2011 CHEVROLET IMPALA tow

Black plate (12,1)Chevrolet Impala Owner Manual - 2011
13-12 Customer Information
Insuring Your Vehicle
Protect your investment in your
GM vehicle with comprehensive and
collision insurance coverage. There
are significant differences in the
quality of coverage afforded by
various insurance policy terms.
Many insurance policies provide
reduced protection to your GM
vehicle by limiting compensation for
damage repairs by using
aftermarket collision parts. Some
insurance companies will not
specify aftermarket collision parts.
When purchasing insurance, we
recommend that you ensure that
your vehicle will be repaired with
GM original equipment collision
parts. If such insurance coverage is
not available from your current
insurance carrier, consider switching
to another insurance carrier.If your vehicle is leased, the leasing
company may require you to have
insurance that ensures repairs with
Genuine GM Original Equipment
Manufacturer (OEM) parts or
Genuine Manufacturer replacement
parts. Read your lease carefully, as
you may be charged at the end of
your lease for poor quality repairs.
If a Crash Occurs
If there has been an injury, call
emergency services for help. Do not
leave the scene of a crash until all
matters have been taken care of.
Move the vehicle only if its position
puts you in danger, or you are
instructed to move it by a
police officer.
Give only the necessary information
to police and other parties involved
in the crash.
For emergency towing see
Roadside Assistance Program on
page 13‑7.Gather the following information:
.Driver's name, address, and
telephone number
.Driver's license number
.Owner's name, address, and
telephone number
.Vehicle license plate number
.Vehicle make, model, and
model year
.Vehicle Identification
Number (VIN)
.Insurance company and policy
number
.General description of the
damage to the other vehicle
Choose a reputable repair facility
that uses quality replacement parts.
See “Collision Parts” earlier in
this section.
If the airbag has inflated, see What
Will You See After an Airbag
Inflates? on page 3‑32.

Black plate (13,1)Chevrolet Impala Owner Manual - 2011
Customer Information 13-13
Managing the Vehicle Damage
Repair Process
In the event that your vehicle
requires damage repairs,
GM recommends that you take an
active role in its repair. If you have a
pre-determined repair facility of
choice, take your vehicle there,
or have it towed there. Specify to
the facility that any required
replacement collision parts be
original equipment parts, either new
Genuine GM parts or recycled
original GM parts. Remember,
recycled parts will not be covered by
your GM vehicle warranty.
Insurance pays the bill for the repair,
but you must live with the repair.
Depending on your policy limits,
your insurance company may
initially value the repair usingaftermarket parts. Discuss this with
your repair professional, and insist
on Genuine GM parts. Remember,
if your vehicle is leased, you may be
obligated to have the vehicle
repaired with Genuine GM parts,
even if your insurance coverage
does not pay the full cost.
If another party's insurance
company is paying for the repairs,
you are not obligated to accept a
repair valuation based on that
insurance company's collision policy
repair limits, as you have no
contractual limits with that company.
In such cases, you can have control
of the repair and parts choices as
long as the cost stays within
reasonable limits.
Service Publications
Ordering Information
Service Manuals
Service Manuals have the diagnosis
and repair information on the
engines, transmission, axle,
suspension, brakes, electrical,
steering, body, etc.
Service Bulletins
Service Bulletins give additional
technical service information
needed to knowledgeably service
General Motors cars and trucks.
Each bulletin contains instructions
to assist in the diagnosis and
service of your vehicle.

