2012 CHEVROLET SILVERADO heating

Black plate (24,1)Chevrolet Silverado Owner Manual - 2012
10-24 Vehicle Care
If the decision is made not to lift the
hood when this warning appears,
get service help right away.
SeeRoadside Assistance Program
(U.S. and Canada) on page 13‑7 or
Roadside Assistance Program
(Mexico) on page 13‑9.
If the decision is made to lift the
hood, make sure the vehicle is
parked on a level surface.
Then check to see if the engine
cooling fans are running. If the
engine is overheating, both fans
should be running. If they are not,
do not continue to run the engine
and have the vehicle serviced.
Notice: Engine damage from
running your engine without
coolant is not covered by the
vehicle warranty. See Overheated
Engine Protection Operating
Mode for information on driving
to a safe place in an emergency. Notice:
If the engine catches fire
while driving with no coolant,
the vehicle can be badly
damaged. The costly repairs
would not be covered by the
vehicle warranty. See Overheated
Engine Protection Operating
Mode on page 10‑26 for
information on driving to a safe
place in an emergency.
If Steam is Coming from the
Engine Compartment
{WARNING
Steam from an overheated engine
can burn you badly, even if you
just open the hood. Stay away
from the engine if you see or
hear steam coming from it. Turn it
off and get everyone away from
the vehicle until it cools down.
(Continued)
WARNING (Continued)
Wait until there is no sign of
steam or coolant before you open
the hood.
If you keep driving when the
vehicles engine is overheated,
the liquids in it can catch fire.
You or others could be badly
burned. Stop the engine if it
overheats, and get out of the
vehicle until the engine is cool.
SeeOverheated Engine
Protection Operating Mode on
page 10‑26 for information on
driving to a safe place in an
emergency.

Black plate (54,1)Chevrolet Silverado Owner Manual - 2012
10-54 Vehicle Care
Wheels and Tires
Tires
Every new GM vehicle has
high-quality tires made by a
leading tire manufacturer.
See the warranty manual for
information regarding the tire
warranty and where to get
service. For additional
information refer to the tire
manufacturer.
{WARNING
.Poorly maintained and
improperly used tires are
dangerous.
.Overloading the tires can
cause overheating as a result
of too much flexing. There
could be a blowout and a
serious crash. SeeVehicle
Load Limits on page 9‑17.
(Continued)
WARNING (Continued)
.Underinflated tires pose the
same danger as overloaded
tires. The resulting crash
could cause serious injury.
Check all tires frequently to
maintain the recommended
pressure. Tire pressure
should be checked when the
tires are cold.
.Overinflated tires are more
likely to be cut, punctured,
or broken by a sudden
impact—such as when
hitting a pothole. Keep tires at
the recommended pressure.
.Worn or old tires can cause a
crash. If the tread is badly
worn, replace them.
.Replace any tires that have
been damaged by impacts
with potholes, curbs, etc.
(Continued)
WARNING (Continued)
.Improperly repaired tires can
cause a crash. Only the
dealer or an authorized tire
service center should repair,
replace, dismount, and mount
the tires.
.Do not spin the tires in
excess of 55 km/h (35 mph)
on slippery surfaces such
as snow, mud, ice, etc.
Excessive spinning may
cause the tires to explode.
SeeTire Pressure for
High-Speed Operation on
page 10‑63 for inflation pressure
adjustment for high speed
driving.

Black plate (62,1)Chevrolet Silverado Owner Manual - 2012
10-62 Vehicle Care
Tire Pressure
Tires need the correct amount
of air pressure to operate
effectively.
Notice:Neither tire
underinflation nor
overinflation is good.
Underinflated tires, or tires
that do not have enough air,
can result in:
.Tire overloading and
overheating which could
lead to a blowout.
.Premature or
irregular wear.
.Poor handling.
.Reduced fuel economy. Overinflated tires, or tires
that have too much air,
can result in:
.Unusual wear.
.Poor handling.
.Rough ride.
.Needless damage from
road hazards.
The Tire and Loading
Information label on the
vehicle indicates the original
equipment tires and the correct
cold tire inflation pressures.
The recommended pressure is
the minimum air pressure
needed to support the vehicle's
maximum load carrying capacity.
For additional information
regarding how much weight
the vehicle can carry, and an
example of the Tire and Loading
Information label, see Vehicle
Load Limits on page 9‑17. How the vehicle is loaded
affects vehicle handling and ride
comfort. Never load the vehicle
with more weight than it was
designed to carry.
When to Check
Check the tires once a month
or more.
Do not forget the spare tire,
if the vehicle has one.
SeeFull-Size Spare Tire on
page 10‑91
for additional
information.
How to Check
Use a good quality pocket-type
gauge to check tire pressure.
Proper tire inflation cannot be
determined by looking at the tire.
Check the tire inflation pressure
when the tires are cold, meaning
the vehicle has not been driven
for at least three hours or no
more than 1.6 km (1 mi).

