2012 CHEVROLET SILVERADO warning lights

Black plate (28,1)Chevrolet Silverado Owner Manual - 2012
9-28 Driving and Operating
If the vehicle must be shut off in an
emergency:
1. Brake using a firm and steadypressure. Do not pump the
brakes repeatedly. This may
deplete power assist, requiring
increased brake pedal force.
2. Shift the vehicle to neutral. This can be done while the
vehicle is moving. After shifting
to neutral, continue to firmly
apply the brakes and steer the
vehicle to a safe location.
3. Come to a complete stop. Shift to P (Park) with an
automatic transmission,
or Neutral with a manual
transmission. Turn the ignition
to LOCK/OFF.
4. Set the parking brake. See Parking Brake on page 9‑60.{WARNING
Turning off the vehicle while
moving may cause loss of power
assist in the brake and steering
systems and disable the airbags.
While driving, only shut the
vehicle off in an emergency.
If the vehicle cannot be pulled
over, and must be shut off while
driving, turn the ignition to
ACC/ACCESSORY.
On vehicles with an automatic
transmission, the shift lever
must be in P (Park) to turn the
ignition switch to LOCK/OFF.
The steering can bind with the
wheels turned off center. If this
happens, move the steering wheel
from right to left while turning the
key to ACC/ACCESSORY. If this
doesn't work, then the vehicle needs
service. Notice:
Using a tool to force the
key to turn in the ignition could
cause damage to the switch or
break the key. Use the correct
key, make sure it is all the way in,
and turn it only with your hand.
If the key cannot be turned by
hand, see your dealer.
B (ACC/ACCESSORY): This
position lets things like the radio
and the windshield wipers operate
while the engine is off. Use this
position if the vehicle must be
pushed or towed.
C (ON/RUN): This position can be
used to operate the electrical
accessories and to display some
instrument panel cluster warning
and indicator lights. This position
can also be used for service and
diagnostics, and to verify the proper
operation of the malfunction
indicator lamp as may be required
for emission inspection purposes.

Black plate (58,1)Chevrolet Silverado Owner Manual - 2012
9-58 Driving and Operating
3. Turn the transfer case dial toTwo-Wheel Drive High,
Four-Wheel Drive High,
or AUTO.
After the transfer case has
shifted out of N (Neutral), the
N (Neutral) light will go out.
4. Release the parking brake prior to moving the vehicle.
Notice: Shifting the transmission
into gear before the requested
mode indicator light has stopped
flashing could damage the
transfer case. To help avoid
damaging the vehicle, always wait
for the mode indicator lights to
stop flashing before shifting the
transmission into gear.
5. Start the engine and shift the transmission to the desired
position.Brakes
Antilock Brake
System (ABS)
This vehicle might have the Antilock
Brake System (ABS), an advanced
electronic braking system that helps
prevent a braking skid.
When the engine is started and the
vehicle begins to drive away, ABS
checks itself. A momentary motor or
clicking noise might be heard while
this test is going on. This is normal.
If there is a problem with ABS, this
warning light stays on. See Antilock
Brake System (ABS) Warning Light
on page 5‑27. Along with ABS, the vehicle has a
Dynamic Rear Proportioning (DRP)
system. If there is a DRP problem,
both the brake and ABS warning
lights come on accompanied by a
10‐second chime. The lights and
chime will come on each time the
ignition is turned on until the
problem is repaired. See your dealer
for service.
Let us say the road is wet and you
are driving safely. Suddenly, an
animal jumps out in front of you.
You slam on the brakes and
continue braking. Here is what
happens with ABS:
A computer senses that the wheels
are slowing down. If one of the
wheels is about to stop rolling, the
computer will separately work the
brakes at each front wheel and at
both rear wheels.

Black plate (65,1)Chevrolet Silverado Owner Manual - 2012
Driving and Operating 9-65
If traction control is turned off,
only the brake-traction control
portion of traction control will work.
The engine speed management will
be disabled. In this mode, engine
power is not reduced automatically
and the driven wheels can spin
more freely. This can cause the
brake-traction control to activate
constantly.
Notice:If the wheel(s) of one axle
is allowed to spin excessively
while the StabiliTrak
®, ABS, brake
warning lights, and any relevant
DIC messages are displayed, the
transfer case could be damaged.
The repairs would not be covered
by the vehicle warranty. Reduce
engine power and do not spin the
wheel(s) excessively while these
lights and messages are
displayed.
The TCS may activate on dry or
rough roads or under conditions
such as heavy acceleration while turning or abrupt upshifts/downshifts
of the transmission. When this
happens, a reduction in acceleration
may be noticed, or a noise or
vibration may be heard. This is
normal.
If cruise control is being used when
the system activates, the StabiliTrak
light will flash and cruise control
will automatically disengage.
Cruise control may be reengaged
when road conditions allow.
See
Cruise Control on page 9‑66.
StabiliTrak may also turn off
automatically if it determines that a
problem exists with the system.
If the problem does not clear itself
after restarting the vehicle, see your
dealer for service.
Non-hybrid vehicles with StabiliTrak
have a Trailer Sway Control (TSC)
feature. See Trailer Sway Control
(TSC) on page 9‑114. Non-hybrid vehicles with StabiliTrak
have a Hill Start Assist (HSA)
feature. See
Hill Start Assist (HSA)
on page 9‑62.
Adding non‐dealer accessories can
affect the vehicle's performance.
See Accessories and Modifications
on page 10‑3.
Locking Rear Axle
Vehicles with a locking rear axle can
give more traction on snow, mud,
ice, sand, or gravel. It works like a
standard axle most of the time, but
when traction is low, this feature will
allow the rear wheel with the most
traction to move the vehicle.

