GMC 1997 Savana Van User manual

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The 1997 GMC Savana Owner’s Manual
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9-1
Seats and Restraint Systems
This section tells you how to use your seats and safetybelts properly. It also explains the “SIR’ system.
Features and Controls
This section explains how to start and operate your vehicle.
Comfort Controls and Audio Systems
This section tells you how to adjust the ventilation and comfort controls and how to operateyour audio system.
Your Driving and the Road
Here you’ll find helpful information and tips about the road andhow to drive under different conditions.
Problems on the Road
This section tells what to doif you have a problem while driving, such as a flat tire or overheated engine, etc.
Service and AppearanceCare
Here the manual tells you how to keep your vehicle running properly and lookinggood.
Maintenance Schedule
This section tells you when to perform vehicle maintenance and what fluids and lubricantsto use.
Customer Assistance Information
This section tells you how to contact GMC for assistance and how to get service and owner publications.
It also gives you information on “Reporting Safety Defects” on page
8- 10.
Index
Here’s an alphabetical listing of almost every subject in this manual. You can use it to quickly find
something you wantto read.
i

GMC,
L
GENERAL MOTORS, GM, the GM Emblem, GMC,
the GMC Emblem and the name
SAVANA are
registered trademarksof GeneralMotors Corporation.
This manual includes the latest information at the time
it was printed.We reserve
the right to makechanges
in the product after thattime without further notice.
For vehicles first sold inCanada, substitute the name
“General Motorsof Canada Limited” for GMC
whenever it appears in this manual.
Please keep this manual in your vehicle,
so it will be
there if you ever need
it when you’re on the road.If you
sell the vehicle, pleaseleave this manual in it so the new
owner can use
it.
Litho in USA.
X9714 B First Edition
WE SUPPORT
VOLUNTARY TECHNICIAN
CERTIFICATION THROUGH
National Institute for
AUTOMOTIVE
SERVICE
EXCELLENCE
We support voluntary
technician certification.
For Canadian Owners Who Prefer a
French Language Manual:
Aux propriktaires canadiens: Vous pouvez vous
procurer
un exemplairede ce guide en fransais chez
votre concessionaire
ou au:
DGN Marketing ServicesLtd.
1500 Bonhill Rd.
Mississauga,OntarioL5T 1C7
@CopyrightGeneralMotors Corporation 1996
All Rights Reserved
ii

How to Use this Manual
Many people read their owner’s manual from beginning
to end when theyfirst receive theirnew vehicle.If you
do this, it will help you learn about the features and
controls for your vehicle. In this manual, you’ll find
that pictures and words work together
to explain
things quickly.
Index
A good place to look for what you need is the Index
in back
of the manual. It’s an alphabetical list of what’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 this book.
We use
a box and the word CAUTION to tell you
about things that could hurt
you if you were to ignore
the warning.
I
A CAUTION:
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 what to do to help avoid or reduce
the
hazard. Please read these cautions.If you don’t,you or
others could be hurt.
iii

You will also find a circle
with
a slash throughit in
this book.
This safety
symbolmeans “Don’t,”
“Don’t do this,” or “Don’t
let this happen.”
Vehicle Damage Warnings
Also, in this book you will find these notices:
I NOTICE:
These mean there is something that could
damage your vehicle.
In the notice area, we tell youabout somethingthat can
damageyour vehicle. Manytimes, this damagewould
not
be coveredby your warranty, andit could be costly.
But the notice willtell you whatto do to help avoid
the damage.
When you readother manuals, you-mightsee
CAUTION and NOTICE warnings
in different colors or
in different words.
You’ll also see warning labels
on your vehicle.They use
the same words, CAUTIONor NOTICE.
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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
ACID COULD
BAlTERY
CAUSE
BURNS
AVOID
SPARKS
OR
FLAMES
SPARK
OR ,111,
COULD
FLAME
EXPLODE
BAllERY
These symbols
are important
for you and
your passengers
whenever your
vehicle is
driven:
DOOR LOCK
UNLOCK
POWER
WINDOW
These symbols
have
to do with
your lamps:
SIGNALS e e3
TURN
RUNNING
' *o
DAYTIME ..
LAMPS .*'
FOG LAMPS # 0
These symbols
are on some
of
your controls:
WINDSHIELD
WIPER
,
WINDSHIELD
DEFROSTER
WINDOW
DEFOGGER
VENTILATING
FAN
These symbols
are
used on
warning and
indicator lights:
COOLANT
TEMP
-
CHARGING
BATTERY
SYSTEM
BRAKE
(a)
COOLANT
ENGINEOIL
PRESSURE
ANTI-LOCK
(@)
BRAKES
Here are some
other symbols
you may see:
FUSE
LIGHTER
m
HORN b
SPEAKER
b
FUEL e3
V

