
Black plate (67,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2011
Vehicle Care 10-67
GM's exclusive TPC Spec system
considers over a dozen critical
specifications that impact the overall
performance of your vehicle,
including brake system
performance, ride and handling,
traction control, and tire pressure
monitoring performance. GM's TPC
Spec number is molded onto the
tire's sidewall near the tire size.
If the tires have an all‐season tread
design, the TPC spec number will
be followed by an MS for mud and
snow. SeeTire Sidewall Labeling on
page 10‑50 for additional
information.
GM recommends replacing tires in
sets of four. This is because uniform
tread depth on all tires will help
keep your vehicle performing most
like it did when the tires were new.
Replacing less than a full set of tires
can affect the braking and handling
performance of your vehicle. See
Tire Inspection on page 10‑64 and
Tire Rotation on page 10‑64 for
information on proper tire rotation.{WARNING
Tires could explode during
improper service. You or others
could be injured or killed if you
attempt to mount or dismount a
tire. Only your dealer or an
authorized tire service center
should mount and dismount
the tires.
{WARNING
Mixing tires could cause you to
lose control while driving. If you
mix tires of different sizes,
brands, or types (radial and
bias-belted tires), the vehicle
might not handle properly, and
you could have a crash. Using
tires of different sizes, brands,
or types could also cause
(Continued)
WARNING (Continued)
damage to your vehicle. Be sure
to use the same size, brand, and
type of tires on all wheels.
Your vehicle may have a different
size spare than the road tires
(those originally installed on your
vehicle). When new, your vehicle
included a spare tire and wheel
assembly with a similar overall
diameter as your vehicle's road
tires and wheels, so it is all right
to drive on it. Because this spare
was developed for use on your
vehicle, it will not affect vehicle
handling.

Black plate (68,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2011
10-68 Vehicle Care
{WARNING
If you use bias-ply tires on the
vehicle, the wheel rim flanges
could develop cracks after
many miles of driving. A tire
and/or wheel could fail
suddenly, causing a crash.
Use only radial-ply tires with
the wheels on the vehicle.
If you must replace your vehicle's
tires with those that do not have a
TPC Spec number, make sure they
are the same size, load range,
speed rating, and construction type
(radial and bias‐belted tires) as your
vehicle's original tires.
Vehicles that have a tire pressure
monitoring system may give an
inaccurate low‐pressure warning if
non‐TPC Spec-rated tires are
installed on your vehicle.
Non‐TPC Spec-rated tires may
give a low‐pressure warning that is
higher or lower than the proper warning level you would get with
TPC Spec-rated tires. See
Tire
Pressure Monitor System on
page 10‑59.
Your vehicle's original equipment
tires are listed on the Tire and
Loading Information label. See
Vehicle Load Limits on page 9‑24
for more information about the Tire
and Loading Information label and
its location on your vehicle.Different Size Tires and
Wheels
If you add wheels or tires that are a
different size than your original
equipment wheels and tires, this
could affect the way your vehicle
performs, including its braking,
ride and handling characteristics,
stability, and resistance to rollover.
Additionally, if your vehicle has
electronic systems such as antilock
brakes, rollover airbags, traction
control, and electronic stability
control, the performance of these
systems can be affected.
{WARNING
If you add different sized wheels,
your vehicle may not provide an
acceptable level of performance
and safety if tires not
recommended for those wheels
are selected. You may increase
the chance that you will crash
and suffer serious injury. Only
use GM specific wheel and tire
systems developed for your
vehicle, and have them properly
installed by a GM certified
technician.
See Buying New Tires on
page 10‑66 andAccessories and
Modifications on page 10‑3 for
additional information.

