Black plate (3,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2013 - CRC - 8/27/12
Introduction iii
The names, logos, emblems,
slogans, vehicle model names, and
vehicle body designs appearing in
this manual including, but not limited
to, GM, the GM logo, CHEVROLET,
the CHEVROLET Emblem,
AVALANCHE, and Z71 are
trademarks and/or service marks
of General Motors LLC, its
subsidiaries, affiliates, or licensors.This manual describes features that
may or may not be on your specific
vehicle either because they are
options that you did not purchase or
due to changes subsequent to the
printing of this owner manual.
Please refer to the purchase
documentation relating to your
specific vehicle to confirm each of
the features found on your vehicle.
For vehicles first sold in Canada,
substitute the name
“General
Motors of Canada Limited” for
Chevrolet Motor Division wherever it
appears in this manual.
Keep this manual in the vehicle for
quick reference.
Canadian Vehicle Owners
Propriétaires Canadiens
A French language copy of this
manual can be obtained from your
dealer or from:
On peut obtenir un exemplaire de
ce guide en français auprès du
concessionnaire ou à l'adresse
suivante:
Helm, Incorporated
Attention: Customer Service
47911 Halyard Drive
Plymouth, MI 48170
Litho in U.S.A.
Part No. 20955528 B Second Printing©2012 General Motors LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Black plate (7,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2013 - CRC - 8/27/12
Keys, Doors, and Windows 2-7
From outside, use the Remote
Keyless Entry (RKE) transmitter or
the key in the driver door.
From inside, use the power door
locks or manual door locks. To lock
or unlock the door with the manual
locks, push down or pull up on the
manual lock knob.
Power Door Locks
PressQorKon the Remote
Keyless Entry (RKE) transmitter.
See Remote Keyless Entry (RKE)
System Operation on page 2‑2.
Power Folding Mirrors Shown,
Other Models Similar
Q(Lock): Press to lock the doors.
K(Unlock): Press to unlock the
doors.
Delayed Locking
When locking the doors with
the power lock switch and a
door is open, the doors will lock
five seconds after the last door is closed. You will hear three chimes to
signal that the delayed locking
feature is in use.
Pressing the power lock switch will
override the delayed locking feature
and immediately lock all the doors.
This feature will not operate if the
key is in the ignition.
You can also program this feature
using the Driver Information
Center (DIC). See
“Delay Door
Lock” under Vehicle Personalization
(With DIC Buttons) on page 5‑44.
Automatic Door Locks
The vehicle may have an automatic
lock/unlock feature. This feature can
be programmed using the Driver
Information Center (DIC). See
Vehicle Personalization (With DIC
Buttons) on page 5‑44.
Black plate (23,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2013 - CRC - 8/27/12
Keys, Doors, and Windows 2-23
Windows
{WARNING
Never leave a child, a helpless
adult, or a pet alone in a vehicle,
especially with the windows
closed in warm or hot weather.
They can be overcome by the
extreme heat and suffer
permanent injuries or even death
from heat stroke.
The vehicle aerodynamics are
designed to improve fuel economy
performance. This may result in a
pulsing sound when either rear
window is down and the front
windows are up. To reduce the
sound, open either a front window
or the sunroof, if equipped.
Power Windows
{WARNING
Children could be seriously
injured or killed if caught in the
path of a closing window. Never
leave keys in a vehicle with
children. When there are children
in the rear seat, use the window
lockout button to prevent
operation of the windows. See
Keys on page 2‑1.Power Folding Mirrors Shown,Other Models Similar
The driver door has switches
that control all windows. Each
passenger door switch only
controls that window. The power
windows work when the ignition is in
ON/RUN or ACC/ACCESSORY,
or in Retained Accessory Power
(RAP). See Retained Accessory
Power (RAP) on page 9‑25 for more
information.
Press the switch to lower the
window. Pull the switch up to
raise it.
Black plate (26,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2013 - CRC - 8/27/12
3-26 Seats and Restraints
Frontal airbag modules are located
inside the steering wheel and
instrument panel. For vehicles with
seat‐mounted side impact airbags,
there are airbags modules in the
side of the front seatbacks closest
to the door. For vehicles with
roof-rail airbags, there are airbag
modules in the ceiling of the vehicle,
near the side windows that have
occupant seating positions.
