Black plate (21,1)Chevrolet Colorado Owner Manual - 2012
Driving and Operating 9-21
Using heavier suspension
components to get added
durability might not change
your weight ratings. Ask your
dealer to help you load your
vehicle the right way.
Notice:Overloading the
vehicle may cause damage.
Repairs would not be covered
by the vehicle warranty. Do
not overload the vehicle.
If you put things inside your
vehicle —like suitcases,
tools, packages, or anything
else —they will go as fast as the
vehicle goes. If you have to stop
or turn quickly, or if there is a
crash, they will keep going.{WARNING
Things you put inside the
vehicle can strike and injure
people in a sudden stop or
turn, or in a crash.
.Put things in the cargo
area of the vehicle. Try to
spread the weight evenly.
.Never stack heavier
things, like suitcases,
inside the vehicle so that
some of them are above
the tops of the seats.
.Do not leave an
unsecured child restraint
in the vehicle.
.When you carry something
inside the vehicle, secure
it whenever you can.
.Do not leave a seat folded
down unless you need to. There is also important loading
information for off-road driving in
this manual.
See
“Loading Your
Vehicle for Off-Road Driving”
under
Off-Road Driving on page 9‑6.
Remember not to exceed
the Gross Axle Weight
rating (GAWR) of the front or
rear axle.
Two-Tiered Loading
For vehicles with a six foot bed,
an upper load platform can be
created by positioning four 5 cm
(2 inches) by 15 cm (6 inches)
wooden planks across the width
of the pickup box. The planks
must be inserted in the pickup
box depressions.
When using this upper load
platform, be sure the load is
securely tied down to prevent it
from shifting. The load's center
of gravity should be positioned
in a zone over the rear axle.
Black plate (2,1)Chevrolet Colorado Owner Manual - 2012
i-2 INDEX
B
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-29Jump Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-84
Load Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Power Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Voltage and ChargingMessages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Blade Replacement, Wiper . . . 10-33
Bluetooth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-21
Brake System Warning Light . . . 5-15
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-26 Antilock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-40
Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-42
Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-27
Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-41
System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-23
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-4
Break-In, New Vehicle . . . . . . . . . 9-22
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-37 Center High-Mounted
Stoplamp (CHMSL) . . . . . . . 10-37
Fog Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Halogen Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-35
Headlamp Aiming . . . . . . . . . . . 10-35 Bulb Replacement (cont.)
Headlamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-35
License Plate Lamps . . . . . . . 10-37
Taillamps, Turn Signal,
Stoplamps, and
Back-up Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . 10-36
Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-61
C
Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
California Fuel Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . 9-49
Perchlorate MaterialsRequirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Canadian Vehicle Owners . . . . . . . . iii
Capacities and
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2
Carbon Monoxide Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-30
Tailgate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-13
Cautions, Danger, and Warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv CD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-15
Center Console Storage . . . . . . . . 4-2
Center High-Mounted
Stoplamp (CHMSL) . . . . . . . . . 10-37
Chains, Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-66
Charging System Light . . . . . . . . 5-12
Check Engine Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
IgnitionTransmission Lock . . . . . . . . 10-32
Child Restraints
Infants and YoungChildren . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-36
Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children . . . . . . . . . 3-42
Older Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-34
Securing . . . . . . . . . . 3-53, 3-55, 3-57
Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-38
Cigarette Lighter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-39
Cleaning Exterior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-94
Interior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-97
Black plate (6,1)Chevrolet Colorado Owner Manual - 2012
i-6 INDEX
Infants and Young Children,Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-36
Infotainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1
Instrument Cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
J
Jump Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-84
K
Keyless Entry Remote (RKE) System . . . . . . . . 2-3
Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
L
Labeling, Tire Sidewall . . . . . . . . 10-46
Lamp Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Lamps Daytime Running (DRL) . . . . . . . 6-2
Dome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Exterior Cargo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Exterior Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1 Lamps (cont.)
