Black plate (8,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2011
11-8 Service and Maintenance
UsageFluid/Lubricant
Front Axle (1500 Series Vehicles with Four-Wheel Drive) SAE 80W-90 Axle Lubricant (GM Part No. 89021671, in
Canada 89021672).
Front Axle (2500 Series Vehicles with Four-Wheel Drive) SAE 75W-90 Synthetic Axle Lubricant (GM Part No. 89021677, in
Canada 89021678).
Rear Axle SAE 75W-90 Synthetic Axle Lubricant (GM Part No. 89021677, in
Canada 89021678).
Transfer Case (Four‐Wheel Drive) DEXRON
®-VI Automatic Transmission Fluid.
Front Axle Propshaft Spline or One-Piece Propshaft Spline
(Two-Wheel Drive with Auto. Trans.) Spline Lubricant, Special Lubricant (GM Part No. 12345879, in
Canada 10953511).
Hood Hinges Multi-Purpose Lubricant, Superlube (GM Part No. 12346241, in
Canada 10953474).
Outer Tailgate Handle Pivot Points Multi-Purpose Lubricant, Superlube (GM Part No. 12346241, in
Canada 10953474).
Weatherstrip Conditioning Weatherstrip Lubricant (GM Part No. 3634770, in Canada 10953518) or
Dielectric Silicone Grease (GM Part No. 12345579, in Canada 992887).
Weatherstrip Squeaks Synthetic Grease with Teflon, Superlube (GM Part No. 12371287, in
Canada 10953437).
Black plate (3,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2011
Technical Data 12-3
ApplicationCapacities
Metric English
Transmission Fluid (Pan Removal and Filter Replacement)
6L80-E Transmission 5.7 L 6.0 qt
6L90-E Transmission 6.0 L 6.3 qt
Transfer Case Fluid 1.5 L 1.6 qt
Wheel Nut Torque 190 Y140 lb ft
†Oil filter should be changed at every oil change.
All capacities are approximate. When adding, be sure to fill to the approximate level, as recommended in this
manual. Recheck fluid level after filling.
Engine Specifications
Engine VIN CodeTransmission Spark Plug Gap
5.3L V8 FlexFuel with Active
Fuel Management™ (Iron
Block) 0
Automatic 1.01 mm (0.040 in)
5.3L V8 FlexFuel with Active
Fuel Management™ (Aluminum
Block) 3
Automatic 1.01 mm (0.040 in)
6.0L V8 with Active Fuel
Management™ (Iron Block) G
Automatic 1.01 mm (0.040 in)
Black plate (7,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2011
Customer Information 13-7
Here are a few of the valuable tools
and services you will have
access to:
.My Showroom: Find and save
information on vehicles and
current offers in your area.
.My Dealers: Save details such
as address and phone number
for each of your preferred GM
dealers.
.My Driveway: Access quick
links to parts and service
estimates, check trade-in
values, or schedule a service
appointment by adding the
vehicles you own to your
driveway profile.
.My Preferences: Manage your
profile and use tools and forms
with greater ease.
To sign up, visit the My GM.ca
section within www.gm.ca.
GM Mobility
Reimbursement Program
This program is available to
qualified applicants for cost
reimbursement of eligible
aftermarket adaptive equipment
required for your vehicle,
such as hand controls or a
wheelchair/scooter lift for the
vehicle.
For more information on the limited
offer, visit www.gmmobility.com or
call the GM Mobility Assistance
Center at 1-800-323-9935.
Text Telephone (TTY) users,
call 1-800-833-9935. General Motors of Canada
also has a Mobility Program.
Call 1-800-GM-DRIVE (463-7483)
for details. TTY users call
1-800-263-3830.
Roadside Assistance
Program (U.S. and
Canada)
For U.S.‐purchased vehicles,
call
1‐800‐243‐8872; (Text
Telephone (TTY): 1‐888‐889‐2438).
For Canadian‐purchased vehicles,
call 1-800-268-6800.
Service is available 24 hours a day,
365 days a year.
Black plate (4,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2011
i-4 INDEX
Dual Automatic ClimateControl System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-4
DVD Rear Seat EntertainmentSystem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-36
DVD/CD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-20
E
E85 Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-74
Electrical Equipment, Add-On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-97
Electrical System Engine Compartment
Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-41
Fuses and Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-41
Instrument Panel Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-46
Overload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-40
Engine Air Cleaner/Filter . . . . . . . . . . . 10-15
Check and Service EngineSoon Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Compartment Overview . . . . . . . 10-6
Coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-17 Engine (cont.)
