GMC 1997 Sonoma User manual

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The 1997 GMC Sonorna Owner’s Manual
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Seatsand RestraintSystems
This section tells you how to use your seats and safety belts properly. It also explains the “SIR?system.
Features and Controls
This section explains how to start and operate your vehicle.
Comfort Controls and AudioSystems
This section tells you how to adjust the ventilation and comfort controls and how to operate your audio system.
Your Driving and the Road
Here you’ll find helpful information and tips about the road and how to drive under different conditions.
Problems on the Road
This section tells what to do if you have a problem while driving, such as a flat tire or overheated engine, etc.
Service and Appearance Care
Here the manual tells you how to keep your vehicle running properly and looking good.
Maintenance Schedule
This section tells you when to perform vehicle maintenance and what fluids and lubricants to 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 want to read.
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GENERAL MOTORS, GM, the GM Emblem, GMC,
the GMC Emblem and the name
SONOMA are
registered trademarks of General Motors Corporation.
This manual includes the latest information at the time
it was printed. We reserve the right to make changes
in
the product after that time without further notice.
For vehicles first sold in Canada, substitute the name
"General Motors
of 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, please leave this manual in it so the new
owner can use it.
Litho
in U.S.A.
X9708 B First Edition
+ii CERTIFIED
r
7 We supportvoluntary
Am-
technician certification.
-my
WE SUPPORT
VOLUNTARY TECHNICIAN
CERTIFICATION THROUGH
NationalInstitute for
AUTOMOTIVE
SERVICE
EXCELLENCE
For Canadian Owners Who Prefer a
French Language Manual:
Aux propribtaires canadiens: Vous pouvez vous
procurer
un exemplairedece guide enfranpischez
votre concessionaire ou au:
DGN Marketing ServicesLtd.
1500 Bonhill Rd.
Mississauga, Ontario L5T 1C7
'Copyright General Motors Corporation 1996
All
Rights Reserved
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How to Use this Manual
Many people read their owner’s manual from beginning
to end when
they first receivetheir new 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 the back of the manual. It’s an alphabeticallist 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
.
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 reducethe
hazard. Please read these cautions. If you don’t, you or
others could be hurt.
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You will also find a circle
with a slash through it in
this
book. This safety
symbol means “Don’t,”
“Don’t dothis,’’ 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 you about something that can
damage your vehicle. Many times, this damage would
not be covered by your warranty,and it could be costly.
But the notice will tell you what to do tohelp avoid
the damage.
When you read other manuals, you might see
CAUTION and NOTICE warnings in different colors or
in different words.
You’ll also seewarning labels on your vehicle. They use
the same words, CAUTION
or 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
CAUTlON
INJURY
PROTECT
EYESBY
SHIELDING
CAUSTIC
ACID COULD
EATERY
CAUSE
BURNS
SPARK OR ,\I/,
COULD
FLAME
EXPLODE
BAlTERY
These symbols
are important
for you and
your passengers
whenever your
vehicle is
driven:
DOOR LOCK
UNLOCK
SEAT
BELTS
POWER
WINDOW
These symbols
have
to do with
your lamps:
SIGNALS e
TURN
WARNING A
HAZARD
FLASHER
RUNNING ' 0
DAYTIME - e
LAMPS .**
FOG LAMPS $0
These symbols
are on some of
your controls:
WINDSHIELD
WIPER
WINDSHIELD
DEFROSTER
WINDOW
DEFOGGER
VENTILATING
FAN
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These symbols
are used on
warning and
indicator lights:
COOLANT -
TEMP -
CHARGING F[
BATTERY
SYSTEM
BRAKE (a)
COOLANT
a
ENGINEOIL w,
PRESSURE
ANTI-LOCK (@)
BRAKES
Here are some
other symbols
you may see:
FUSE
LIGHTER 1
HORN )cr
SPEAKER
CI
FUEL p3
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Model Reference
This manual covers thesemodels:
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Regular Cab Pickup Extended Cab Pickup

Section 1 SeatsandRestraintSystems
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
nut 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
Supplemental Inflatable Restraint (SIR)
System
Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy
Right Front Passenger Position
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Center Passenger Position
Rear Seat Passengers
(Extended Cab Jump Seats)
Children
Child Restraints
Larger Children
Safety Belt Extender
Checking Your Restraint Systems
Replacing Restraint System Parts After
a Crash
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Seats and Seat Controls
This section tells you about the seats -- how to adjust
them, and fold them
up and down.
Manual Front Seat
A u TION:
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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
don’t wantto. Adjust the driver’s seatonly when
the vehicle is not moving.
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9 For vehicles without easy
try to move the seat with
your body to make sure the
seat
is locked into place.
For vehicles with easy entry
seats,
move the lever 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.
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Manual Lumbar Support (Option)
If you have this feature,
there will be a knobon the
outside
of the driver and
passengerbucket seats.
Turn the knob counterclockwise to increaselumbar
support and clockwise to decrease lumbar support.
Reclining Seatbacks
(Bucket Seats or60/40~Bench)
To adjust the front seatback,
lift the lever on theouter
side of the seat.
Release the lever to lockthe seatback where youwant it.
Pull up on the leverand the seat will go to
an
upright position.
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But don’t have a seatback reclined if vowvehicle is moving.
1 A CAUTION:
Sittingin a reclined position when your vehicle is
inmotion can be dangerous. Even
if you buckle
up, your safety belts can’t dotheir job when
you’re reclined like this.
The shoulderbelt can’t doitsjob because
it
won’t be againstyour body. Instead, it will bein
front of you. In a crash you could gointoit,
receiving neckorother injuries.
