
Black plate (16,1)Chevrolet Traverse Owner Manual - 2012
5-16 Instruments and Controls
Passenger Airbag Status
Indicator
The vehicle has a passenger
sensing system. SeePassenger
Sensing System on page 3‑31 for
important safety information. The
instrument panel has a passenger
airbag status indicator.
United States
Canada and Mexico
When the vehicle is started, the
passenger airbag status indicator
will light ON and OFF, or the symbol for on and off, for several seconds
as a system check. If you use
remote start, if equipped, to start the
vehicle, you may not see the system
check. Then, after several more
seconds, the status indicator will
light either ON or OFF, or either the
on or off symbol to let you know
the status of the front outboard
passenger frontal airbag.
If the word ON or the on symbol is
lit on the passenger airbag status
indicator, it means that the front
outboard passenger frontal airbag is
allowed to inflate.
If the word OFF or the off symbol is
lit on the passenger airbag status
indicator, it means that the
passenger sensing system has
turned off the front outboard
passenger frontal airbag.
If, after several seconds, both status
indicator lights remain on, or if there
are no lights at all, there may be a
problem with the lights or the
passenger sensing system. See
your dealer for service.
{WARNING
If the airbag readiness light ever
comes on and stays on, it means
that something may be wrong
with the airbag system. To help
avoid injury to yourself or others,
have the vehicle serviced right
away. See
Airbag Readiness
Light on page 5‑15 for more
information, including important
safety information.

Black plate (43,1)Chevrolet Traverse Owner Manual - 2012
Instruments and Controls 5-43
Press the customization button until
REMOTE DOOR LOCK appears on
the DIC display. Press the set/reset
button once to access the settings
for this feature. Then press the
customization button to scroll
through the following settings:
OFF:There will be no feedback
when you press the lock button on
the RKE transmitter.
LIGHTS ONLY: The exterior lamps
will flash when you press the lock
button on the RKE transmitter.
HORN ONLY: The horn will sound
on the second press of the lock
button on the RKE transmitter.
HORN & LIGHTS (default): The
exterior lamps will flash when you
press the lock button on the RKE
transmitter, and the horn will sound
when the lock button is pressed
again within five seconds of the
previous command.
NO CHANGE: No change will be
made to this feature. The current
setting will remain. To select a setting, press the set/
reset button while the desired
setting is displayed on the DIC.
REMOTE DOOR UNLOCK
This feature allows you to select the
type of feedback you will receive
when unlocking the vehicle with the
Remote Keyless Entry (RKE)
transmitter. You will not receive
feedback when unlocking the
vehicle with the RKE transmitter if
the doors are open. See
Remote
Keyless Entry (RKE) System
Operation on page 2‑3 for more
information.
Press the customization button until
REMOTE DOOR UNLOCK appears
on the DIC display. Press the set/
reset button once to access the
settings for this feature. Then press
the customization button to scroll
through the following settings:
LIGHTS OFF: The exterior lamps
will not flash when you press the
unlock button on the RKE
transmitter. LIGHTS ON (default):
The exterior
lamps will flash when you press the
unlock button on the RKE
transmitter.
NO CHANGE: No change will be
made to this feature. The current
setting will remain.
To select a setting, press the set/
reset button while the desired
setting is displayed on the DIC.
DELAY DOOR LOCK
This feature allows you to select
whether or not the locking of the
vehicle's doors and liftgate will be
delayed. When locking the doors
and liftgate with the power door lock
switch and a door or the liftgate is
open, this feature will delay locking
the doors and liftgate until
five seconds after the last door is
closed. You will hear three chimes
to signal that the delayed locking
feature is in use. The key must be
out of the ignition for this feature to
work. You can temporarily override
delayed locking by pressing the
power door lock switch twice or the

