2004 CHEVROLET COLORADO Owners Manual

{CAUTION:
If something is between an occupant and an
air bag, the bag might not inate properly or it
might force the object into that person causing
severe injury or even death. The path of an
inating air bag must be kept clear. Do not put
anything between an occupant and an air bag,
and do not attach or put anything on the
steering wheel hub or on or near any other air
bag covering. If your vehicle has side impact
air bags, never secure anything to the roof of
your vehicle by routing the rope or tiedown
through any door or window opening. If you
do, the path of an inating side impact air bag
will be blocked. The path of an inating air bag
must be kept clear.
When Should an Air Bag Inate?
The driver’s and right front passengers frontal air bags
are designed to deploy only in moderate to severe
frontal, or near-frontal crashes. But they are designed to
inate 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 inate 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 12 to 16 mph
(19.3 to 26 km/h), and the threshold level for a full
deployment is about 20 to 24 mph (32.2 to 38.5 km/h).
The threshold level can vary, however, with specic
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 inate in rollovers, rear
impacts, or in many side impacts because ination
would not help the occupant.
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The side impact air bags are designed to inate in
moderate to severe side crashes. A side impact air bag
will inate if the crash severity is above the system’s
designed “threshold level”. The threshold level can vary
with specic vehicle design. Side impact air bags are
not designed to inate in frontal or near-frontal impacts,
rollovers or rear impacts, because ination would not
help the occupant. A side impact air bag will only deploy
on the side of the vehicle that is struck.
Your vehicle has seat position sensors which enable the
sensing system to monitor the position of the driver’s
seat and the right front passenger’s seat. Seat position
sensors provide information that is used to determine
if the air bags should deploy at a reduced level or at
full deployment.
In any particular crash, no one can say whether an air
bag should have inated simply because of the damage
to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs were.
For frontal air bags, ination is determined by the angle
of the impact and how quickly the vehicle slows down
in frontal or near-frontal impacts. For side impact
air bags, ination is determined by the location and
severity of the impact.What Makes an Air Bag Inate?
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 inator, which
inates the air bag. The inator, 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. For vehicles with side
impact air bags, the air bag modules are located in the
ceiling of the vehicle, near the side windows.
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.
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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 the side impact
air bags.
What Will You See After an Air Bag
Inates?
After an air bag inates, it quickly deates, so quickly that
some people may not even realize the air bag inated.
Some components of the air bag module — the steering
wheel hub for the driver’s air bag, the instrument panel for
the right front passenger’s bag or the ceiling of your
vehicle near the side windows — 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
deated air bags. Air bag ination does not prevent the
driver from seeing or being able to steer the vehicle, nor
does it stop people from leaving the vehicle.
{CAUTION:
When an air bag inates, there is dust in the
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 not get out of the vehicle after an air bag
inates, 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.
Your vehicle has a feature that will automatically unlock
the doors, turn the interior lamps on and ash the hazard
warning ashers when the air bag inates (if battery
power is available). You can lock the doors again by
using the door lock. The interior lamps and hazard
warning ashers will deactivate after approximately
15 minutes.
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In many crashes severe enough to inate 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 inate only once. After an
air bag inates, you will need some new parts for
your air bag system. If you do not get them, the air
bag system will not 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. If your vehicle has side impact air bags, it
also has electronic side sensors. Your vehicle
is equipped with a crash sensing and diagnostic
module, which records information about the air bag
system. The module records information about
the readiness of the system and when the system
commands air bag ination. 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 qualied technicians work on your air bag
system. Improper service can mean that your air
bag system will not 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 side
impact air bag covering on the ceiling near the side
windows, 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 side impact air bag module and ceiling
covering for the roof-mounted side impact air
bag. Do not open or break the air bag coverings.
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Air Bag Off Switch
Regular Cab Models and Extended Cab
Models without Rear Seats
If your vehicle is a regular cab model or an extended
cab model without rear seats, it has a switch on
the instrument panel that you can use to turn off the
right front passenger’s frontal air bag.This switch should only be turned to the off position if
the person in the right front passenger’s position is
a member of a passenger risk group identied by the
national government as follows:
Infant. An infant (less than 1 year old)
must ride in the front seat because:

my vehicle has no rear seat;
my vehicle has a rear seat too small to
accommodate a rear-facing infant seat; or
the infant has a medical condition which, according
to the infant’s physician, makes it necessary for the
infant to ride in the front seat so that the driver
can constantly monitor the child’s condition.
Child age 1 to 12. A child age 1 to 12 must
ride in the front seat because:

my vehicle has no rear seat;
although children ages 1 to 12 ride in the rear
seat(s) whenever possible, children ages 1 to
12 sometimes must ride in the front because no
space is available in the rear seat(s) of my
vehicle; or
the child has a medical condition which, according
to the child’s physician, makes it necessary for the
child to ride in the front seat so that the driver
can constantly monitor the child’s condition.
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Medical Condition. A passenger has a
medical condition which, according to his
or her physician:

causes the passenger air bag to pose a special risk
for the passenger; and
makes the potential harm from the passenger air
bag in a crash greater than the potential harm
from turning off the air bag and allowing the
passenger, even if belted, to hit the dashboard or
windshield in a crash.
{CAUTION:
If the right front passenger’s frontal air bag is
turned off for a person who is not in a risk
group identied by the national government,
that person will not have the extra protection
of an air bag. In a crash, the air bag would not
be able to inate and help protect the person
sitting there. Do not turn off the passenger’s
frontal air bag unless the person sitting there
is in a risk group.To turn off the right front
passenger’s frontal 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 frontal air bag is off. The right
front passenger’s frontal 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.
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{CAUTION:
If the air bag 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 frontal air
bag could inate even though the switch is off.
If this ever happens, do not let anyone whom
the national government has identied as a
member of a passenger air bag risk group sit
in the right front passenger’s position (for
example, do not secure a rear-facing child
restraint in the right front passenger’s seat)
until you have your vehicle serviced.To turn the right front
passenger’s frontal air bag
on again, insert your
ignition key into the switch,
push in, and move the
switch to the ON position.
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Servicing Your Air Bag-Equipped
Vehicle
Air bags affect how your vehicle should be serviced.
There are parts of the air bag systems in several places
around your vehicle. Your dealer and the service manual
have information about servicing your vehicle and the air
bag systems.To purchase a service manual, seeService
Publications Ordering Information on page 7-12.
{CAUTION:
For up to 10 seconds after the ignition key is
turned off and the battery is disconnected, an
air bag can still inate during improper
service. You can be injured if you are close to
an air bag when it inates. Avoid wires
wrapped with yellow tape or yellow
connectors. They are probably part of the air
bag system. Be sure to follow proper service
procedures, and make sure the person
performing work for you is qualied to do so.
The air bag systems do not need regular maintenance.
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