
Black plate (85,1)Chevrolet Silverado Owner Manual - 2011
Driving and Operating 9-85
Fuels in Foreign
Countries
If you plan on driving in another
country outside the United States
or Canada, the proper fuel might
be hard to find. 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.
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 DetergentGasoline. 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.

Black plate (9,1)Chevrolet Silverado Owner Manual - 2011
Vehicle Care 10-9
Cold Temperature Operation
If in an area of extreme cold,
where the temperature falls below
−29°C (−20°F), use either an
SAE 5W-30 synthetic oil or an
SAE 0W-30 engine oil. Both provide
easier cold starting for the engine
at extremely low temperatures.
Always use an oil that meets the
required specification, GM6094M.
See“What Kind of Engine Oil to
Use” for more information.
Engine Oil Additives/Engine
Oil Flushes
Do not add anything to the oil.
The recommended oils with the
starburst symbol that meet GM
Standard GM6094M are all that is
needed for good performance and
engine protection.
Engine oil system flushes are not
recommended and could cause
engine damage not covered by
the vehicle warranty.
Engine Oil Life System
When to Change Engine Oil
This vehicle has a computer system
that indicates when to change the
engine oil and filter. This is based
on engine revolutions and engine
temperature, and not on mileage.
Based on driving conditions, the
mileage at which an oil change is
indicated can vary considerably.
For the oil life system to work
properly, the system must be reset
every time the oil is changed.
On some vehicles, when the system
has calculated that oil life has been
diminished, a CHANGE ENGINE
OIL SOON message comes on
to indicate that an oil change
is necessary. See Engine Oil
Messages
on page 5‑47. Change
the oil as soon as possible within
the next 1 000 km (600 miles). It is
possible that, if driving under the best conditions, the oil life system
might not indicate that an oil change
is necessary for over a year.
However, the engine oil and
filter must be changed at least
once a year and at this time
the system must be reset.
For vehicles without the CHANGE
ENGINE OIL SOON message, an
oil change is needed when the OIL
LIFE REMAINING percentage is
near 0%. Your dealer has trained
service people who will perform this
work using genuine parts and reset
the system. It is also important to
check the oil regularly and keep it
at the proper level.
If the system is ever reset
accidentally, the oil must be
changed at 5 000 km (3,000 miles)
since the last oil change.
Remember to reset the oil life
system whenever the oil is changed.

Black plate (21,1)Chevrolet Silverado Owner Manual - 2011
Vehicle Care 10-21
What to Use
{WARNING
Adding only plain water or some
other liquid to the cooling system
can be dangerous. Plain water
and other liquids, can boil before
the proper coolant mixture will.
The vehicle's coolant warning
system is set for the proper
coolant mixture. With plain water
or the wrong mixture, the engine
could get too hot but you would
not get the overheat warning.
The engine could catch fire and
you or others could be burned.
Use a 50/50 mixture of clean,
drinkable water and DEX-COOL
coolant.Use a 50/50 mixture of clean,
drinkable water and DEX-COOL
coolant. If using this mixture,
nothing else needs to be added.
This mixture:.Gives freezing protection down
to
−37°C (−34°F), outside
temperature
.Gives boiling protection up
to 129°C (265°F), engine
temperature
.Protects against rust and
corrosion
.Will not damage aluminum parts
.Helps keep the proper engine
temperature Notice:
If an improper coolant
mixture is used, the engine could
overheat and be badly damaged.
The repair cost would not be
covered by the vehicle warranty.
Too much water in the mixture
can freeze and crack the engine,
radiator, heater core, and other
parts.
Notice: If extra inhibitors
and/or additives are used in
the vehicle's cooling system,
the vehicle could be damaged.
Use only the proper mixture of
the engine coolant listed in this
manual for the cooling system.
See Recommended Fluids and
Lubricants
on page 11‑8for more
information.

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