Model Reference
This manual covers these models:
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PassengerVan
CargoVan
Cab
and Chassis

Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems
Here you’ll find information about the seats in your vehicle and how to use your safety belts properly.You can also
learn about some things you should
not do with air bags and safety belts.
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Seats and Seat Controls
Safety Belts: They’re for Everyone
Here Are Questions
Many People Ask
About Safety Belts
-- and the Answers
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
Driver Position
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy
Right Front Passenger Position
Supplemental Inflatable
Restraint (SIR) System
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Rear Seat Passengers
Center Passenger Position
Children
Child Restraints
Larger Children
Safety Belt Extender
Checking Your Restraint Systems
Replacing Restraint System Parts
After
a Crash
1-1

Seatsand Seat Controls
This part tells you about theseats -- how to adjust them,
take them out and put them backin. It also
tells you
about reclining front seatbacks.
Manual Front Seats
The buckets seatscan be adjusted forward or rearward
with the lever at the frontof the seat.
To adjust theseat,pull the lever up to release the seat
bottom and slide
the seat where you want it. Then
release thelever and try to movethe seat with your
body, to make sure theseat is locked into place.
I A CAUTION:
You can lose controlof the vehicleif youtry to
adjust a manual driver’s seat while the vehicle is
moving. The sudden movement couldstartle and
confuse you,ormake you push a pedal when you
don’t want to. Adjust the driver’s seat only when
the vehicle
is not moving.
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Power Seat (Option)
To lower it, move the right leverdown. To raise the rear
of the seat, move the leftlever up.
To lower it, move the
I left lever down.
I Reclining Seatbacks
If your vehicle has apower seat on the driver or
passenger’s side, you can adjust
it with this switch at the
front center cushion of
the seat.
You can use these switches
to move the seat where you want
it.
To raise the seat, move the center knob up. To lower the
seat, move the center knob down.
To move the seat forward,
move the center knob toward the right.
To move the seat
rearward, move the center
knob toward the left.
You can raise andlower the front and rear of the seat.
To raise the front of the seat, move the rightlever up.
To adjust the seatback,lift thefront of this lever which
is located at theinner edge of the seatcushion.
Move theseatback with your body andrelease the lever
to lock the seatback where you wantit. Lean forward
and pull up
on the front of the lever and the seatback
will go
to an upright position.
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But don’t have a seatback reclined if your vehicle is moving.
~___
Sittingin a reclined position whenyour vehicle is
in motioncan be dangerous. Even
if you buckle
up, your safety belts can’t dotheirjob when
you’re reclined like this.
The shoulderbelt can’t do itsjob because
it
won’t beagainstyour body. Instead, it will be in
front of you. In a crash you could gointo it,
receiving neckorother injuries.
Thelapbelt can’t do itsjob either. In
a crash the
belt couldgo up overyour abdomen. The belt
forces would bethere, not atyour pelvic bones.
Thiscould causeseriousinternalinjuries.
For proper protection whenthe vehicle isin
motion, havethe seatback upright. Then sitwell
back
in the seat and wear your safety belt properly.
1-4

