Black plate (12,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2012
11-12 Service and Maintenance
Recommended Fluids, Lubricants, and Parts
Recommended Fluids and Lubricants
Fluids and lubricants identified below by name, part number, or specification can be obtained from your dealer.Usage Fluid/Lubricant
Engine Oil Use only engine oil licensed to the dexos1 specfication, or equivalent, of
the proper SAE viscosity grade. ACDelco dexos1 Synthetic Blend is
recommended. See
Engine Oil on page 10‑7.
Engine Coolant 50/50 mixture of clean, drinkable water and use only DEX-COOL Coolant.
See
Engine Coolant on page 10‑16.
Hydraulic Brake System DOT 3 Hydraulic Brake Fluid (GM Part No. 12377967, in
Canada 89021320).
Windshield Washer Optikleen
®Washer Solvent.
Power Steering System GM Power Steering Fluid (GM Part No. 89021184, in Canada 89021186).
Automatic Transmission DEXRON
®-VI Automatic Transmission Fluid.
Key Lock Cylinders Multi-Purpose Lubricant, Superlube (GM Part No. 12346241, in
Canada 10953474).
Chassis Lubrication Chassis Lubricant (GM Part No. 12377985, in Canada 88901242) or
lubricant meeting requirements of NLGI #2, Category LB or GC-LB.
Front Axle (1500 Series Vehicles with Four-Wheel Drive) SAE 80W-90 Axle Lubricant (GM Part No. 89021671, in
Canada 89021672).
Black plate (16,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2012
13-16 Customer Information
Gather the following information:
.Driver name, address, and
telephone number.
.Driver license number.
.Owner name, address, and
telephone number.
.Vehicle license plate number.
.Vehicle make, model, and
model year.
.Vehicle Identification
Number (VIN).
.Insurance company and policy
number.
.General description of the
damage to the other vehicle.
Choose a reputable repair facility
that uses quality replacement parts.
See “Collision Parts” earlier in this
section.
If the airbag has inflated, see What
Will You See after an Airbag
Inflates? on page 3‑36.
Managing the Vehicle Damage
Repair Process
In the event that the vehicle requires
damage repairs, GM recommends
that you take an active role in its
repair. If you have a pre-determined
repair facility of choice, take the
vehicle there, or have it towed there.
Specify to the facility that any
required replacement collision parts
be original equipment parts, either
new Genuine GM parts or recycled
original GM parts. Remember,
recycled parts will not be covered by
the GM vehicle warranty.
Insurance pays the bill for the repair,
but you must live with the repair.
Depending on your policy limits,
your insurance company may
initially value the repair using
aftermarket parts. Discuss this with
the repair professional, and insist on
Genuine GM parts. Remember,
if the vehicle is leased, you may
be obligated to have the vehicle
repaired with Genuine GM parts,
even if your insurance coverage
does not pay the full cost. If another party's insurance
company is paying for the repairs,
you are not obligated to accept a
repair valuation based on that
insurance company's collision
policy repair limits, as you have no
contractual limits with that company.
In such cases, you can have control
of the repair and parts choices as
long as the cost stays within
reasonable limits.
Service Publications
Ordering Information
Service Manuals
Service Manuals have the diagnosis
and repair information on the
engines, transmission, axle,
suspension, brakes, electrical,
steering, body, etc.
Service Bulletins
Service Bulletins give additional
technical service information
needed to knowledgeably service
General Motors cars and trucks.
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 (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 (12,1)Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual - 2012
i-12 INDEX
Start Assist, Hills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-44
Start Vehicle, Remote . . . . . . . . . . 2-5
Starter Switch Check . . . . . . . . . 10-29
Starting the Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-24
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-4Fluid, Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-22
Wheel Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
Wheel Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
Steps Power Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Stoplamps and Back-up Lamps
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-34
Storage Rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Storage Areas Armrest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Cargo Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Center Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Glove Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Roof Rack System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3
Stuck Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-15
Sun Visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-21
Sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-22 Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
System
Infotainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1
Roof Rack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3
T
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
TaillampsBulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-34
Text Telephone (TTY) Users . . . 13-6
Theft-Deterrent Systems . . . . . . . 2-14 Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Third-Row Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-16
Throttle, Adjustable . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-22
Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Tires
Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . 10-59
Chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-64
Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-66
Designations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-47
Different Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-61
Full-Size Spare . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-81
If a Tire Goes Flat . . . . . . . . . . 10-65 Tires (cont'd)
Inflation Monitor System . . . . 10-54
Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-57
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-42
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-23
Pressure Monitor System . . . 10-53
Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-57
Secondary Latch System . . . 10-78
Sidewall Labeling . . . . . . . . . . . 10-45
Terminology and
Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-49
Uniform Tire Quality Grading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-61
Wheel Alignment and Tire
Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-63
Wheel Replacement . . . . . . . . 10-63
When It Is Time for New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-58
Tow/Haul Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-35
Tow/Haul Mode Light . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Towing Driving Characteristics . . . . . . . . 9-66
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-75
General Information . . . . . . . . . . 9-65