Black plate (3,1)Chevrolet Impala Owner Manual - 2011
INDEX i-3
Cluster, IP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
Collision Damage Repair . . . . . 13-11
Compact Spare Tire . . . . . . . . . . 10-68
Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
Control of a Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Convenience Net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Convex Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
CoolantEngine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-16
Engine TemperatureGauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Engine Temperature Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-15 Engine Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-30
Courtesy Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Courtesy Transportation
Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-9
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-32 Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Cupholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Customer Assistance . . . . . . . . . . 13-5 Customer Assistance (cont.)
Text Telephone (TTY)
Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-5
Customer Assistance
Offices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-4
Customer Information Service PublicationsOrdering Information . . . . . . 13-13
Customer Satisfaction
Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-1
D
Damage Repair, Collision . . . . . 13-11
Danger, Warnings, andCautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
Data Recorders, Event . . . . . . . 13-16
Daytime Running Lamps/
Automatic Headlamp
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Defensive Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
Delayed Entry Lighting . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Delayed Exit Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Devices, Auxiliary . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-19
Dome Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6 Door
Ajar Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-29
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6
Power Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7
Driver Information Center (DIC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Driving Characteristics andTowing Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-41
Defensive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
Drunk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
Highway Hypnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-8
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . . . 9-8
If the Vehicle is Stuck . . . . . . . . . 9-11
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Vehicle Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . 9-12
Winter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-9
Driving for Better Fuel Economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-19

Black plate (4,1)Chevrolet Impala Owner Manual - 2011
i-4 INDEX
E
E85 Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-37
Electrical Equipment,Add-On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-47
Electrical System Engine CompartmentFuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-34
Fuses and Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-34
Instrument Panel Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-37
Overload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-33
Electronic Stability Control . . . . . 9-31
Electronic Stability Control Indicator Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-21
Engine
Air Cleaner/Filter . . . . . . . . . . . 10-13
Check and Service EngineSoon Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Compartment Overview . . . . . . . 10-6
Coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-16
Coolant Temperature
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13 Engine (cont.)
Coolant Temperature
Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-15
Cooling System Messages . . . 5-30
Drive Belt Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-3
Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-24
Overheated Protection Operating Mode . . . . . . . . . . . 10-21
Overheating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-19
Power Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-31
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-23
Running While Parked . . . . . . . . 9-24
Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-18
Engine Oil Life System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-10
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-31
Entry Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Equipment, Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-46
Event Data Recorders . . . . . . . . 13-16
Extender, Safety Belt . . . . . . . . . . 3-24
Exterior Lamp Controls . . . . . . . . . 6-2
F
Filter
Engine Air Cleaner . . . . . . . . . 10-13
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Flashers, Hazard Warning . . . . . . 6-4
Flat Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-59
Flat Tire, Changing . . . . . . . . . . . 10-61
Floor Mats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-84
Fluid Automatic Transmission . . . . .10-11
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-24
Power Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-21
Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-22
Fog Lamps Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Front Fog Lamps
Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Front Seats Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Heated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7

Black plate (5,1)Chevrolet Impala Owner Manual - 2011
INDEX i-5
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-35Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-36
E85 (85% Ethanol) . . . . . . . . . . . 9-37
Filling a Portable Fuel
Container . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-40
Filling the Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-38
Fuels in Foreign Countries . . . . 9-36
Gasoline Specifications . . . . . . . 9-36
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Recommended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-35
Requirements, California . . . . . 9-36
System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-32
Fuel Economy Driving for Better . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-19
Fuses Engine Compartment
Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-34
Fuses and Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-34
Instrument Panel Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-37G
Garage Door Opener . . . . . . . . . . 5-42
Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-42
Gasoline Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-36
Gauges Engine Coolant
Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Warning Lights and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
General Information Service and Maintenance . . . . . 11-1
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-41
Vehicle Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2
Glove Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
GM Mobility Reimbursement Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-6
H
Halogen Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-29
Hazard Warning Flashers . . . . . . . 6-4
Head Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
HeadlampsAiming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-29
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-29
Daytime Running Lamps/Automatic Headlamp
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Headlamps, Front Turn
Signal, Sidemarker, and
Parking Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-30
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
High/Low Beam Changer . . . . . . 6-3
Heated Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
Heated Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Heating and Air Conditioning . . . 8-1
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24