Black plate (44,1)Chevrolet Traverse Owner Manual - 2012
5-44 Instruments and Controls
lock button on the RKE transmitter
twice. SeeDelayed Locking on
page 2‑8 for more information.
Press the customization button until
DELAY DOOR LOCK appears on
the DIC display. Press the set/reset
button once to access the settings
for this feature. Then press the
customization button to scroll
through the following settings:
OFF: There will be no delayed
locking of the vehicle's doors.
ON (default): The doors will not
lock until five seconds after the last
door or the liftgate is closed.
NO CHANGE: No change will be
made to this feature. The current
setting will remain.
To select a setting, press the set/
reset button while the desired
setting is displayed on the DIC.
EXIT LIGHTING
This feature allows you to select
the amount of time you want the
exterior lamps to remain on when it is dark enough outside. This
happens after the key is turned from
ON/RUN to LOCK/OFF.
Press the customization button until
EXIT LIGHTING appears on the DIC
display. Press the set/reset button
once to access the settings for this
feature. Then press the
customization button to scroll
through the following settings:
OFF:
The exterior lamps will not
turn on.
30 SECONDS (default): The
exterior lamps will stay on for
30 seconds.
1 MINUTE: The exterior lamps will
stay on for one minute.
2 MINUTES: The exterior lamps will
stay on for two minutes.
NO CHANGE: No change will be
made to this feature. The current
setting will remain.
To select a setting, press the set/
reset button while the desired
setting is displayed on the DIC. APPROACH LIGHTING
This feature allows you to select
whether or not to have the exterior
lights turn on briefly during low light
periods after unlocking the vehicle
using the Remote Keyless Entry
(RKE) transmitter.
Press the customization button until
APPROACH LIGHTING appears on
the DIC display. Press the set/reset
button once to access the settings
for this feature. Then press the
customization button to scroll
through the following settings:
OFF:
The exterior lights will not
turn on when you unlock the vehicle
with the RKE transmitter.
ON (default): If it is dark enough
outside, the exterior lights will turn
on briefly when you unlock the
vehicle with the RKE transmitter.
The lights will remain on for
20 seconds or until the lock button
on the RKE transmitter is pressed,
or the vehicle is no longer off.

Black plate (1,1)Chevrolet Traverse Owner Manual - 2012
Lighting 6-1
Lighting
Exterior Lighting
Exterior Lamp Controls . . . . . . . . 6-1
Headlamp High/Low-BeamChanger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL)/Automatic Headlamp
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Delayed Headlamps . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Hazard Warning Flashers . . . . . 6-4
Turn and Lane-Change Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Interior Lighting
Instrument Panel IlluminationControl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Courtesy Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Dome Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Reading Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Lighting Features
Entry Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Delayed Entry Lighting . . . . . . . . 6-6
Delayed Exit Lighting . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Parade Dimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Battery Load Management . . . . 6-7
Battery Power Protection . . . . . . 6-8
Exterior Lighting
Exterior Lamp Controls
The exterior lamps control is located
on the instrument panel to the left of
the steering wheel.
It controls the following systems:
.Headlamps
.Taillamps
.Parking Lamps
.License Plate Lamps
.Instrument Panel Lights

Black plate (2,1)Chevrolet Traverse Owner Manual - 2012
6-2 Lighting
The exterior lamps control has four
positions:
O(Off):Briefly turn to this position
to turn the automatic light control off
or on again.
AUTO (Automatic): Turns the
headlamps on automatically at
normal brightness, together with the
following:
.Parking Lamps
.Taillamps
.License Plate Lamps
.Instrument Panel Lights
;(Parking Lamps): Turns the
parking lamps on together with the
following:
.Taillamps
.License Plate Lamps
.Instrument Panel Lights
5(Headlamps): Turns the
headlamps on together with the
following lamps. A warning chime
sounds if the driver door is opened
when the ignition switch is off and
the headlamps are on.
.Parking Lamps
.Taillamps
.License Plate Lamps
.Instrument Panel Lights
Headlamp High/
Low-Beam Changer
2 3
Headlamp High/Low‐Beam
Changer: Push the turn signal/lane
change lever away from you to turn
the high beams on.
Pull the lever toward you to return to
low beams.
This indicator light turns on in the
instrument panel cluster when the
high‐beam headlamps are on.
Flash-to-Pass
This feature is used to signal to
the vehicle ahead that you want
to pass.
If the headlamps are off or in the
low‐beam position, pull the turn
signal lever toward you to
momentarily switch to high beams.
Release the lever to turn the
high-beam headlamps off.