Black plate (6,1)Chevrolet Silverado Owner Manual - 2012
i-6 INDEX
G
Garage Door Opener . . . . . . . . . . 5-60Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-60
Gasoline Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-77
Gauges Engine Coolant
Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Engine Oil Pressure . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Trip Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Voltmeter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
Warning Lights and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
General Information Service and Maintenance . . . . . 11-1
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-82
Vehicle Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2
Glass Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . 10-39
Glove Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
GM Mobility Reimbursement Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-7
H
Halogen Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-42
Hazard Warning Flashers . . . . . . . 6-5
Head Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Headlamps
Aiming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-39
Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-42
Daytime RunningLamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Headlamps, Front Turn
Signal, Sidemarker, and
Parking Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-42
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . 5-31
High/Low Beam Changer . . . . . . 6-3
Heated and Ventilated Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10
Heated Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Heater Engine Coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-32
Heating and Air Conditioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1, 8-4
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . . 5-31 High-Speed Operation . . . . . . . . 10-63
Highway Hypnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-12
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . . . 9-13
Hill Start Assist (HSA) . . . . . . . . . 9-62
Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-5
Horn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
How to Wear Safety Belts
Properly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-14
Hydraulic Clutch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-17
I
Idle System Fast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-31
Ignition Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-27
Ignition Transmission Lock Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-38
Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Infants and Young Children, Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-44
Infotainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1
Instrument Cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Instrument Panel Storage Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii

Black plate (7,1)Chevrolet Silverado Owner Manual - 2012
INDEX i-7
J
Jump Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-92
K
Key and Lock Messages . . . . . . . 5-46
Keyless EntryRemote (RKE) System . . . . . . . . 2-3
Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
L
Labeling, Tire Sidewall . . . . . . . . 10-55
Lamp Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-46
Lamps Auxiliary RoofMounted Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Cargo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Daytime Running (DRL) . . . . . . . 6-3
Dome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Exterior Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1
Exterior Lamps Off Reminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
License Plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-45
Malfunction Indicator . . . . . . . . . 5-24 Lamps (cont'd)
Pick-up Box Identification
and Fender Marker . . . . . . . . 10-43
Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-9
Taillamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-43
Lap Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-20
Lap-Shoulder Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-15
LATCH System Replacing Parts after a
Crash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-60
LATCH, Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children . . . . . . . . . . 3-51
Light StabiliTrak
®OFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-28
Lighter, Cigarette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
Lighting Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-9
Exit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-9
Illumination Control . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Lights Airbag On-Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-20
Airbag Readiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-20
Antilock Brake System(ABS) Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-27 Lights (cont'd)
Brake System Warning . . . . . . . 5-26
Charging System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-23
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-31
Engine Oil Pressure . . . . . . . . . . 5-30
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Four-Wheel-Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-28
Front Fog Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-31
High-Beam On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-31
High/Low Beam Changer . . . . . . 6-3
Low Fuel Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-30
Safety Belt Reminders . . . . . . . . 5-19
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-30
Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-29
Tow/Haul Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-28
Traction Control System
(TCS)/StabiliTrak
®. . . . . . . . . . 5-29
Locking Rear Axle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-65
Locks
Automatic Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7
Lockout Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Power Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8

Black plate (13,1)Chevrolet Silverado Owner Manual - 2012
INDEX i-13
TractionControl System (TCS)/
StabiliTrak
®Light . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-29
Trailer Sway Control (TSC) . . . . . . . . .9-114
Tow Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Trailer Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-86
Transfer Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-45
Transmission
Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-38
Fluid, Automatic . . . . . 10-11, 10-14
Fluid, Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-17
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-50
Transportation Program, Courtesy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-13
Trip Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Truck-Camper Loading
Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-24
Turn and Lane-Change Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Turn Signal
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-44
U
Ultrasonic Parking Assist . . . . . . 9-68
Uniform Tire QualityGrading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-74
Universal Remote System . . . . . 5-60 Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-65
Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-60
Using This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
V
Vehicle Canadian Owners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-4
IdentificationNumber (VIN) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-1
Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-17
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-42
Personalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-52
Reminder Messages . . . . . . . . . . 5-50
Remote Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-97 Vehicle Care
Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-62
Vehicle Identification Service Parts IdentificationLabel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-1
Ventilation, Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-11
Visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-20
Voltmeter Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
W
Warning Brake System Light . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
Warning Lights, Gauges,
and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv Cautions and Danger . . . . . . . . . . . .iv
Hazard Flashers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Washer Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-28
Washer Fluid Messages . . . . . . . 5-51
Wheels
Alignment and TireBalance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-76
Different Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-74
Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-77