Black plate (24,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2012
3-24 Seats and Restraints
To unlatch the belt, push the button
on the buckle. The belt should
return to its stowed position.
Before a door is closed, be sure the
safety belt is out of the way. If a
door is slammed against a safety
belt, damage can occur to both the
belt and the vehicle.
Shoulder Belt Height Adjuster
The vehicle has a shoulder belt
height adjuster for the driver and
right front passenger positions.
Adjust the height so the shoulder
portion of the belt is on the shoulder
and not falling off of it. The belt
should be close to, but not
contacting, the neck. Improper
shoulder belt height adjustment
could reduce the effectiveness of
the safety belt in a crash. SeeHow
to Wear Safety Belts Properly on
page 3‑20.
Squeeze the buttons (A) on the
sides of the height adjuster and
move the height adjuster to the
desired position.
The adjuster can be moved up just
by pushing up on the shoulder belt
guide.
After the adjuster is set to the
desired position, try to move it down
without squeezing the buttons to
make sure it has locked into
position.
Safety Belt Pretensioners
This vehicle has safety belt
pretensioners for front outboard
occupants. Although the safety belt
pretensioners cannot be seen, they
are part of the safety belt assembly.
They can help tighten the safety
belts during the early stages of a
moderate to severe frontal, near
frontal, or rear crash if the threshold
conditions for pretensioner
activation are met. And, if the
vehicle has side impact airbags,
safety belt pretensioners can help
tighten the safety belts in a side
crash or a rollover event.
Pretensioners work only once. If the
pretensioners activate in a crash,
the pretensioners and probably
other parts of the vehicle's safety
belt system will need to be replaced.
See Replacing Safety Belt System
Parts after a Crash on page 3‑29.
Black plate (22,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2012
9-22 Driving and Operating
Adjustable Throttle and
Brake Pedal
On vehicles with this feature, you
can change the position of the
throttle and brake pedals.
No adjustment to the pedals can
be made when the vehicle is in
R (Reverse) or while using cruise
control.
The control used to adjust the
pedals is located on the instrument
panel below the climate control
system.Press the bottom of the control to
move the pedals closer. Press the
top of the control to move the
pedals away.
Before you start driving, fully press
the brake pedal to confirm the
adjustment is right for you. While
driving, make only small
adjustments.
The vehicle may have a memory
function which lets pedal settings be
saved and recalled. See
Memory
Seats on page 3‑7.
Ignition Positions
The ignition switch has four different
positions.
To shift out of P (Park), the
ignition must be in ON/RUN or
ACC/ACCESSORY and the regular
brake pedal must be applied.
A (STOPPING THE ENGINE/
LOCK/OFF): When the vehicle is
stopped, turn the ignition switch to
LOCK/OFF to turn the engine off.
Retained Accessory Power (RAP)
Black plate (32,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2012
10-32 Vehicle Care
4. Replace the wiper blade.
5. Return the wiper blade assemblyto the park rest position.
Glass Replacement
If the windshield or front side
glass must be replaced, see your
dealer to determine the correct
replacement glass.
Headlamp Aiming
The vehicle has a visual optical
headlamp aiming system. The aim
of the headlamps has been preset
at the factory and should need no
further adjustment.
However, if the vehicle is damaged
in a crash, the aim of the headlamps
may be affected and adjustment
may be necessary.
If oncoming vehicles flash their high
beams at you, this may mean the
vertical aim of the headlamps needs
to be adjusted.
It is recommended that the vehicle
be taken to your dealer for service if
the headlamps need to be adjusted.
It is possible, however, to re-aim the
headlamps as described.
The vehicle should:
.Be placed so the headlamps
are 7.6 m (25 ft) from a
light‐colored wall.
.Have all four tires on a level
surface which is level all the way
to the wall.
.Be placed so it is perpendicular
to the wall.
.Not have any snow, ice, or mud
on it.
.Be fully assembled and all other
work stopped while headlamp
aiming is being performed.
.Be loaded with a full tank of
fuel and one person or 75 kg
(160 lbs) sitting on the
driver seat.
.Have the tires properly inflated.
.Have the spare tire in its proper
location in the vehicle.
Headlamp aiming is done with the
vehicle's low-beam headlamps.
The high-beam headlamps will be
correctly aimed if the low-beam
headlamps are aimed properly.
