Chevrolet 1996 S10 Pickup User manual

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The 1996 Chevrolet S-Series Owner’s Manual
SeatsandRestraintSystems ............................................................. 1-1
. This section tells you how to useyourseatsandsafetybeltsproperly.Italsoexplainsthe “SIR’ system.
FeaturesandControls .................................................................. 2-1
ComfortControlsandAudioSystems ..................................................... 3-1
This section explains how to start and operate your vehicle.
This section tells you how to adjust the ventilation and comfort controls and how
to operate your
audio system.
Here you’ll find helpful information and tips about the road and how to drive under different conditions.
This section tells
you what to do if you have a problem while driving, such as aflat tire or overheated
engine, etc.
Here the manual tells
you how to keep your vehicle running properly and looking good.
This section tells
you when to perform vehicle maintenance and what fluids and lubricants to use.
This section tells
you how to contact Chevrolet for assistance and how to get service publications.
It
also gives you information on “Reporting Safety Defects” on page 8-8.
Here’s an alphabetical listing of almost every subject in this manual. You can use it to quickly find
something you want to read.
YourDrivingandtheRoad .............................................................. 4-1
ProblemsontheRoad .................................................................. 5-1
ServiceandAppearance Care ............................................................ 6-1
Maintenanceschedule........ .......................................................... 7-1
CustomerAssistanceInformation ........................................................ 8-1
Index ................................................................................ 9-1
i

GM
-
GENERAL MOTORS, GM and the GM Emblem,
CHEVROLET
and the CHEVROLET Emblem are
registered trademarks of General Motors Corporation.
This manual includesthe latest informationat the time
it
was printed. We reserve the right to make changes in the
product after that time withoutfurthernotice.For
vehicles first sold inCanada, substitutethe name
“GeneralMotors of Canada Limited”for Chevrolet
Division whenever
it appears in this manual.
Please keepthis manual in yourvehicle,
so it willbe
there
if you ever need it whenyou’re on the road. Tf you
sell the vehicle,please leave this manual
in it so the new
owner can use
it.
Litho in U.S.A.
C9608
B First Edition
WE SUPPORT
VOLUNTARY TECHNICIAN
CERTIFICATION THROUGH
National Institute for
AUTOMOTIVE
SERVICE
EXCELLENCE
. We supportvoluntary
techniciancertification.
I
For Canadian Owners Who Prefer a
French Language Manual:
Aux propriktaires canadiens: Vous pouvez vous
procurer
un exemplairede ce guide en franpischez
votre concessionaireou au:
DGN MarketingServicesLtd.
1500 Bonhill Rd.
Mississauga,OntarioL5T IC7
@CopyrightGeneralMotors Corporation 1995
All RightsReserved
ii

Supplementto the 1996 GMC Jimmy, Chevrolet Blazer, GMC Sonoma and
Chevrolet S-Series
muck Owner’s Manuals
This supplementincludes the latest informationat the time of printing.
We reserve the rightto make changes in theproduct aJzerthat timewithoutcficrther notice.
@Copyright1996General Motors Corporation. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A. GENERALMOTORS, GMC,
CHEVROLET, JIMMY, BLAZER and SONOMA are registered trademarks of General Motors Corporation.
,15026635
1

This infurmationreplaces the “Recreational Vehicle
Towing” portion located in Section 4 in your
owner’s manual.
Recreational Vehicle Towing
(Four-wheel Drive with the Manual
Transfer
Case Only)
1. Set the parkingbrake fmly.
2. Place an automatictransmission in PARK (P) or a
3. Firmly attach thevehicle being towed to the tow
manual transmission in FIRST (1).
vehicle. Do not tow the vehicle by the rear bumper
bar. Refer to the hitch manufacturer’sinsmctions.
4. Place the manual shift transfer case shift lever in
NEUTRAL (N).
Shifting the transfer case into NEUTRAL (N) can
cause your vehicle to
roll even if the transmission
is in PARK (P), for anautomatic transmission,
or if your vehicle isin gear, for a manual
transmission.
You or otherscould be injured.
Make sure the parking brakeis firmly
set before
you
shift the transfer case into NEUTRAL (N).
5. Release the parking brake only afterthe vehicle
being towed isfiilyattached to the tow vehicle.
6. Insert the ignition keyintothe ignition switch and
turn it one notch forward of the LOCK position. This
places thekey
in the OFF position, which unlocks
the steeringcolumn while preventing battery drain.
Unlockingthe steering column will allowfor proper
movement
of the front wheelshiresduring towing.
I
I

