
Black plate (4,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2011
11-4 Service and Maintenance
.Engine air cleaner filter
inspection. SeeEngine Air
Cleaner/Filter on page 10‑15.
.Brake system inspection
(or every 12 months, whichever
occurs first).
.Steering and suspension
inspection. Visual inspection for
damaged, loose, or missing
parts or signs of wear.
.Lubricate the front suspension,
steering linkage, and parking
brake cable guides. For vehicles
mainly driven in heavy city traffic
in hot weather, in hilly or
mountainous terrain, when
frequently towing a trailer,
or used for taxi, police,
or delivery service, lubricate
every 5 000 km/3,000 miles.
Control arm ball joints on
2500 series vehicles require
lubrication but should not be
lubricated unless their
temperature is −12°C (10°F) or
higher, or they could be damaged. Control arm ball joints
on 1500 series vehicles are
maintenance‐free.
.Body hinges and latches, key
lock cylinders, folding seat
hardware, and liftgate hinges,
linkage, and handle pivot points
lubrication. See
Recommended
Fluids and Lubricants on
page 11‑7. More frequent
lubrication may be required
when the vehicle is exposed to a
corrosive environment. Applying
silicone grease on weatherstrips
with a clean cloth makes them
last longer, seal better, and not
stick or squeak.
.Restraint system components
check. See Safety System
Check on page 3‑40.
.Fuel system inspection for
damage or leaks.
.Exhaust system and nearby heat
shields inspection for loose or
damaged components.
Additional Required Services
Every 12 000 km/7,500 Miles
.Rotate tires. Tires should be
rotated every 12 000 km/
7,500 miles. See Tire Rotation
on page 10‑63.
At Each Fuel Stop
.Engine oil level check. See
Engine Oil on page 10‑7.
.Engine coolant level check. See
Engine Coolant on page 10‑17.
.Windshield washer fluid level
check. See Washer Fluid on
page 10‑25.

Black plate (5,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2011
Service and Maintenance 11-5
Once a Month
.Tire inflation pressures check.
SeeTire Pressure on
page 10‑57.
.Tire wear inspection. See Tire
Inspection on page 10‑63.
.Sunroof track and seal
inspection, if equipped. See
Sunroof on page 2‑24.
Once a Year
.See Starter Switch Check on
page 10‑32.
.See Automatic Transmission
Shift Lock Control Function
Check on page 10‑33.
.See Ignition Transmission Lock
Check on page 10‑33.
.See Park Brake and P (Park)
Mechanism Check on
page 10‑34.
.Hood and liftgate gas strut
support service. Visually inspect
gas strut for signs of wear,
corrosion, cracks, loss of
lubricant, or other damage.
Check the hold open ability of
gas strut. Replace as necessary
with genuine parts from your
dealer.
.Accelerator pedal check for
damage, high effort, or binding.
Replace if needed.
.Underbody flushing service.
First Engine Oil Change After
Every 80 000 km/50,000 Miles
.Engine air cleaner filter
replacement. See Engine Air
Cleaner/Filter on page 10‑15.
.Automatic transmission fluid
change (severe service) for
vehicles mainly driven in heavy
city traffic in hot weather, in hilly
or mountainous terrain, when
frequently towing a trailer,
or used for taxi, police, or delivery service. See
Automatic Transmission Fluid on
page 10‑12.
.Four‐wheel drive only: Transfer
case fluid change (severe
service) for vehicles mainly
driven when frequently towing a
trailer, or used for taxi, police,
or delivery service. Check vent
hose at transfer case for
kinks and proper installation.
Check to be sure vent hose is
unobstructed, clear, and free of
debris. During any maintenance,
if a power washer is used to
clean mud and dirt from the
underbody, care should be taken
to not directly spray the transfer
case output seals. High pressure
water can overcome the seals
and contaminate the transfer
case fluid. Contaminated fluid
will decrease the life of the
transfer case and should be
replaced.

