Black plate (1,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2012
In Brief 1-1
In Brief
Instrument Panel
Instrument Panel Overview . . . . 1-2
Initial Drive Information
Initial Drive Information . . . . . . . . 1-4
Remote Keyless Entry (RKE)System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4
Remote Vehicle Start . . . . . . . . . 1-5
Door Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5
Liftgate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6
Seat Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7
Memory Features . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-10
Second Row Seats . . . . . . . . . . 1-11
Third Row Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-11
Heated and Ventilated Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-11
Head Restraint Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-11 Safety Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-12
Passenger Sensing
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-12
Mirror Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-13
Steering Wheel Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-14
Throttle and Brake Pedal Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-14
Interior Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-15
Exterior Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-16
Windshield Wiper/Washer . . . . 1-16
Climate Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-17
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-18
Four-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-19
Vehicle Features
Radio(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-20
Satellite Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-22
Portable Audio Devices . . . . . . 1-22
Bluetooth
®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-22
Steering Wheel Controls . . . . . 1-22
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-23 Navigation System . . . . . . . . . . . 1-23
Side Blind Zone
Alert (SBZA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-24
Rear Vision Camera (RVC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-24
Ultrasonic Parking Assist . . . . 1-24
Power Outlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-24
Universal Remote System . . . 1-25
Sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-25
Performance and Maintenance
StabiliTrak®System . . . . . . . . . 1-26
Tire Pressure Monitor . . . . . . . . 1-26
Engine Oil Life System . . . . . . 1-27
Fuel E85 (85% Ethanol) . . . . . 1-27
Driving for Better Fuel Economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-27
Roadside Assistance Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-28
OnStar
®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-28
Black plate (7,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2012
In Brief 1-7
SeeRetained Accessory Power
(RAP) on page 9‑26.
Press the switch to lower the
window. Pull the switch up to
raise it.
For more information, see:
.Windows on page 2‑20.
.Power Windows on page 2‑20.
Seat Adjustment
Manual Seats
To adjust the seat:
1. Lift the bar to unlock the seat.
2. Slide the seat to the desired
position and release the bar.
3. Try to move the seat back and forth to be sure the seat is
locked in place.
See Seat Adjustment on page 3‑3
for more information.
Power Seats
To adjust a power seat, if equipped:
.Move the seat forward or
rearward by sliding the control
forward or rearward.
.If available, raise or lower the
front or rear part of the seat
cushion by moving the front or
rear of the control up or down.
.If available, raise or lower the
entire seat by moving the entire
control up or down.
Black plate (8,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2012
1-8 In Brief
SeePower Seat Adjustment on
page 3‑4 for more information.
Lumbar Adjustment
Manual Lumbar
If equipped, increase or decrease
manual lumbar support by turning
the knob forward or rearward.
SeeLumbar Adjustment on
page 3‑4 for more information. Power Lumbar
To adjust the power lumbar support,
if equipped:
.On vehicles with two-way
lumbar, press and hold the top
or bottom of the control to
increase or decrease lumbar
support.
.On vehicles with four-way
lumbar, press and hold the
front or rear of the control to
increase or decrease lumbar
support. To raise or lower the
height of the support, press
and hold the top or bottom of
the control.
See Lumbar Adjustment on
page 3‑4 for more information.
Black plate (11,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2012
In Brief 1-11
Second Row Seats
On vehicles with a 60/40 split bench
or buckets seats, the seatbacks can
be folded for additional cargo space,
or the seats can be folded and
tumbled for easy entry/exit to the
third row seats, if equipped. On
vehicles with bucket seats, the
seatbacks also recline.
SeeSecond Row Seats on
page 3‑11 for more information.
Third Row Seats
On vehicles with third row seats,
the seatbacks can be folded, and
the entire seat can be tumbled or
removed from the vehicle.
For detailed instructions, see Third
Row Seats on page 3‑16.
Heated and Ventilated
Seats
Heated and Cooled Seat Buttons
Shown, Heated Seat Buttons Similar
If available, the buttons are on the
front doors.
H: If available, press to cool
the seat.
I: Press to heat the
seatback only.
J: Press to heat the seat and
seatback. Press the button once for the
highest setting. With each press of
the button, the seat will change to
the next lower setting, and then to
the off setting. The lights indicate
three for the highest setting and one
for the lowest.
See
Heated and Ventilated Front
Seats on page 3‑9.
Head Restraint
Adjustment
Do not drive until the head restraints
for all occupants are installed and
adjusted properly.
To achieve a comfortable seating
position, change the seatback
recline angle as little as necessary
while keeping the seat and the
head restraint height in the proper
position.
For more information see Head
Restraints on page 3‑2 andSeat
Adjustment on page 3‑3.
Black plate (13,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2012
In Brief 1-13
Mirror Adjustment
Exterior Mirrors
Vehicles with outside manual
mirrors can be adjusted by moving
the mirror up and down or left to
right to see a little of the side of the
vehicle, and have a clear view
behind the vehicle.