Recreational Vehicle Towing (Except
Four-wheel Drive with the Manual
Transfer Case)
Please contact your dealerfor the towing information
that is appropriatefor your particular vehicle.
Vehicles withall-wheel drive
(AWD) cannot be towed
in this manner.
Vehicles with two-wheeldrive orthe optional electronic
shift transfer case requirespecialmodifications before
they can
be towed in this manner.
3

NOTES
4

How to Use this Manual
Many people readtheir owner’s manual from beginning
to endwhen theyfirst receive their new vehicle.If
you
dothis, it will help you learn about the features and
controls for your vehicle.
In this manual, you’ll find
that pictures and words worktogether
to explain
things quickly.
Index
A good placeto look for what you need is the Index
in the back
of the manual. It’s analphabetical list of
all that’s in
the manual, and the page number where
you’ll find it.
Safety Warnings and Symbols
You will find a number of safety cautions in thisbook,
We
use a box and the word CAUTION to tell you
about things thatcould hurt you if you were to ignore
the warning.
A CAUTION:
I
These mean there is something that could hurt
you or other people.
In the caution area, we tell you what the hazard is. Then
we tell you whatto do
to help avoidor reduce the
hazard. Please read thesecautions. If you don’t,
you or
others could be hurt.
You will alsofind a circle
with a slash through it in
this
book. This safety
symbolmeans “Don’t,’’
“Don’t do this,”
or “Don’t
let this happen.”
iii

Vehicle Damage Warnings
Also, in this book you will findthese notices:
I NOTICE:
I I
I
These mean thereissomething that could
damage your vehicle.
In the notice area, we tell you about somethingthat can
damageyour vehicle. Manytimes, this damage would
not be covered by your warranty, and itcould be costly.
But
the notice will tell you what to do to help avoid
the damage.
When
you read other manuals, you might see
CAUTION and NOTICEwarnings
in different colors or
in different words.
You’ll also see warning labels on your vehicle.They use
the samewords, CAUTIONor NOTICE.
iv

1
Vehicle Symbols
These are some of the symbols you may find on your vehicle.
For example,
these symbols
are used on an
original battery:
POSSIBLE A
CAUTION
INJURY
PROTECT
EYESBY
SHIELDING
CAUSTIC
BURNS
SPARK
OR ,111,
COULD
FLAME
EXPLODE
BATTERY
These symbols
are important
for you and
your passengers
whenever your
vehicle
is
driven:
DOOR LOCK
UNLOCK
FASTEN
SEAT
BELTS
POWER
WINDOW
These symbols
have
to do with
your lights:
SIGNALS e
TURN
RUNNING
* 0
DAYTIME -
LAMPS '.*
FOGLAMPS $0
These symbols
are on some
of
your controls:
WINDSHIELD
WIPER
WINDSHIELD
DEFROSTER
VENTILATING
FAN
These symbols
are used on
warning and
indicator lights:
COOLANT -
TEMP -
CHARGING I-1
BATTERY
SYSTEM
BRAKE
(0)
COOLANT
a
ENGINE
PRESSUREOIL
e,
ANTI-LOCK (@)
BRAKES
Here are some
other symbols
you may see:
FUSE
LIGHTER
m
HORN k3
SPEAKER
b
FUEL B3
V

Model Reference
This manual covers these models:
Regular Cab Pickup
I
Extended Cab Pickup
vi

Section 1 Seatsand RestraintSystems
I
Here you'll find information about the seats in your
vehicle and how to use your safety belts properly. You
can alsolearn about some things you should
not do with
air bags and safety.belts.
Seats and Seat Controls
This section tells you aboutthe seats -- how to adjust
them, and fold them up and down.
Manual Front Seat
You can lose control of the vehicle if you try to
adjust a manual driver's seatwhile the vehicle is
moving. The sudden movement could startle and
confuse you,or makeyou push a pedal whenyou
1 don't want to. Adjust the driver's seatonly when
~ the vehicle is not moving.
1-1

For vehicles without easy
entry seats, move
the lever
under thefront
of the seat
I
toward the driver’sdoor to
unlock it. Slidethe seat to
where you want it.
For vehicles
with easy entry
seats, move thelever under
the front
of the seat up to
unlock it. Slide
the seat to
where you
want it.
Then release the lever and try to move the seat with your
body to make sure the seat is locked into place. Then release the lever and tryto move the seat
with your
body to make sure theseat is locked into
place.