Exterior Lamps Off
Reminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
License Plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-37
Malfunction Indicator . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Lap Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-17
Lap-Shoulder Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-13
LATCH System Replacing Parts after a
Crash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-52
LATCH, Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children . . . . . . . . . . 3-42
Latches, Seatback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
Light StabiliTrak
®OFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Lighter, Cigarette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
Lighting Exit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Illumination Control . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Lights Airbag Readiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Antilock Brake System(ABS) Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Brake System Warning . . . . . . . 5-15 Lights (cont.)
Charging System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-19
Engine Oil Pressure . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
High-Beam On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
High/Low Beam Changer . . . . . . 6-2
Safety Belt Reminders . . . . . . . . . 5-9
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Traction Control System
(TCS)/StabiliTrak
®. . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Limited-Slip Rear Axle . . . . . . . . . 9-45
Locks Automatic Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5
Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4
Lockout Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6
Power Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5
Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH
System) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-42
Lumbar Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4 Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Black plate (7,1)Chevrolet Colorado Owner Manual - 2012
INDEX i-7
M
MaintenanceRecords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-16
Maintenance Schedule Recommended Fluidsand Lubricants . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-12
Transfer Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-36
Malfunction Indicator Lamp . . . . 5-13
Manual Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Manual Transmission . . . . . . . . . . 9-34 Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-15
Manual Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Messages Battery Voltage andCharging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Brake System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-23
Door Ajar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-23
Engine Cooling System . . . . . . . 5-23
Engine Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Engine Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24 Messages (cont.)
Fuel System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Ride Control System . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Service Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Mirrors
Automatic DimmingRearview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Convex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Manual Rearview . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Monitor System, Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-54
N
New Vehicle Break-In . . . . . . . . . . 9-22
O
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8Trip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Off-Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6 Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Oil
Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-9
Engine Oil Life System . . . . . 10-12
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
Older Children, Restraints . . . . . 3-34
Online Owner Center . . . . . . . . . . 13-6
OnStar
®System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-20
Operation, Infotainment System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-3
Ordering Service Publications . . . . . . . . 13-17
Outlets Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
Overheating, Engine . . . . . . . . . . 10-22
Black plate (9,1)Chevrolet Colorado Owner Manual - 2012
INDEX i-9
Replacing Airbag System . . . . . . 3-33
Replacing LATCH SystemParts after a Crash . . . . . . . . . . . 3-52
Replacing Safety Belt System Parts after a Crash . . . 3-19
Reporting Safety Defects Canadian Government . . . . . . 13-18
General Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-19
U.S. Government . . . . . . . . . . . 13-18
Restraints Where to Put . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-40
Retained Accessory Power (RAP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-27
Ride Control Systems Limited Slip Rear Axle . . . . . . . . 9-45
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Roads Driving, Wet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-11
Roadside Assistance Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-7, 13-9
Rotation, Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-59
Routing, Engine Drive Belt . . . . . 12-4
Running the Vehicle While
Parked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-30S
Safety Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-19
Extender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-18
How to Wear Safety BeltsProperly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12
Lap Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-17
Lap-Shoulder Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-13
Reminders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
Replacing after a Crash . . . . . . 3-19
Use During Pregnancy . . . . . . . . 3-17
Safety Defects Reporting Canadian Government . . . . . . 13-18
General Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-19
U.S. Government . . . . . . . . . . . 13-18
Safety Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6
Safety System Check . . . . . . . . . . 3-18
Satellite Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-11
Scheduling Appointments . . . . . 13-12
Seatback Latches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
Seats
Adjustment, Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Head Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Heated Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
Lumbar Adjustment, Front . . . . . 3-4 Seats (cont.)
Power Adjustment, Front . . . . . . 3-3
Rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8, 3-9
Reclining Seatbacks . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Secondary Latch System . . . . . 10-80
Securing Child Restraints . . . . . . . . 3-53, 3-55, 3-57
Security Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Service Accessories andModifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Doing Your Own Work . . . . . . . . 10-4
Engine Soon Light . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Maintenance Records . . . . . . .11-16
Maintenance, General Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-1
Parts Identification Label . . . . . 12-1
Publications Ordering Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-17
Scheduling Appointments . . . 13-12
Vehicle Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Servicing the Airbag . . . . . . . . . . . 3-31