Seats and Restraint Systems........................... 1-1
Front Seats
............................................... 1-2
Rear Seats
............................................... 1-7
Safety Belts
.............................................. 1-8
Child Restraints
.......................................1-27
Air Bag System
.......................................1-48
Restraint System Check
............................1-61
Features and Controls..................................... 2-1
Keys
........................................................ 2-2
Doors and Locks
....................................... 2-6
Windows
.................................................. 2-8
Theft-Deterrent Systems
............................2-10
Starting and Operating Your Vehicle
...........2-11
Mirrors
....................................................2-39
Storage Areas
.........................................2-41
Instrument Panel............................................. 3-1
Instrument Panel Overview
.......................... 3-4
Climate Controls
......................................3-19
Warning Lights, Gages, and Indicators
........3-23
Audio System(s)
.......................................3-45
Driving Your Vehicle....................................... 4-1
Your Driving, the Road, and Your Vehicle
..... 4-2
Towing
...................................................4-31Service and Appearance Care.......................... 5-1
Service
..................................................... 5-3
Fuel
......................................................... 5-6
Checking Things Under the Hood
...............5-18
Rear Axle
...............................................5-61
Noise Control System
...............................5-62
Bulb Replacement
....................................5-63
Windshield Wiper Blade Replacement
.........5-63
Other Service Items
..................................5-64
Tires
......................................................5-68
Appearance Care
.....................................5-76
Vehicle Identification
.................................5-85
Electrical System
......................................5-86
Capacities and Specifications
.....................5-93
Normal Maintenance Replacement Parts
....5-100
Maintenance Schedule..................................... 6-1
Maintenance Schedule
................................ 6-2
Customer Assistance and Information.............. 7-1
Customer Assistance and Information
........... 7-2
Reporting Safety Defects
............................ 7-6
Index.................................................................1
2004 Chevrolet Kodiak Owner ManualM
Front Seats......................................................1-2
Manual Seats................................................1-2
Reclining Seatbacks........................................1-4
Split Bench Seat............................................1-6
Air Suspension Seats......................................1-6
Rear Seats.......................................................1-7
Rear Seat Operation.......................................1-7
Safety Belts.....................................................1-8
Safety Belts: They Are for Everyone.................1-8
Questions and Answers About Safety Belts......1-12
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly.................1-13
Driver Position..............................................1-13
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy..................1-21
Right Front Passenger Position.......................1-22
Center Passenger Position.............................1-22
Rear Seat Passengers..................................1-23
Safety Belt Extender.....................................1-26
Child Restraints.............................................1-27
Older Children..............................................1-27
Infants and Young Children............................1-29
Child Restraint Systems.................................1-33
Where to Put the Restraint
(Regular Cab Models)................................1-35
Where to Put the Restraint
(Crew Cab Models)....................................1-37Top Strap....................................................1-38
Securing a Child Restraint in a Rear Outside
Seat Position (Crew Cab Models)................1-39
Securing a Child Restraint in the Center
Rear Seat Position (Crew Cab) or
Center
Front Position...........................................1-41
Securing a Child Restraint in the Right
Front Seat Position....................................1-43
Air Bag System..............................................1-48
Where Are the Air Bags?...............................1-52
When Should an Air Bag Inflate?....................1-53
What Makes an Air Bag Inflate?.....................1-53
How Does an Air Bag Restrain?.....................1-53
What Will You See After an
Air Bag Inflates?.......................................1-54
Air Bag Off Switch........................................1-55
Servicing Your Air Bag-Equipped Vehicle.........1-60
Adding Equipment to Your Air Bag-Equipped
Vehicle....................................................1-61
Restraint System Check..................................1-61
Checking Your Restraint Systems...................1-61
Replacing Restraint System Parts
After a Crash............................................1-62
Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
1-1
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
This part is only for people of adult size.
Be aware that there are special things to know about
safety belts and children. And there are different
rules for smaller children and babies. If a child will be
riding in your vehicle, seeOlder Children on page 1-27
orInfants and Young Children on page 1-29. Follow
those rules for everyone’s protection.
First, you’ll want to know which restraint systems your
vehicle has.