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 (7,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2012
INDEX i-7
Lap Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-27
Lap-Shoulder Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-21
LATCH SystemReplacing Parts after aCrash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-60
LATCH, Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children . . . . . . . . . . 3-53
Level Control Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-48
Liftgate Carbon Monoxide . . . . . . . . 2-9, 2-10
Light StabiliTrak
®OFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Lighting Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Exit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Illumination Control . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Lights Airbag Readiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Antilock Brake System(ABS) Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Brake System Warning . . . . . . . 5-21
Charging System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18 Lights (cont'd)
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Engine Oil Pressure . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Front Fog Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
High-Beam On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
High/Low Beam Changer . . . . . . 6-2
Low Fuel Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Safety Belt Reminders . . . . . . . . 5-15
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-23
Tow/Haul Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Traction Control System
(TCS)/StabiliTrak®. . . . . . . . . . 5-23
Locking Rear Axle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-48
Locks Automatic Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7
Lockout Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Power Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5 Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . . . 5-24
Lower Anchors and Tethers
for Children (LATCH
System) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-53
Lumbar Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4 Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
M
MaintenanceRecords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-15
Maintenance Schedule Recommended Fluidsand Lubricants . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-12
Transfer Case . . . . . . . . . . 9-36, 9-41
Malfunction Indicator Lamp . . . . 5-18
Manual Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-34
Memory Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-10
Memory Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
Messages Airbag System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-42
Anti-theft Alarm System . . . . . . . 5-42
Battery Voltage andCharging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-35
Brake System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-35
Door Ajar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-36
Black plate (9,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2012
INDEX i-9
Operation, InfotainmentSystem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-3
Ordering Service Publications . . . . . . . . 13-16
Outlets Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Overheated Engine
Protection
Operating Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-21
Overheating, Engine . . . . . . . . . . 10-19
Overview, OnStar
®. . . . . . . . . . . . 14-1
P
Park Shifting into . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-26
Shifting out of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-28
Park Tilt Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19
Parking Assist, Ultrasonic . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-51
Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-44
Brake and P (Park)Mechanism Check . . . . . . . . 10-30
Over Things That Burn . . . . . . . 9-28 Passenger Airbag Status
Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Passenger Sensing System . . . 3-37
Perchlorate Materials Requirements, California . . . . . 10-3
Personalization Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-45
Phone Bluetooth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-47
Power Door Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Outlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Protection, Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-9
Retained Accessory (RAP) . . . 9-26
Seat Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Steering Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-22
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-20
Power Assist Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Pregnancy, Using Safety Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-27 Privacy
Radio Frequency
Identification (RFID) . . . . . . . 13-20
Program Courtesy Transportation . . . . 13-13
Proposition 65 Warning, California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
R
Radio Frequency
Identification (RFID) . . . . . . . . 13-20
Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-20
Radios
AM-FM Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-8
CD/DVD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-20
Reception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-13
Satellite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-9
Reading Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Rear Axle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-28
Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-48
Black plate (11,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2012
INDEX i-11
S
Safety Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-19Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-28
Extender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-28
How to Wear Safety BeltsProperly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-20
Lap Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-27
Lap-Shoulder Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-21
Reminders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15
Replacing after a Crash . . . . . . 3-29
Use During Pregnancy . . . . . . . . 3-27
Safety Defects Reporting Canadian Government . . . . . . 13-18
General Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-18
U.S. Government . . . . . . . . . . . 13-17
Safety Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Safety System Check . . . . . . . . . . 3-28
Satellite Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-9
Scheduling Appointments . . . . . 13-12
Seats
Adjustment, Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Center Seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Head Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2 Seats (cont'd)
Heated and Ventilated Front . . . 3-9
Heated, Rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10
Lumbar Adjustment, Front . . . . . 3-4
Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
Power Adjustment, Front . . . . . . 3-4
Reclining Seatbacks . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
Second Row . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11
Third Row Seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-16
Second Row Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11
Secondary Latch System . . . . . 10-78
Securing Child Restraints . . . . . . . . 3-60, 3-63, 3-64
Security
Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Security, OnStar
®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-2
Service
Accessories andModifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Doing Your Own Work . . . . . . . . 10-4
Engine Soon Light . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
Maintenance Records . . . . . . .11-15 Service (cont'd)
Maintenance, General
Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-1
Parts Identification Label . . . . . 12-1
Publications Ordering
Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-16
Scheduling Appointments . . . 13-12
Servicing the Airbag . . . . . . . . . . . 3-42
Shift Lock Control Function Check, Automatic
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-30
Shifting Into Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-26
Out of Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-28
Side Blind Zone Alert . . . . . . . . . . 9-53
Signals, Turn and Lane-Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Snow Plow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-85
Specifications and
Capacities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
StabiliTrak OFF Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-45