2012 CHEVROLET SILVERADO maintenance

Black plate (6,1)Chevrolet Silverado Owner Manual - 2012
13-6 Customer Information
Customer Assistance for
Text Telephone (TTY)
Users (U.S. and Canada)
To assist customers who are deaf,
hard of hearing, or speech-impaired
and who use Text Telephones
(TTYs), Chevrolet has TTY
equipment available at its
Customer Assistance Center.
Any TTY user in the U.S. can
communicate with Chevrolet by
dialing: 1-800-833-2438. TTY users
in Canada can dial 1-800-263-3830.
Online Owner Center
Chevrolet Owner Center (U.S.)
www.chevyownercenter.com
Information and services
customized for your specific
vehicle—all in one convenient
place.
.Digital owner manual, warranty
information, and more.
.Storage for online service and
maintenance records.
.Chevrolet dealer locator for
service nationwide.
.Exclusive privileges and offers.
.Recall notices for your specific
vehicle.
.OnStar and GM Cardmember
Services Earnings summaries.
Other Helpful Links
Chevrolet —www.chevrolet.com
Chevrolet Merchandise —
www.chevymall.com
Help Center —www.chevrolet.com/
pages/mds/helpcenter/faq.do
.FAQ
.Contact Us
My GM Canada www.gm.ca
My GM Canada is a
password-protected section of
www.gm.ca where you can save
information on GM vehicles, get
personalized offers, and use handy
tools and forms with greater ease. Here are a few of the valuable tools
and services you will have
access to:
.My Showroom: Find and save
information on vehicles and
current offers in your area.
.My Dealers: Save details such
as address and phone number
for each of your preferred
GM dealers.
.My Driveway: Access quick links
to parts and service estimates,
check trade-in values,
or schedule a service
appointment by adding the
vehicles you own to your
driveway profile.
.My Preferences: Manage your
profile and use tools and forms
with greater ease.
To sign up, visit the My GM.ca
section within www.gm.ca.

Black plate (18,1)Chevrolet Silverado Owner Manual - 2012
13-18 Customer Information
Owner Information
Owner publications are written
specifically for owners and intended
to provide basic operational
information about the vehicle.
The Owner Manual includes the
Maintenance Schedule for all
models.
In-Portfolio: Includes a Portfolio,
Owner Manual, and Warranty
Booklet.
RETAIL SELL PRICE:
$35.00 (U.S.) plus handling and
shipping fees.
Without Portfolio: Owner
Manual only.
RETAIL SELL PRICE:
$25.00 (U.S.) plus handling and
shipping fees.
Current and Past Models
Technical Service Bulletins and
Manuals are available for current
and past model GM vehicles.
ORDER TOLL FREE:
1-800-551-4123 Monday - Friday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM Eastern Time
For Credit Card Orders Only
(VISA-MasterCard-Discover), visit
Helm, Inc. at: www.helminc.com.
Or write to:
Helm, Incorporated
P.O. Box 07130
Detroit, MI 48207
Prices are subject to change
without notice and without incurring
obligation. Allow ample time for
delivery.
All listed prices are quoted in
U.S. funds. Make checks payable
in U.S. funds.
Reporting Safety
Defects
Reporting Safety Defects
to the United States
Government
If you believe that your vehicle
has a defect which could cause
a crash or could cause injury or
death, you should immediately
inform the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) in addition to notifying
General Motors.
If NHTSA receives similar
complaints, it may open an
investigation, and if it finds that
a safety defect exists in a group
of vehicles, it may order a
recall and remedy campaign.
However, NHTSA cannot
become involved in individual
problems between you, your
dealer, or General Motors.

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 (8,1)Chevrolet Silverado Owner Manual - 2012
i-8 INDEX
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . . . 5-30
Lower Anchors andTethers for Children
(LATCH System) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-51
Lumbar Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6 Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
M
Maintenance
Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-17
Maintenance Schedule Recommended Fluids
and Lubricants . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-13
Transfer Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-45
Malfunction Indicator Lamp . . . . 5-24
Manual Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-42
Manual Transmission . . . . . . . . . . 9-44 Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-17
Manual Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
Memory Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-13
Memory Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8 Messages
Airbag System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-48
Anti-theft Alarm System . . . . . . . 5-48
Battery Voltage and
Charging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-42
Brake System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-42
Door Ajar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-43
Engine Cooling System . . . . . . . 5-44
Engine Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-45
Engine Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-46
Fuel System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-46
Key and Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-46
Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-46
Object Detection System . . . . . 5-47
Ride Control System . . . . . . . . . . 5-47
Starting the Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . 5-49
Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-49
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-50
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-42
Vehicle Reminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-50
Washer Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-51 Mirrors
Automatic Dimming
Rearview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Convex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Folding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Heated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Manual Rearview . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Park Tilt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Trailer Tow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Monitor System, Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-64
N
NavigationVehicle Data Recordingand Privacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-21
Navigation, OnStar
®. . . . . . . . . . . 14-2
New Vehicle Break-In . . . . . . . . . . 9-26
Noise Control System . . . . . . . . 10-36

