2006 CHEVROLET KODIAK suspension

Front Seats......................................................1-2
Bucket Seats.................................................1-2
Split Bench Seat (80/20 Split)..........................1-6
Air Suspension Seats......................................1-6
Rear Seats.......................................................1-8
Rear Seat Operation.......................................1-8
Safety Belts.....................................................1-9
Safety Belts: They Are for Everyone.................1-9
Questions and Answers About Safety Belts......1-14
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly.................1-14
Driver Position..............................................1-15
Shoulder Belt Height Adjustment.....................1-22
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy..................1-23
Right Front Passenger Position.......................1-23
Center Passenger Position.............................1-24
Rear Outside Passenger Positions
(Crew Cab) ..............................................1-25
Safety Belt Extender.....................................1-28
Child Restraints.............................................1-28
Older Children..............................................1-28
Infants and Young Children............................1-31
Child Restraint Systems.................................1-34
Where to Put the Restraint
(Regular Cab Models)................................1-38Where to Put the Restraint
(Crew Cab Models)....................................1-40
Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children
(LATCH)..................................................1-41
Securing a Child Restraint in a
Rear Outside Seat Position
(Crew Cab Models)....................................1-42
Securing a Child Restraint in the
Center Rear Seat Position (Crew Cab) or
Center Front Position.................................1-44
Securing a Child Restraint in the
Right Front Seat Position............................1-46
Airbag System...............................................1-50
Where Are the Airbags?................................1-54
When Should an Airbag Inflate?.....................1-55
What Makes an Airbag Inflate?.......................1-56
How Does an Airbag Restrain?.......................1-56
What Will You See After an Airbag Inflates?.....1-56
Airbag Off Switch..........................................1-58
Servicing Your Airbag-Equipped Vehicle...........1-61
Adding Equipment to Your Airbag-Equipped
Vehicle....................................................1-61
Restraint System Check..................................1-62
Checking the Restraint Systems......................1-62
Replacing Restraint System Parts After a
Crash......................................................1-63
Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
1-1

Split Bench Seat (80/20 Split)
If your vehicle has a split bench seat, the passenger
seat is not adjustable.
There is a storage area underneath the seat cushion.
SeeStorage Areas on page 2-49.
Air Suspension Seats
Your vehicle may have a low-back or high-back air
suspension seat. There are two ways you can adjust
the seat.
Height Adjustment
The suspension seat
height adjustment lever is
located on the front
inboard side of the seat.
To adjust the height of the air suspension seat, pull the
lever up to inflate. Push the lever down to deflate.
The seat cushion can also be raised or lowered.
1-6

{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 is
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.
1-33

Where to Put the Restraint
(Regular Cab Models)
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.
{CAUTION:
A child restraint cannot be secured properly in
an air-suspension type seat. This is because
an air-suspension seat is designed to move up
and down for an adult passenger. Do not use a
child restraint in an air-suspension seat.If your vehicle is a regular cab model with a static seat
in the right front passenger’s position, or if it has a
bench seat, the child restraint must be secured properly
in the right front passenger’s seat. If your vehicle has
airbags and you need to secure a child restraint in
the right front passenger’s seat, there is a switch on the
instrument panel that you can use to turn off the
passenger’s airbag. SeeAirbag Off Switch on page 1-58
andSecuring a Child Restraint in the Right Front Seat
Position on page 1-46for more on this, including
important safety information.
1-38

CAUTION: (Continued)
If you need to secure a forward-facing child
restraint in the right front static seat or right
front bench seat, always move the front
passenger seat as far back as it will go. It is
better to secure the child restraint in a rear seat.
If your vehicle has an air-suspension seat in the right
front passenger’s position, do not secure a child restraint
there. Here is why:
{CAUTION:
A child restraint cannot be secured properly in
an air-suspension type seat. This is because
an air-suspension seat is designed to move up
and down for an adult passenger. Do not use a
child restraint in an air-suspension seat.
Wherever you install a child restraint, be sure to secure
the child restraint properly.
Keep in mind that an unsecured child restraint can
move around in a collision or sudden stop and injure
people in the vehicle — even when no child is in it.
Lower Anchors and Tethers for
Children (LATCH)
Some child restraints have a LATCH system. As part of
the LATCH system, your child restraint may have
lower attachments and/or a top tether. The LATCH
system can help hold the child restraint in place during
driving or in a crash. Some vehicles have lower
and/or top tether anchors designed to secure a child
restraint with lower attachments and/or a top tether.
Some child restraints with a top tether are designed to
be used whether the top tether is anchored or not.
Other child restraints require that the top tether
be anchored. A national or local law may require that
the top tether be anchored.
In Canada, the law requires that forward-facing child
restraints have a top tether, and that the tether be
attached.
Your vehicle does not have lower anchors or top tether
anchors to secure a child restraint with the LATCH
system. If a national or local law requires that your
top tether be anchored, do not use a child restraint in
this vehicle because a top tether cannot be properly
anchored. You must use the safety belts to secure your
child restraint in this vehicle, unless a national or
local law requires that the top tether be anchored. Refer
to your child restraint instructions and instructions in
this manual for securing a child restraint using the
vehicle’s safety belts.
1-41

