Black plate (1,1)Chevrolet Colorado 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 . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Off-Road Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
Driving on Wet Roads . . . . . . . 9-16
Highway Hypnosis . . . . . . . . . . . 9-16
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . 9-17
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-17
If the Vehicle is Stuck . . . . . . . . 9-19
Vehicle Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . 9-20
Truck-Camper LoadingInformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-26
Starting and Operating
New Vehicle Break-In . . . . . . . . 9-26
Ignition Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-27
Starting the Engine . . . . . . . . . . 9-28
Engine Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-29 Retained Accessory
Power (RAP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-30
Shifting Into Park (Automatic Transmission) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-30
Shifting Out of Park
(Automatic
Transmission) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-32
Parking (Manual Transmission) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-32
Parking Over Things That Burn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-33
Engine Exhaust
Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-33
Running the Vehicle WhileParked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-34
Automatic Transmission
Automatic Transmission . . . . . 9-35
Manual Transmission
Manual Transmission . . . . . . . . 9-37
Drive Systems
Four-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-39
Brakes
Antilock BrakeSystem (ABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-43
Parking Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-44
Brake Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-45
Ride Control Systems
Traction Control System (TCS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-46
StabiliTrak
®System . . . . . . . . . 9-47
Limited-Slip Rear Axle . . . . . . . 9-48
Cruise Control
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-49
Fuel
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-51
Recommended Fuel . . . . . . . . . 9-51
Gasoline Specifications (U.S. and Canada Only) . . . . . . . . . . 9-52
California Fuel Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-52
Fuels in Foreign Countries . . . 9-52
Fuel Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-53
Filling the Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-54
Filling a Portable Fuel Container . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-55
Black plate (52,1)Chevrolet Colorado Owner Manual - 2011
9-52 Driving and Operating
Gasoline Specifications
(U.S. and Canada Only)
At a minimum, gasoline should meet
ASTM specification D 4814 in the
United States or CAN/CGSB‐3.5 or
3.511 in Canada. Some gasolines
contain an octane-enhancing
additive called
methylcyclopentadienyl manganese
tricarbonyl (MMT). We recommend
against the use of gasolines
containing MMT. SeeFuel Additives
on page 9‑53 for additional
information.
California Fuel
Requirements
If the vehicle is certified to meet
California Emissions Standards, it is
designed to operate on fuels that
meet California specifications. See
the underhood emission control
label. If this fuel is not available in
states adopting California emissions
standards, the vehicle will operate
satisfactorily on fuels meeting
federal specifications, but emission
control system performance might
be affected. The malfunction
indicator lamp could turn on and the
vehicle might fail a smog‐check test.
See Malfunction Indicator Lamp on
page 5‑12. If this occurs, return to
your authorized dealer for diagnosis.
If it is determined that the condition
is caused by the type of fuel used,
repairs might not be covered by the
vehicle warranty.
Fuels in Foreign
Countries
Never use leaded gasoline or any
other fuel not recommended in the
previous text on fuel. Costly repairs
caused by use of improper fuel
would not be covered by the vehicle
warranty.
To check the fuel availability, ask an
auto club, or contact a major oil
company that does business in the
country where you will be driving.
Black plate (53,1)Chevrolet Colorado Owner Manual - 2011
Driving and Operating 9-53
Fuel Additives
To provide cleaner air, all gasolines
in the United States are now
required to contain additives that
help prevent engine and fuel system
deposits from forming, allowing the
emission control system to work
properly. In most cases, nothing
should have to be added to the fuel.
However, some gasolines contain
only the minimum amount of
additive required to meet U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency
regulations. To help keep fuel
injectors and intake valves clean,
or if the vehicle experiences
problems due to dirty injectors or
valves, look for gasoline that is
advertised as TOP TIER Detergent
Gasoline. Look for the TOP TIER
label on the fuel pump to ensure
gasoline meets enhanced
detergency standards developed by
the auto companies. A list of
marketers providing TOP TIER
Detergent Gasoline can be found at
www.toptiergas.com.For customers who do not use TOP
TIER Detergent Gasoline regularly,
one bottle of GM Fuel System
Treatment PLUS, added to the fuel
tank at every engine oil change, can
help clean deposits from fuel
injectors and intake valves. GM Fuel
System Treatment PLUS is the only
gasoline additive recommended by
General Motors. It is available at
your dealer.
Gasolines containing oxygenates,
such as ethers and ethanol, and
reformulated gasolines might be
available in your area. We
recommend that you use these
gasolines, if they comply with the
specifications described earlier.
However, E85 (85% ethanol) and
other fuels containing more than
10% ethanol must not be used in
vehicles that were not designed for
those fuels.
Notice:
This vehicle was not
designed for fuel that contains
methanol. Do not use fuel
containing methanol. It can
corrode metal parts in the fuel
system and also damage plastic
and rubber parts. That damage
would not be covered under the
vehicle warranty.
Some gasolines that are not
reformulated for low emissions can
contain an octane-enhancing
additive called
methylcyclopentadienyl manganese
tricarbonyl (MMT); ask the attendant
where you buy gasoline whether the
fuel contains MMT. We recommend
against the use of such gasolines.
Fuels containing MMT can reduce
the life of spark plugs and the
performance of the emission control
system could be affected. The
malfunction indicator lamp might
turn on. If this occurs, return to your
dealer for service.
Black plate (5,1)Chevrolet Colorado Owner Manual - 2011
INDEX i-5
Four-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . 10-30, 9-39
Front Axle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-31
Front SeatsAdjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Heated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8
Front Turn Signal, Sidemarker, and Daytime
Running Lamps (DRL) . . . . . . 10-37
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-51 Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-53
Filling a Portable FuelContainer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-55
Filling the Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-54
Fuels in Foreign Countries . . . . 9-52
Gasoline Specifications . . . . . . . 9-52
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Recommended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-51
Requirements, California . . . . . 9-52
System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Full-Size Spare Tire . . . . . . . . . . 10-85
Fuses Engine CompartmentFuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-41
Fuses and Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-40G
Gasoline
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-52
Gauges Engine CoolantTemperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Trip Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Warning Lights and
Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
General Information Service and Maintenance . . . . . 11-1
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-56
Vehicle Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Glove Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
GM Mobility Reimbursement Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-7
H
Halogen Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-36
Hazard Warning Flashers . . . . . . . 6-3
Head Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Headlamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-36
Aiming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-35
Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-36
Daytime RunningLamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . 5-19
High/Low Beam Changer . . . . . . 6-2
Heated Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8
Heater Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-29
Heating and Air Conditioning . . . 8-1
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . . 5-19
High-Speed Operation . . . . . . . . 10-54
Highway Hypnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-16
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . . . 9-17
Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-5