Black plate (7,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2011
Service and Maintenance 11-7
Recommended Fluids, Lubricants, and Parts
Recommended Fluids and Lubricants
Fluids and lubricants identified below by name, part number, or specification can be obtained from your dealer.Usage Fluid/Lubricant
Engine Oil The engine requires engine oil approved to the dexos™
specification. Oils
meeting this specification can be identified with the dexos™ certification
mark. Look for and use only an engine oil that displays the dexos™
certification mark of the proper viscosity grade. See Engine Oil on
page 10‑7.
Engine Coolant 50/50 mixture of clean, drinkable water and use only DEX-COOL Coolant.
See
Engine Coolant on page 10‑17.
Hydraulic Brake System DOT 3 Hydraulic Brake Fluid (GM Part No. 12377967, in
Canada 89021320).
Windshield Washer Optikleen
®Washer Solvent.
Power Steering System GM Power Steering Fluid (GM Part No. 89021184, in Canada 89021186).
Automatic Transmission DEXRON
®-VI Automatic Transmission Fluid.
Key Lock Cylinders Multi-Purpose Lubricant, Superlube (GM Part No. 12346241, in
Canada 10953474).
Chassis Lubrication Chassis Lubricant (GM Part No. 12377985, in Canada 88901242) or
lubricant meeting requirements of NLGI #2, Category LB or GC-LB.

Black plate (1,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2011
INDEX i-1
A
Accessories andModifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Accessory Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-34
Active Fuel Management™ . . . . 9-37
Add-On Electrical Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-97
Adding a Snow Plow or Similar Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-97
Adding Equipment to the Airbag-Equipped Vehicle . . . . . 3-54
Adjustable Throttle and Brake Pedal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-29
Adjustments Lumbar, Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
Air Cleaner/Filter, Engine . . . . . 10-15
Air Vents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-13
Airbag System
Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-56
How Does an AirbagRestrain? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-47
Passenger Sensing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-49
What Makes an Airbag Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-47 Airbag System (cont.)
What Will You See After
an Airbag Inflates? . . . . . . . . . . 3-48
When Should an Airbag
Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-45
Where Are the Airbags? . . . . . . 3-43
Airbags Adding Equipment to theVehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-54
Passenger Status Indicator . . . 5-20
Readiness Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-19
Servicing Airbag-Equipped Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-54
System Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-41
Alarm System Anti-Theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
AM-FM Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-8
Antenna Rear Side Window . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-14
Satellite Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-14
Anti-Theft Alarm System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Alarm System Messages . . . . . 5-46
Antilock Brake System (ABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-53
Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25 Appearance Care
Exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-98
Interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-102
Armrest Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Assistance Program, Roadside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-7, 13-10
Audio Players . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-15
CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-15
CD/DVD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-20
Audio System Radio Reception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-13
Rear Seat (RSA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-46
Theft-Deterrent Feature . . . . . . . . 7-2
Automatic Dimming Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-20
Door Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Headlamp System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Level Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-58
Automatic Transmission . . . . . . . 9-39 Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-12
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-43
Automatic Transmission Shift Lock Control
Function Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-33
Auxiliary
Roof Mounted Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6

Black plate (2,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2011
i-2 INDEX
Auxiliary Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-31
Axle, Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-30
Axle, Rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-31
B
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-29Jump Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-88
Load Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Power Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-9
Voltage and ChargingMessages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-38
Blade Replacement, Wiper . . . 10-34
Bluetooth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-48
Brake Pedal and AdjustableThrottle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-29
Brake System Warning Light . . . 5-24
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-26 Antilock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-53
Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-54
Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-27
Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-54
System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-39
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Break-In, New Vehicle . . . . . . . . . 9-29 Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-40
Fog Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Halogen Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-38
Headlamp Aiming . . . . . . . . . . . 10-36
Headlamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-38
License Plate Lamps . . . . . . . 10-39
Taillamps, Turn Signal,
Stoplamps, and
Back-Up Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . 10-38
Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-65
C
Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7
California Fuel Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . 9-72
Perchlorate MaterialsRequirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Camera, Rear Vision . . . . . . . . . . 9-66
Canadian Vehicle Owners . . . . . . . . iii
Capacities and Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2
Carbon Monoxide
Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-37
Liftgate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10, 2-12
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-20 Cargo
Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Cautions, Danger, and Warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
CD DVD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-20
CD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-15
Center Console Storage . . . . . . . . 4-2
Center Seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Chains, Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-70
Charging System Light . . . . . . . . 5-21
Check
Engine Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
IgnitionTransmission Lock . . . . . . . . 10-33
Child Restraints
Infants and YoungChildren . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-59
Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children . . . . . . . . . 3-65
Older Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-57
Securing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-74, 3-77
Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-61
Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-41