Head Restraints
Head restraints are fixed on some models andadjustable
on others. Slidean adjustablehead restraint up ordown
so that the top of the restraint is closest to the top of
your ears.This position reduces the chance of a neck
injury
in a crash.
Rear Seats
A CAUTION’:
-
If the seatback isn’t locked, it could move
forward in a sudden stoporcrash. That could
causeinjury to the person sitting there. Always
press rearward on the seatback to be sure it
is locked.
CI7TION:
A seat that isn’t lockedinto place properly can
move around in
a collision orsudden stop. People
in the vehicle could beinjured. Be sure tolock
the seat intoplaceproperly when installing it.
A CAUTION:
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~-
-
A safety beltthat is twistedor not properly
attached won’t providethe protection needed in
a crash. The person wearingthe belt could be
seriously injured. After installingthe
seat, always
check to be sure that the safety belts arenot
twisted and areproperly attached.
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Removing the Rear Seat
2. Lift thecarpedmatflap at the inboardside of the seat
base
in the rear.
1. Disconnect thequick release latch plates for the lap
shoulderbelts on the bench seat
to be removed. To
do this, pressthe tip of a key into the release hole
of the safety belt buckle while pulling up on the
safety belt.
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3. Locatethe red handle on the inboard sideof the seat
base, rotate the redhandle up.
4. Once the red handle is rotated up, pull the handle
to remove the locking pin.
5. Stow the locking pinon the rear of the seat base
in thehole that is provided.
6. Repeat this procedure for the pin on the other
seat base.
7. Remove the seat from the vehicle.
8. Install the trim covers to the floor rails.
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I
9. Stowthe seat belt latch plate on the clip at the
window trim.
Replacing the Rear Seat
1. Remove the trimcovers from the floor rails.
2. Position the seatintothe open slots in both rails.
Push the seatforward in the rail, hooking both seat
bases onto the pinsinside of
the rails.
3. Both lockingpins that lock the seatintoplace must
be installed beforeoperatingthe vehicle.
4. To install the lockingpin at therear of the seat base,
pull thecarpedmat flap back
on the inboardside to
locate the hole in the railfor the pin.
5. Remove the pinfrom its stowed position on the seat
base while holding the carpet/matflap back.
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6. Insert the red handled locking pin into theseat base. 7. Rotate the red handle down until it is in the
retaining clip.
8. Replace the carpet/mat flap to its original position.
9. Repeat this procedure for the other seat base.
10. Connect the quick release latch plates for the lap
shoulderbelts by inserting the latch plates into the
buckles attached atthe outboard positions
of the
bench seat.
Do not twist the belt.
1-9

Safety Belts: They’refor Everyone
This part of the manualtells you howto use safetybelts
properly. Italso tells
you somethings you should notdo
with safetybelts.
And it explains
the Supplemental Inflatable Restraint (SIR),
or air bag system.
A CAUTION:
Don’t letanyoneride where he or shecan’t wear
a safetybelt properly. If you arein a crash and
you’re notwearinga safety belt,your injuries
can be much worse.
You can hit thingsinside the
vehicle or be ejectedfrom it.
You canbe seriously
injured orkilled. In the samecrash,you might
not be
if you arebuckled up. Alwaysfastenyour
safety belt,and check that your passengers’ belts
arefastenedproperly too.
I
A CAUTION:
Itis extremelydangerousto ridein a ca -0 area,
inside or outside of a vehicle. In a collision,
people riding in theseareas aremore likely
to be
seriouslyinjured
or killed. Do not allow people
to ridein any area of your vehicle that is not
equippedwith seatsand safety belts.
Be sure
everyone inyour vehicle isin a seat and using
a
safety belt properly.
1-10

Your vehicle has a light that
comes
on as a reminder to
buckle up. (See “Safety
Belt Reminder Light” in
the Index.)
In most states and Canadianprovinces, the law says
to
wear safety belts. Here’s why: They work.
You never know if you’ll be in acrash. If you dohave a
crash, you don’t knowif it will be a bad one.
A few crashes are mild, andsome crashes can be so
seriousthat even buckled up a person wouldn’tsurvive.
But mostcrashes
are in between. In many of them,
people who buckle upcan survive and sometimes walk
away. Without belts theycould have been badly
hurt
or killed.
After more than
25 years of safetybelts in vehicles,
the facts are clear.
In most crashes buckling up does
matter
... a lot!
Why Safety BeltsWork
When you ride in or on anything, you go as fast as it goes.
~~~
Take the simplest vehicle. Suppose it’s just a seat on wheels.
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Put someoneon it. Get
it up to speed. Thenstop the vehicle. The rider
doesn't stop.
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