2004 CHEVROLET TAHOE tow

Seats and Restraint Systems........................... 1-1
Front Seats
............................................... 1-3
Rear Seats
..............................................1-10
Safety Belts
.............................................1-26
Child Restraints
.......................................1-48
Air Bag Systems
......................................1-74
Restraint System Check
............................1-89
Features and Controls..................................... 2-1
Keys
........................................................ 2-3
Doors and Locks
....................................... 2-8
Windows
.................................................2-16
Theft-Deterrent Systems
............................2-18
Starting and Operating Your Vehicle
...........2-21
Mirrors
....................................................2-45
OnStar
®System
......................................2-56
HomeLink®Transmitter
.............................2-58
Storage Areas
.........................................2-63
Sunroof
..................................................2-66
Vehicle Personalization
.............................2-67
Instrument Panel............................................. 3-1
Instrument Panel Overview
.......................... 3-4
Climate Controls
......................................3-22
Warning Lights, Gages, and Indicators
........3-39
Driver Information Center (DIC)
..................3-56
Audio System(s)
.......................................3-76Driving Your Vehicle....................................... 4-1
Your Driving, the Road, and Your Vehicle
..... 4-2
Towing
...................................................4-55
Service and Appearance Care.......................... 5-1
Service
..................................................... 5-3
Fuel
......................................................... 5-4
Checking Things Under the Hood
...............5-12
All-Wheel Drive
........................................5-50
Rear Axle
...............................................5-51
Four-Wheel Drive
.....................................5-52
Front Axle
...............................................5-53
Bulb Replacement
....................................5-54
Windshield Wiper Blade Replacement
.........5-60
Tires
......................................................5-61
Appearance Care
...................................5-100
Vehicle Identication
...............................5-109
Electrical System
....................................5-110
Capacities and Specications
...................5-118
Maintenance Schedule..................................... 6-1
Maintenance Schedule
................................ 6-2
Customer Assistance and Information.............. 7-1
Customer Assistance and Information
........... 7-2
Reporting Safety Defects
...........................7-10
Index................................................................ 1
2004 Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner ManualM

Power Seats
If your vehicle has a power seat, you can adjust it with
these controls located on the outboard sides of the seats.
Raise or lower the front of the seat cushion by raising
or lowering the forward edge of the horizontal control.
Move the seat forward or rearward by moving the
whole horizontal control forward or rearward.
Raise or lower the rear of the seat cushion by raising
or lowering the rear edge of the horizontal control.
Moving the whole horizontal control up or down
raises or lowers the entire seat cushion.
If your vehicle has power reclining seats, you can use
the vertical control to adjust the angle of the seatback.
Move the reclining front seatback rearward or forward
by moving the control toward the rear or the front of the
vehicle. SeeReclining Seatbacks on page 1-7.
1-4

Rear Seats
Rear Seat Operation
Entering or Exiting the Third
Row Seats
{CAUTION:
If the seatback is not locked, it could move
forward in a sudden stop or crash. That could
cause injury to the person sitting there. Always
press rearward on the seatback to be sure it is
locked.Extended models:The passenger’s side of the second
row 60/40 or rear bucket seats has an easy entry
feature. This makes it easy to get in and out of the third
seat, if your vehicle has one.
To operate the easy entry seat turn the release lever,
located on the back of the seat upward.
Tilt the seatback toward the front of the vehicle by
pulling the top of the seat forward. When you do the seat
bottom will release. Pull the seat forward until it stops.
Be sure to return the seat to the passenger position
when nished. Push and pull on the seat to make sure
it is locked in place.
1-10

{CAUTION:
Never do this.
Here two children are wearing the same belt.
The belt can not 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:If the child is sitting in a rear seat outside position,
move the child toward the center of the vehicle. If the
child is sitting in the second row center position,
move the child toward the safety belt buckle. In either
case, 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. See
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for Children and
Small Adults on page 1-45. 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 a seat
that has a lap belt, if your vehicle has one.
1-49

Child Restraint Systems
An infant car bed (A), a special bed made for use in a
motor vehicle, is an infant restraint system designed
to restrain or position a child on a continuous at
surface. Make sure that the infant’s head rests toward
the center of the vehicle.A rear-facing infant seat (B) provides restraint with the
seating surface against the back of the infant. The
harness system holds the infant in place and, in a crash,
acts to keep the infant positioned in the restraint.
1-54

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.
What Will You See After an Air Bag
Inates?
After the 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 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 deated air bags. Air
bag ination doesn’t prevent the driver from seeing or
being able to steer the vehicle, nor does it stop
people from leaving the vehicle.
1-82

{CAUTION:
If the air bag readiness light in the instrument
panel cluster ever comes on and stays on, it
means that something may be wrong with the
air bag system. If this ever happens,
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
have the vehicle serviced promptly, because
anadult-size person sitting in the right front
passenger’s seat may not have the protection
of the frontal air bag. See “Air Bag Readiness
Light” in the Index for more on this, including
important safety information.
Aftermarket equipment, such as seat covers, can affect
how well the passenger sensing system operates.
You may want to consider not using seat covers or other
aftermarket equipment if your vehicle has the passenger
sensing system. SeeAdding Equipment to Your Air
Bag-Equipped Vehicle on page 1-89for more
information about modications that can affect how the
system operates.
{CAUTION:
Stowing of articles under the passenger’s seat
or between the passenger’s seat cushion and
seatback may interfere with the proper
operation of the passenger sensing system.
1-87

Programmable Automatic Door
Locks
Your vehicle is equipped with an automatic lock/unlock
feature which enables you to program your vehicle’s
power door locks. You can program this feature through
the Driver Information Center (DIC), or by the following
method.
Programmable Locking Feature
The following is the list of available programming
options:
Mode 1:All doors lock when the transmission is shifted
into gear.
Mode 2:All doors lock when the vehicle speed is
greater than 8 mph (13 km/h).
Mode 3:No automatic door locking.
The automatic door locks were pre-programmed at the
factory to lock all the doors when the transmission
is shifted into gear. The following instructions detail how
to program your door locks differently than the factory
setting. Choose one of the three programming
options listed above before entering the program mode.To enter the program mode, do the following:
1. Begin with the ignition off. Then pull the turn
signal/multifunction lever toward you and hold
it there while you perform the next step.
2. Turn the key to RUN and LOCK twice. Then, with
the key in LOCK, release the turn
signal/multifunction lever. Once you do this, you will
hear the lock switch lock and unlock, the horn
will chirp twice, and a 30 second program timer will
begin. You are now ready to program the
automatic door locks.
3. Select one of the three programming options listed
previously, and press the lock side of the power door
lock switch to cycle through the lock options. You will
have 30 seconds to begin programming. If you
exceed the 30 second limit, the locks will
automatically lock and unlock and the horn will chirp
twice to indicate that you have left the program
mode. If this occurs, repeat the procedure beginning
with Step 1 to re-enter the programming mode.
You can exit the program mode any time by turning the
ignition to RUN (the locks will automatically lock and
unlock and the horn will chirp twice to indicate that you
are leaving the program mode). If the lock/unlock
switches are not pressed while in the programming
mode, the current auto lock/unlock setting will not
be modied.
See your dealer for more information.
2-11