We’ll start with the driver position.
Driver Position
This part describes the driver’s restraint system.
Lap-Shoulder Belt
The driver has a lap-shoulder belt. Here’s how to wear it
properly.
1. Close and lock the door.
2. Adjust the seat so you can sit up straight. To see
how, see “Seats” in the Index.
1-13
Right Front Passenger Position
To learn how to wear the right front passenger’s safety
belt properly, seeDriver Position on page 1-13.
The right front passenger’s safety belt works the same
way as the driver’s safety belt. If your vehicle has a
static seat in this position and if you ever pull the
shoulder portion of the belt out all the way, you will
engage the child restraint locking feature. If this
happens, just let the belt go back all the way and
start again.
Center Passenger Position
Lap Belt
If your vehicle has a front bench seat, someone can sit
in the center position. If your vehicle is a crew cab
model, someone can also sit in the center rear position.
When you sit in a center seating position, you have a
lap safety belt, which has no retractor. To make the belt
longer, tilt the latch plate and pull it along the belt.
1-22
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 next to a
window so the child can wear a lap-shoulder belt and
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
should fit 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.
1-27
{CAUTION:
Never do this.
Here two children are wearing the same belt.
The belt can’t properly spread the impact
forces. In a crash, the two children can be
crushed together and seriously injured. A belt
must be used by only one person at a time.
Q:What if a child is wearing a lap-shoulder belt,
but the child is so small that the shoulder belt
is very close to the child’s face or neck?
A:Move the child toward the center of the vehicle,
but be sure that the shoulder belt still is on the
child’s shoulder, so that in a crash the child’s upper
body would have the restraint that belts provide.
If the child is so small that the shoulder belt is still
very close to the child’s face or neck, you might
want to place the child in a seat that has a lap belt,
if your vehicle has one.
1-28
{CAUTION:
Never do this.
Here a child is sitting in a seat that has a
lap-shoulder belt, but the shoulder part is
behind the child. If the child wears the belt in
this way, in a crash the child might slide under
the belt. The belt’s force would then be applied
right on the child’s abdomen. That could cause
serious or fatal injuries.
Wherever the child sits, the lap portion of the belt
should be worn low and snug on the hips, just touching
the child’s thighs. This applies belt force to the child’s
pelvic bones in a crash.
Infants and Young Children
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection! This includes
infants and all other children. Neither the distance
traveled nor the age and size of the traveler changes
the need, for everyone, to use safety restraints. In fact,
the law in every state in the United States and in
every Canadian province says children up to some age
must be restrained while in a vehicle.
1-29
For most basic types of child restraints, there are
many different models available. When purchasing a
child restraint, be sure it is designed to be used
in a motor vehicle. If it is, the restraint will have a
label saying that it meets federal motor vehicle
safety standards.
The restraint manufacturer’s instructions that come
with the restraint state the weight and height
limitations for a particular child restraint. In addition,
there are many kinds of restraints available for
children with special needs.
{CAUTION:
Newborn infants need complete support,
including support for the head and neck. This
is necessary because a newborn infant’s neck
is weak and its head weighs so much
compared with the rest of its body. In a crash,
an infant in a rear-facing seat settles into the
restraint, so the crash forces can be
distributed across the strongest part of an
infant’s body, the back and shoulders. Infants
always should be secured in appropriate infant
restraints.
{CAUTION:
The body structure of a young child is quite
unlike that of an adult or older child, for whom
the safety belts are designed. A young child’s
hip bones are still so small that the vehicle’s
regular safety belt may not remain low on the
hip bones, as it should. Instead, it may settle
up around the child’s abdomen. In a crash, the
belt would apply force on a body area that’s
unprotected by any bony structure. This alone
could cause serious or fatal injuries. Young
children always should be secured in
appropriate child restraints.
We know securing a child can present real problems in
a medium-duty vehicle like yours.
If your vehicle is a regular cab model with an
air-suspension seat in the right front passenger’s
position, there is no place in your vehicle to secure a
child restraint. The only answer is to have smaller
children make the trip in another vehicle, where they
can get the protection they need.
1-32