
Black plate (41,1)Chevrolet Impala Owner Manual - 2012
Instruments and Controls 5-41
NO CHANGE:No change will be
made to this feature. The current
setting will remain.
To select a setting, press the set/
reset button while the desired
setting is displayed on the DIC.
APPROACH LIGHTING
This feature allows you to select
whether or not to have the exterior
lights turn on briefly during low light
periods after unlocking the vehicle
using the Remote Keyless
Entry (RKE) transmitter.
Press the customization button until
APPROACH LIGHTING appears on
the DIC display. Press the set/reset
button once to access the settings
for this feature. Then press the
customization button to scroll
through the following settings:
OFF: The exterior lights will not
turn on when you unlock the vehicle
with the RKE transmitter. ON (default):
If it is dark enough
outside, the exterior lights will turn
on briefly when you unlock the
vehicle with the RKE transmitter.
The lights will remain on for
20 seconds or until the lock button
on the RKE transmitter is pressed,
or the vehicle is no longer off. See
Remote Keyless Entry (RKE)
System Operation on page 2‑3 for
more information.
NO CHANGE : No change will be
made to this feature. The current
setting will remain.
To select a setting, press the set/
reset button while the desired
setting is displayed on the DIC.
CHIME VOLUME
This feature allows you to select the
volume level of the chime. Press the customization button until
CHIME VOLUME appears on the
DIC display. Press the set/reset
button once to access the settings
for this feature. Then press the
customization button to scroll
through the following settings:
NORMAL:
The chime volume will
be set to a normal level.
LOUD: The chime volume will be
set to a loud level.
NO CHANGE: No change will be
made to this feature. The current
setting will remain.
There is no default for chime
volume. The volume will stay at the
last known setting.
To select a setting, press the set/
reset button while the desired
setting is displayed on the DIC.

Black plate (42,1)Chevrolet Impala Owner Manual - 2012
5-42 Instruments and Controls
REMOTE START
If your vehicle has this feature, it
allows you to turn the remote start
off or on. The remote start feature
allows you to start the engine from
outside of the vehicle using the
Remote Keyless Entry (RKE)
transmitter. SeeRemote Vehicle
Start on page 2‑5 for more
information.
Press the customization button until
REMOTE START appears on the
DIC display. Press the set/reset
button once to access the settings
for this feature. Then press the
customization button to scroll
through the following settings:
OFF: The remote start feature will
be disabled.
ON (default): The remote start
feature will be enabled. NO CHANGE:
No change will be
made to this feature. The current
setting will remain.
To select a setting, press the set/
reset button while the desired
setting is displayed on the DIC.
FACTORY SETTINGS
This feature allows you to set all of
the customization features back to
their factory default settings.
Press the customization button until
FACTORY SETTINGS appears on
the DIC display. Press the set/reset
button once to access the settings
for this feature. Then press the
customization button to scroll
through the following settings:
RESTORE ALL (default): The
customization features will be set to
their factory default settings. DO NOT RESTORE:
The
customization features will not be
set to their factory default settings.
To select a setting, press the set/
reset button while the desired
setting is displayed on the DIC.
EXIT FEATURE SETTINGS
This feature allows you to exit the
FEATURE SETTINGS menu.
Press the customization button until
FEATURE SETTINGS PRESS
V
TO EXIT appears in the DIC display.
Press the set/reset button once to
exit the menu.
If you do not exit, pressing the
customization button again will
return you to the beginning of the
FEATURE SETTINGS menu.

Black plate (7,1)Chevrolet Impala Owner Manual - 2012
Lighting 6-7
Lighting Features
Entry Lighting
For vehicles with courtesy lamps,
they come on and stay on for a set
time whenever the unlock symbol is
pressed on the Remote Keyless
Entry (RKE) transmitter.
If a door is opened, the lamps stay
on while it is open and then turn off
automatically about 20 seconds
after the door is closed. If the unlock
symbol is pressed and no door is
opened, the lamps turn off after
about 20 seconds.
Entry lighting includes a feature
called theater dimming. With theater
dimming, the lamps do not turn off
at the end of the delay time.
Instead, they slowly dim and then
go out. The delay time is canceled if
the ignition key is turned to ON/RUN
or the power door lock switch is
pressed. The lamps will dim
right away.When the ignition is on, illuminated
entry is inactive, which means the
courtesy lamps will not come on
unless a door is opened.Delayed Entry Lighting
Delayed entry lighting illuminates
the interior for a period of time after
all the doors have been closed.
The ignition must be off for delayed
entry lighting to work. Immediately
after all the doors have been closed,
the delayed entry lighting feature
continues to work until one of the
following occurs:
.The ignition is in ON/RUN.
.The doors are locked.
.An illumination period of about
25 seconds has elapsed.
If during the illumination period a
door is opened, the timed
illumination period is canceled and
the interior lamps remain on.
Delayed Exit Lighting
This feature illuminates the interior
for a period of time after the key is
removed from the ignition.
The ignition must be off for delayed
exit lighting to work. When the key
is removed, interior illumination
activates and remains on until one
of the following occurs:
.The ignition is in ON/RUN.
.The power door locks are
activated.
.An illumination period of
20 seconds has elapsed.
If during the illumination period a
door is opened, the timed
illumination period will be canceled
and the interior lamps will remain on
because a door is open.
Parade Dimming
Parade mode automatically prohibits
the dimming of the instrument panel
displays during the daylight while
the headlamps are on so that the
displays are still able to be seen.

