
Black plate (7,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2011
Infotainment System 7-7
.Surround (Centerpoint®)—
Select this setting to enable
Bose Centerpoint. Centerpoint
signal processing produces a
surround sound listening
experience from a CD or XM
stereo digital audio source.
Centerpoint delivers five
independent audio channels
from conventional two channel
stereo recordings. (Not available
for AM or FM.)
Adjusting the Speakers
(Balance/Fade)
BAL/FADE (Balance/Fade): To
adjust the balance or fade:
1. Press the
fknob until the
speaker control tabs display.
2. Highlight the desired speaker control tab by doing one of
the following:
.Pressing thefknob.
.Press the softkey under the
desired tab. 3. Adjust the setting by doing one
of the following:
.Turn thefknob clockwise
or counterclockwise.
.Press the¨SEEK, or
©SEEK button.
.Press the\FWD, or
sREV button.
To quickly adjust all speaker and
tone controls to the middle position,
press the
fknob for more than
2 seconds.
If the Rear Seat Audio (RSA) is
turned on, the radio disables
FADE and mutes the rear speakers.
Radio Messages
Calibration Error: The audio
system has been calibrated for
the vehicle from the factory.
If Calibration Error displays, it
means that the radio has not been
configured properly for the vehicle
and it must be returned to your
dealer for service.
Locked or Loc : One of these
messages will display when the
TheftLock
®system has locked up
the radio. Take the vehicle to your
dealer for service.
If any error occurs repeatedly or if
an error cannot be corrected,
contact your dealer.

Black plate (8,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2011
7-8 Infotainment System
Radio
AM-FM Radio
Radio Data System (RDS)
For radios with the Radio Data
System (RDS) feature, it only works
with FM stations that broadcast
RDS information. This system relies
upon receiving specific information
from these stations and only works
when the information is available.
While the radio is tuned to an
FM-RDS station, the station name
or call letters displays. In rare
cases, a radio station could
broadcast incorrect information that
causes the radio features to work
improperly. If this happens, contact
the radio station.
4(Information) (RDS Features):
For vehicles with RDS features,
press
4to display additional text
information related to the current
FM-RDS station. If information is
available, the song title information displays on the top line of the
display and artist information
displays on the bottom line.
When information is not available,
“NO INFO”
displays.
Finding a Station
BAND:Press to switch between
AM, FM, or XM™, if equipped.
f(Tune): Turn to manually select
radio stations.
©SEEK: Press to seek the
previous radio station. Press and
hold for a few seconds until a beep
sounds to scan for radio stations in
descending order, press the
©SEEK button again to stop
scanning radio stations. The radio
only seeks and scans stations with
a strong signal that are in the
selected band.
¨SEEK: Press to seek the next
radio station. Press and hold for a
few seconds until a beep sounds to
scan for radio stations in ascending
order, press the
©SEEK button
again to stop scanning radio stations. The radio only seeks and
scans stations with a strong signal
that are in the selected band.
sREV:
Press to manually tune to
a radio station in descending order.
\FWD: Press to manually tune to
a radio station in ascending order.
FAV (Favorites): Press to select
different favorite pages for stored
radio stations.
Storing Radio Stations
Drivers are encouraged to store
radio station while the vehicle is
parked, see Defensive Driving on
page 9‑2. Tune to stored radio
stations using the presets, favorites
button, and steering wheel controls,
if the vehicle has this feature.
Up to 36 stations can be
programmed as favorites using the
6 softkeys below the radio station
frequency tabs and by using the
FAV button. Press the FAV button to
go through up to 6 pages of
favorites, each having 6 favorite
stations available per page.

Black plate (9,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2011
Infotainment System 7-9
Each page of favorites can contain
any combination of AM, FM, or
XM, if equipped, stations.
Storing a Radio Station as a
Favorite
To store a station as a favorite:
1. Tune to a radio station.
2. Press the FAV button to displaythe page where the station will
be stored.
3. Press and hold one of the 6 softkeys until a beep sounds.
4. Repeat Steps 1 through 3 to store additional radio stations.
The number of favorites pages can
be setup using the MENU button.
To setup the number of favorites
pages:
1. Press the MENU button.
2. Press the softkey located below the FAV 1-6 tab. 3. Select the number of favorites
pages by pressing the softkey
located below the displayed
page numbers.
4. Press the FAV button, or let the menu time out, to return to the
original main radio screen
showing the radio station
frequency tabs and to begin the
process of programming
favorites.
Satellite Radio
XM™ Satellite Radio Service
XM is a satellite radio service based
in the 48 contiguous United States
and 10 Canadian provinces. XM
Satellite Radio has a wide variety of
programming and commercial-free
music, coast to coast, and in
digital-quality sound. A service fee
is required to receive the XM
service. If the service needs to
be reactivated, the radio will
display “No Subscription Please
Renew on channel XM1.” For more information, contact XM at
www.xmradio.com or
1-800-929-2100 in the U.S., and
www.xmradio.ca or
1-877-438-9677 in Canada.
4(Information) (XM Satellite Radio
Service): For vehicles with XM,
press
4to display additional text
information related to the current
XM channel. If information is
available, the song title information
displays on the top line of the
display and artist information
displays on the bottom line.
When information is not available,
“NO INFO” displays.
Finding a Channel
BAND:Press to switch between
AM, FM, or XM™, if equipped.
f(Tune): Turn to manually select
an XM channel.
©SEEK: Press to go to the
previous XM channel.
¨SEEK: Press to go to the
next XM channel.

