Page 17 of 508

Black plate (11,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2012
In Brief 1-11
Heated and Ventilated
Seats
Heated and Cooled Seat ButtonsShown, Heated Seat Buttons Similar
If available, the buttons are on the
front doors.
H: If available, press to cool
the seat.
I: Press to heat the
seatback only.
J: Press to heat the seat and
seatback. Press the button once for the
highest setting. With each press of
the button, the seat will change to
the next lower setting, and then to
the off setting. The lights indicate
three for the highest setting and one
for the lowest.
See
Heated and Ventilated Front
Seats on page 3‑9.
Head Restraint
Adjustment
Do not drive until the head restraints
for all occupants are installed and
adjusted properly.
To achieve a comfortable seating
position, change the seatback
recline angle as little as necessary
while keeping the seat and the head
restraint height in the proper
position.
For more information see Head
Restraints on page 3‑2 andSeat
Adjustment on page 3‑3.
Safety Belts
Refer to the following sections for
important information on how to use
safety belts properly.
.Safety Belts on page 3‑12.
.How to Wear Safety Belts
Properly on page 3‑13.
.Lap-Shoulder Belt on page 3‑14.
.Lower Anchors and Tethers for
Children (LATCH System) on
page 3‑45.
Page 18 of 508

Black plate (12,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2012
1-12 In Brief
Passenger Sensing
System
The passenger sensing system,
if equipped, turns off the front
outboard passenger frontal airbag
under certain conditions. No other
airbag is affected by the passenger
sensing system.
If the vehicle has one of the
indicators pictured in the following
illustrations, then the vehicle has a
passenger sensing system for the
right front passenger position.
The passenger airbag status
indicator, if equipped, will be visible
on the overhead console when the
vehicle is started.
United States
Canada and Mexico
See Passenger Sensing System on
page 3‑29 for important information.
Mirror Adjustment
Exterior Mirrors
Vehicles with outside power mirrors
and foldaway mirrors have controls
on the driver door.
1. Press (A) or (B) to select the
driver or passenger side mirror.
2. Press one of the four arrows located on the control pad to
adjust the mirror.
3. Press either (A) or (B) again to deselect the mirror.
See Power Mirrors on page 2‑20.
Page 19 of 508

Black plate (13,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2012
In Brief 1-13
Power Foldaway Mirrors
To fold the mirrors:
1. Press (C) to fold the mirrors outto the driving position.
2. Press (D) to fold the mirrors in to the folded position.
Manual Foldaway Mirrors
Manually fold the mirrors inward
to prevent damage when going
through an automatic car wash.
To fold, pull the mirror toward the
vehicle. Push the mirror outward,
to return to its original position.
See Folding Mirrors on page 2‑21.
Interior Mirror
Vehicles with a manual rearview
mirror can be adjusted to see clearly
behind the vehicle. Hold the mirror
in the center to move it up or
down and side to side. To reduce
headlamp glare during nighttime
use, push the tab forward for
daytime use and pull it for
nighttime use. Vehicles with the automatic dimming
feature will automatically reduce the
glare of headlamps from behind the
vehicle. The dimming feature comes
on and the indicator light illuminates
each time the vehicle is started.
See
Automatic Dimming Rearview
Mirror on page 2‑22 for more
information.
Steering Wheel
Adjustment
The tilt lever is located on the lower
left side of the steering column. To adjust the steering wheel:
1. Hold the steering wheel and pull
the lever.
2. Move the steering wheel up or down.
3. Release the lever to lock the wheel in place.
Do not adjust the steering wheel
while driving.
Throttle and Brake Pedal
Adjustment
On vehicles with this feature, you
can change the position of the
throttle and brake pedals.
The control used to adjust the
pedals is located on the instrument
panel below the climate control
system.
Page 20 of 508

