
Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/
Mexico-9159366) - 2016 - crc - 5/19/15
94 Seats and Restraints
In any particular crash, no one can
say whether an airbag should have
inflated simply because of the
vehicle damage or the repair costs.
What Makes an Airbag
Inflate?
In a deployment event, the sensing
system sends an electrical signal
triggering a release of gas from the
inflator. Gas from the inflator fills the
airbag causing the bag to break out
of the cover. The inflator, the airbag,
and related hardware are all part of
the airbag module.
For airbag locations, seeWhere Are
the Airbags? 091.
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 by
distributing the force of the impact
more evenly over the
occupant's body.
Rollover capable roof-rail airbags
are also designed to help contain
the head and chest of occupants in
the outboard seating positions in the
first, second, and third 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? 092 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. The
front center airbag, if equipped, and
the roof-rail airbags may still be at
least partially inflated for some time
after they inflate. Some components
of the airbag module may be hot for
several minutes. For location of the
airbags, see Where Are the
Airbags? 091.
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.

Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/
Mexico-9159366) - 2016 - crc - 5/19/15
Seats and Restraints 99
2. Remove any additional materialfrom the seat, such as
blankets, cushions, seat
covers, seat heaters, or seat
massagers.
3. Place the seatback in the fully upright position.
4. Have the person sit upright in the seat, centered on the seat
cushion, with legs comfortably
extended.
5. If the shoulder portion of the belt is pulled out all the way,
the child restraint locking
feature will be engaged. This
may unintentionally cause the
passenger sensing system to
turn the airbag off for some
adult-sized occupants. If this
happens, unbuckle the belt, let
the belt go back all the way,
and then buckle the belt again
without pulling the belt out all
the way.
6. Restart the vehicle and have the person remain in this
position for two to three minutes
after the on indicator is lit.{Warning
If the front outboard passenger
airbag is turned off for an
adult-sized occupant, the airbag
will not be able to inflate and help
protect that person in a crash,
resulting in an increased risk of
serious injury or even death. An
adult-sized occupant should not
ride in the front outboard
passenger seat, if the passenger
airbag off indicator is lit.
Additional Factors Affecting
System Operation
Safety belts help keep the
passenger in position on the seat
during vehicle maneuvers and
braking, which helps the passenger
sensing system maintain the
passenger airbag status. See
“Safety Belts” and“Child Restraints”
in the Index for additional
information about the importance of
proper restraint use. A thick layer of additional material,
such as a blanket or cushion,
or aftermarket equipment such as
seat covers, seat heaters, and seat
massagers can affect how well the
passenger sensing system
operates. We recommend that you
not use seat covers or other
aftermarket equipment except when
approved by GM for your specific
vehicle. See
Adding Equipment to
the Airbag-Equipped Vehicle 0100
for more information about
modifications that can affect how
the system operates.
The on indicator may be lit if an
object, such as a briefcase,
handbag, grocery bag, laptop,
or other electronic device, is put on
an unoccupied seat. If this is not
desired, remove the object from
the seat.
{Warning
Stowing of articles under the
passenger seat or between the
passenger seat cushion and
(Continued)

Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/
Mexico-9159366) - 2016 - crc - 5/19/15
Seats and Restraints 113
{Warning
To reduce the risk of serious or
fatal injuries during a crash, do
not attach more than one child
restraint to a single anchor.
Attaching more than one child
restraint to a single anchor could
cause the anchor or attachment
to come loose or even break
during a crash. A child or others
could be injured.
{Warning
Children can be seriously injured
or strangled if a shoulder belt is
wrapped around their neck. The
shoulder belt can tighten but
cannot be loosened if it is locked.
The shoulder belt locks when it is
pulled all the way out of the
retractor. It unlocks when the
shoulder belt is allowed to go all
the way back into the retractor,
but it cannot do this if it is(Continued)
Warning (Continued)
wrapped around a child’s neck.
If the shoulder belt is locked and
tightened around a child’s neck,
the only way to loosen the belt is
to cut it.
Buckle any unused safety belts
behind the child restraint so
children cannot reach them. Pull
the shoulder belt all the way out
of the retractor to set the lock,
and tighten the belt behind the
child restraint after the child
restraint has been installed.
Caution
Do not let the LATCH
attachments rub against the
vehicle’s safety belts. This may
damage these parts. If necessary,
move buckled safety belts to
avoid rubbing the LATCH
attachments.
(Continued)
Caution (Continued)
Do not fold the empty rear seat
with a safety belt buckled. This
could damage the safety belt or
the seat. Unbuckle and return the
safety belt to its stowed position,
before folding the seat.
The vehicle may be equipped with a
front center airbag in the inboard
side of the driver seat. Even with a
front center airbag, a child restraint
can be installed in any second row
seating position.
If you need to secure more than one
child restraint in the rear seat, see
Where to Put the Restraint 0107.
This system is designed to make
installation of child restraints easier.
When using lower anchors, do not
use the vehicle's safety belts.
Instead use the vehicle's anchors
and child restraint attachments to
secure the restraints. Some
restraints also use another vehicle
anchor to secure a top tether.

Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/
Mexico-9159366) - 2016 - crc - 5/19/15
Seats and Restraints 119
6. If the child restraint has a toptether, follow the child restraint
manufacturer ’s instructions
regarding the use of the top
tether. Refer to the instructions
that came with the child
restraint and see Lower
Anchors and Tethers for
Children (LATCH System)
0 109.
7. Before placing a child in the child restraint, make sure it is
securely held in place. To
check, grasp the child restraint
at the safety belt path and
attempt to move it side to side
and back and forth. When the
child restraint is properly
installed, there should be no
more than 2.5 cm (1 in) of
movement.
To remove the child restraint,
unbuckle the vehicle safety belt and
let it return to the stowed position.
If the top tether is attached to a top
tether anchor, disconnect it.
If the head restraint was removed
for a third row outboard seating
position, reinstall it before the seating position is used. See
“Head
Restraint Removal and
Reinstallation” underLower Anchors
and Tethers for Children (LATCH
System) 0109 for additional
information on reinstalling the head
restraint properly.
Securing Child Restraints
(Front Passenger Seat)
This vehicle has airbags. A rear
seat is a safer place to secure a
forward-facing child restraint. See
Where to Put the Restraint 0107.
In addition, the vehicle has a
passenger sensing system which is
designed to turn off the front
outboard passenger frontal airbag
under certain conditions. See
Passenger Sensing System 096
and Passenger Airbag Status
Indicator 0145 for more information,
including important safety
information.
Never put a rear-facing child seat in
the front. This is because the risk to
the rear-facing child is so great if the
airbag deploys.
{Warning
A child in a rear-facing child
restraint can be seriously injured
or killed if the front outboard
passenger frontal airbag inflates.
This is because the back of the
rear-facing child restraint would
be very close to the inflating
airbag. A child in a forward-facing
child restraint can be seriously
injured or killed if the front
outboard passenger frontal airbag
inflates and the passenger seat is
in a forward position.
Even if the passenger sensing
system has turned off the front
outboard passenger frontal
airbag, no system is fail-safe. No
one can guarantee that an airbag
will not deploy under some
unusual circumstance, even
though it is turned off.
Secure rear-facing child restraints
in a rear seat, even if the airbag
is off. If you secure a
(Continued)

Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/
Mexico-9159366) - 2016 - crc - 5/19/15
Seats and Restraints 121
Position the release button on
the buckle so that the safety
belt could be quickly unbuckled
if necessary.
5. Pull the shoulder belt all theway out of the retractor to set
the lock. When the retractor
lock is set, the belt can be
tightened but not pulled out of
the retractor.
6. To tighten the belt, push downon the child restraint, pull the
shoulder portion of the belt to
tighten the lap portion of the
belt, and feed the shoulder belt
back into the retractor. When
installing a forward-facing child
restraint, it may be helpful to
use your knee to push down on
the child restraint as you
tighten the belt.
Try to pull the belt out of the
retractor to make sure the
retractor is locked. If the
retractor is not locked, repeat
Steps 5 and 6. 7. Before placing a child in the
child restraint, make sure it is
securely held in place. To
check, grasp the child restraint
at the safety belt path and
attempt to move it side to side
and back and forth. When the
child restraint is properly
installed, there should be no
more than 2.5 cm (1 in) of
movement.
If the airbag is off, the off indicator in
the passenger airbag status
indicator will come on and stay on
when the vehicle is started.
If a child restraint has been installed
and the on indicator is lit, see “If the
On Indicator is Lit for a Child
Restraint” underPassenger Sensing
System 096.
To remove the child restraint,
unbuckle the vehicle safety belt and
let it return to the stowed position.

Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/
Mexico-9159366) - 2016 - crc - 5/19/15
124 Storage
Additional Storage
Features
Cargo Cover
{Warning
An unsecured cargo cover could
strike people in a sudden stop or
turn, or in a crash. Store the
cargo cover securely or remove it
from the vehicle.
To use the cargo cover, if equipped: 1. Pull the cover handle toward the rear of the vehicle.
2. Latch the cover posts into the retaining sockets on the cargo
area trim panels.
To return the cover to the retracted
position:
1. Pull up on the cover handle to release the cover posts from
the retaining sockets.
2. Let the cover move forward to the full retracted position. To remove the cover:
1. Let the cover go all the way into the holder.
2. Grasping the driver side cover end cap, push the cover end
cap toward the passenger side
of the vehicle.
3. Swing the cover rearward and take it out of the vehicle.
To put the cover in the vehicle: 1. Make sure the cover slot in the holder faces rearward with the
round surface facing down.
2. Hold the cover at an angle and place the cover end cap into
the slot in the passenger side
trim panel.
3. Move the other end of the cover forward and hold it next
to the driver side trim
panel slot.
4. Press the end caps in, to allow the cover to fit into the trim slot.
5. Pull lightly on the cover holder to make sure it is secure. On long wheelbase models there
are two cover positions. The slots
furthest forward allow the cover to
be used if the third seat is removed
or folded down. The cover can be
installed and removed from
either side.

Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/
Mexico-9159366) - 2016 - crc - 5/20/15
126 Instruments and Controls
Instruments and
Controls
Controls
Steering Wheel Adjustment . . . 127
Steering Wheel Controls . . . . . . 128
Heated Steering Wheel . . . . . . . 129
Horn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Windshield Wiper/Washer . . . . 129
Rear Window Wiper/Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Power Outlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Wireless Charging . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Warning Lights, Gauges, and
Indicators
Warning Lights, Gauges, and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Instrument Cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Trip Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Fuel Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Engine Oil Pressure
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 Engine Coolant Temperature
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Voltmeter Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Safety Belt Reminders . . . . . . . . 144
Airbag Readiness Light . . . . . . . 144
Passenger Airbag Status Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Charging System Light . . . . . . . 146
Malfunction Indicator Lamp (Check Engine Light) . . . . . . . . 146
Brake System Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Antilock Brake System (ABS) Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Tow/Haul Mode Light . . . . . . . . . 149
Lane Keep Assist (LKA) Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Vehicle Ahead Indicator . . . . . . 150
Traction Off Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
StabiliTrak
®OFF Light . . . . . . . . 150
Traction Control System (TCS)/ StabiliTrak
®Light . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Tire Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . 151
Security Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . 152
Front Fog Lamp Light . . . . . . . . . 152
Lamps On Reminder . . . . . . . . . 152
Cruise Control Light . . . . . . . . . . 152
Information Displays
Driver Information Center (DIC) (Base Level) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Driver Information Center (DIC) (Uplevel) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Head-Up Display (HUD) . . . . . . 157
Vehicle Messages
Vehicle Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Battery Voltage and Charging
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Brake System Messages . . . . . 162
Compass Messages . . . . . . . . . . 162
Cruise Control Messages . . . . . 162
Door Ajar Messages . . . . . . . . . . 163
Engine Cooling System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Engine Oil Messages . . . . . . . . . 164
Engine Power Messages . . . . . 164
Fuel System Messages . . . . . . . 165
Key and Lock Messages . . . . . 165
Lamp Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Object Detection System
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Ride Control System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Airbag System Messages . . . . 169
Security Messages . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Steering System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/
Mexico-9159366) - 2016 - crc - 5/20/15
Instruments and Controls 127
Starting the VehicleMessages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Tire Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Transmission Messages . . . . . . 170
Vehicle Reminder Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Washer Fluid Messages . . . . . . 172
Vehicle Personalization
Vehicle Personalization . . . . . . . 173
Universal Remote System
Universal Remote System . . . . 179
Universal Remote System Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Universal Remote System Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Controls
Steering Wheel
Adjustment
To adjust the steering wheel:
1. Hold the steering wheel and pull the lever.
2. Move the steering wheel up or down.
3. Release the lever to lock the wheel in place. Tilt and Telescoping Steering
Wheel
To adjust the tilt and telescoping
steering wheel, if equipped:
1. Push the lever (1) down to move the steering wheel
forward or rearward. Lift the
lever (1) up to lock the wheel in
place.
2. Hold the steering wheel and pull the lever (2) toward you to
move the steering wheel up or
down. Release the lever (2) to
lock the wheel into place.