Page 32 of 408
To unlatch the belt, just push the button on the buckle.
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults
Your vehicle may have this feature already. If it doesn’t,
you can get it from any GM dealer.
Rear seat comfort guides provide added safety belt
comfort for older children who have outgrown booster
seats and for small adults. When installed on a shoulder
belt, the comfort guide better positions the belt away
from the neck and head.
There is one guide available for each outside passenger
in the rear seat. Here’s how to install a comfort guide
and use the safety belt:
1-26
2003 - Sierra Denali
Page 35 of 408
Child Restraints
Older Children
Older children who have outgrown booster seats should
wear the vehicle’s safety belts.
If you have the choice, a child should sit in a seat that
has a lap-shoulder belt to get the additional restraint
a shoulder belt can provide.
Q:What is the proper way to wear safety belts?
A:If possible, an older child should wear a
lap-shoulder belt and get the additional restraint a
shoulder belt can provide. The shoulder belt
should not cross the face or neck. The lap belt
shouldfit snugly below the hips, just touching the
top of the thighs. It should never be worn over
the abdomen, which could cause severe or even
fatal internal injuries in a crash.
Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained in the rear seat.
In a crash, children who are not buckled up can strike
other people who are buckled up, or can be thrown
out of the vehicle. Older children need to use safety
belts properly.
1-29
2003 - Sierra Denali
Page 42 of 408
A forward-facing child seat (C-E) provides restraint for
the child’s body with the harness and also sometimes
with surfaces such as T-shaped or shelf-like shields.A booster seat (F-G) is a child restraint designed to
improve thefit of the vehicle’s safety belt system. Some
booster seats have a shoulder belt positioner, and
some high-back booster seats have afive-point harness.
A booster seat can also help a child to see out the
window.
1-36
2003 - Sierra Denali
Page 57 of 408

In addition to the passenger sensing system, you may
use the AIR BAG OFF switch located on the instrument
panel to turn the air bag off. Never put a rear facing
child restraint in the right front passenger seat unless the
air bag is off. Here’s why.
{CAUTION:
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.
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.You’ll be using the lap-shoulder belt. SeeTop Strap on
page 1-39if the child restraint has one. Be sure to
follow the instructions that came with the child restraint.
Secure the child in the child restraint when and as
the instructions say.
1. Your vehicle has a right front passenger’s air bag.
If you are using a rear-facing child restraint in this
seat, make sure the air bag is turned off. See
Air Bag Off Switch on page 1-61andPassenger
Sensing System on page 1-66. Always move
the seat as far back as it will go before securing the
child restraint in this seat. See“Seats”in the
Index.
When either the passenger sensing system and/or
the AIR BAG OFF switch has turned off the right
front passenger’s frontal air bag, the off indicator in
the passenger air bag status indicator on the
rearview mirror will light and stay lit when you turn
the ignition to RUN or START.
1-51
2003 - Sierra Denali
Page 65 of 408

Seat Position Sensors
Vehicle’s with dual stage air bags are also equipped
with special sensors which enable the sensing system to
monitor the position of both the driver and passenger
front seats. The seat position sensor provides
information which is used to determine if the air bags
should deploy at a reduced level or at full depoyment.
What Makes an Air Bag Inflate?
In an impact of sufficient severity, the air bag sensing
system detects that the vehicle is in a crash. The
sensing system triggers a release of gas from the
inflator, which inflates the air bag. The inflator, air bag,
and related hardware are all part of the air bag
modules inside the steering wheel and in the instrument
panel in front of the right front passenger.
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. Air bags supplement 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 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 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.
What Will You See After an Air Bag
Inflates?
After an air bag inflates, it quickly deflates, so quickly
that some people may not even realize the air bag
inflated. Some components of the air bag module–the
steering wheel hub for the driver’s air bag, or the
instrument panel for the right front passenger’s
bag–will be hot for a short time. The parts of the bag
that come into contact with you may be warm, but
not too hot to touch. There will be some smoke and dust
coming from the vents in the deflated air bags.
Air bag inflation doesn’t prevent the driver from seeing
or being able to steer the vehicle, nor does it stop
people from leaving the vehicle.
1-59
2003 - Sierra Denali
Page 109 of 408