SeeManual Mirrors on page 2‑16
If the vehicle has towing mirrors,
they can be adjusted for a clearer
view of the objects behind you.
Manually pull out the mirror head to
extend it for better visibility when
towing a trailer. See Trailer-Tow
Mirrors on page 2‑17. Power Mirrors
Vehicles with outside power mirrors
and foldaway mirrors have controls
located on the driver door.
1. Press (A) or (B) to select the
driver or passenger side mirror.
2. Press the arrows on the control pad to move the mirror up,
down, right, or left.
3. Press either (A) or (B) again to deselect the mirror.
See Power Mirrors on page 2‑17. Power Foldaway Mirrors
To fold the mirrors:
1. Press (C) to fold the mirrors out
to the driving position.
2. Press (D) to fold the mirrors in to the folded position.
The mirrors may also include a
memory function that works with the
memory seats. See Memory Seats
on page 3‑7 for more information.
Manual Foldaway Mirrors
Manually fold the mirrors inward
to prevent damage when going
through an automatic car wash. To
fold, push the mirror toward the
vehicle. Push the mirror outward, to
return to its original position.
See Folding Mirrors on page 2‑17.
Black plate (1,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2012
Seats and Restraints 3-1
Seats and
Restraints
Head Restraints
Head Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Front Seats
Seat Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Center Seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Power Seat Adjustment . . . . . . . 3-4
Lumbar Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Reclining Seatbacks . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
Memory Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
Heated and Ventilated FrontSeats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9
Rear Seats
Heated Rear Seats . . . . . . . . . . 3-10
Second Row Seats . . . . . . . . . . 3-11
Third Row Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-16
Safety Belts
Safety Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-19
How to Wear Safety BeltsProperly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-20
Lap-Shoulder Belt . . . . . . . . . . . 3-21 Safety Belt Use During
Pregnancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-27
Lap Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-27
Safety Belt Extender . . . . . . . . . 3-28
Safety System Check . . . . . . . . 3-28
Safety Belt Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-28
Replacing Safety Belt System Parts after a Crash . . . . . . . . . 3-29
Airbag System
Airbag System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-29
Where Are the Airbags? . . . . . 3-31
When Should an AirbagInflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-33
What Makes an Airbag Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-35
How Does an Airbag
Restrain? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-35
What Will You See after an Airbag Inflates? . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-36
Passenger Sensing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-37
Servicing the Airbag-Equipped Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-42
Adding Equipment to the Airbag-Equipped Vehicle . . . 3-42
Airbag System Check . . . . . . . . 3-44
Replacing Airbag System Parts after a Crash . . . . . . . . . 3-44
Child Restraints
Older Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-45
Infants and YoungChildren . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-47
Child Restraint Systems . . . . . 3-49
Where to Put the Restraint . . . 3-51
Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH
System) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-53
Replacing LATCH System Parts After a Crash . . . . . . . . . 3-60
Securing Child Restraints (Rear Seat Position) . . . . . . . . 3-60
Securing Child Restraints (Center Front Seat
Position) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-63
Securing Child Restraints (Right Front Seat
Position) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-64
Black plate (3,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2012
Seats and Restraints 3-3
Rear Seats
The vehicle's second-row seats
have head restraints in the outboard
seating positions that cannot be
adjusted.
The vehicle's third-row seats,
if equipped, have adjustable
headrests in the outboard seating
positions.
The height of the headrest can be
adjusted. Pull the headrest up to
raise it. To lower the headrest, push
down on the headrest.
Rear seat head restraints and
headrests are not designed to be
removed.
Front Seats
Seat Adjustment
{WARNING
You can lose control of the
vehicle if you try to adjust a
manual driver seat while the
vehicle is moving. The sudden
movement could startle and
confuse you, or make you push a
pedal when you do not want to.
Adjust the driver seat only when
the vehicle is not moving.
To adjust the seat:
1. Lift the bar under the front edgeof the seat cushion to unlock
the seat.
2. Slide the seat to the desired position and release the bar.
3. Try to move the seat back and forth to be sure the seat is
locked in place.
Black plate (4,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2012
3-4 Seats and Restraints
Center Seat
If equipped, the center front
seatback doubles as an armrest and
cupholder/storage area for the driver
and passenger when the center
front seat is not used. Do not use
it as a seating position when the
seatback is folded down.
Power Seat Adjustment
To adjust a power seat, if equipped:
.Move the seat forward or
rearward by sliding the control
forward or rearward.
.If available, raise or lower the
front or rear part of the seat
cushion by moving the front or
rear of the control up or down.
.If available, raise or lower the
entire seat by moving the entire
control up or down.To adjust the seatback, see
“Power
Reclining Seatbacks” under
Reclining Seatbacks on page 3‑5.
Lumbar Adjustment
Manual Lumbar
If equipped, increase or decrease
manual lumbar support by turning
the knob forward or rearward.