
control is located on the
To increase or decrease support, press and hold the
front or rear of the control. Let go of the control when the
lower seatback reaches the desired level
of support.
You can also reshape the side wing area of the
lower seatback for more lateral support. To increase or
decrease support, press and hold the top or bottom
of the control. Let go of the control when the lower
seatback reaches the desired level of support.
Heated Seats
1
If your vehicle has this
feature, the button used to
control the driver’s heated seat
is located on
the driver’s door panel.
The button used to control
the passenger’s heated
seat is located on the
passenger’s door panel.
To heat the entire seat, press the horizontal button.
Press the button to cycle through the temperature
settings of high, medium, and low. The indicator light
will glow to indicate the level of heat selected.
To heat only the seatback, press the vertical button with
the heated seatback symbol. An indicator light
on the
button will glow to designate that only the seatback
is being heated.
The engine must be running for them to operate.
The heated front seats will be canceled after the ignition
is turned
off. If you still want to use the heated front
seat feature after
you restart your vehicle, you will need
to press the heated seat button again.
1-3
Your vehicle has a light
that comes on as
a
reminder to buckle up. See
Safety Belt Reminder
Light
on page 3-26.
In most states and in all Canadian provinces, the law
says to wear safety belts. Here’s why:
They work.
You never know if you’ll be in a crash. If you do have a
crash, you don’t know
if it will be a bad one.
A few crashes are mild, and some crashes can be so
serious that even buckled up, a person wouldn’t survive.
But most crashes are in between. In many of them,
people who buckle up can survive and sometimes walk
away. Without belts they could have been badly hurt
or killed.
After more than
30 years of safety belts in vehicles, the
facts are clear. In most crashes buckling up does
matter
... a lot!
Why Safety Belts Work
When you ride in or on anything, you go as fast as
it goes.
Take the simplest vehicle. Suppose it’s just a seat
OP
wheels.
1-9
3. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Don’t let it get twisted.
The shoulder belt may lock
if you pull the belt
across you very quickly.
If this happens, let the belt
go back slightly to unlock it. Then pull the belt
across you more slowly.
4. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure
it is
secure.
If the belt isn’t long enough, see Safety
Belt Extender
on page 1-29.
Make sure the release button on the buckle is
positioned
so you would be able to unbuckle the
safety belt quickly
if you ever had to.
5. To make the lap part tight, pull down on the buckle
end of the belt as you pull up on the shoulder belt.
1-14
1. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Don’t let it get twisted.
The shoulder belt may lock
if you pull the belt
across you very quickly. If this happens, let the belt
go back slightly to unlock it. Then pull the belt
across you more slowly.
2. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.
When the shoulder belt is pulled out all the way, it
will lock. If it does, let it go back all the way
and start again.
If the belt is not long enough, see Safety Belt
Extender on page
1-29.
Make sure the release button on the buckle is
positioned
so you would be able to unbuckle the
safety belt quickly
if you ever had to.
3. To make the lap part tight, pull down on the buckle
end
of the belt as you pull up on the shoulder part.
1-25
5. To tighten the belt, pull its free end while you push
down on the child restraint as you tighten the belt.
directions to be sure it is secure.
6. Push and pull the child restraint in different
To remove the child restraint, just unbuckle the vehicle’s
safety belt. It will be ready to work for an adult or
larger child passenger. Your
vehicle has a right front passenger air bag.
There’s a switch on the instrument panel that you can
use to turn
off the right front passenger’s air bag
when you need to secure a rear-facing child restraint at
the right front passenger’s position. See the following
illustration. Your switch may vary slightly. See
Air
Bag
Off Switch on page 1-64 for more on this, including
important safety information.
Securing a Child Restraint in the
Right Front Seat Position
If your child restraint is equipped with the LATCH
system, see Lower Anchorages and Top Tethers for
Children (LATCH System) on page
1-43.
1-50
Never put a rear facing child restraint in the right front
passenger seat unless the air bag is
off. Here’s why:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint ca
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 to turn
off the air bag before using a
rear-facing child restraint
in the right front seat
position. If a forward-facing child restraint
is
suitable for your child, always move the passenger seat as far back as
it will go.
A rear seat is a safer place to secure a forward-facing
child restraint. If you need to secure a forward-facing
child restraint in the right front seat position, see
Where
to Put the Restraint
on page 1-38
If the air bag readiness light in the instrument
panel cluster 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, have the vehicle serviced promptly.
Until you have the vehicle serviced, 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). See
”Air Bag Off Switch’’
in the Index.
In addition to the
AIR BAG OFF switch, your vehicle
may have the passenger sensing system. See
Passenger Sensing System on page 1-68 and
Passenger Air Bag Status Indicator on page 3-30 for
more on this, including important safety information.
1-51