Black plate (72,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2011
10-72 Vehicle Care
Tire Chains
{WARNING
If your vehicle has P265/65R18 or
P275/55R20 size tires, do not use
tire chains. They can damage
your vehicle because there is not
enough clearance. Tire chains
used on a vehicle without the
proper amount of clearance can
cause damage to the brakes,
suspension, or other vehicle
parts. The area damaged by the
tire chains could cause you to
lose control of your vehicle and
you or others may be injured
in a crash.(Continued)
WARNING (Continued)
Use another type of traction
device only if its manufacturer
recommends it for use on your
vehicle and tire size combination
and road conditions. Follow that
manufacturer's instructions. To
help avoid damage to your
vehicle, drive slowly, readjust
or remove the device if it is
contacting your vehicle, and do
not spin your vehicle's wheels.
If you do find traction devices
that will fit, install them on the
rear tires. Notice:
If your vehicle has P265/
70R17 size tires, use tire chains
only where legal and only when
you must. Use chains that are the
proper size for your vehicle's
tires. Install them on the rear
tires only.
Do not use chains on the
front tires.
Tighten them as tightly as
possible with the ends securely
fastened. Drive slowly and
follow the chain manufacturer's
instructions. If you can hear the
chains contacting your vehicle,
stop and retighten them. If the
contact continues, slow down
until it stops. Driving too fast or
spinning the wheels with chains
on will damage your vehicle.

Black plate (87,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2011
Vehicle Care 10-87
12. Lower the jack byturning the wheel wrench
counterclockwise. Keep
lowering the jack until the
spare tire slides off the jack or
is hanging by the cable.
{WARNING
Someone standing too close
during the procedure could be
injured by the jack. If the spare
tire does not slide off the jack
completely, make sure no one is
behind you or on either side of
you as you pull the jack out from
under the spare.
13. Disconnect the jack handle from the jack and carefully
remove the jack. Use one hand
to push against the spare while
firmly pulling the jack out from
under the spare tire with the
other hand. If the spare tire is hanging from
the cable, insert the hoist end
of extension, and wheel
wrench into the hoist shaft hole
in the bumper and turn the
wheel wrench counterclockwise
to lower the spare the rest of
the way.
14. Turn the wheel wrench in the hoist shaft hole in the bumper
clockwise to raise the cable
back up if the cable is hanging
under the vehicle.
Have the hoist assembly inspected
as soon as you can. You will not be
able to store a spare or flat tire
using the hoist assembly until it has
been inspected and/or replaced.
To continue changing the flat tire,
see “Removing the Flat Tire and
Installing the Spare Tire” underTire
Changing on page 10‑75.
Full-Size Spare Tire
Your vehicle, when new, had a
fully-inflated spare tire. A spare tire
may lose air over time, so check its
inflation pressure regularly. See Tire
Pressure on page 10‑58 and
Vehicle Load Limits on page 9‑24
for information regarding proper tire
inflation and loading your vehicle.
For instruction on how to remove,
install or store a spare tire, see
“Removing the Flat Tire and
Installing the Spare” and“Storing a
Flat or Spare Tire and Tools” under
Tire Changing on page 10‑75.
Notice: If the vehicle has
four-wheel drive and the different
size spare tire is installed on the
vehicle, do not drive in four-wheel
drive until you can have your flat
tire repaired and/or replaced. You
could damage the vehicle, and
the repair costs would not be
covered by your warranty. Never
use four-wheel drive when the
different size spare tire is
installed on the vehicle.

Black plate (88,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2011
10-88 Vehicle Care
Your vehicle may have a different
size spare tire than the road tires
originally installed on your vehicle.
This spare tire was developed for
use on your vehicle, so it is all right
to drive on it. If your vehicle has
four-wheel drive and the different
size spare tire is installed, keep the
vehicle in two-wheel drive.
After installing the spare tire on your
vehicle, you should stop as soon as
possible and make sure the spare
tire is correctly inflated. Have the
damaged or flat road tire repaired or
replaced as soon as you can and
installed back onto your vehicle.
This way, the spare tire will be
available in case you need it again.
Do not mix tires and wheels of
different sizes, because they will not
fit. Keep your spare tire and its
wheel together. If your vehicle has a
spare tire that does not match your
vehicle's original road tires and
wheels in size and type, do not
include the spare in the tire rotation.Jump Starting
For more information about the
vehicle battery, seeBattery on
page 10‑29.
If the vehicle's battery has run
down, you may want to use another
vehicle and some jumper cables to
start your vehicle. Be sure to use
the following steps to do it safely.
{WARNING
Batteries can hurt you. They can
be dangerous because:
.They contain acid that can
burn you.
.They contain gas that can
explode or ignite.
.They contain enough
electricity to burn you.
If you do not follow these steps
exactly, some or all of these
things can hurt you. Notice:
Ignoring these steps
could result in costly damage to
the vehicle that would not be
covered by the warranty.
Trying to start the vehicle by
pushing or pulling it will not
work, and it could damage the
vehicle.
1. Check the other vehicle. It must
have a 12-volt battery with a
negative ground system.
Notice: Only use vehicles with
12-volt systems with negative
grounds to jump start your
vehicle. If the other vehicle's
system is not a 12-volt system
with a negative ground, both
vehicles can be damaged.
2. Get the vehicles close enough so the jumper cables can reach,
but be sure the vehicles are not
touching each other. If they are,
it could cause a ground
connection you do not want.

