2011 CHEVROLET AVALANCHE Owners Manual

Black plate (19,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2011
Customer Information 13-19
Radio Frequency
Identification (RFID)
RFID technology is used in some
vehicles for functions such as tire
pressure monitoring and ignition
system security, as well as in
connection with conveniences
such as key fobs for remote door
locking/unlocking and starting, and
in-vehicle transmitters for garage
door openers. RFID technology in
GM vehicles does not use or record
personal information or link with any
other GM system containing
personal information.
Radio Frequency
Statement
This vehicle has systems that
operate on a radio frequency
that comply with Part 15 of the
Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) rules and
with Industry Canada Standards
RSS‐210/220/310.Operation is subject to the following
two conditions:
1. The device may not cause
interference.
2. The device must accept any interference received, including
interference that may cause
undesired operation of
the device.
Changes or modifications to any
of these systems by other than an
authorized service facility could void
authorization to use this equipment.

Black plate (20,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2011
13-20 Customer Information
2NOTES

Black plate (1,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2011
INDEX i-1
A
Accessories andModifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Accessory Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-34
Active Fuel Management™ . . . . 9-37
Add-On Electrical Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-93
Adding Equipment to the Airbag-Equipped Vehicle . . . . . 3-44
Adjustable Throttle and Brake Pedal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-30
Adjustments Lumbar, Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
Air Cleaner/Filter, Engine . . . . . 10-16
Air Vents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-10
Airbag System Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-45
How Does an AirbagRestrain? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-35
Passenger Sensing
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-38
What Makes an Airbag Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-35 What Will You See After
an Airbag Inflates? . . . . . . . . . . 3-36
When Should an Airbag Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-33
Where Are the Airbags? . . . . . . 3-31
Airbags Adding Equipment to the
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-44
Passenger Status Indicator . . . 5-18
Readiness Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
Servicing Airbag-Equipped Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-43
System Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-28
Alarm System Anti-Theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
AM-FM Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-8
Antenna
Satellite Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-13
Anti-Theft Alarm System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Alarm System Messages . . . . . 5-43 Antilock Brake
System (ABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-52
Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Appearance Care Exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-98
Interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-102
Armrest Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Ashtrays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Assistance Program,
Roadside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-8, 13-10
Audio Players . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-14
CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-14
CD/DVD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-19
Audio System Fixed Mast Antenna . . . . . . . . . . 7-13
Radio Reception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-12
Rear Seat (RSA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-44
Theft-Deterrent Feature . . . . . . . . 7-2
Automatic Door Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Headlamp System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Level Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-57

Black plate (2,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2011
i-2 INDEX
Automatic Transmission . . . . . . . 9-39Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-12
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-42
Automatic Transmission Shift Lock Control
Function Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-33
Auxiliary Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-30
Axle, Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-31
Axle, Rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-32
B
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-29 Jump Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-88
Load Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Power Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Voltage and Charging
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-37
Blade Replacement, Wiper . . . 10-34
Bluetooth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-46 Brake
Pedal and Adjustable
Throttle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-30
Brake System Warning Light . . . 5-23
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-27 Antilock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-52
Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-53
Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-28
Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-53
System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-37
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Break-In, New Vehicle . . . . . . . . . 9-30
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-39
Fog Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Halogen Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-37
Headlamp Aiming . . . . . . . . . . . 10-35
Headlamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-37
License Plate Lamps . . . . . . . 10-39
Taillamps, Turn Signal,Sidemarker, Stoplamps,
and Backup Lamps . . . . . . . . 10-38
Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-66
C
Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
California Fuel Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . 9-69
Perchlorate MaterialsRequirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Camera, Rear Vision . . . . . . . . . . 9-62
Canadian Vehicle Owners . . . . . . . . iii
Capacities and Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2
Carbon Monoxide Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-38
Midgate
®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10
Tailgate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-20
Cargo Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Cover Panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-6
Tie Downs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13
Cautions, Danger, and Warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii

Black plate (3,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2011
INDEX i-3
CDDVD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-19
CD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-14
Center Console Storage . . . . . . . . 4-2
Center Seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Chains, Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-72
Charging System Light . . . . . . . . 5-20
Check Engine Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-20
IgnitionTransmission Lock . . . . . . . . 10-33
Child Restraints Infants and YoungChildren . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-48
Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children . . . . . . . . . 3-54
Older Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-46
Securing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-62, 3-64
Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-51
Cigarette Lighter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-41 Cleaning
Exterior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-98
Interior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-102
Climate Control Systems . . . . . . . 8-1 Air Conditioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1
Dual Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-4
Heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Cluster, IP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
Collision Damage Repair . . . . . 13-12
Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
Continuous Damping Control (CDC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-57
Control of a Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Convex Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-20
Coolant Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-19
Engine TemperatureGauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15
Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-18 Engine Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-39 Courtesy Transportation
Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-10
Covers Cargo Panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-6
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-58 Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-27
Cupholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Customer Assistance . . . . . . . . . . 13-6
Text Telephone (TTY)Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-6
Customer Assistance
Offices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-4, 13-5
Customer Information Service PublicationsOrdering Information . . . . . . 13-15
Customer Satisfaction
Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-1, 13-3

Black plate (4,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2011
i-4 INDEX
D
Damage Repair, Collision . . . . . 13-12
Danger, Warnings, andCautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
Data Recorders, Event . . . . . . . 13-17
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Defensive Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Devices, Auxiliary . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-30
Dome Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Door Ajar Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-38
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Power Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Driver Information Center (DIC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-28 Driving
Characteristics and
Towing Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-75
Defensive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
Drunk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
Highway Hypnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-19
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . . 9-19
If the Vehicle is Stuck . . . . . . . . . 9-22
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
Off-Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-7
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
Vehicle Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . 9-24
Winter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-20
Driving for Better Fuel Economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-28
Dual Automatic Climate
Control System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-4
DVD Rear Seat EntertainmentSystem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-34
DVD/CD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-19
E
E85 Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-70
Electrical Equipment,
Add-On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-93
Electrical System Engine CompartmentFuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-41
Fuses and Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-41
Instrument Panel Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-46
Overload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-40
Engine Air Cleaner/Filter . . . . . . . . . . . 10-16
Check and Service EngineSoon Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-20
Compartment Overview . . . . . . . 10-6
Coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-19
Coolant Temperature Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15
Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-18

Black plate (5,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2011
INDEX i-5
Cooling System Messages . . . 5-39
Drive Belt Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-3
Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-38
Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-25
Oil Pressure Gauge . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Overheated ProtectionOperating Mode . . . . . . . . . . . 10-24
Overheating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-22
Power Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-40
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
Running While Parked . . . . . . . . 9-38
Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-32
Engine Oil Life System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10-11
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-40
Entry/Exit Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Equipment, Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-84
Event Data Recorders . . . . . . . . 13-17
Extender, Safety Belt . . . . . . . . . . 3-27
Exterior Cargo Lamps . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Exterior Lamp Controls . . . . . . . . . 6-1
Exterior Lamps Off Reminder . . . 6-2F
Fan
Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-25
Features Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-9
Filter Engine Air Cleaner . . . . . . . . . 10-16
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Flashers, Hazard Warning . . . . . . 6-5
Flat Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-73
Flat Tire, Changing . . . . . . . . . . . 10-75
Floor Mats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10-106
Fluid Automatic Transmission . . . . 10-12
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-28
Four-Wheel DriveTransfer Case . . . . . . . . . 9-44, 9-50
Power Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-25
Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-26
Fog Lamps
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Folding Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-21 Four-Wheel
Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-30, 9-44, 9-50
Front Axle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-31
Front Fog Lamps Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-27
Front Seats Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Heated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9
Heated and Ventilated . . . . . . . . 3-10
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-68 Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-69
E85 (85% Ethanol) . . . . . . . . . . . 9-70
Filling a Portable Fuel
Container . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-74
Filling the Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-72
Fuels in Foreign Countries . . . . 9-69
Gasoline Specifications . . . . . . . 9-69
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . . 5-26
Management, Active . . . . . . . . . . 9-37
Recommended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-68
Requirements, California . . . . . 9-69
System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-41

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