2003 Chevrolet Avalanche Owner's Manual - Page 275

The STABILITY SYS ACTIVE message will appear on the Driver Information Center (DIC) only when the system is both on and activated. You may also feel or hear the system working; this is normal. For more information on the stability messages, see Driver Information Center (DIC) on page 3-46. Stabilitrak@andpart of the traction control system can be turned off or back on by pressing the Stabilitrak@buttonon the instrument panel. When the Stabilitrak@system has been turned off you may still hear system noises as a result of the brake-traction control coming on. It is recommended to leave the system on for normal driving conditions, but it may be necessary to turn the system off if your vehicle is stuck in sand, mud, ice or snow, and you want to "rock" your vehicle to attempt to free it. It may also be necessary to turn off the system when driving in extreme off-road conditions where high wheel spin is required. See If You Are Stuck: In Sand, Mud, Ice or Snow on page 4-45. Traction Control Operation The traction control system is part of the Stabilitrak@system. Tractioncontrol limits wheel spin by reducing engine power to the wheels (engine speed management) and by applying brakes to each individual wheel (brake-traction control) as necessary. When the system is turned off, the traction off light will illuminate, and the STABILITY SYS DISABLED message will appear on the DIC to warn the driver that both the stability system and part of the traction control system are disabled. Your vehicle will still have brake-traction control when StabilitrakTs off, but will not be able to use the engine speed management system. See "Traction Control Operation" next for more information. 4-12 The traction control system is enabled automatically when you start your vehicle, and it will activate and display the TRACTION ACTIVE message in the Driver Information Center (DIC) if it senses that any of the wheels are spinning or beginning to lose traction while driving. If you turn off Stabilitrak@, only the brake-traction control portion of traction control will work. The engine speed management will be disabled.