2004 GMC SIERRA Owner's Manual

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
In¯ates?
After an air bag in¯ates, it quickly de¯ates, so quickly that
some people may not even realize the air bag in¯ated.
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 thede¯ated air bags. Air bag in¯ation 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 in¯ates, 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't get out of the vehicle after an air bag
in¯ates, 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 in¯ate the 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 in¯ate only once. After
they in¯ate, 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. 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 air
bag in¯ation. 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 quali®ed technicians work on your air bag
systems. Improper service can mean that an 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, the bag
may not work properly. You may have to replace the
air bag module in the steering wheel or both the
air bag module and the instrument panel for
the right front passenger's air bag. Do not open or
break the air bag coverings.
Air Bag Off Switch
Regular Cab and Extended Cab Models
If your vehicle is a regular cab model or an extended cab
model, it has a switch on the instrument panel that you
can use to turn off the right front passenger's air bag.
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United States with Passenger Sensing SystemUnited States without Passenger Sensing System
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This switch should only be turned to AIR BAG OFF if the
person in the right front passenger's position is a member
of a passenger risk group identi®ed 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 Canada with Passenger Sensing System
Canada without Passenger Sensing System
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·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.
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 air bag is turned
off for a person who isn't in a risk group
identi®ed by the national government, that
person won't have the extra protection of an air
bag. In a crash, the air bag wouldn't be able to
in¯ate and help protect the person sitting there.
Don't turn off the passenger's air bag unless the
person sitting there is in a risk group.
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To turn off the right front passenger's 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 air bag is off. The
right front passenger's 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.
{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 air bag
could in¯ate even though the switch is off.
If your vehicle is a regular cab pickup or an
extended cab pickup and this ever happens,
don't let anyone whom the national
government has identi®ed as a member of a
passenger air bag risk group sit in the right
front passenger's position (for example, don't
secure a rear-facing child restraint in your
vehicle) until you have your vehicle serviced. United States with
Passenger Sensing
System
United States without
Passenger Sensing
System
Canada with Passenger
Sensing SystemCanada without
Passenger Sensing
System
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To turn the right front passenger's air bag on again,
insert your ignition key into the switch, push in,
and move the switch to the ON or AUTO position.
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 RUN or START.
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 3-40. If your rearview
mirror does not have either of the indicators pictured
below, then your vehicle does not have the passenger
sensing system. United States with
Passenger Sensing
System
United States without
Passenger Sensing
System
Canada with Passenger
Sensing SystemCanada without
Passenger Sensing
System
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The passenger sensing system will turn off the right
front passenger's frontal air bag under certain
conditions. The driver's air bag is not part of the
passenger sensing system. In addition to the passenger
sensing system, your vehicle also has an air bag off
switch located on the instrument panel.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
in¯ate) or not.
Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained in the rear rather than the front seat.
General Motors 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 a rear-facing child restraint in
the right front passenger seat unless the passenger air
bag status indicator shows off. Never put a rear-facing
child restraint in the right front passenger seat unless the
air bag is off. Passenger Air Bag Status Indicator ± United States
Passenger Air Bag
Status Indicator
-Canada
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