Black plate (3,1)Chevrolet Silverado Owner Manual - 2012
INDEX i-3
Cargo Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Cautions, Danger, andWarnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
CD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-16
CD/DVD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-23
Center Console Storage . . . . . . . . 4-2
Center High-Mounted Stoplamp (CHMSL) and
Cargo Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-44
Center Seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
Chains, Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-78
Charging System Light . . . . . . . . 5-23
Check Engine Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
IgnitionTransmission Lock . . . . . . . . 10-38
Child Restraints Infants and YoungChildren . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-44
Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children . . . . . . . . . 3-51
Older Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-42
Securing . . . . . . . . . . 3-60, 3-62, 3-63
Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-47 Cigarette Lighter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-47
Cleaning
Exterior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-102
Interior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-105
Climate Control Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1, 8-4
Air Conditioning . . . . . . . . . . 8-1, 8-4
Dual Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-5
Heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1, 8-4
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Cluster, Instrument . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Clutch, Hydraulic . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-17
Collision Damage Repair . . . . . 13-15
Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
Connections, OnStar
®. . . . . . . . . 14-4
Control of a Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-4
Convex Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Coolant Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-20
Engine TemperatureGauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-19 Engine Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-44 Courtesy Transportation
Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-13
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-66 Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-31
Cupholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Customer Assistance . . . . . . . . . . 13-6 Offices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-4, 13-5
Text Telephone (TTY)
Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-6
Customer Information Service Publications
Ordering Information . . . . . . 13-17
Customer Satisfaction Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-1, 13-3D
Damage Repair, Collision . . . . . 13-15
Danger, Warnings, andCautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
Data Recorders, Event . . . . . . . 13-20
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Defensive Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8

Black plate (4,1)Chevrolet Silverado Owner Manual - 2012
i-4 INDEX
Devices, Auxiliary . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-34
Diagnostics, OnStar®. . . . . . . . . . 14-5
Distracted Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
Dome Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Door Ajar Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-43
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7
Power Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Rear Doors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Drive Belt Routing, Engine . . . . . 12-6
Driver Information
Center (DIC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-32
Driving Characteristics andTowing Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-82
Defensive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Drunk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
For Better Fuel Economy . . . . . 1-34
Highway Hypnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-12
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . . 9-13
If the Vehicle is Stuck . . . . . . . . . 9-16
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Off-Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5 Driving (cont'd)
Vehicle Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . 9-17
Wet Roads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-12
Winter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-14
Dual Automatic Climate Control System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-5
Dual Tire Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-71
DVD
Rear Seat EntertainmentSystem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-40
DVD/CD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-23
E
E85 Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-78
Electrical Equipment, Add-On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-115
Electrical System Engine CompartmentFuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-47
Fuses and Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-47
Instrument Panel Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-51
Overload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-46 Emergency, OnStar
®. . . . . . . . . . 14-2
Engine
Air Cleaner/Filter . . . . . . . . . . . 10-17
Check and Service EngineSoon Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Compartment Overview . . . . . . . 10-6
Coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-20
Coolant Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-32
Coolant Temperature Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-19
Cooling System
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-44
Drive Belt Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-6
Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-36
Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-26
Oil Pressure Gauge . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Overheated Protection Operating Mode . . . . . . . . . . . 10-26
Overheating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-23
Power Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-46
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-30
Running While Parked . . . . . . . . 9-37
Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-29

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 (9,1)Chevrolet Silverado Owner Manual - 2012
INDEX i-9
O
Object Detection SystemMessages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-47
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14 Trip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Off-Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6 Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Oil Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-7
Engine Oil Life System . . . . . 10-10
Engine Oil PressureGauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-45
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-30
Older Children, Restraints . . . . . 3-42
Online Owner Center . . . . . . . . . . 13-6
OnStar
®
Additional Information . . . . . . . . 14-5
Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-4
Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-5
Emergency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-2
Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-2
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-1
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-2 OnStar
®System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-35
Operation, Infotainment
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-3
Ordering Service Publications . . . . . . . . 13-17
Outlets Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Overheated Engine Protection
Operating Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-26
Overheating, Engine . . . . . . . . . . 10-23
Overview, OnStar
®. . . . . . . . . . . . 14-1
P
Park
Shifting into . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-33
Shifting out of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-35
Park Tilt Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-35
Assist, Ultrasonic . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-68
Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-60
Brake and P (Park)Mechanism Check . . . . . . . . 10-38
Over Things That Burn . . . . . . . 9-35 Passenger Airbag Status
Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Passenger Sensing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-34
Perchlorate Materials Requirements, California . . . . . 10-3
Personalization
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-52
Phone Bluetooth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-52
Pick-up Box Identification
and Fender Marker
Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-43
Pickup Conversion to Chassis Cab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-119
Power
Door Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Outlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Protection, Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-10
Retained Accessory (RAP) . . . 9-32
Seat Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
Steering Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-27
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18