Black plate (8,1)Chevrolet Impala Owner Manual - 2012
6-8 Lighting
Battery Load
Management
The vehicle has Electric Power
Management (EPM) that estimates
the battery's temperature and state
of charge. It then adjusts the voltage
for best performance and extended
life of the battery.
When the battery's state of charge
is low, the voltage is raised slightly
to quickly bring the charge back up.
When the state of charge is high,
the voltage is lowered slightly to
prevent overcharging. If the vehicle
has a voltmeter gauge or a voltage
display on the Driver Information
Center (DIC), you may see the
voltage move up or down. This is
normal. If there is a problem, an
alert will be displayed.
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 fastenough 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 bedisplayed, such as BATTERY
SAVER ACTIVE. If this messages
displays, it is recommended that the
driver reduce the electrical loads as
much as possible. See
Driver
Information Center (DIC) on
page 5‑24.
Battery Power Protection
This feature helps prevent the
battery from being drained, if the
interior courtesy lamps, reading/map
lamps, visor vanity lamps, or trunk
lamp are accidentally left on. If any
of these lamps are left on, they
automatically turn off after
10 minutes, if the ignition is off. The
lamps will not come back on again
until one of the following occurs:
.The ignition is turned on.
.The exterior lamps control is
turned off, then on again.
The headlamps will time out after
10 minutes, if they are manually
turned on with the ignition on or off.

Black plate (3,1)Chevrolet Impala Owner Manual - 2012
Infotainment System 7-3
Radio with CD (MP3)
The vehicle has one of these radios
as its infotainment system.
Softkeys
The Radio with CD (MP3) has six
softkeys located below the radio
display. Softkeys are used to control functions that appear on the radio
display as tabs directly above the
softkeys.
Using the Radio
O(Power/Volume):
Press to turn
the system on and off. Turn to
increase or decrease the volume.
4(Information): Press to switch
the display between the radio
station frequency and the time.
While the ignition is off, press this
button to display the time.
Speed Compensated Volume
(SCV): Radios with the Speed
Compensated Volume (SCV) feature
automatically adjust the radio
volume to compensate for road and
wind noise as the vehicle speeds up
or slows down, so that the volume
level is consistent.
To activate SCV:
1. Set the radio volume to the
desired level.
2. Press MENU to display the radio setup menu.
3. Press the softkey under the AUTO VOLUM tab on the radio
display.

Black plate (4,1)Chevrolet Impala Owner Manual - 2012
7-4 Infotainment System
4. Press the softkey under thedesired Speed Compensated
Volume setting (OFF, Low, Med,
or High) to select the level of
radio volume compensation.
The display times out after
approximately 10 seconds. Each
higher setting allows for more
radio volume compensation at
faster vehicle speeds.
Setting the Tone (Bass/Treble)
Radio with CD
To adjust the bass or treble:
1. Press the
fknob until Bass or
Treble displays.
2. To adjust the setting, do one of the following:
.Turn thefknob.
.Press¨SEEK or©SEEK.
.Press\FWD orsREV. EQ (Equalization):
Press this
button to choose bass and treble
equalization settings designed for
different types of music. Selecting
MANUAL or changing bass or
treble, returns the EQ to the manual
bass and treble settings.
Unique EQ settings can be saved
for each source.
Setting the Tone (Bass/
Midrange/Treble) Radio with
CD (MP3)
BASS/MID/TREB (Bass, Midrange,
or Treble): To adjust the bass,
midrange, or treble:
1. Press the
fknob until the tone
control tabs display.
2. Highlight the desired tone control tab by doing one of the
following:
.Press thefknob.
.Press the softkey under the
desired tab. 3. Adjust the setting by doing one
of the following:
.Turn thefknob clockwise
or counterclockwise.
.Press¨SEEK or©SEEK.
.Press\FWD orsREV.
If a station's frequency is weak or if
there is static, decrease the treble.
To quickly adjust bass, midrange,
or treble to the middle position,
press the softkey positioned under
the BASS, MID, or TREB tab for
more than two seconds. A beep
sounds and the level adjusts to the
middle position.
To quickly adjust all tone and
speaker controls to the middle
position, press the
fknob for more
than two seconds until a beep
sounds.

