
Black plate (5,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2011
Introduction v
Vehicle Symbol Chart
Here are some additional symbols
that may be found on the vehicle
and what they mean. For more
information on the symbol, refer to
the Index.
0:Adjustable Pedals
9:Airbag Readiness Light
#:Air Conditioning
!:Antilock Brake System (ABS)
g:Audio Steering Wheel Controls
or OnStar®
$: Brake System Warning Light
":Charging System
I:Cruise Control
B: Engine Coolant Temperature
O:Exterior Lamps
#:Fog Lamps
.: Fuel Gauge
+:Fuses
3: Headlamp High/Low-Beam
Changer
j: LATCH System Child
Restraints
*: Malfunction Indicator Lamp
::Oil Pressure
g:Outside Power Foldaway
Mirrors
}: Power
/:Remote Vehicle Start
>:Safety Belt Reminders
7:Tire Pressure Monitor
_: Tow/Haul Mode
F:Traction Control
M:Windshield Washer Fluid

Black plate (16,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2011
1-16 In Brief
Exterior Lighting
The exterior lamps control is located
on the instrument panel to the left of
the steering wheel.
O:Turns off the automatic
headlamps and Daytime Running
Lamps (DRL). Turn the headlamp
control to the off position again to
turn the automatic headlamps or
DRL back on.
For vehicles first sold in Canada,
the off position will only work when
the vehicle is shifted into P (Park). AUTO:
Automatically turns on the
headlamps, parking lamps,
taillamps, instrument panel lights,
and license plate lamps.
;: Turns on the parking lamps,
taillamps, instrument panel lights,
and license plate lamps.
2: Turns on the headlamps,
parking lamps, taillamps, instrument
panel lights, and license plate
lamps.
For more information, see:
.Exterior Lamp Controls on
page 6‑1.
.Daytime Running Lamps (DRL)
on page 6‑3.
.Fog Lamps on page 6‑6.
Windshield Wiper/Washer
8: Single wipe, turn to8, then
release. Several wipes, hold the
band on
8longer.
9: Turns the windshield
wipers off.
6: Turn the band up for more
frequent wipes or down for less
frequent wipes.
6: Slow wipes.
?:Fast wipes.
L:Push this paddle to spray
washer fluid on the windshield.

Black plate (1,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2011
Instruments and Controls 5-1
Instruments and
Controls
Controls
Steering Wheel Adjustment . . . 5-2
Steering Wheel Controls . . . . . . 5-3
Horn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
Windshield Wiper/Washer . . . . . 5-5
Rear Window Wiper/Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
Power Outlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Warning Lights, Gauges, and
Indicators
Warning Lights, Gauges, and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Instrument Cluster . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Trip Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Fuel Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15
Engine Oil Pressure Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16 Engine Coolant Temperature
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Voltmeter Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
Safety Belt Reminders . . . . . . . 5-18
Airbag Readiness Light . . . . . . 5-19
Passenger Airbag Status Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-20
Charging System Light . . . . . . 5-21
Malfunction Indicator Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Brake System Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Antilock Brake System (ABS) Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Tow/Haul Mode Light . . . . . . . . 5-26
StabiliTrak
®Indicator Light . . . 5-26
Tire Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
Engine Oil Pressure Light . . . . 5-27
Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . 5-28
Security Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-28
High-Beam on Light . . . . . . . . . 5-28
Front Fog Lamp Light . . . . . . . . 5-28
Cruise Control Light . . . . . . . . . 5-29
Information Displays
Driver Information Center (DIC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-29
Vehicle Messages
Vehicle Messages . . . . . . . . . . . 5-38
Battery Voltage and ChargingMessages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-38
Brake System Messages . . . . 5-39
Door Ajar Messages . . . . . . . . . 5-39
Engine Cooling System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-40
Engine Oil Messages . . . . . . . . 5-41
Engine Power Messages . . . . 5-42
Fuel System Messages . . . . . . 5-42
Key and Lock Messages . . . . . 5-43
Lamp Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-43
Object Detection System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-43
Ride Control System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-44
Airbag System Messages . . . . 5-45
Anti-Theft Alarm System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-46
Tire Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-46
Transmission Messages . . . . . 5-47
Vehicle Reminder Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-47
Washer Fluid Messages . . . . . 5-48

Black plate (28,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2011
5-28 Instruments and Controls
Low Fuel Warning Light
This light, under the fuel gauge,
comes on briefly while the engine is
being started.
This light and a chime comes on
when the fuel tank is low on fuel.
The Driver Information Center also
displays a“FUEL LEVEL LOW”
message. See Fuel System
Messages on page 5‑42 for more
information. When fuel is added this
light and message should go off. If it
does not, have the vehicle serviced
by your dealer.
Security Light
For information regarding this light
and the vehicle's security system,
see Anti-Theft Alarm System on
page 2‑14.
High-Beam on Light
This light comes on when the
high-beam headlamps are in use.
See Headlamp High/Low-Beam
Changer on page 6‑2 for more
information.
Front Fog Lamp Light
The fog lamp lights come on when
the fog lamps are in use.
The lights go out when the fog
lamps are turned off. See Fog
Lamps on page 6‑6 for more
information.

