
Black plate (106,1)Chevrolet Silverado Owner Manual - 2011
10-106 Vehicle Care
6. Use an adequate clampingdevice designed for towing to
ensure that the front wheels are
locked into the straight position.
{WARNING
Shifting a four-wheel-drive
vehicle's transfer case into
N (Neutral) can cause the vehicle
to roll even if the transmission is
in P (Park). The driver or others
could be injured. Make sure the
parking brake is firmly set before
the transfer case is shifted to
N (Neutral).
7. Shift the transfer case to N (Neutral). See “Shifting into
Neutral” underFour-Wheel Drive
on page 9‑53for the proper
procedure to select the neutral
position for the vehicle.
8. Turn the ignition to LOCK/OFF.
After towing, see “Shifting Out of
Neutral” underFour-Wheel Drive
on
page 9‑53.
Appearance Care
Exterior Care
Silicone grease on weatherstrips will
make them last longer, seal better,
and not stick or squeak. Apply
silicone grease with a clean cloth.
During very cold, damp weather
frequent application may be
required. See Recommended Fluids
and Lubricants on page 11‑8.
Washing the Vehicle
The best way to preserve the
vehicle's finish is to keep it clean
by washing it often.
Notice: Certain cleaners contain
chemicals that can damage the
emblems or nameplates on the
vehicle. Check the cleaning
product label. If it states that it
should not be used on plastic
parts, do not use it on the vehicle
or damage may occur and it
would not be covered by the
warranty. Do not wash the vehicle in direct
sunlight. Use a car washing soap.
Do not use cleaning agents that
are petroleum based or that contain
acid or abrasives, as they can
damage the paint, metal or plastic
on the vehicle. Approved cleaning
products can be obtained from your
dealer. Follow all manufacturers'
directions regarding correct
product usage, necessary safety
precautions and appropriate
disposal of any vehicle care
product.
Rinse the vehicle well, before
washing and after to remove all
cleaning agents completely. If they
are allowed to dry on the surface,
they could stain.
Dry the finish with a soft, clean
chamois or an all-cotton towel to
avoid surface scratches and water
spotting.

Black plate (111,1)Chevrolet Silverado Owner Manual - 2011
Vehicle Care 10-111
Interior Care
The vehicle's interior will continue to
look its best if it is cleaned often.
Although not always visible,
dust and dirt can accumulate
on the upholstery. Dirt can damage
carpet, fabric, leather, and plastic
surfaces. Regular vacuuming is
recommended to remove particles
from the upholstery. It is important to
keep the upholstery from becoming
and remaining heavily soiled. Soils
should be removed as quickly as
possible. The vehicle's interior may
experience extremes of heat that
could cause stains to set rapidly.Lighter colored interiors may require
more frequent cleaning. Use care
because newspapers and garments
that transfer color to home
furnishings may also transfer
color to the vehicle's interior.
When cleaning the vehicle's interior,
only use cleaners specifically
designed for the surfaces being
cleaned. Permanent damage may
result from using cleaners on
surfaces for which they were not
intended. Use glass cleaner only
on glass. Remove any accidental
over-spray from other surfaces
immediately. To prevent over-spray,
apply cleaner directly to the
cleaning cloth.Notice:
Using abrasive cleaners
when cleaning glass surfaces on
the vehicle, could scratch the
glass and/or cause damage to
the rear window defogger. When
cleaning the glass on the vehicle,
use only a soft cloth and glass
cleaner.
Many cleaners contain solvents that
may become concentrated in the
vehicle's breathing space. Before
using cleaners, read and adhere to
all safety instructions on the label.
While cleaning the vehicle's interior,
maintain adequate ventilation by
opening the vehicle's doors and
windows.
Dust may be removed from small
buttons and knobs using a small
brush with soft bristles.
Products that remove odors from
the vehicle's upholstery and clean
the vehicle's glass can be obtained
from your dealer.