Black plate (6,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2011
i-6 INDEX
Fuel EconomyDriving for Better . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-28
Full-Size Spare Tire . . . . . . . . . . 10-87
Fuses Engine CompartmentFuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-41
Fuses and Circuit
Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-41
Instrument Panel Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-46
G
Garage Door Opener . . . . . . . . . . 5-56Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-56
Gasoline Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-69
Gauges Engine Coolant
Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15
Engine Oil Pressure . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12 Trip Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Voltmeter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Warning Lights and
Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
General Information Service and Maintenance . . . . . 11-1
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-74
Vehicle Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2
Glass Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . 10-35
Glove Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
GM Mobility Reimbursement Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-7H
Halogen Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-37
Hazard Warning Flashers . . . . . . . 6-5
Head Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
HeadlampsAiming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-35
Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-37
Daytime RunningLamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3 Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . 5-27
High/Low Beam Changer . . . . . . 6-3
Heated and Ventilated Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10
Heated Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9
Heated Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-22
Heating and Air Conditioning . . . 8-1
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . . 5-27
Highway Hypnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-19
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . . . 9-19
Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-5
Horn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-16
I
Ignition Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-31
Ignition Transmission LockCheck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-33
Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
Infants and Young Children, Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-48
Instrument Cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii, 7-2

Black plate (12,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2011
i-12 INDEX
ShiftingInto Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-35
Out of Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-36
Sidemarker Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-38
Signals, Turn and Lane-Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Specifications and Capacities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
StabiliTrak
®Indicator Light . . . . 5-24
StabiliTrak®System . . . . . . . . . . . 9-54
Start Vehicle, Remote . . . . . . . . . . 2-5
Starter Switch Check . . . . . . . . . 10-33
Starting the Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-32
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-4 Fluid, Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-25
Wheel Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
Wheel Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3 Steps
Power Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Stoplamps and Back-Up Lamps Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-38
Storage Areas Armrest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Cargo Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Center Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Glove Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Roof Rack System . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13
Top-Box Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Stuck Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-22
Sun Visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-25
Sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-26
Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
System Roof Rack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13
T
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Tailgate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
TaillampsBulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-38
Text Telephone (TTY) Users . . . 13-6
Theft-Deterrent Systems . . . . . . . 2-18 Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
Throttle, Adjustable . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-30
Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Tires Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . 10-66
Chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-72
Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-75
Designations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-53
Different Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-68
Full-Size Spare . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-87

Black plate (14,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2011
i-14 INDEX
V
VehicleCanadian Owners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-24
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-37
Personalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-47
Remote Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-93
Vehicle Care
Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-58
Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-1
Service Parts IdentificationLabel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-1
Vehicle Reminder Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-45
Ventilation, Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-10
Visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-25
Voltmeter Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
W
Warning Brake System Light . . . . . . . . . . . 5-23
Warning Lights, Gauges, and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii Cautions and Danger . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
Hazard Flashers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Washer Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-26
Washer Fluid Messages . . . . . . . 5-46
Wheels Alignment and TireBalance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-70
Different Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-68
Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-71
When It Is Time for New
Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-66 Where to Put the Restraint . . . . 3-53
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-24
Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-24
Windshield Wiper/Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-20
Wiper Blade Replacement . . . . 10-34