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 (7,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2011
INDEX i-7
Lights (cont.)Front Fog Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-28
High-Beam On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-28
High/Low Beam Changer . . . . . . 6-2
Low Fuel Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-28
Safety Belt Reminders . . . . . . . . 5-18
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-28
StabiliTrak
®Indicator . . . . . . . . . 5-26
Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
Tow/Haul Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
Locking Rear Axle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-57
Locks Automatic Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Lockout Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Power Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . . . 5-28
Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH
SYSTEM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-65
Lumbar Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6 Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
M
MaintenanceRecords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-10
Maintenance Schedule Recommended Fluids andLubricants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-7
Scheduled Maintenance . . . . . . 11-3
Transfer Case . . . . . . . . . . 9-46, 9-51
Malfunction Indicator Lamp . . . . 5-22
Manual Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-43
Memory Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-9
Messages Airbag System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-45
Anti-Theft Alarm System . . . . . . 5-46
Battery Voltage andCharging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-38
Brake System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-39
Door Ajar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-39
Engine Cooling System . . . . . . . 5-40
Engine Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-41
Engine Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-42
Fuel System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-42
Key and Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-43
Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-43
Object Detection System . . . . . 5-43 Messages (cont.)
Ride Control System . . . . . . . . . . 5-44
Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-46
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-47
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-38
Vehicle Reminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-47
Washer Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-48
Mirrors Automatic Dimming . . . . . . . . . . . 2-20
Automatic Dimming
Rearview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-21
Convex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Folding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19
Heated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-20
Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
Manual Rearview . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-21
Park Tilt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-20
Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
Trailer Tow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
Monitor System, Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-58

Black plate (8,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2011
i-8 INDEX
N
Navigation SystemVehicle Data Recordingand Privacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-18
New Vehicle Break-In . . . . . . . . . . 9-29
O
Object Detection System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-43
Object Detection, Side Blind Zone Alert (SBZA) . . . . . . . . . . . 9-63
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14 Trip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Off-Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6 Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Oil Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-7
Engine Oil Life System . . . . . .10-11
Engine Oil Pressure
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-41
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-27
Older Children, Restraints . . . . . 3-57 Online Owner Center . . . . . . . . . . 13-6
OnStar
®System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-29
Operation, Infotainment System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-3
Outlets Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Overheated Engine
Protection
Operating Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-23
Overheating, Engine . . . . . . . . . . 10-21
P
Park Shifting Into . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-34
Shifting Out of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-36
Park Tilt Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-20
Parking Assist, Ultrasonic . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-61
Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-54
Brake and P (Park)
Mechanism Check . . . . . . . . 10-34
Over Things That Burn . . . . . . . 9-36
Passenger Airbag Status
Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-20
Passenger Sensing System . . . 3-49 Perchlorate Materials
Requirements, California . . . . . 10-3
Phone Bluetooth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-48
Power Door Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
Outlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Protection, Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-9
Retained Accessory (RAP) . . . 9-34
Seat Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Steering Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-24
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-22
Power Assist Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Pregnancy, Using Safety Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-38
Privacy Radio FrequencyIdentification (RFID) . . . . . . . 13-18
Program Courtesy Transportation . . . . 13-10
Proposition 65 Warning, California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3