Black plate (1,1)Chevrolet Silverado Owner Manual - 2011
INDEX i-1
A
Accessories andModifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Accessory Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-35
Active Fuel Management™ . . . . 9-41
Add-On Electrical Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-123
Adding a Snow Plow or Similar Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . 9-123
Adding Equipment to the Airbag-Equipped Vehicle . . . . . 3-48
Adjustable Throttle and Brake Pedal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-32
Adjustments Lumbar, Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
Air Cleaner/Filter, Engine . . . . . 10-18
Air Vents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-11
Airbag
Light On-Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-23 Airbag System
Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-50
How Does an Airbag
Restrain? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-37
Passenger Sensing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-42
What Makes an Airbag
Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-36
What Will You See After an Airbag Inflates? . . . . . . . . . . 3-37
When Should an Airbag
Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-34
Where Are the Airbags? . . . . . . 3-33
Airbags Adding Equipment to theVehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-48
On-Off Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-23
On-Off Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-39
Passenger Status Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Readiness Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Servicing Airbag-Equipped
Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-48
System Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-31 Alarm System
Anti-Theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
AM-FM Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-8
Antenna Satellite Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-14
Anti-Theft Alarm System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Alarm System Messages . . . . . 5-50
Antilock Brake System (ABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-67
Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-30
Appearance Care Exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-106
Interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-111
Armrest Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Ashtrays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Assistance Program, Roadside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-7, 13-9
Audio Players . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-14 CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-14
CD/DVD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-21

Black plate (3,1)Chevrolet Silverado Owner Manual - 2011
INDEX i-3
C
Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
CaliforniaFuel Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . 9-84
Perchlorate MaterialsRequirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Camera, Rear Vision . . . . . . . . . . 9-78
Canadian Vehicle Owners . . . . . . . . iii
Capacities and Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2
Carbon Monoxide Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-42
Tailgate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-20
Cargo Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Cautions, Danger, and
Warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
CD DVD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-21
CD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-14 Center Console Storage . . . . . . . . 4-2
Center High-Mounted
Stoplamp (CHMSL) and
Cargo Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-45
Center Seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
Chains, Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-81
Charging System Light . . . . . . . . 5-26
Check Engine Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-27
IgnitionTransmission Lock . . . . . . . . 10-38
Child Restraints Infants and YoungChildren . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-53
Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children . . . . . . . . . 3-59
Older Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-51
Securing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-68, 3-71
Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-55
Where to Put the Restraint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-57 Cigarette Lighter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-48
Cleaning
Exterior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-106
Interior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-111
Climate Control Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1, 8-4
Dual Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-5
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Cluster, IP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Clutch, Hydraulic . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-17
Collision Damage Repair . . . . . 13-11
Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
Control of a Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Convex Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Coolant Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-20
Engine TemperatureGauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-19
Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-19 Engine Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-46
Courtesy Transportation Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-10

Black plate (4,1)Chevrolet Silverado Owner Manual - 2011
i-4 INDEX
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-73Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-34
Cupholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Customer Assistance Offices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-4, 13-5
Text Telephone (TTY)Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-6
Customer Information Service PublicationsOrdering Information . . . . . . 13-14
Customer Satisfaction
Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-1, 13-3
D
Damage Repair, Collision . . . . . 13-11
Danger, Warnings, andCautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
Data Recorders, Event . . . . . . . 13-17
Daytime Running
Lamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Defensive Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Devices, Auxiliary . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-33 Dome Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Door
Ajar Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-45
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Power Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Rear Doors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10
Driver Information Center (DIC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-34
Driving Characteristics and
Towing Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-90
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 . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Vehicle Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . 9-23
Winter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-20 Driving for Better Fuel
Economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-34
Dual Automatic Climate Control System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-5
Dual Tire Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-73
DVD
Rear Seat EntertainmentSystem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-38
DVD/CD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-21
E
E85 Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-86
Electrical Equipment, Add-On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-123
Electrical System Engine CompartmentFuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-48
Fuses and Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-48
Instrument Panel Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-52
Overload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-47