Black plate (1,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2011
Lighting 6-1
Lighting
Exterior Lighting
Exterior Lamp Controls . . . . . . . . 6-1
Exterior Lamps OffReminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Headlamp High/Low-Beam Changer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Automatic Headlamp System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Hazard Warning Flashers . . . . . 6-5
Turn and Lane-Change Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Fog Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Auxiliary Roof-Mounted Lamp . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Interior Lighting
Instrument Panel IlluminationControl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Dome Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Reading Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Lighting Features
Entry Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Exit Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Battery Load Management . . . . 6-8
Battery Power Protection . . . . . . 6-9
Exterior Lighting
Exterior Lamp Controls
The exterior lamps control is located
on the instrument panel to the left of
the steering wheel.
It controls the following systems:
.Headlamps
.Taillamps
.Parking Lamps
.License Plate Lamps
.Instrument Panel Lights

Black plate (6,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2011
6-6 Lighting
Fog Lamps
For vehicles with fog lamps, the
control is located next to the exterior
lamps control on the instrument
panel, to the left of the steering
column.
The ignition must be in the ON/RUN
position for the fog lamps to
come on.
#(Fog Lamps):Press to turn the
fog lamps on or off. A light will come
on in the instrument panel cluster.
When the fog lamps are turned on,
the parking lamps automatically
turn on.
When the headlamps are changed
to high beam, the fog lamps also go
off. When the high-beam headlamps
are turned off, the fog lamps will
come on again.
Some localities have laws that
require the headlamps to be on with
the fog lamps.
Auxiliary
Roof-Mounted Lamp
If the vehicle has this feature, this
button includes wiring provisions for
a dealer or a qualified service center
to install an auxiliary roof lamp.
This button is located on the
overhead console.
When the wiring is connected to an
auxiliary roof‐mounted lamp,
pressing the bottom of the button
will activate the lamp and illuminate
an indicator light at the bottom of this button. Pressing the top of the
button will turn off the roof‐mounted
lamp and indicator.
The emergency roof lamp circuit is
fused at 30 amps, so the total
current draw of the attached lamps
should be less than this value. The
attachment points for the roof lamp
circuits are two blunt cut wires
located above the overhead
console, a dark green switched
power wire and a black ground wire.
For more information on roof mount
emergency lamp installation, please
visit the GM Upfitter website at
www.gmupfitter.com or contact your
dealer.
If the vehicle has this button, the
vehicle may have the snow plow
prep package. For further
information, see
Adding a Snow
Plow or Similar Equipment on
page 9‑97.

Black plate (9,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2011
Lighting 6-9
The battery can be discharged at
idle if the electrical loads are very
high. This is true for all vehicles.
This is because the generator
(alternator) may not be spinning fast
enough at idle to produce all the
power that is needed for very high
electrical loads.
A high electrical load occurs when
several of the following are on, such
as: headlamps, high beams, fog
lamps, rear window defogger,
climate control fan at high speed,
heated seats, engine cooling fans,
trailer loads, and loads plugged into
accessory power outlets.
EPM works to prevent excessive
discharge of the battery. It does this
by balancing the generator's output
and the vehicle's electrical needs.
It can increase engine idle speed to
generate more power, whenever
needed. It can temporarily reduce
the power demands of some
accessories.Normally, these actions occur in
steps or levels, without being
noticeable. In rare cases at the
highest levels of corrective action,
this action may be noticeable to the
driver. If so, a Driver Information
Center (DIC) message might be
displayed, such as BATTERY LOW
START VEHICLE . If this message
displays, it is recommended that the
driver reduce the electrical loads as
much as possible and restart the
vehicle. See
Battery Voltage and
Charging Messages on page 5‑38.
Battery Power Protection
This feature shuts off the dome, and
reading lamps if they are left on for
more than 10 minutes when the
ignition is off. This will keep the
battery from running down.

Black plate (2,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2011
8-2 Climate Controls
Temperature Control:Move the
thumbwheels up or down to
increase or decrease the
temperature on the driver side
or the passenger side of the vehicle
for the dual zone system.
9(Fan Control): Turn the left
knob clockwise or counterclockwise
to increase or decrease the fan
speed. Turn the knob all the way
counterclockwise to turn the front
system off.
Air Delivery Mode Control: Turn
clockwise or counterclockwise to
change the airflow direction inside
the vehicle. By positioning the knob
between two modes, a combination
of those modes is selected.
Select from the following modes:
H(Vent): Air is directed to the
instrument panel outlets.
)(Bi-Level): Air is divided
between the instrument panel and
floor outlets. Some air is directed
towards the windshield and side
window outlets. Cooler air is
directed to the upper outlets and
warmer air to the floor outlets.
6(Floor): Air is directed to the
floor outlets, with some of the air
directed to the windshield, side
window, and second row floor
outlets. In this mode, the system
automatically selects outside air.
Recirculation cannot be selected
when in Floor Mode.
-(Defog): The defog mode is
used to clear the windows of fog or
moisture. Air is directed to the
windshield, floor outlets, and side
window vents. In this mode, the
system turns off recirculation and
runs the air conditioning compressor
unless the outside temperature is
close to freezing. The recirculation
mode cannot be selected while in
the defog mode.
0(Defrost): The defrost mode is
used to remove fog or frost from the
windshield more quickly. Air is
directed to the windshield and side
window vents, with some directed to
the floor vents. In this mode, the
system automatically forces outside
air into the vehicle. The recirculation
mode cannot be selected while in
the defrost mode. The air
conditioning compressor runs
automatically in this setting, unless
the outside temperature is close to
freezing.
Do not drive the vehicle until all the
windows are clear.
#(Air Conditioning): Press this
button to turn the air conditioning
system on or off. An indicator light
comes on to show that the air
conditioning is on. The air
conditioning can be selected in any
mode as long as the fan switch
is on.