Black plate (5,1)Chevrolet Impala Owner Manual - 2012
Infotainment System 7-5
EQ (Equalization):Press this
button to choose bass and treble
equalization settings designed for
different types of music. Selecting
MANUAL or changing bass or treble
returns the EQ to the manual bass
and treble settings.
Unique EQ settings can be saved
for each source.
If the radio has a Bose
®audio
system, the EQ settings are either
MANUAL or TALK.
Adjusting the Speakers
(Balance/Fade) Radio with CD
To adjust the balance or fade:
1. Press the
`button or press the
fknob until the speaker control
label displays.
2. To adjust the setting, do one of the following:
.Turn thefknob.
.Press¨SEEK or©SEEK.
.Press\FWD orsREV.
Adjusting the Speakers
(Balance/Fade) Radio with
CD (MP3)
BAL/FADE (Balance/Fade): To
adjust the balance or fade:
1. Press the
fknob until the
speaker control tabs display.
2. Highlight the desired speaker control tab by doing one of the
following:
.Press thefknob.
.Press the softkey under the
desired tab.
3. Adjust the setting by doing one of the following:
.Turn thefknob clockwise
or counterclockwise.
.Press¨SEEK or©SEEK.
.Press\FWD orsREV. To quickly adjust all speaker and
tone controls to the middle position,
press the
fknob for more than
two seconds.
If the Rear Seat Audio (RSA) is
turned on, the radio disables FADE
and mutes the rear speakers.
Radio Messages
Calibration Error: Displays if the
radio is no longer calibrated
properly for the vehicle. The vehicle
must be returned to your dealer for
service.
Loc or Locked: Displays when the
TheftLock
®system has activated.
Take the vehicle to your dealer for
service.
If any error occurs repeatedly or if
an error cannot be corrected,
contact your dealer.

Black plate (6,1)Chevrolet Impala Owner Manual - 2012
7-6 Infotainment System
Radio
AM-FM Radio
Radio Data System (RDS)
The radio may have RDS. The RDS
feature is available for use only on
FM stations that broadcast RDS
information. This system relies upon
receiving specific information from
these stations and only works when
the information is available. While
the radio is tuned to an FM-RDS
station, the station name or call
letters display. In rare cases, a radio
station could broadcast incorrect
information that causes the radio
features to work improperly. If this
happens, contact the radio station.
4(Information) (RDS Features):
For vehicles with RDS features,
press
4to display additional text
information related to the current
FM-RDS station. If information is
available, the song title information
displays on the top line of the
display and artist information displays on the bottom line. When
information is not available,
“NO
INFO” displays.
Auto Text (RDS Features): If
additional information is available
for the current song being played,
Auto Text will automatically page/
scroll the information every
three seconds above the FAV
presets on the radio display. By
default, Auto Text is enabled.
To change the Auto Text setting:
1. Press MENU to display the radio setup menu.
2. Press the softkey under AUTO TXT tab on the radio display.
3. Press the softkey under the ON or OFF tab on the radio display.
If
4is pressed and the song title or
artist information is longer than
what can be displayed, the extra
information will page every
three seconds when Auto Text is
activated.
Finding a Station
BAND: Press to choose between
FM1, FM2, AM, or XM™
(if equipped) on the Radio with CD
(Base). Press to choose between
FM, AM, XM (if equipped) on the
Radio with CD (MP3).
f(Tune): Turn to select radio
stations.
©SEEK: Press to seek or scan
stations with a strong signal in the
selected band.
.To seek stations, press and
release
©SEEK to go to the
previous station and stay there.
.To scan stations, press and hold©SEEK for a few seconds until
the radio beeps once. The radio
goes to a station, plays for a
few seconds, then goes to the
next station. Press
©SEEK
again to stop scanning.