Seats and Restraint Systems........................... 1-1
Front Seats
............................................... 1-3
Rear Seats
............................................... 1-8
Safety Belts
.............................................1-23
Child Restraints
.......................................1-44
Airbag System
.........................................1-68
Restraint System Check
............................1-83
Features and Controls..................................... 2-1
Keys
........................................................ 2-3
Doors and Locks
....................................... 2-8
Windows
.................................................2-15
Theft-Deterrent Systems
............................2-17
Starting and Operating Your Vehicle
...........2-19
Mirrors
....................................................2-41
OnStar
®System
......................................2-50
HomeLink®Wireless Control System
...........2-52
Storage Areas
.........................................2-56
Sunroof
..................................................2-60
Vehicle Personalization
.............................2-61
Instrument Panel............................................. 3-1
Instrument Panel Overview
.......................... 3-4
Climate Controls
......................................3-21
Warning Lights, Gages, and Indicators
........3-36
Driver Information Center (DIC)
..................3-56
Audio System(s)
.......................................3-78Driving Your Vehicle....................................... 4-1
Your Driving, the Road, and Your Vehicle
..... 4-2
Towing
...................................................4-62
Service and Appearance Care.......................... 5-1
Service
..................................................... 5-3
Fuel
......................................................... 5-5
Checking Things Under the Hood
...............5-10
All-Wheel Drive
........................................5-47
Rear Axle
...............................................5-48
Four-Wheel Drive
.....................................5-49
Front Axle
...............................................5-50
Bulb Replacement
....................................5-52
Windshield Wiper Blade Replacement
.........5-59
Tires
......................................................5-60
Appearance Care
.....................................5-97
Vehicle Identi cation
...............................5-106
Electrical System
....................................5-107
Capacities and Speci cations
...................5-116
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
2005 Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner ManualM
Front Seats......................................................1-3
Manual Seats................................................1-3
Power Seats..................................................1-4
Power Lumbar...............................................1-5
Heated Seats.................................................1-6
Reclining Seatbacks........................................1-6
Head Restraints.............................................1-8
Rear Seats.......................................................1-8
Rear Seat Operation.......................................1-8
60/40 Split Bench Seat...................................1-9
50/50 Split Bench Seat..................................1-11
Bench Seat..................................................1-16
Bucket Seats...............................................1-21
Safety Belts...................................................1-23
Safety Belts: They Are for Everyone................1-23
Questions and Answers About Safety Belts......1-28
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly.................1-28
Driver Position..............................................1-29
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy..................1-36
Right Front Passenger Position.......................1-37
Center Passenger Position.............................1-37
Rear Seat Passengers..................................1-38Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults..........................1-41
Safety Belt Extender.....................................1-43
Child Restraints.............................................1-44
Older Children..............................................1-44
Infants and Young Children............................1-46
Child Restraint Systems.................................1-49
Where to Put the Restraint.............................1-52
Top Strap....................................................1-54
Top Strap Anchor Location.............................1-55
Lower Anchorages and Top Tethers for
Children (LATCH System)...........................1-57
Securing a Child Restraint Designed for
the LATCH System....................................1-59
Securing a Child Restraint in a
Rear Outside Seat Position.........................1-59
Securing a Child Restraint in a
Center Rear Seat Position..........................1-61
Securing a Child Restraint in the
Center Front Seat Position..........................1-63
Securing a Child Restraint in the
Right Front Seat Position............................1-64
Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
1-1
Questions and Answers About
Safety Belts
Q:Will I be trapped in the vehicle after an accident
if I am wearing a safety belt?
A:Youcouldbe — whether you are wearing a safety
belt or not. But you can unbuckle a safety belt,
even if you are upside down. And your chance of
being conscious during and after an accident,
so youcanunbuckle and get out, ismuchgreater if
you are belted.
Q:If my vehicle has airbags, why should I have to
wear safety belts?
A:Airbags are in many vehicles today and will be in
most of them in the future. But they are
supplemental systems only; so they workwith
safety belts — not instead of them. Every airbag
system ever offered for sale has required the use of
safety belts. Even if you are in a vehicle that has
airbags, you still have to buckle up to get the most
protection. That is true not only in frontal collisions,
but especially in side and other collisions.
Q:If I am a good driver, and I never drive far from
home, why should I wear safety belts?
A:You may be an excellent driver, but if you are in an
accident — even one that is not your fault — you
and your passengers can be hurt. Being a good
driver does not protect you from things beyond your
control, such as bad drivers.
Most accidents occur within 25 miles (40 km) of
home. And the greatest number of serious injuries
and deaths occur at speeds of less than 40 mph
(65 km/h).
Safety belts are for everyone.
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 1-44
orInfants and Young Children on page 1-46. Follow
those rules for everyone’s protection.
First, you will want to know which restraint systems your
vehicle has.
We will start with the driver position.
1-28
Right Front Passenger Position
To learn how to wear the right front passenger’s safety
belt properly, seeDriver Position on page 1-29.
The right front passenger’s safety belt works the same
way as the driver’s safety belt — except for one
thing. If you ever pull the shoulder portion of the belt out
all the way, you will engage the child restraint locking
feature which may turn off the passenger’s frontal
airbag. If this happens unintentionally, just let the belt
go back all the way and start again.
Center Passenger Position
If your vehicle has front and rear bench seats, someone
can sit in the center positions.
When you sit in the center seating position in the
second row you have a lap-shoulder belt which is similar
to the belt in the rear outside seating positions. To
learn how to wear this belt see “Lap-Shoulder Belt”
underRear Seat Passengers on page 1-38.
Lap Belt
When you sit in a center seating position, other than in
the second row, you have a lap belt.
A lap safety belt does not have a retractor. To make the
belt longer, tilt the latch plate and pull it along the belt.
1-37
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 in a seat that
has 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 t 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.
1-44
{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. SeeRear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults on page 1-41. 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.
1-45
{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.
Every time infants and young children ride in vehicles,
they should have the protection provided by appropriate
restraints. Young children should not use the vehicle’s
adult safety belts alone, unless there is no other choice.
Instead, they need to use a child restraint.
1-46
{CAUTION:
People should never hold a baby in their arms
while riding in a vehicle. A baby does not
weigh much — until a crash. During a crash a
baby will become so heavy it is not possible to
hold it. For example, in a crash at only 25 mph
(40 km/h), a 12 lb (5.5 kg) baby will suddenly
become a 240 lb (110 kg) force on a person’s
arms. A baby should be secured in an
appropriate restraint.
{CAUTION:
Children who are up against, or very close to,
any airbag when it in ates can be seriously
injured or killed. Airbags plus lap-shoulder
belts offer protection for adults and older
children, but not for young children and
infants. Neither the vehicle’s safety belt system
nor its airbag system is designed for them.
Young children and infants need the protection
that a child restraint system can provide.
1-47