Black plate (14,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2012
1-14 In Brief
Press the bottom of the control to
move the pedals closer to your
body. Press the top of the control to
move the pedals away.
SeeAdjustable Throttle and Brake
Pedal on page 9‑22.
Interior Lighting
Dome Lamps
The dome lamps are located in the
overhead console.
They come on when any door is
opened and turn off after all the
doors are closed.
Turn the instrument panel
brightness knob located below
the dome lamp override button,
clockwise to the farthest position to
manually turn on the dome lamps.
The dome lamps remain on until the
knob is turned counterclockwise.
Dome Lamp Override
The dome lamp override button is
located next to the exterior lamps
control.k: Press the button in and the
dome lamps remain off when a door
is opened. Press the button again to
return it to the extended position so
that the dome lamps come on when
a door is opened.
Reading Lamps
For vehicles with reading lamps in
the overhead console, press the
button located next to the lamp to
turn it on or off.
The vehicle may also have reading
lamps in other locations. To turn the
lamps on or off, press the button
located next to the lamp. For more information about interior
lamps, see:
.Dome Lamps on page 6‑7.
.Reading Lamps on page 6‑7.
.Instrument Panel Illumination
Control on page 6‑7.
Exterior Lighting
The exterior lamps control is located
on the instrument panel to the left of
the steering wheel.
P:
Turns off the automatic
headlamps and Daytime Running
Lamps (DRL). Turn the headlamp
Page 21 of 508

Black plate (15,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2012
In Brief 1-15
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,
instrument panel lights, license plate
lamps, and taillamps.
;: Turns on the parking lamps,
instrument panel lights, license plate
lamps, and taillamps.
2: Turns on the headlamps,
parking lamps, instrument panel
lights, license plate lamps, and
taillamps.
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
The front wiper control is located on
the turn and lane‐change lever.
The windshield wipers are controlled
by turning the band with
zon it.
8: For a single wipe, turn to8,
then release. For 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 the paddle at the top of
the lever to spray washer fluid on
the windshield.
See Windshield Wiper/Washer on
page 5‑5.
Page 22 of 508
Black plate (16,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2012
1-16 In Brief
Climate Controls
The heating, cooling, defrost, defog and ventilation of the vehicle can be
controlled with these systems.
A. Fan Control
B. Outside Air
C. Air Recirculation
D. Air Delivery Mode ControlE. Air Conditioning
F. Driver and Passenger
Temperature Controls
G. Rear Window Defogger
Page 23 of 508
Black plate (17,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2012
In Brief 1-17
A. Driver and PassengerTemperature Controls
B. Fan Control
C. AUTO
D. Defrost
E. Air Recirculation
F. Outside Air
G. Air Delivery Mode Control H. Display
I. Power Button
J. Rear Window Defogger
K. Air Conditioning
L. PASS
See
Climate Control Systems on
page 8‑1 andDual Automatic
Climate Control System on
page 8‑4.
Transmission
Range Selection Mode
If available, the Range Selection
Mode switch is located on the shift
lever.
To use the Range Selection feature:
1. Move the column shift lever to the M (Manual) position. The
current range will appear next
to the M. This is the highest
attainable range with all lower
gears accessible. As an
example, when 5 (Fifth) gear
is selected, 1 (First) through
5 (Fifth) gears are available.
Page 24 of 508
Black plate (18,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2012
1-18 In Brief
2. Press the plus/minus buttons,located on the steering column
shift lever, to select the desired
range of gears for current driving
conditions. See Manual Mode on
page 9‑35.
While using Range Selection Mode,
cruise control and the Tow/Haul
mode can be used.
Grade Braking is not available when
Range Selection Mode is active.
See Tow/Haul Mode on page 9‑36.Four-Wheel Drive
If the vehicle has Four-Wheel Drive,
you can send the engine's driving
power to all four wheels for extra
traction.
Automatic Transfer Case
Two Speed Transfer Case
Single Speed Transfer Case
The transfer case knob is located
to the left of the instrument panel
cluster. Use this knob to shift into
and out of the different Four-Wheel
Drive modes.
2
m: This setting is used for driving
in most street and highway
situations.
AUTO: This setting is ideal for
use when road surface traction
conditions are variable.