How Does an Airbag
Restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or
near frontal collisions, even belted
occupants can contact the steering
wheel or the instrument panel. In
moderate to severe side collisions,
even belted occupants can contact
the inside of the vehicle.
Airbags supplement the protection
provided by safety belts. Frontal
airbags distribute the force of the
impact more evenly over the
occupant's upper body, stopping the
occupant more gradually. Seat‐mounted side impact and roof-rail
airbags distribute the force of the
impact more evenly over the
occupant's upper body.
Rollover capable roof-rail airbags
are designed to help contain the
head and chest of occupants in the
outboard seating positions in the
first and second rows. The rollover
capable roof-rail airbags are
designed to help reduce the risk of
full or partial ejection in rollover
events, although no system can
prevent all such ejections.
But airbags would not help in many
types of collisions, primarily
because the occupant's motion is
not toward those airbags. See
When
Should an Airbag Inflate? on
page 3‑24 for more information.
Airbags should never be regarded
as anything more than a supplement
to safety belts.
What Will You See after
an Airbag Inflates?
After the frontal airbags and
seat-mounted side impact airbags
inflate, they quickly deflate, so
quickly that some people may not
even realize an airbag inflated.
Roof-rail airbags may still be at least
partially inflated for some time after
they deploy. Some components of
the airbag module may be hot for
several minutes. For location of the
airbag modules, see What Makes
an Airbag Inflate? on page 3‑25.
The parts of the airbag that come
into contact with you may be warm,
but not too hot to touch. There may
be some smoke and dust coming
from the vents in the deflated
airbags. Airbag inflation does not
prevent the driver from seeing out of
the windshield or being able to steer
the vehicle, nor does it prevent
people from leaving the vehicle.
Black plate (27,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2013 - CRC - 8/27/12
Seats and Restraints 3-27
{WARNING
When an airbag inflates, there
may be dust in the air. This dust
could cause breathing problems
for people with a history of
asthma or other breathing trouble.
To avoid this, everyone in the
vehicle should get out as soon as
it is safe to do so. If you have
breathing problems but cannot
get out of the vehicle after an
airbag inflates, then get fresh air
by opening a window or a door.
If you experience breathing
problems following an airbag
deployment, you should seek
medical attention.
The vehicle may have a feature that
may automatically unlock the doors,
turn on the interior lamps and
hazard warning flashers, and shut
off the fuel system after the airbags
inflate. You can lock the doors, turn off the interior lamps and hazard
warning flashers by using the
controls for those features.
{WARNING
A crash severe enough to inflate
the airbags may have also
damaged important functions in
the vehicle, such as the fuel
system, brake and steering
systems, etc. Even if the vehicle
appears to be drivable after a
moderate crash, there may be
concealed damage that could
make it difficult to safely operate
the vehicle.
Use caution if you should attempt
to restart the engine after a crash
has occurred.
In many crashes severe enough to
inflate the airbag, windshields are
broken by vehicle deformation. Additional windshield breakage may
also occur from the right front
passenger airbag.
.Airbags are designed to inflate
only once. After an airbag
inflates, you will need some new
parts for the airbag system.
If you do not get them, the
airbag system will not be there
to help protect you in another
crash. A new system will include
airbag modules and possibly
other parts. The service manual
for your vehicle covers the need
to replace other parts.
.The vehicle has a crash sensing
and diagnostic module which
records information after a
crash. See
Vehicle Data
Recording and Privacy on
page 13‑19 andEvent Data
Recorders on page 13‑19.
Black plate (4,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2013 - CRC - 8/27/12
5-4 Instruments and Controls
3. Press and release¨to move up
one track within the selected
category.
b/g(Mute/Push to Talk): Press
to silence the vehicle speakers only.
Press again to turn the sound on.
For vehicles with Bluetooth or
OnStar systems, press and hold for
longer than two seconds to interact
with those systems. See Bluetooth
on page 7‑48 andOnStar Overview
on page 14‑1 for more information.
SRCE (Source/Voice
Recognition): Press to switch
between the radio and CD, and for
equipped vehicles, the DVD, front
auxiliary, and rear auxiliary.