Outside Power Mirrors
If your vehicle is equipped
with outside power mirrors,
the controls are located
on the driver’s door
armrest.
Move the selector switch located above the control pad
to the left or right to choose the mirror you want to
adjust, then press the dots located on the four-way
control pad to adjust the mirror.
The mirrors include ground illumination lamps (puddle
lamps) in the base of the mirror. For more information on
these lamps, seePuddle LampsunderExterior Lamps
on page 3-11.
The mirrors also include a memory function which works
in conjunction with the memory seats. See“Memory
Seats”in the Index for more information.
Outside Power Foldaway Mirrors
If your vehicle is equipped with outside power foldaway
mirrors the mirrors can be folded in toward the body
of the vehicle.
To fold in the mirrors, move the upper selector switch,
located above the mirror control, to the middle position.
Press the right side of the mirror control to fold the
mirrors toward the body of the vehicle. The mirror glass
on one or both sides of the vehicle may automatically
adjust before the mirror folds inward. When the
mirror glass or mirror starts moving, you can release the
mirror control.
To return the mirrors and the mirror glass to their
normal position press the left side of the mirror control.
If the mirrors are manually folded, unfold and fold
them atleast twice using the mirror controls. Do not
unfold them manually. They may not stay in place
otherwise.
2-31
2003 - Sierra Denali
Page 117 of 408
Storage Areas
Glove Box
To open your glove box, pull the lever upward and pull
the door downward.
Cupholder(s)
Your vehicle may be equipped with cupholders for the
front and rear seat passengers, located in the center
console and on the rear of the center console storage
area. To use the front cupholders press down on
the raised area of the access door. Close the door by
pushing it all the way down until it locks back into place.
To access the rear cupholders, pull down on the door
located on the back of the console.
Center Console Storage Area
Your vehicle may be equipped with a console
compartment between the bucket seats.
To open it press the button on the side and swing the
console lid open.
Tonneau Cover
1. To remove, unsnap the
cover. Roll it up and
stow it using the buckle
and the strap located
at the front of the box.
2-39
2003 - Sierra Denali
Page 144 of 408

Operation Tips
•
Keep the hood and front air inlets free of ice, snow,
or any other obstruction (such as leaves). The
heater and defroster will work far better, reducing
the chance of fogging the inside of your windows.
•Keep the air path under the front seats clear
of objects. This helps air to circulate throughout your
vehicle.
•Adding outside equipment to the front of your
vehicle, such as hood-air deflectors, etc., may affect
the performance of the heating and air conditioning
system. Check with your dealer before adding
equipment to the outside of your vehicle.
Warning Lights, Gages and
Indicators
This part describes the warning lights and gages that
may be on your vehicle. The pictures will help you
locate them.
Warning lights and gages can signal that something is
wrong before it becomes serious enough to cause
an expensive repair or replacement. Paying attention to
your warning lights and gages could also save you
or others from injury.Warning lights come on when there may be or is a
problem with one of your vehicle’s functions. As you will
see in the details on the next few pages, some
warning lights come on briefly when you start the
engine just to let you know they’re working. If you are
familiar with this section, you should not be alarmed
when this happens.
Gages can indicate when there may be or is a problem
with one of your vehicle’s functions. Often gages
and warning lights work together to let you know when
there’s a problem with your vehicle.
When one of the warning lights comes on and stays on
when you are driving, or when one of the gages
shows there may be a problem, check the section that
tells you what to do about it. Please follow this
manual’s advice. Waiting to do repairs can be
costly–and even dangerous. So please get to know
your warning lights and gages. They’re a big help.
Your vehicle also has a driver information system that
works along with the warning lights and gages. See
Driver Information Center (DIC) on page 3-42.
3-24
2003 - Sierra Denali