Securing a Child Restraint in the
Right Front Seat Position
Do not use a child restraint with an air suspension seat.
{CAUTION:
A child restraint cannot be secured properly in
an air-suspension type seat. This is because
an air-suspension seat is designed to move up
and down for an adult passenger. Do not use a
child restraint in an air-suspension seat.
There is no top tether anchor in this position. Do not
secure a child seat in this position if a national or local
law requires that the top tether be anchored, or if
the instructions that come with the child restraint say
that the top tether must be anchored. SeeLower
Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) on page 1-41
if your child restraint has a top tether.If your vehicle has a right front passenger’s airbag,
there is a switch on the instrument panel that you can
use to turn off the right front passenger’s airbag
when you need to secure a child restraint in the right
front passenger’s position. SeeAirbag Off Switch
on page 1-58for more on this, including important safety
information.
United States
Canada
1-46

Keys...............................................................2-2
Remote Keyless Entry System.........................2-3
Remote Keyless Entry System Operation...........2-4
Doors and Locks.............................................2-6
Door Locks....................................................2-6
Power Door Locks..........................................2-7
Windows.........................................................2-8
Manual Windows............................................2-9
Power Windows.............................................2-9
Sliding Rear Window.....................................2-10
Sun Visors...................................................2-10
Starting and Operating Your Vehicle................2-11
New Vehicle Break-In....................................2-11
Ignition Positions..........................................2-12
Engine Starter Over-Crank Protection..............2-12
Starting the Gasoline Engine..........................2-13
Starting the Diesel Engine..............................2-15
Engine Alarm and Automatic Shutdown............2-20
High Idle System..........................................2-21
Exhaust Restrictor (Engine Warm-Up)..............2-22
Engine Checks Before Operating....................2-24
Engine Coolant Heater..................................2-26
Diesel Engine Exhaust Brake.........................2-27Two-Speed Rear Axle Electric Shift Control......2-28
Air Shift Control (Automatic Transmission)........2-29
Automatic Transmission Operation...................2-30
Manual Transmission Operation......................2-31
Power Take-Off (PTO)...................................2-35
Four-Wheel Drive..........................................2-35
Parking.......................................................2-40
Hydraulic Brakes (Parking Brake Operation)......2-40
Propshaft Brake Burnish Procedure.................2-41
Air Brake.....................................................2-42
Air Suspension.............................................2-44
Parking Over Things That Burn.......................2-45
Engine Exhaust............................................2-45
Running the Engine While Parked...................2-46
Mirrors...........................................................2-47
Manual Rearview Mirror.................................2-47
Outside Manual Mirrors..................................2-47
Outside Power Mirrors...................................2-47
Outside Convex Mirrors.................................2-48
Outside Heated Mirrors..................................2-48
Storage Areas................................................2-49
Center Console Storage Area.........................2-49
Section 2 Features and Controls
2-1

For driving with a trailer, the yellow and red, if equipped,
knobs must be pushed in. When you are not pulling a
trailer, the red trailer air supply knob must be pulled out.
{CAUTION:
If you apply any one of the air brake parking
controls while the vehicle is moving, your rig
will stop suddenly. If you are not ready for this,
you or others could be injured. Do not apply any
one of these controls while you are driving,
unless you have to make an emergency stop.
If the air pressure drops below 60 to 70 psi
(413 to 482 kPa), the primary brake light and warning
buzzer will come on. If the air pressure drops to
35 to 45 psi (241 to 310 kPa), the red trailer air supply
knob will automatically pop out and apply the spring
brakes on the trailer.
If the air pressure drops to 35 to 45 psi (241 to 310 kPa),
the yellow park brake knob will automatically pop out
and apply the spring brakes on the truck or tractor.
If you ever have a complete loss of air so that your air
brakes automatically apply, there is a way that the
tow operator can release the parking brakes to tow the
vehicle. SeeTowing Your Vehicle on page 4-37.
Air Suspension
Your vehicle may have the Hendrickson HAS Series
single-axle air suspension which is designed for a
single-axle on-highway use. This feature is available in
19,000 lb (8 613.3 kg), 21,000 lb (9 525.4 kg) and
23,000 lb (10 432.6 kg) capacities.
Rear Air Suspension Dump Control
If your vehicle is equipped with the Hendrickson HAS
Series single-axle air suspension, you may have
this control. The air suspension dump control allows the
operator to lower the deck height approximately
4.5 inches (11.5 cm) from the normal frame height.
The switch to deflate and
inflate the air suspension
is located in the instrument
panel.
Press the bottom of the switch to deflate the air
suspension and lower the deck height. Press the top of
the switch to return the suspension to normal deck height.
An indicator light will come on and stay on whenever
the switch is in the dumped position.
2-44