Black plate (5,1)Chevrolet Silverado Owner Manual - 2011
INDEX i-5
EngineAir Cleaner/Filter . . . . . . . . . . . 10-18
Check and Service Engine
Soon Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-27
Compartment Overview . . . . . . . 10-6
Coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-20
Coolant Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-37
Coolant Temperature Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-19
Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-19
Cooling System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-46
Drive Belt Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-6
Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-42
Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-26
Oil Pressure Gauge . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
Overheated Protection Operating Mode . . . . . . . . . . . 10-26
Overheating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-24
Power Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-47
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-32
Running While Parked . . . . . . . . 9-42
Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-35 Engine Oil
Life System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-9
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-47
Entry Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-9
Equipment, Towing . . . . . . . . . . . 9-111
Event Data Recorders . . . . . . . . 13-17
Exit Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-9
Extender, Safety Belt . . . . . . . . . . 3-29
Exterior Lamp Controls . . . . . . . . . 6-1
Exterior Lamps Off Reminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
F
Fan
Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-26
Fast Idle System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-37
Features Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-13
Filter Engine Air Cleaner . . . . . . . . . 10-18
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Flashers, Hazard Warning . . . . . . 6-5 Flat Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-81
Flat Tire, Changing . . . . . . . . . . . 10-83
Floor Mats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-114
Fluid
AutomaticTransmission . . . . . . . 10-11, 10-14
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-30
Four-Wheel Drive
Transfer Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-53
Power Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-27
Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-28
Fog Lamps Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Folding Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Four-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . 10-32, 9-53
Four-Wheel-Drive Light . . . . . . . . 5-31
Front Axle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-34
Front Fog Lamps Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-33
Front Seats Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Heated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11

Black plate (6,1)Chevrolet Silverado Owner Manual - 2011
i-6 INDEX
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-83Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-85
E85 (85% Ethanol) . . . . . . . . . . . 9-86
Filling a Portable Fuel
Container . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-89
Filling the Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-88
Fuels in Foreign Countries . . . . 9-85
Gasoline Specifications . . . . . . . 9-84
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . . 5-33
Management, Active . . . . . . . . . . 9-41
Recommended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-84
Requirements, California . . . . . 9-84
System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-48
Fuel Economy Driving for Better . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-34
Full-Size Spare Tire . . . . . . . . . . 10-95
Fuses Engine CompartmentFuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-48
Fuses and Circuit
Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-48
Instrument Panel Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-52G
Garage Door Opener . . . . . . . . . . 5-61Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-61
Gasoline Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-84
Gauges Engine Coolant
Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-19
Engine Oil Pressure . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Trip Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Voltmeter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-20
Warning Lights and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
General Information Service and Maintenance . . . . . 11-1
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-90
Vehicle Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Glass Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . 10-40
Glove Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
GM Mobility Reimbursement Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-7
H
Halogen Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-43
Hazard Warning Flashers . . . . . . . 6-5
Head Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Headlamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-43
Aiming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-40
Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-43
Daytime RunningLamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . 5-33
High/Low Beam Changer . . . . . . 6-3
Heated Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11
Heated Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
Heater Engine Coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-37
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . . 5-33
High-Speed Operation . . . . . . . . 10-65
Highway Hypnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-19
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . . . 9-19
Hill Start Assist (HSA) . . . . . . . . . 9-70
Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-5

Black plate (7,1)Chevrolet Silverado Owner Manual - 2011
INDEX i-7
Horn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
How to Wear Safety BeltsProperly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-17
Hydraulic Clutch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-17
I
Idle System Fast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-37
Ignition Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-33
Ignition Transmission Lock
Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-38
Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Infants and Young Children, Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-53
Instrument Cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Instrument Panel Storage Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .iii, 7-1
J
Jump Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-96
K
Key and Lock Messages . . . . . . . 5-48
Keyless Entry
Remote (RKE) System . . . . . . . . 2-3
Keyless Entry System . . . . . . . . . . 2-3
Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
L
Labeling, Tire Sidewall . . . . . . . . 10-56
Lamp Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-48
Lamps Auxiliary RoofMounted Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Cargo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Daytime Running (DRL) . . . . . . . 6-4
Dome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Exterior Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1
Exterior Lamps Off Reminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
License Plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-46
Malfunction Indicator . . . . . . . . . 5-27 Lamps (cont.)
Pick-Up Box Identification
and Fender Marker . . . . . . . . 10-44
Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Taillamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-44
Lap Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-28
Lap-Shoulder Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-23
LATCH System Replacing Parts After a
Crash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-68
Latch, Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children . . . . . . . . . . 3-59
Latches, Seatback . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11
Lighter, Cigarette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
Lighting Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-9
Exit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-9
Illumination Control . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Lights Airbag On-Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-23
Airbag Readiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Antilock Brake System(ABS) Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-30