Manual Lumbar Support (Option)
If you have this feature,
there will bea knob on the
outside
of the driver and
passenger bucket seats.
Turn the knob counterclockwiseto increase lumbar
support and clockwise to decrease lumbar support.
Reclining Seatbacks (Bucket Seats
or 60/40 Bench)
To adjust the front seatback,
lift thelever on the outer
side
of the seat.
Release
the lever to lock the seatback where you
want
it. Pull up on the lever and the seat will go to
an upright position.
1-3

But don’t have a seatback reclined if your vehicle is moving.
Sitting in a reclined position when yourvehicle is
in motion canbe dangerous. Evenif you buckle
up, your safety belts can’t do their jobwhen
you’re reclined likethis.
The shoulderbelt can’t do its jobbecause it
won’t be against yourbody. Instead, it will be in
front of you. In a crash
you could go into it,
receiving neckor other injuries.
The lapbelt can’t doitsjob either. In
a crash the
belt couldgo up over your abdomen. The belt
forces would be there, not at yourpelvic bones.
This could cause serious internal injuries.
For properprotection when the vehicle is in
motion, have the seatback upright. Thensit well
back in the seat and wear yoursafety belt properly.
1-4

Seatback Latches
The front seatbackfolds
forward to let people get
into
the back seator
reach
the storagearea
behind the seat.
To fold the front seatback
forward, lift the latchand
push theseat forward.
To return theseatbackto the upright position, push the
seatbackall the way back until the latchcatches. If the
seatback was reclined beforebeing folded forward, it
will return to the reclined position.
I-
A C WTION:
If the seatback isn’t 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.

Easy Entry Seat (Extended Cab)
The right front bucket or split-bench seat of your vehicle
makes it easy
to get in and out of the rear vehiclearea.
Tilt the right front seatback completely forward and
the whole seat will slideforward.
Move the rightfront seatback to its original position
after someone gets into
the rear seat area.Then move
the seat rearward untilit locks.
A CAUTION:
If’an easy entry right front seat isn’t locked, it
can move. In a sudden stop
or crash, the person
sitting there could be injured. After you’ve used
it, be sure to push rearward
on an easy entry seat
to be sure it is locked.
Tilt the seatback completely forward again to
get out.
Jump Seat (Extended Cab Models)
Your extended cab
pickup has
a jump seat
in the reararea.
To fold thejump seat down, pull down on the handle on
the bottom of the seat until the seat is in place, then
move the seatback
to a vertical position. To store the
seat,fold the seatback downon the cushion, then push
,
the entire seat up until it isflush with the trim panels.
Don’t
let the safety belts be damagedby the hingesor
the latches. Safety belts should be folded and stored
between the seat cushionand seatback.

Safety Belts: They’refor Everyone
This part of the manual tells you howto use safety belts
properly. Italso tells yousome things
you should not do
with safety belts.
And itexplains the Supplemental InflatableRestraint
(SIR), or airbag system.
L.
A CAUTION:
Don’t letanyone ride where heorshe can’t wear
a safety belt properly.If you are
in a crash and
you‘re not wearing a safety belt, your injuries
can be muchworse.
You can hit things inside the
vehicleor beejected fromit.
You can be seriously
injured orkilled. In the same crash,
you might
not be
if you arebuckled up. Always fasten your
safety belt, and check that your passengers’ belts
arefastened properlytoo.
Your vehicle has a light
that comes on asa reminder
to buckle up. (See “Safety
Belt ReminderLight” in
the Index.)
In most statesand Canadianprovinces, thelaw says
to
wear safety belts. Here’s why: They work.
You never know if you’ll be in acrash. If you do have a
crash,
you don’t knowif it will be a bad one.
A few crashes are mild, andsomecrashes can be
so
seriousthat evenbuckled up a person wouldn’t survive.
But mostcrashes are in between. In many
of them,
people who buckle up can survive and sometimeswalk
away. Withoutbelts they could have been badly hurt
orkilled.
After more than
25 years of safety belts in vehicles,
the facts are clear. In
most crashes buckling updoes
matter
... a lot!
1-7

Why Safety Belts Work
When you ride inor on anything, you go as fast as it goes.
Take the simplest vehicle. Suppose it’s just a seat on wheels.
Put someone
on it.
1-8
! 1

1
Get it up to speed.Then stopthe vehicle. The rider
doesn’t
stop.
The person keepsgoing until stopped by something.
In
a real vehicle,it could be the windshield ...
1-9