For vehicles with the navigation
system, press and hold this button
for longer than one second to
initiate voice recognition. See “Voice
Recognition” in the Navigation
System manual for more
information.
¨(Seek): Press to go to the next
radio station while in AM, FM,
or SiriusXM
®.
For vehicles with or without a
navigation system:
Press
¨to go to the next track or
chapter while sourced to the CD or
DVD slot.
Press
¨to select a track or a folder
when navigating folders on an iPod
or USB device.
For vehicles with a navigation
system:
1. Press and hold
¨until a beep is
heard, to place the radio into
SCAN mode. A station will play
for five seconds before moving
to the next station.
2. To stop the SCAN function, press
¨again. While listening to a CD/DVD, press
and hold
¨to quickly move forward
through the tracks. Release to stop
on the desired track.
+
e: Press to increase volume.
−
e: Press to decrease volume.
Horn
To sound the horn, press the center
pad on the steering wheel.
Windshield Wiper/Washer
The front wiper control is located on
the turn and lane-change lever.
The windshield wipers are
controlled by turning the band
with
zon it.
Black plate (14,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2013 - CRC - 8/27/12
5-14 Instruments and Controls
SeeEngine Overheating on
page 10‑18.
Voltmeter Gauge
When the engine is not running, but
the ignition is on, this gauge shows
the battery's state of charge in
DC volts. When the engine is running, the
gauge shows the condition of the
charging system. The charging
system regulates voltage based on
the state of the battery for improved
fuel economy and battery life. The
gauge may transition from a higher
to lower or a lower to higher
reading, this is normal. Readings
between the low and high warning
zones indicate the normal operating
range. The gauge may also read
low during the fuel economy mode,
this is normal.
Readings in the low warning zone
may occur when a large number of
electrical accessories are operating
in the vehicle and the engine is left
at an idle for an extended period.
This condition is normal since the
charging system is not able to
provide full power at engine idle.As engine speeds are increased,
this condition should correct itself as
higher engine speeds allow the
charging system to create full
power. If there is a problem with the
battery charging system, this light
will come on or the SERVICE
BATTERY CHARGING SYSTEM
DIC message will display. See
Battery Voltage and Charging
Messages on page 5‑34
and
Charging System Light on
page 5‑17 for more information.
Safety Belt Reminders
Driver Safety Belt Reminder
Light
There is a driver safety belt
reminder light on the instrument
cluster.
Black plate (37,1)Chevrolet Avalanche Owner Manual - 2013 - CRC - 8/27/12
Instruments and Controls 5-37
SeeOverheated Engine Protection
Operating Mode on page 10‑20 for
information on driving to a safe
place in an emergency.
ENGINE OVERHEATED STOP
ENGINE
This message displays and a chime
sounds if the engine cooling system
reaches unsafe temperatures for
operation. Stop and turn off the
vehicle as soon as it is safe to do so
to avoid severe damage. This
message clears when the engine
has cooled to a safe operating
temperature.
Engine Oil Messages
CHANGE ENGINE OIL SOON
This message displays when the
engine oil needs to be changed.
When you change the engine oil, be
sure to reset the CHANGE ENGINE
OIL SOON message. See Engine
Oil Life System on page 10‑9 for
information on how to reset the
message. See Engine Oil on
page 10‑6 andMaintenance
Schedule on page 11‑3 for more
information.
ENGINE OIL HOT IDLE
ENGINE
This message displays when the
engine oil becomes hotter than the
normal operating temperature. Stop
and allow the vehicle to idle until it
cools down. See Engine Coolant
Temperature Gauge on page 5‑13.
OIL PRESSURE LOW STOP
ENGINE
Notice: If you drive the vehicle
while the engine oil pressure is
low, severe engine damage may
occur. If a low oil pressure
warning appears on the Driver
Information Center (DIC), stop the
vehicle as soon as possible. Do
not drive the vehicle until the
cause of the low oil pressure is
corrected. See Engine Oil on
page 10‑6 for more information.
This message displays if low oil
pressure levels occur. Stop the
vehicle as soon as safely possible
and do not operate it until the cause
of the low oil pressure has been
corrected. Check the oil as soon as
possible and have the vehicle
serviced by your dealer. See Engine
Oil on page 10‑6.