Black plate (10,1)Chevrolet Silverado Owner Manual - 2012
i-10 INDEX
Pregnancy,Using Safety Belts . . . . . . . . . . . 3-20
Privacy Radio FrequencyIdentification (RFID) . . . . . . . 13-21
Program Courtesy Transportation . . . . 13-13
Proposition 65 Warning, California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
R
Radio FrequencyIdentification (RFID) . . . . . . . . 13-21
Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-21
Radios AM-FM Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-8
CD/DVD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-23
Reception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-14
Satellite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-10
Reading Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-9
Rear Axle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-34 Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-65
Rear Doors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Rear Seat Audio (RSA)
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-50 Rear Seat Entertainment
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-40
Rear Seat Audio (RSA) . . . . . . . 7-50
Rear Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11, 3-12
Rear Vision Camera (RVC) . . . . 9-70
Rear Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-20
Rearview Mirror Automatic Dimming . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Rearview Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Reclining Seatbacks . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
Recommended Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-76
Recommended Fluids and Lubricants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-13
Records Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-17
Recreational Vehicle Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-97
Reimbursement Program, GM Mobility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-7
Remote Keyless Entry (RKE)
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3
Remote Vehicle Start . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5
Replacement Glass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-39 Replacement Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . 10-45
Replacement Parts
Airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-41
Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-16
Replacing Airbag System . . . . . . 3-41
Replacing LATCH System Parts after a Crash . . . . . . . . . . . 3-60
Replacing Safety Belt System Parts after a
Crash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-22
Reporting Safety Defects
Canadian Government . . . . . . 13-19
General Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-19
U.S. Government . . . . . . . . . . . 13-18
Restraints Where to Put . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-49
Retained Accessory Power (RAP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-32
Ride Control Systems Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-47
Roads
Driving, Wet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-12
Roadside Assistance Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-7, 13-9

Black plate (11,1)Chevrolet Silverado Owner Manual - 2012
INDEX i-11
RoofSunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-20, 2-22
Rotation, Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-69
Routing, Engine Drive Belt . . . . . 12-6
Running the Vehicle While Parked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-37
S
Safety Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-13Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-22
Extender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-21
How to Wear Safety BeltsProperly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-14
Lap Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-20
Lap-Shoulder Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-15
Reminders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-19
Replacing after a Crash . . . . . . 3-22
Use During Pregnancy . . . . . . . . 3-20
Safety Defects Reporting Canadian Government . . . . . . 13-19
General Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-19
U.S. Government . . . . . . . . . . . 13-18
Safety Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Safety System Check . . . . . . . . . . 3-21 Satellite Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-10
Scheduling Appointments . . . . . 13-13
Seats
Adjustment, Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Center Seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
Head Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Heated and VentilatedFront . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10
Lumbar Adjustment, Front . . . . . 3-6
Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8
Power Adjustment, Front . . . . . . 3-5
Rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11, 3-12
Reclining Seatbacks . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
Securing Child Restraints . . . . . . . . 3-60, 3-62, 3-63
Security
Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-30
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11
Security, OnStar
®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-2
Service Accessories and
Modifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Doing Your Own Work . . . . . . . . 10-4
Engine Soon Light . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Maintenance Records . . . . . . .11-17 Service (cont'd)
Maintenance, General
Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-1
Parts Identification Label . . . . . 12-1
Publications Ordering
Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-17
Scheduling Appointments . . . 13-13
Servicing the Airbag . . . . . . . . . . . 3-38
Shift Lock Control Function Check, Automatic
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-37
Shifting Into Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-33
Out of Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-35
Signals, Turn and Lane-Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Snow Plow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-115
Specifications and Capacities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
StabiliTrak OFF Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-28
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-62
Start Assist, Hills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-62