Black plate (5,1)Chevrolet Traverse Owner Manual - 2012
Lighting 6-5
Interior Lighting
Instrument Panel
Illumination Control
The instrument panel brightness
knob is located on the instrument
panel to the left of the steering
column.
D(Instrument Panel
Brightness): Push the knob in all
the way until it extends out and then
turn the knob clockwise or
counterclockwise to brighten or dim
the lights. Push the knob back in
when finished.
Courtesy Lamps
The courtesy lamps automatically
come on when a door is opened.
The lamps can also be turned on
manually by fully turning the
instrument panel brightness control
clockwise.
The reading lamps, located on the
headliner above the rearview mirror,
can be turned on or off
independently of the automatic
courtesy lamps, when the doors are
closed.
Dome Lamps
The dome lamps are located in the
overhead console and above the
rear seat passengers.
The dome lamps come on when a
door is opened, unless the dome
lamp override button is pressed in. The lamps can also be turned on
and off by turning the instrument
panel brightness control clockwise
to the farthest position.
Dome Lamp Override
The dome lamp override button is
next to the exterior lamps control.
E
DOME OFF (Dome Lamp
Override): Press the top of the
button in and the dome lamps
remain off when a door is opened.

Black plate (16,1)Chevrolet Traverse Owner Manual - 2012
9-16 Driving and Operating
If the vehicle must be shut off in an
emergency:
1. Brake using a firm and steadypressure. Do not pump the
brakes repeatedly. This may
deplete power assist, requiring
increased brake pedal force.
2. Shift the vehicle to N (Neutral). This can be done while the
vehicle is moving. After shifting
to N (Neutral), firmly apply the
brakes and steer the vehicle to a
safe location.
3. Come to a complete stop, shift to P (Park), and turn the ignition
to LOCK/OFF. On vehicles with
an automatic transmission, the
shift lever must be in P (Park) to
turn the ignition switch to the
LOCK/OFF position.
4. Set the parking brake. See Parking Brake on page 9‑27.{WARNING
Turning off the vehicle while
moving may cause loss of power
assist in the brake and steering
systems and disable the airbags.
While driving, only shut the
vehicle off in an emergency.
If the vehicle cannot be pulled over,
and must be shut off while driving,
turn the ignition to ACC/
ACCESSORY.
The steering can bind with the
wheels turned off center. If this
happens, move the steering wheel
from right to left while turning the
key to ACC/ACCESSORY. If this
does not work, then the vehicle
needs service.
ACC (ACC/ACCESSORY): This
is the position in which you can
operate the electrical accessories or
items plugged into the accessory
power outlets. This position unlocks the ignition and steering wheel. Use
this position if the vehicle must be
pushed or towed.R(ON/RUN):
This position can be
used to operate the electrical
accessories and to display some
instrument panel warning and
indicator lights. This position can
also be used for service and
diagnostics, and to verify the proper
operation of the malfunction
indicator lamp as may be required
for emission inspection purposes.
The switch stays in this position
when the engine is running. The
transmission is also unlocked in this
position. If you leave the key in the
ACC/ACCESSORY or ON/RUN
position with the engine off, the
battery could be drained. You may
not be able to start the vehicle if the
battery is allowed to drain for an
extended period of time.
/(START): This is the position
that starts the engine. When the
engine starts, release the key. The
ignition switch will return to ON/RUN
for driving.

Black plate (30,1)Chevrolet Traverse Owner Manual - 2012
9-30 Driving and Operating
Traction Control Operation
The traction control system is part
of the StabiliTrak system. Traction
control limits wheel spin by reducing
engine power to the wheels (engine
speed management) and by
applying the brakes as necessary.
The traction control system is
enabled automatically when the
vehicle is started. It will activate and
the StabiliTrak light will flash if it
senses that any of the wheels are
spinning or beginning to lose
traction while driving. If traction
control is turned off, only the
brake-traction control portion of
traction control will work. The
engine speed management will be
disabled. In this mode, engine
power is not reduced automatically
and the driven wheels can spin
more freely. This can cause the
brake-traction control to activate
constantly.Notice:
If the wheel(s) of one axle
is allowed to spin excessively
while the StabiliTrak®, ABS, brake
warning lights, and any relevant
DIC messages are displayed, the
transfer case could be damaged.
The repairs would not be covered
by the vehicle warranty. Reduce
engine power and do not spin the
wheel(s) excessively while these
lights and messages are
displayed.
The traction control system may
activate on dry or rough roads or
under conditions such as heavy
acceleration while turning or abrupt
upshifts/downshifts of the
transmission. When this happens, a
reduction in acceleration may be
noticed, or a noise or vibration may
be heard. This is normal. If cruise control is being used when
the system activates, the StabiliTrak
light will flash and cruise control will
automatically disengage. Cruise
control may be reengaged when
road conditions allow. See
Cruise
Control on page 9‑31.
StabiliTrak may also turn off
automatically if it determines that a
problem exists with the system.
If the problem does not clear itself
after restarting the vehicle, see your
dealer for service.