2003 GMC YUKON DENALI Owners Manual

An,,ne who is up against, or very close to,
any air bag when
it inflates can be seriously
injured or killed. Air bags plus lap-shoulder
belts offer the best protection for adults, but
not for young children and infants. Neither the
vehicle’s safety belt system nor its air bag system is designed for them. Young children
and infants need the protection that a child
restraint system can provide. Always secure
children properly
in your vehicle. To read how,
see the part of this manual called “Older
Children” or
“Infants and Young Children”.
There is a air bag readiness light on the
instrument panel cluster,
which shows the air
bag symbol. The
system checks the air bag electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells you
if there is an electrical
problem. See
Air Bag Readiness Light on page 3-31
for more information.
Where Are the Air Bags?
The driver’s frontal air bag is in the middle of the
steering wheel.
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The right front passernger’s frontal air bag is in the
instrument panel
on the passenger’s side.
a
If your vehicle has one, the driver’s side impact
air bag
is in the side of the driver’s seatback closest
to the door.
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1 If something is between an occupant and an
~ air bag, the bag might not inflate properly or it
~ might force the object into that person causing
severe injury or even death. The path of an
inflating air bag must be kept clear. Don’t put
anything between an occupant and
an air bag,
and don’t attach or put anything on the
steering wheel hub or
on or near any other air
bag covering. Don’t let seat covers block the
inflation path
of a side impact air bag.
If your vehicle has one, the right front passenger’s side
impact air bag
is in the side of the passenger’s
seatback closest to the door.
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When Should an Air Bag Inflate?
Frontal Air Bags
The driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal air bags
are designed
to inflate in moderate to severe frontal
or near-frontal crashes. But they are designed to inflate
only
if the impact speed is above the system’s
designed “threshold level.”
In addition, your vehicle has “dual stage” frontal air
bags, which adjust the amount of restraint according to
crash severity. For moderate frontal impacts, these
air bags inflate at a level less than full deployment. For
more severe frontal impacts, full deployment occurs.
If the front of your vehicle goes straight into a wall that
doesn’t move or deform, the threshold level for the
reduced deployment is about
10 to 16 mph
(16 to 25 km/h), and the threshold level for a full
deployment is about
20 to 25 mph (32 to 40 km/h).
The threshold level can vary, however, with specific
vehicle design,
so that it can be somewhat above
or below this range.
If your vehicle strikes something that will move or
deform, such as a parked car, the threshold level will be
higher. The driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal
air bags are not designed
to inflate in rollovers, rear
impacts, or in many side impacts because inflation
would not help the occupant.
Seat Position Sensors
Vehicles 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.
Side Impact Air Bags
Your vehicle may or may not have a side impact air
bag. See
Air Bag Systems on page 1-72. Side impact air
bags are designed
to inflate in moderate to severe
side crashes.
A side impact air bag will inflate if
the crash severity is above the system’s designed
“threshold level.” The threshold level can vary with
specific vehicle design. Side impact air bags are
not designed
to inflate in frontal or near-frontal impacts,
rollovers or rear impacts, because inflation would not
help the occupant.
A side impact air bag will only deploy
on the side of the vehicle that is struck.
Air Bag Systems
In any particular crash, no one can say whether an air
bag should have inflated simply because of the damage
to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs were.
For frontal air bags, inflation is determined by the angle
of the impact and how quickly the vehicle slows down
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in frontal and near-frontal impacts. For side impact air
bags, inflation is determined by the location and severity
of the impact.
The air bag system is designed to work properly under
a wide range of conditions, including off-road usage.
Observe safe driving speeds, especially on rough
terrain. As always, wear your safety belt. See Operating
Your
All- Wheel-Drive Vehicle Off Paved Roads on
page
4-16 for tips on off-road driving.
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. For
both frontal and side impact air bags, the sensing
system triggers a release
of gas from the inflator, which
inflates the air bag. The inflator, the air bag and
related hardware are all part of the air bag modules.
Frontal air bag modules are located inside the steering
wheel and instrument panel. For vehicles with side
impact air bags, the air bag modules are located in the
seatback closest
to the driver’s and/or right front
passenger’s door.
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. In moderate
to severe side
collisions, even belted occupants can contact the inside
of the vehicle. The air bag supplements 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 the
frontal 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 the air bag. Side impact air bags would not
help you in many types of collisions, including frontal
or near frontal collisions, rollovers, and rear 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 for the driver’s and right front passenger’s
frontal air bags, and only in moderate to severe
side collisions for vehicles with a driver’s and right front
passenger’s side impact air bag.
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What Will You See After an Air Bag
Inflates?
After the air bag inflates, it quickly deflates, SG quickly
that some people may not even realize the air bag
inflated. Some components of the air bag module will be
hot for a short time. These components include the
steering wheel hub for the driver’s frontal air bag and the
instrument panel for the right front passenger’s frontal
air bag. For vehicles with side impact air bags, the side
of the seatback closest to the driver’s and/or right
front passenger’s door will be hot. 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. hen an
E bag inflates, there __ dust in t..-
air. This dust could cause breathing problems
for people with a history of asthma or other breathing trouble.
To avoid this, everyone in
the vehicle should get out as soon as
it is safe
to do
so. If you have breathing problems but
can’t get out of the vehicle after an air bag inflates, then get fresh air by opening
a
window or a door. If you experience breathing problems following an air bag deployment, you
should seek medical attention.
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In many crashes severe enough to inflate an air bag,
windshields are broken by vehicle deformation.
Additional windshield breakage may also occur from the
right front passenger air bag.
Air bags are designed to inflate only once. After an
air bag inflates, you’ll need some new parts for
your air bag system. If you don’t get them, the air
bag system won’t be there to help protect you
in another crash.
A new system will include air bag
modules and possibly other parts. The service
manual for your vehicle covers the need to replace
other parts.
Your vehicle is equipped with electronic frontal
sensors which help the sensing system distinguish
between a moderate and a more severe frontal
impact. Your vehicle is also equipped with a crash
sensing and diagnostic module, which records
information about the frontal air bag system. The
module records information about the readiness of
the system and when the system commands
are bag inflation. It records the status
of the driver’s safety belt usage in
a crash in which the air bag
deploys or a crash in which the air bag nearly
deploys. The module also records speed, engine
RPM, brake and throttle data.
Let only qualified technicians work on your air bag
systems. Improper service can mean that an air
bag system won’t work properly. See your dealer for
service.
Notice: If you damage the covering for the driver’s
or the right front passenger’s air bag, or the air
bag covering
on the driver’s and right front
passenger’s seatback, the bag may not work
properly. You may have to replace the air bag
module in the steering wheel, both the air bag
module and the instrument panel for the right front
passenger’s air bag, or both the air bag module
and seatback for the driver’s and right front passenger’s side impact air bag.
Do not open or
break the air bag coverings.
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Passenger Sensing System
If your rearview mirror has one of the indicators pictured
in the following illustrations, your vehicle has a passenger
sensing system. The indicator will be visible when you
turn your ignition key
to START or RUN. The words ON
and OFF or the symbol for on and off, will be visible on
the rearview mirror during the system check. When the
system check
is complete, either the word ON or the word
OFF, or the symbol for on or the symbol for off will be
visible. See Passenger
Air Bag Status Indicator on
page 3-32. If your rearview mirror doesn’t have either of
the indicators pictured, then your vehicle doesn’t have the
passenger sensing system.
L
Passenger Air Bag Status Indicator - United States 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.
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.
Accident statistics show that children are safer
if they
are 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
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