Black plate (9,1)Chevrolet Impala Owner Manual - 2011
INDEX i-9
R
Radio FrequencyIdentification (RFID) . . . . . . . . 13-17
Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-17
Radios AM-FM Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-6
Reception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-12
Satellite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-8
Reading Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Rear Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8
Rear Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Rearview Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15 Automatic Dimming . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Reclining Seatbacks . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
Recommended Fluids and Lubricants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-6
Recommended Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . 9-35
Records Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-9
Recreational Vehicle
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-74
Reimbursement Program, GM Mobility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-6 Remote Keyless Entry
(RKE) System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2, 2-3
Remote Vehicle Start . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5
Replacement Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . 10-33
Replacement Parts Airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-40
Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-8
Replacing Airbag System . . . . . . 3-40
Replacing LATCH System Parts After a Crash . . . . . . . . . . . 3-55
Replacing Safety Belt
System Parts After a
Crash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-25
Reporting Safety Defects Canadian Government . . . . . . 13-15
General Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-15
U.S. Government . . . . . . . . . . . 13-14
Restraints Where to Put . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-48
Retained Accessory Power (RAP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-18
Ride Control Systems . . . . . . . . . 9-31 Electronic Stability (ESC) . . . . . 9-31
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-32 Roadside Assistance
Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-7
Roof Sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19
Rotation, Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-51
Routing, Engine Drive Belt . . . . . 12-3
Running the Vehicle While Parked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-24
S
Safety Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-25
Extender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-24
How to Wear Safety BeltsProperly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-13
Lap Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-24
Lap-Shoulder Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-19
Reminders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Replacing After a Crash . . . . . . 3-25
Use During Pregnancy . . . . . . . . 3-23
Safety Defects Reporting Canadian Government . . . . . . 13-15
General Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-15
U.S. Government . . . . . . . . . . . 13-14
Safety Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9

Black plate (11,1)Chevrolet Impala Owner Manual - 2011
INDEX i-11
T
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
TaillampsBulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-32
Text Telephone (TTY) Users . . . 13-5
Theft-Deterrent Systems . . . . . . . 2-13 Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7
Tires Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . 10-53
Chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-58
Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-61
Compact Spare . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-68
Designations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-41
Different Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-55
If a Tire Goes Flat . . . . . . . . . . 10-59
Inflation Monitor System . . . . 10-47
Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-51
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-34
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22 Tires (cont.)
Pressure Monitor System . . . 10-46
Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-51
Sidewall Labeling . . . . . . . . . . . 10-39
Terminology and
Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-41
Uniform Tire Quality Grading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-55
Wheel Alignment and Tire
Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-57
Wheel Replacement . . . . . . . . 10-57
When It Is Time for New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-52
Towing
Driving Characteristics . . . . . . . . 9-41
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-46
General Information . . . . . . . . . . 9-41
Recreational Vehicle . . . . . . . . 10-74
Trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-44
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-74 Traction
Control System (TCS) . . . . . . . . 9-29
Control System Warning
Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-21
Trailer Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-44
Transmission Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-25
Fluid, Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . .10-11
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-35
Transportation Program, Courtesy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-9
Trunk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10
Turn and Lane-Change Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Turn Signal Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-32

Black plate (12,1)Chevrolet Impala Owner Manual - 2011
i-12 INDEX
U
Uniform Tire QualityGrading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-55
Universal Remote System . . . . . 5-42 Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-47
Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-42
Using this Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
V
Vehicle
Canadian Owners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-12
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-28
Personalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-36
Remote Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-74 Vehicle Care
Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-44
Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-1
Service Parts IdentificationLabel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-1
Vehicle Reminder
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-36
Ventilation, Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-5
Visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
W
Warning Lights, Gauges, and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv Cautions and Danger . . . . . . . . . . . .iv
Hazard Flashers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Washer Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-22
Washer Fluid Messages . . . . . . . 5-36 Wheels
Alignment and Tire
Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-57
Different Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-55
Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-57
When It Is Time for New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-52
Where to Put the Restraint . . . . 3-48
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16 Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Windshield
Wiper/Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-9
Wiper Blade Replacement . . . . 10-27