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Fun for SSR Newbies

For The Newbies.. SSR Trivia

By Meg in Carolina with assistance from many other members of the SSRFanatic community

Simple Engineering Chevrolet SSR Parts, Accessories and Solutions
  • Total SSRs produced – 24,180
    Signature 1 remains with GM Heritage
    Signatures 2, 3, 4 &5 went to one bidder at a Signature Series Auction
    Sale Prices
    #2 – $137,850 – Signature Series #2, the first saleable SSR
    #3 – $127,200
    #4 – $120,000
    #5 – $75,000
    In 11/2010 GM sold the second last SSR – #24111, the “Last Saleable SSR”
    The same purchaser that bought the 4 Signatures purchased #24111 for $109000 plus 10% Buyer fee – gross sale $119,900.
    GM Heritage still retains Signature Series #1, EX VIN #3X6959EX – 2003 Pace Truck #24112 – “The Last SSR”
    Wayne Cherry, retired GM Design Staff VP, ordered #1 of the “Regular Production” series (not Signature Series).
    Gary Cowger, GM President, owned #2 of the regular production series.
    Rick Wagoner, GM CEO owned #50. It was given to him by his wife for his 50th birthday. It is the only regular production 2003 that is Ultra Violet.
    2003 & 2004 were produced with automatic transmissions ~ stick shift not available until 2005 with the LS2 engine.
  • Colors by Year*
    2003 – Redline Red, Smokin Asphalt, Slingshot Yellow
    2004 – Ricochet Silver & Ultra Violet were added (making 5 available colors)
    2005 – Ultra Violet was discontinued and replaced by Aqua Blur (still 5 available colors)
    2006 – Pacific Blue was added as a solid color, making 6 solid color options, however, 7 TuTone combinations were introduced making a total of 13 color options for MY2006
    *Excluding the Ultra Violet Signature Series in MY2003
  • SSR color combinations 2003 – 2006
    ULTRA VIOLET – 1300
    SMOKIN ASPHALT – 5609
    REDLINE RED – 6698
    SLINGSHOT YELLOW – 5180
    RICOCHET SILVER – 2934
    AQUA BLUR – 1494
    PACIFIC BLUE – 532
    SMOKIN ASPHALT OVER RICOCHET SILVER – 238
    RICOCHET SILVER OVER SMOKIN ASPHALT – 134
    PACIFIC BLUE OVER RICOCHET SILVER – 32
    PACIFIC BLUE OVER SMOKIN ASPHALT – 9
    AQUA BLUR OVER RICOCHET SILVER – 8
    RICOCHET SILVER OVER PACIFIC BLUE – 7
    RICOCHET SILVER OVER AQUA BLUR – 5
  • SSR Production History
  • Model Overviews (Courtesy of PaceGuy – SSRFanatic Forum)
  • By January 2005, the SSR had appeared on 27 magazine covers
  • There are both amber and white lights on your rear view mirror for interior cabin light. Press and HOLD the map light button on the rear view mirror – you will hear a beep and the light will turn yellow. Press and HOLD it again to turn it back to white
  • There are 17 Chevy bowties on the SSR:
    4 on the Wheels
    4 on the Side Marker Lights
    1 on the Steering Wheel
    1 on the Gauges
    2 on the Weather Stripping (near door locks) 1 behind the Rear License Plate
    1 on the Front Grille
    1 on the Tailgate
    1 on the VIN Plate
    1 on the Key!
  • The first years of production used plated bow ties on the back and front of the truck. GM switched to painting them in 2005 because of blistering issues.
  • The SSR contains 3,218 parts
  • The SSR rides on a GMT360 chassis, common to the Chevy Trailblazer, GMC Envoy, Buick Rainier, Olds Bravada, SAAB 9-7X and Isuzu Ascender.
  • Front tires are 19″ – Rear tires are 20″
  • Front tires are 19″ – Rear tires are 20″
  • Windshield wipers – One is 19″ and the other 20″.
  • There is no door key hole on the passenger door
  • The rear deck lid cover must be closed first before closing the tailgate
  • The rear deck lid cover must be closed first before closing the tailgate
  • Rear deck struts – the deck struts were originally designed to open “marginally”. According to Bob Walczyk (GM Product Manager), the engineers could not design based on unknown factors, such as snow on the deck, heavy spoilers etc. They were designed to lift enough to get fingers under and lift by hand.
  • The hood struts should have enough pressure to raise the hood unassisted.
  • When closing the hood be sure to avoid the Chevrolet trim piece as it will easily break. (For 03-04’s, remember they have a hood prop rod – Forgetting will result in a bent rod and possibly a torn under hood blanket). Click here to purchase a Hood Emblem Support.
  • If your fuel gauge is malfunctioning, you can use the “distance to empty” DIC function instead. This does not apply if your problem is the sending unit in the tank.
  • The top cannot be opened or closed with the cargo cover open (or ajar).
  • You have to be in Park to open the Bed cover (automatics only).
  • The Traction Control (automatics only) OFF light comes on when you drive above 95 mph. If you put it in 1st gear (automatic), it turns off the traction control.
  • In the automatics, if one comes to a complete stop while the shifter is in 2nd gear there’s no downshift to 1st, it will take off in 2nd.
  • Passenger side seat heater won’t work unless the seat-belt is fastened.
  • If you press the button on the speedometer without the keys in the ignition, the mileage will display in the DIC.
  • If stolen, the SSR Radio is useless to the buzzards. The Factory Radio has an E-prom installed in it with the Vehicles VIN stored in it.
  • All SSRs came with a wiring harness under the truck for trailering -located on the driver’s side frame rail by the rear fascia. It is just the standard wiring; you will need to add an adapter.
  • With the high beams on the fog lights will go off.
  • If you turn on your fog lights in the daytime, it will cause all of your running lights to come on as well.
  • Pull up on the handbrake just a little and put back down and the day-time running lights will turn off (automatics only).