Coolant Temperature
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-16
Cooling System Messages . . . 5-40
Drive Belt Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-4
Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-37
Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-23
Oil Pressure Gauge . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Overheated Protection
Operating Mode . . . . . . . . . . . 10-23
Overheating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-21
Power Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-42
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-27
Running While Parked . . . . . . . . 9-38
Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-32
Engine Oil Life System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10-11
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-41
Entry Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Equipment, Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-87
Event Data Recorders . . . . . . . . 13-17
Exit Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Extender, Safety Belt . . . . . . . . . . 3-40
Exterior Lamp Controls . . . . . . . . . 6-1
Exterior Lamps Off Reminder . . . 6-2
F
Fan Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-23
Features Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-9
Filter Engine Air Cleaner . . . . . . . . . 10-15
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Flashers, Hazard Warning . . . . . . 6-5
Flat Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-71
Flat Tire, Changing . . . . . . . . . . . 10-73
Floor Mats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10-105
Fluid Automatic Transmission . . . . 10-12
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-27
Four-Wheel DriveTransfer Case . . . . . . . . . 9-46, 9-51
Power Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-24
Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-25
Fog Lamps
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Folding Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19
Four-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-29, 9-46, 9-51
Front Axle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-30
Black plate (10,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2011
i-10 INDEX
S
Safety Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-24Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-40
Extender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-40
How to Wear Safety BeltsProperly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-27
Lap Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-39
Lap-Shoulder Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-33
Reminders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
Replacing After a Crash . . . . . . 3-40
Use During Pregnancy . . . . . . . . 3-38
Safety Defects Reporting Canadian Government . . . . . . 13-16
General Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-16
U.S. Government . . . . . . . . . . . 13-15
Safety Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Safety System Check . . . . . . . . . . 3-40
Satellite Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-9
Scheduled Maintenance . . . . . . . 11-3
Scheduling Appointments . . . . . 13-10
Seats
Adjustment, Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Center Seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Head Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Heated and VentilatedFront . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10 Seats (cont.)
Heated Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9
Heated, Rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11
Lumbar Adjustment, Front . . . . . 3-6
Power Adjustment, Front . . . . . . 3-4
Reclining Seatbacks . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
Second Row . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11, 3-15
Third Row Seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-20
Second Row Seats . . . . . . 3-11, 3-15
Secondary Latch System . . . . . 10-85
Securing Child
Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-74, 3-77
Security Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-28
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Service Accessories andModifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Doing Your Own Work . . . . . . . . 10-4
Engine Soon Light . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Maintenance Records . . . . . . .11-10
Maintenance, General Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-1
Parts Identification Label . . . . . 12-1
Publications Ordering Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-14
Scheduling Appointments . . . 13-10 Servicing the
Airbag-Equipped Vehicle . . . . . 3-54
Shift Lock Control Function Check, Automatic
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-33
Shifting Into Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-34
Out of Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-36
Side Blind Zone Alert . . . . . . . . . . 9-63
Signals, Turn and Lane-Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Snow Plow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-97
Specifications and Capacities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
StabiliTrak
®Indicator Light . . . . 5-26
StabiliTrak®System . . . . . . . . . . . 9-55
Start Vehicle, Remote . . . . . . . . . . 2-6
Starter Switch Check . . . . . . . . . 10-32
Starting the Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-32
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-4 Fluid, Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-24
Wheel Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
Wheel Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
Steps
Power Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Black plate (11,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2011
INDEX i-11
Stoplamps and Back-Up LampsBulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-38
Storage Rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Storage Areas Armrest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Cargo Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Center Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Glove Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Roof Rack System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3
Stuck Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-22
Sun Visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-23
Sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-24
Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
System Roof Rack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3
T
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Taillamps
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-38
Text Telephone (TTY) Users . . . 13-6
Theft-Deterrent Systems . . . . . . . 2-16 Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Third-Row Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-20
Throttle, Adjustable . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-29 Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
Tires
Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . 10-65
Chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-70
Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-73
Designations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-52
Different Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-67
Full-Size Spare . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-88
If a Tire Goes Flat . . . . . . . . . . 10-71
Inflation Monitor System . . . . 10-60
Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-63
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-46
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
Pressure Monitor System . . . 10-58
Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-63
Secondary Latch System . . . 10-85
Sidewall Labeling . . . . . . . . . . . 10-50
Terminology andDefinitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-54
Uniform Tire Quality Grading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-68
Wheel Alignment and Tire Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-69
Wheel Replacement . . . . . . . . 10-69
When It Is Time for New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-65 Tow/Haul Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-44
Tow/Haul Mode Light . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
Towing
Driving Characteristics . . . . . . . . 9-78
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-87
General Information . . . . . . . . . . 9-78
Recreational Vehicle . . . . . . . . 10-93
Trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-82
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-93
Trailer Tow Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
Trailer Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-82
Transfer Case . . . . . . . . . . . 9-46, 9-51
Transmission Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-39
Fluid, Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-12
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-47
Transportation Program, Courtesy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-10
Trip Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Turn and Lane-Change Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Turn Signal Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-38
Black plate (12,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2011
i-12 INDEX
U
Ultrasonic Parking Assist . . . . . . 9-61
Uniform Tire QualityGrading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-68
Universal Remote System . . . . . 5-57 Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-62
Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-57
Using this Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
V
Vehicle Canadian Owners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-23
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-38
Personalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-49
Remote Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-93
Vehicle Care Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-57 Vehicle Identification
Number (VIN) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-1
Service Parts Identification
Label . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-1
Vehicle Reminder Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-47
Ventilation, Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-13
Visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-23
Voltmeter Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18W
Warning Brake System Light . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Warning Lights, Gauges, and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv Cautions and Danger . . . . . . . . . . . .iv
Hazard Flashers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Washer Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-25
Washer Fluid Messages . . . . . . . 5-48
Wheels Alignment and TireBalance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-69
Different Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-67
Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-69 When It Is Time for New
Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-65
Where to Put the Restraint . . . . 3-63
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-22 Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-22
Windshield Wiper/Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-20
Wiper Blade Replacement . . . . 10-34
Wipers Rear Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6