Black plate (10,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2011
7-10 Infotainment System
sREV:Press to go to the
previous XM category.
\FWD: Press to go to the
next XM category.
FAV (Favorites): Press to select
different favorites pages for stored
radio stations.
CAT (Category): The CAT button is
used to find XM channels when the
radio is in the XM mode.
Finding a Category (CAT)
Station
To find XM channels in a category:
1. Press the CAT button to display the category tabs. Continue
pressing the CAT button until the
desired category name displays.
.Radios with CD and DVD
can also navigate the
category list by pressing the
\FWD or thesREV
buttons. 2. Press either of the two softkeys
below the desired category tab
to immediately tune to the first
XM station in that category.
To go to the previous or next XM
station in the selected category,
do one of the following:
.Turn thefknob.
.Press the softkey below the
right or left arrows in the
category tab.
.Press©SEEK or¨SEEK.
3. To exit the category search mode, press the FAV button or
BAND button to display the
favorites again.
Adding and Removing Categories
Categories cannot be added or
removed while the vehicle is moving
faster than 8 km/h (5 mph).
To add or remove a category:
1. Press the MENU button.
2. Press the softkey located below the XM CAT tab. 3. Turn the
fknob to display the
category to add or remove.
4. Press the softkey located under the Add or Remove tab.
To restore all removed
categories, press the softkey
under the Restore All tab.
5. Repeat the steps to remove more categories.
Storing XM Channels
Drivers are encouraged to store
XM channels while the vehicle is
parked; see Defensive Driving on
page 9‑2. Tune to stored radio
stations using the presets, favorites
button, and steering wheel controls,
if the vehicle has this feature.
Up to 36 stations can be
programmed as favorites using the
six softkeys below the radio station
frequency tabs and by using the
FAV button. Press the FAV button to
go through up to six pages of
favorites, each having six favorite
stations available per page.

Black plate (11,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2011
Infotainment System 7-11
Each page of favorites can contain
any combination of AM, FM, or XM,
if equipped, stations.
Storing an XM Channel as a
Favorite
To store a station as a favorite:
1. Tune to an XM channel.
2. Press the FAV button to displaythe page where the station will
be stored.
3. Press and hold one of the six softkeys until a beep sounds.
4. Repeat Steps 1 through 3 to store additional radio stations.
The number of favorites pages can
be set up using the MENU button.
To set up the number of favorites
pages:
1. Press the MENU button.
2. Press the softkey located below the FAV 1-6 tab. 3. Select the number of favorites
pages by pressing the softkey
located below the displayed
page numbers.
4. Press the FAV button, or let the menu time out, to return to the
original main radio screen
showing the radio station
frequency tabs and to begin the
process of programming
favorites.
XM Radio Messages
XL (Explicit Language
Channels): These channels, or
any others, can be blocked at a
customer's request, by calling
1-800-929‐2100.
XM Updating: The encryption code
in the receiver is being updated, and
no action is required. This process
should take no longer than
30 seconds.
No XM Signal: The system is
functioning correctly, but the vehicle
is in a location that is blocking the XM signal. When the vehicle is
moved into an open area, the signal
should return.
Loading XM:
The audio system is
acquiring and processing audio and
text data. No action is needed. This
message should disappear shortly.
Channel Off Air: This channel is
not currently in service. Tune in to
another channel.
Channel Unauth : This channel is
blocked or cannot be received with
your XM subscription package.
Channel Unavail: This previously
assigned channel is no longer
assigned. Tune to another station.
If this station was one of the
presets, choose another station
for that preset button.
No Artist Info: No artist
information is available at this time
on this channel. The system is
working properly.

