Black plate (1,1)Chevrolet Impala Owner Manual - 2012
2012 Chevrolet Impala Owner ManualM
In Brief. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1
Instrument Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
Initial Drive Information . . . . . . . . 1-3
Vehicle Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-13
Performance and Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-17
Keys, Doors, and Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1
Keys and Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
Doors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10
Vehicle Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11
Exterior Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Interior Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Roof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
Seats and Restraints . . . . . . . . . 3-1
Head Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Rear Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8
Safety Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10
Airbag System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-20
Child Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-36 Storage
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Storage Compartments . . . . . . . . 4-1
Additional Storage Features . . . 4-2
Instruments and Controls . . . . 5-1
Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
Warning Lights, Gauges, and
Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
Information Displays . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Vehicle Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-29
Vehicle Personalization . . . . . . . 5-37
Universal Remote System . . . . 5-43
Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1
Exterior Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1
Interior Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Lighting Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Infotainment System . . . . . . . . . 7-1
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1
Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-6
Audio Players . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-14
Phone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-20 Climate Controls
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1
Climate Control Systems . . . . . . 8-1
Air Vents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-5
Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-5
Driving and Operating . . . . . . . . 9-1
Driving Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
Starting and Operating . . . . . . . 9-16
Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-24
Automatic Transmission . . . . . . 9-26
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-29
Ride Control Systems . . . . . . . . 9-30
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-34
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-36
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-42
Conversions and Add-Ons . . . 9-49
Vehicle Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-1
General Information . . . . . . . . . . 10-2
Vehicle Checks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-4
Headlamp Aiming . . . . . . . . . . . 10-25
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-25
Black plate (3,1)Chevrolet Impala Owner Manual - 2012
In Brief 1-3
A.Air Vents on page 8‑5.
B. Remote Trunk Release Button. See Trunk on page 2‑10.
C. Turn and Lane‐Change Lever. See Turn and Lane-Change
Signals on page 6‑4.
D. Instrument Cluster on
page 5‑10.
E. Hazard Warning Flashers on
page 6‑4.
F. Driver Information Center (DIC)
on page 5‑24.
G. Passenger Airbag Status
Indicator on page 5‑15.
H. Infotainment on page 7‑1.
I. Exterior Lamp Controls on
page 6‑1.
J. Instrument Panel Illumination
Control on page 6‑5.
Dome Lamp Control. See Dome
Lamps on page 6‑6.
K. Traction Control System (TCS)
on page 9‑30 (If Equipped). L.
Steering Wheel Adjustment on
page 5‑2.
M. Cruise Control on page 9‑34.
N. Hood Release. See Hood on
page 10‑5.
O. Data Link Connector (DLC) (Out of View). See Malfunction
Indicator Lamp on page 5‑16.
P. Horn on page 5‑3.
Q. Steering Wheel Controls on
page 5‑3 (If Equipped).
R. Ignition Positions on page 9‑16.
S. Climate Control Systems on
page 8‑1.
T. Power Outlets on page 5‑8.
U. Center Console Shift Lever (If Equipped). See Shifting Into
Park on page 9‑21.Initial Drive
Information
This section provides a brief
overview about some of the
important features that may or may
not be on your specific vehicle.
For more detailed information, refer
to each of the features which can be
found later in this owner manual.
Remote Keyless Entry
(RKE) System
The RKE transmitter is used to
remotely lock and unlock the doors
from up to 60 m (195 ft) away from
the vehicle.
Black plate (13,1)Chevrolet Impala Owner Manual - 2012
In Brief 1-13
Vehicle Features
Radio(s)
Radio with CD (Base)
O:Press to turn the system on
and off. Turn to increase or
decrease the volume. BAND:
Press to choose between
FM1, FM2, AM, or XM™
(if equipped) on the Radio with
CD (Base).
f: Select radio stations.
© ¨:Seek or scan stations.
4: For vehicles with RDS, press to
display additional text information
related to the current FM-RDS or
XM station; or CD, MP3, or WMA
song. If information is available
during XM or CD playback, 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.
For more information about these
and other radio features, see
Infotainment on page 7‑1.
Storing a Favorite Station
Depending on which radio the
vehicle has, radio stations are
stored as either favorites or presets.
Black plate (1,1)Chevrolet Impala Owner Manual - 2012
Infotainment System 7-1
Infotainment
System
Introduction
Infotainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1
Theft-Deterrent Feature . . . . . . . 7-2
Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-2
Radio
AM-FM Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-6
Satellite Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-8
Radio Reception . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-12
Backglass Antenna . . . . . . . . . . 7-13
Satellite Radio Antenna . . . . . . 7-13
Audio Players
CD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-14
Auxiliary Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-19
Phone
Bluetooth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-20
Introduction
Infotainment
Determine which radio the vehicle
has and read the following pages to
become familiar with its features.
{WARNING
Taking your eyes off the road
for extended periods could
cause a crash resulting in injury
or death to you or others. Do not
give extended attention to
entertainment tasks while driving.
This system provides access to
many audio and non-audio listings.
To minimize taking your eyes off the
road while driving, do the following
while the vehicle is parked:
.Become familiar with the
operation and controls of the
audio system.
.Set up the tone, speaker
adjustments, and preset radio
stations.
For more information, see Defensive
Driving on page 9‑3.
Notice: Contact your dealer
before adding any equipment.
Adding audio or communication
equipment could interfere with
the operation of the engine, radio,
or other systems, and could
damage them. Follow federal
rules covering mobile radio and
telephone equipment.
The vehicle has Retained
Accessory Power (RAP). With RAP,
the audio system can be played
even after the ignition is turned off.
See Retained Accessory Power
(RAP) on page 9‑20 for more
information.
Black plate (2,1)Chevrolet Impala Owner Manual - 2012
7-2 Infotainment System
Theft-Deterrent Feature
TheftLock®is designed to
discourage theft of the vehicle's
radio by learning a portion of the
Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).
The radio does not operate if it is
stolen or moved to a different
vehicle.
Operation
Radio with CD (Base)
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.