Thelap belt can’t doitsjob either. Ina crashthe
belt could
go up over your abdomen. The belt
forces would bethere, not
at your pelvic bones.
This could cause seriousinternalinjuries.
For proper protectionwhen the vehicle is
in
motion, have the seatback upright. Then sit well
back
in the seatand wear your safety belt properly.
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Seatback Latches
The front seatback folds
forward to
let people get
into the back seat or reach
the storagearea behind
the seat.
To fold the front seatback
forward, lift the latch and,
push the seat forward.
To return the seatback tothe upright position, push the
seatbackall the way back until the latch catches. If the
seatbackwas reclined before being folded forward, it
will return to the reclined position.
A CAUTION: 0
If the seatback isn’t locked, it could move
forward ina suddenstopor crash. That could
cause injury to the person sitting there. Always
press rearward on the seatback tobe sure it
is locked.
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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 vehicle area.
0 Tilt the right front seatback completely forward and
the whole seat will slide forward.
Move the right front seatback to its original position
after someone gets into the rear seat area.Then move
the seat rearward until
it locks.
If an easy entry right front seat isn’t locked, it
can move. Ina 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 (ExtendedCab Models)
Your extended cabpickup
has
a jump seat in the
rear area.
To fold thejump seat down, pull down on the handle on
the bottom of the seat until the seat is in place, then
move theseatback to
a vertical position. To store the
seat,fold the seatback down on the cushion, then push
the entire seat
up until it is flush with thetrim panels.
Don’t
let the safety belts be damaged by the hinges or
the latches. Safety belts should be folded and stored
between the seat
cushion and seatback.
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Safety Belts: They’re for Everyone
This part of the manual tells you how to use safety belts
properly. It also tells you some things you should
not do
with safetybelts.
And
it explains the Supplemental Inflatable Restraint (SIR),
or air bag system.
A CAUTION:
~
’t let anyone ride where he or she can’t wear
a safety belt properly. If you arein a crash and
you’re not wearing a safety belt, your injuries
can be muchworse. You can hit things inside the
vehicle or be ejected from it.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.
A CAUTION:
~~ ~
It is extremely dangerous to ride in a cargo area,
inside or outside
of a vehicle. In a collision,
people riding in these areas are morelikely to be
seriously injured orkilled.
Do not allow people
to ride in any areaof your vehicle that is not
equipped with seats and safetybelts. Re sure
everyone in yourvehicle is in a seat and using a
safety belt properly.
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Your vehicle has a light that
comes on as areminder to
buckle up. (See “Safety
Belt Reminder Light” in
the Index.)
In most states and Canadian provinces, the law says to
wear safety belts. Here’s why:
They work.
You never know if you’ll be in a crash. If you do have a
crash, you don’tknow if it will be a bad one.
A few crashes are mild, and some crashes can be
so
seriousthat even buckled up aperson wouldn’t survive.
But most crashes arein between. In many of them,
people who buckle
up can surviveand sometimes walk
away.Without belts they could have been badly hurt
or killed.
After more than
25 years of safety belts in vehicles,
the facts are clear. In most crashes buckling up does
matter
... a lot!
Why Safety Belts Work
When you ride in or on mythg, you go as fast as it goes.
Take the simplest vehicle. Suppose it’sjust a seaton wheels.
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Put someone on it. Get it up to speed. Then sto~ the vehcle. The rider
doesn’t stop.
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Theperson keeps going until stopped by something.
In a real vehicle, it could be the windshield
...
or the instrument panel ...
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or the safety belts!
With safety belts,
you slow down as the vehicle does.
You get more time to stop. You stop overmore distance,
and your strongest bones take the forces. That’swhy
safety belts make such good sense.
Here Are Questions Many People Ask
About Safety Belts
-- and the Answers
@ Won’t I be trappedin the vehicle afteran
accidentif
I’m wearing a safety belt?
A: You could be -- whether you’re wearing a safety
belt or not.But you can unbuckle a safety belt,
even if you’re upside down. And your chance of
being conscious duringand after an accident,
so
you can unbuckle and get out, is much greater if
you are belted.
If my vehicle has air bags, whv should I have to
wear safety belts?
A: Air bags are in many vehicles today and will be in
most of them in the future. But they are
supplemental systems only; so they work with
safety belts -- not instead of them. Every air bag
system ever offered for sale has required the use of
safety belts. Even
if you’re in a vehicle that has air
bags, you still have to buckle up to get the most
protection. That’s true not only in frontal collisions,
but especially in side and other collisions.
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&.. If I’m a good driver, and I never drive far from
home, why should
I wear safety belts?
A: You may be an excellentdriver, but if you’re in an
accident
-- even one that isn’t your fault -- you and
your passengers can behurt. Being
a good driver
doesn’t 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 speedsof less than 40 mph
(65 km/h).
Safety belts are for everyone.
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
Adults
This part is only forpeople of adult size.
Be awarethat thereare special things to
know about
safety belts and children.And there are different rules
for smallerchildren and babies. If a child will beriding
in yourvehicle,see the part of this manualcalled
“Children.”Follow those rules for everyone’sprotection.
First, you’ll want
to know which restraint systemsyour
vehicle has.
We’ll start with the driver position.
Driver Position
This part describes the driver’s restraint system.
Lap-Shoulder Belt
The driver has a lap-shoulder belt. Here’s howto wear
it properly.
1. Close and lock the door.
2. Adjust the seat (to see how, see “Seats” in the Index)
so you can sit up straight.
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