Black plate (17,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2011
Infotainment System 7-17
File System and Naming
The song name that displays is the
song name that is contained in the
ID3 tag. If the song name is not
present in the ID3 tag, then the
radio displays the file name without
the extension (such as .mp3) as
the track name.
Track names longer than
32 characters or four pages are
shortened. The display does not
show parts of words on the last
page of text and the extension of
the filename is not displayed.
Preprogrammed Playlists
CDs that have preprogrammed
playlists that were created using
WinAmp™, MusicMatch™, or
Real Jukebox™software can be
accessed, however, there is no
playlist editing capability using the
radio. These playlists are treated
as special folders containing
compressed audio song files. Playlists that have an .m3u or .pls
file extension and are stored on a
USB device may be supported by
the radio with a USB port.
Playlists can be changed by using
the softkeys below the
S
cand
c Ttabs, thefknob, the©SEEK button or the¨SEEK
button. An MP3 CD-R or CD-RW
that has been recorded without
using file folders can be played.
If a CD-R or CD-RW contains more
than the maximum of 50 folders,
15 playlists, and 512 folders and
files, the player allows access and
navigates up to the maximum, but
all items over the maximum are
not accessible.
Playing an MP3
4(Information): Press to display
additional text information related to
the current song. If information is
available, the song title information
displays on the top line of the
display and artist information
displays on the bottom line.
When information is not available,
“NO INFO” displays.
f(Tune):Turn to select MP3 files
on the CD currently playing.
©SEEK: Press to go to the start of
the track, if more than ten seconds
have played. Press and hold or
press multiple times to continue
moving backward through tracks.
¨SEEK: Press to go to the next
track. Press and hold or press
multiple times to continue moving
forward through tracks.
sREV (Reverse): Press and hold
to reverse playback quickly. Sound
is heard at a reduced volume and
the elapsed time of the file displays.
Release
sREV to resume playing.

Black plate (29,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2011
Infotainment System 7-29
Stopping and Resuming
Playback
To stop playing a DVD without
turning off the system, press the
cbutton on the remote control,
or press the softkey located under
the
cor ther/jtabs displayed
on the radio. If the radio is sourced
to something other than DVD-V,
press the DVD/CD AUX button to
make DVD-V the active source.
To resume DVD playback, press the
r/jbutton on the remote control,
or press the softkey located under
the
r/jtab on the radio. The DVD
should resume play from where it
last stopped if the disc has not been
ejected and the stop button has not
been pressed twice on the remote
control. If the disc has been ejected
or the stop button has been pressed
twice on the remote control, the disc
resumes playing at the beginning of
the disc.
CD/DVD Player Messages
Disc Format Error: This message
displays if the disc is inserted with
the disc label wrong side up, or if
the disc is damaged.
Disc Region Error: This message
displays if the disc is not from a
correct region.
No Disc Inserted: This message
displays if no disc is present when
the
Zor DVD/CD AUX button is
pressed on the radio.
Optical Error: This message
displays if the disc was inserted
upside down.
Disk Read Error: This message
displays if a disc was inserted with
an invalid or unknown format.
Player Error: This message
displays if there are disc load or
disc eject problems.
.It is very hot. When the
temperature returns to normal,
the disc should play.
.The road is very rough. When
the road becomes smoother, the
disc should play.
.The disc is dirty, scratched, wet,
or upside down.
.The air is very humid. If so, wait
about an hour and try again.
.There was a problem while
burning the disc.
.The label is caught in the
CD/DVD player.
If the disc is not playing correctly,
for any other reason, try a known
good disc.
If any error occurs repeatedly or
if an error cannot be corrected,
contact your dealer. If the radio
displays an error message, write it
down and provide it to your dealer
when reporting the problem.

Black plate (1,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2011
Driving and Operating 9-1
Driving and
Operating
Driving Information
Defensive Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
Drunk Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
Control of a Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-4
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
Off-Road Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-7
Driving on Wet Roads . . . . . . . 9-18
Highway Hypnosis . . . . . . . . . . . 9-19
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . 9-19
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-20
If the Vehicle is Stuck . . . . . . . . 9-22
Vehicle Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . 9-24
Truck-Camper LoadingInformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-29
Starting and Operating
New Vehicle Break-In . . . . . . . . 9-30
Adjustable Throttle and BrakePedal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-30
Ignition Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-31
Starting the Engine . . . . . . . . . . 9-32
Engine Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-33
Retained Accessory Power (RAP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-34
Shifting Into Park . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-35
Shifting Out of Park . . . . . . . . . . 9-36
Parking Over Things That Burn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-37
Active Fuel Management™ . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-37
Engine Exhaust
Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-38
Running the Vehicle While
Parked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-38
Automatic Transmission
Automatic Transmission . . . . . 9-39
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-42
Tow/Haul Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-43
Drive Systems
Four-Wheel Drive(Two Speed Automatic
Transfer Case) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-44
Four-Wheel Drive (Single Speed Automatic
Transfer Case) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-50
Brakes
Antilock Brake
System (ABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-52
Parking Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-53
Brake Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-53
Ride Control Systems
StabiliTrak®System . . . . . . . . . 9-54
Locking Rear Axle . . . . . . . . . . . 9-56
Continuous Damping Control (CDC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-57
Automatic Level Control . . . . . 9-57
Cruise Control
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-58
Object Detection Systems
Ultrasonic Parking Assist . . . . 9-60
Rear Vision Camera (RVC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-62