
Black plate (13,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2012
Service and Maintenance 11-13
UsageFluid/Lubricant
Front Axle (2500 Series Vehicles with Four-Wheel Drive) SAE 75W-90 Synthetic Axle Lubricant (GM Part No. 89021677, in
Canada 89021678).
Rear Axle SAE 75W-90 Synthetic Axle Lubricant (GM Part No. 89021677, in
Canada 89021678).
Transfer Case (Four‐Wheel Drive) DEXRON
®-VI Automatic Transmission Fluid.
Front Axle Propshaft Spline or One-Piece Propshaft Spline
(Two-Wheel Drive with Auto. Trans.) Spline Lubricant, Special Lubricant (GM Part No. 12345879, in
Canada 10953511).
Hood Hinges Multi-Purpose Lubricant, Superlube (GM Part No. 12346241, in
Canada 10953474).
Outer Tailgate Handle Pivot Points Multi-Purpose Lubricant, Superlube (GM Part No. 12346241, in
Canada 10953474).
Weatherstrip Conditioning Weatherstrip Lubricant (GM Part No. 3634770, in Canada 10953518) or
Dielectric Silicone Grease (GM Part No. 12345579, in Canada 992887).
Weatherstrip Squeaks Synthetic Grease with Teflon, Superlube (GM Part No. 12371287, in
Canada 10953437).

Black plate (1,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2012
INDEX i-1
A
Accessories andModifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Accessory Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-26
Active Fuel Management
®. . . . . 9-28
Add-On Electrical Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-85
Adding a Snow Plow or Similar Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-85
Additional Information, OnStar
®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-5
Adjustable Throttle and Brake Pedal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-22
Adjustments Lumbar, Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Air Cleaner/Filter, Engine . . . . . 10-14
Air Vents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-13
Airbag
Adding Equipment to theVehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-42
Airbag System Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-44
How Does an AirbagRestrain? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-35
Passenger Sensing
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-37 Airbag System (cont'd)
What Makes an Airbag
Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-35
What Will You See after an
Airbag Inflates? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-36
When Should an Airbag Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-33
Where Are the Airbags? . . . . . . 3-31
Airbags
Passenger Status Indicator . . . 5-17
Readiness Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Servicing Airbag-EquippedVehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-42
System Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-29
Alarm System Anti-theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
AM-FM Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-8
Antenna Rear Side Window . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-13
Satellite Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-14
Anti-theft Alarm System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Alarm System Messages . . . . . 5-42
Antilock Brake System (ABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-43
Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22 Appearance Care
Exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-93
Interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-96
Armrest Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Assistance Program, Roadside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-7, 13-9
Audio Players . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-14
CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-14
CD/DVD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-20
Audio System Radio Reception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-13
Rear Seat (RSA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-45
Theft-Deterrent Feature . . . . . . . . 7-3
Automatic Dimming Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
Door Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Headlamp System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Level Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-48
Automatic Transmission . . . . . . . 9-31 Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10-11
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-34
Shift Lock ControlFunction Check . . . . . . . . . . . 10-30
Auxiliary Roof Mounted Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6

Black plate (5,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2012
INDEX i-5
FluidAutomatic Transmission . . . . .10-11
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-25
Four-Wheel Drive
Transfer Case . . . . . . . . . 9-36, 9-41
Power Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-22
Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-23
Fog Lamps Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Folding Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Four-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-36, 9-41, 10-27
Front Axle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-27
Front Fog Lamp Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Front Seats
Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Heated and Ventilated . . . . . . . . . 3-9
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-60 Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-61
E85 (85% Ethanol) . . . . . . . . . . . 9-62
Filling a Portable FuelContainer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-65 Fuel (cont'd)
Filling the Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-63
Fuels in Foreign Countries . . . . 9-61
Gasoline Specifications . . . . . . . 9-60
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . . 5-24
Management, Active . . . . . . . . . . 9-28
Recommended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-60
Requirements, California . . . . . 9-61
System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-39
Fuel Economy Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-27
Full-Size Spare Tire . . . . . . . . . . 10-81
Fuses Engine CompartmentFuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-37
Fuses and Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-37
Instrument Panel Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-41G
Garage Door Opener . . . . . . . . . . 5-53Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-53
Gasoline Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-60
Gauges Engine Coolant
Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Engine Oil Pressure . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Trip Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Voltmeter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15
Warning Lights and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
General Information Service and Maintenance . . . . . 11-1
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-65
Vehicle Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2

Black plate (8,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2012
i-8 INDEX
Messages (cont'd)Engine Cooling System . . . . . . . 5-37
Engine Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-38
Engine Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-39
Fuel System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-39
Key and Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-39
Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-39
Object Detection System . . . . . 5-40
Ride Control System . . . . . . . . . . 5-41
Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-42
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-43
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-35
Vehicle Reminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-44
Washer Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-45
Mirrors Automatic Dimming . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
Automatic DimmingRearview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19
Convex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Folding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Heated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Manual Rearview . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19 Mirrors (cont'd)
Park Tilt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19
Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Trailer Tow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Monitor System, Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-53
N
NavigationVehicle Data Recordingand Privacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-20
Navigation, OnStar
®. . . . . . . . . . . 14-2
New Vehicle Break-In . . . . . . . . . . 9-21
O
Object Detection System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-40
Object Detection, Side Blind
Zone Alert (SBZA) . . . . . . . . . . . 9-53
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12 Trip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12 Off-Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Oil Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-7
Engine Oil Life System . . . . . . . 10-9
Engine Oil PressureGauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-38
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Older Children, Restraints . . . . . 3-45
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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-28

Black plate (13,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2012
INDEX i-13
Towing (cont'd)Recreational Vehicle . . . . . . . . 10-87
Trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-70
Trailer Sway Control (TSC) . . . 9-84
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-87
Traction Control System (TCS)/StabiliTrak
®Light . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-23
Trailer
Sway Control (TSC) . . . . . . . . . . 9-84
Tow Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Trailer Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-70
Transfer Case . . . . . . . . . . . 9-36, 9-41
Transmission Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-31
Fluid, Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . .10-11
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-43
Transportation Program,
Courtesy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-13
Trip Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Turn and Lane-Change Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Turn Signal
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-34
U
Ultrasonic Parking Assist . . . . . . 9-51
Uniform Tire QualityGrading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-61
Universal Remote System . . . . . 5-53 Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-58
Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-53
Using This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
V
Vehicle Canadian Owners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-4
IdentificationNumber (VIN) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-1
Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-16
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-35
Personalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-45
Reminder Messages . . . . . . . . . . 5-44
Remote Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-87
Vehicle Care
Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-52 Vehicle Identification
Service Parts Identification
Label . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-1
Ventilation, Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-13
Visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-21
Voltmeter Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15
W
Warning Brake System Light . . . . . . . . . . . 5-21
Warning Lights, Gauges, and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
Cautions and Danger . . . . . . . . . . . .iv
Hazard Flashers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Washer Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-23
Washer Fluid Messages . . . . . . . 5-45
Wheels Alignment and TireBalance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-63
Different Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-61
Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-63
When It Is Time for New
Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-58