  • If using the windshield wipers during the day, headlights will come on after the first few swipes.This is an “automatic” safety function of the system to assist in inclement weather. They will also shut off automatically.
  • There is a valve stem symbol on the back of the wheel cover (cap) that is meant to point at the valve stem on replacement in order to fit correctly. Mark the caps noting the wheel it came from (RF RR LF LR). The “ribs” on the caps will only align properly in certain ways, but there is more than one way to insert them where the ribs do align yet the stem symbol does not align with the stem.
  • There are 2 auxiliary plugs located on either side of the ashtray in the cab and a third is located in the bed passenger side where the gate closes.
  • Leaving something plugged in any of the 3 auxiliary plugs overnight will kill your battery.
  • Moving the passenger seat forward too far may result in breaking off the vertical cup holder. Some may have the cup holder on driver side – same issue. Remove the cup holders before moving the seats fully forward.
  • When cleaning your interior, (or accessing the secondary fuse panel) you can slide the seats forward and use your sun visor to hold the seats forward. (**Make sure you remove the console cup holder first.)
  • There is a second fuse panel on the rear console side (under the waterfall) accessed from passenger side. It is linked to the main fuse box located under the hood – driver side.
  • The lid on the center console will stay up if you push it back until it latches.
  • The battery is located underneath the SSR behind the passenger rear tire. You can jump start it at the leads under the hood (positive in red box & suggested negative contact near the alternator.
  • The third brake light is a solid state unit with at least a dozen LEDs.
  • Until mid 2005, there was a little flip down door under the bed cover on SSRs with the bed carpet kit. GM never designed anything for it in particular. The best usage was for a tool kit like BMW.
  • The SSR has a tendency to have the rear end “kick out” if accelerating on a turn, particularly in wet conditions.
  • The A/C compressor runs when the selector is in the defrost position.
  • The A/C compressor will run if you have the re-circulate button pushed and lit, even if the A/C button is not lit.
  • The SSR does not come with a spare, so if you have a flat. There is a tire air compressor located in the box behind the driver seat containing the compressor & bottle of stop leak. Don’t plug it into the cigarette lighter. There are 2 ports on either side of the ashtray and another inside the bed, passenger side at the tailgate. The one in the lighter is only fused for 10 amps – not enough to operate the pump properly and will most likely blow the fuse.
    The owner’s manual suggests the engine be running while in use to limit battery drain.
  • There are several ways to lock the SSR – many owners close the doors and use the FOB. **This method does not arm the alarm system.
  • To activate the theft-deterrent system, open the door slightly, press and hold the lock button in the center console until you hear a triple chime. Now get out of your vehicle (making sure you have your keys/FOB in your pocket). Close the door and in about 5 seconds the doors automatically lock. The alarm light will illuminate in the instrument cluster for about 20 seconds. Once it goes out, the theft deterrent system is activated.
  • If the SSR was locked via the FOB and the key is used to gain access the alarm/horn will go off. Either depress the Panic Button on the FOB or when the engine is started the alarm will stop.
  • You can lock it with the key and unlock it with the key – no alarm set, no alarm to go off.
  • A few of the very early MY2003 had a feature where you could remotely lower the windows by pressing the fob 4 times.
  • If you tint your windows, make sure you install moleskin (window fuzzy material) on the inside of the rubber trailing edge at the top of the door panel to keep the tint from being scratched.
  • Before disconnecting the battery, lower the windows…..this will have the windows in the lower indexed position and they can then be opened and closed without damage to the seals.
  • The windows should also be down slightly when in storage.
  • During more extreme cold climates ice can form around the rubber seals on the door and prevent the windows from indexing down. This makes it difficult or impossible to open the door without tearing the rubber.
  • When putting the top down, you only have to push the brake in unison with the console “Top Down” button to START the process. Once the top has started moving, you can release the brake….in fact you can start driving. If putting the top down while moving, the top will STOP the cycle if you reach 25 mph **Recommended (if you do it all) to do this only at very low speeds (i.e. – parades) making sure the vehicle is level since there is risk of bending hinges – not something you want to go through!
  • When closing the top, if you continue to hold the “raise top” button past the beep indicating the end of the cycle, both windows will close also.
  • Making sure the windows are down first will expedite the top cycle time at stop lights.
  • There are 2 cables behind your seats, one for unlocking the roof so that it can be manually raised and one for locking it down.
  • If traveling cross-country and not planning to put the top down, the roof storage compartment can be used to carry stuff.
  • Be careful not to load the top storage compartment too high as it will interfere with the flipper panel. Great place for the folding chairs!
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