
Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/
Mexico-9159366) - 2016 - crc - 5/20/15
Driving and Operating 227
Driving and
Operating
Driving Information
Distracted Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Defensive Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Drunk Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Control of a Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Off-Road Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Driving on Wet Roads . . . . . . . . 236
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . 237
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
If the Vehicle Is Stuck . . . . . . . . 238
Vehicle Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Starting and Operating
New Vehicle Break-In . . . . . . . . . 244
Adjustable Throttle and BrakePedal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Ignition Positions (Keyless Access) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Ignition Positions (Key Access) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Starting the Engine . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Engine Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250 Retained Accessory
Power (RAP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Shifting Into Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Shifting out of Park . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Parking over Things That Burn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Active Fuel Management
®. . . . 254
Engine Exhaust
Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Running the Vehicle While Parked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Automatic Transmission
Automatic Transmission . . . . . . 255
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Tow/Haul Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Drive Systems
Four-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Brakes
Antilock BrakeSystem (ABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Parking Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Brake Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Hill Start Assist (HSA) . . . . . . . . 266
Ride Control Systems
Traction Control/Electronic Stability Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Hill Descent Control (HDC) . . . 269 Magnetic Ride Control . . . . . . . . 270
Locking Rear Axle . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Automatic Level Control . . . . . . 270
Cruise Control
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Adaptive Cruise Control . . . . . . 273
Driver Assistance Systems
Driver Assistance Systems . . . 280
Assistance Systems for
Parking or Backing . . . . . . . . . . 281
Assistance Systems for Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Forward Collision Alert (FCA) System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Front Automatic Braking (FAB) System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Side Blind Zone Alert (SBZA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Lane Change Alert (LCA) . . . . . 287
Lane Departure Warning (LDW) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Lane Keep Assist (LKA) . . . . . 289
Fuel
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
California Fuel Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Fuels in Foreign Countries . . . 292
Fuel Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
E85 or FlexFuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293

Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/
Mexico-9159366) - 2016 - crc - 5/20/15
292 Driving and Operating
other fuels containing more than
15% ethanol must be used only in
FlexFuel vehicles.
Caution
Do not use fuel containing
methanol. It can corrode metal
parts in the fuel system and also
damage plastic and rubber parts.
That damage would not be
covered under the vehicle
warranty.
Some gasolines, mainly high octane
racing gasolines, can contain an
octane-enhancing additive called
methylcyclopentadienyl manganese
tricarbonyl (MMT). Do not use
gasolines and/or fuel additives with
MMT as they can reduce spark plug
life and affect emission control
system performance. The
malfunction indicator lamp may turn
on. If this occurs, see your dealer
for service.
California Fuel
Requirements
If the vehicle is certified to meet
California Emissions Standards, it is
designed to operate on fuels that
meet California specifications. See
the underhood emission control
label. If this fuel is not available in
states adopting California Emissions
Standards, the vehicle will operate
satisfactorily on fuels meeting
federal specifications, but emission
control system performance might
be affected. The malfunction
indicator lamp could turn on and the
vehicle may not pass a smog-check
test. See Malfunction Indicator
Lamp (Check Engine Light) 0146.
If this occurs, return to your
authorized dealer for diagnosis. If it
is determined that the condition is
caused by the type of fuel used,
repairs may not be covered by the
vehicle warranty.
Fuels in Foreign
Countries
If planning to drive in countries
outside the U.S. or Canada, the
proper fuel might be hard to find.
Check regional auto club or fuel
retail brand websites for availability
in the country where driving. Never
use leaded gasoline, fuel containing
methanol, manganese, or any other
fuel not recommended. Costly
repairs caused by use of improper
fuel would not be covered by the
vehicle warranty.
Fuel Additives
To keep fuel systems clean, TOP
TIER Detergent Gasoline is
recommended. See Fuel0291.
If TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline is
not available, one bottle of Fuel
System Treatment PLUS added to
the fuel tank at every engine oil
change can help. Fuel System
Treatment PLUS is the only
gasoline additive recommended by
General Motors. It is available at
your dealer.

Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/
Mexico-9159366) - 2016 - crc - 5/20/15
Driving and Operating 293
Do not use additives with E85 or
FlexFuel.
E85 or FlexFuel
For a heavy-duty Suburban, see the
Suburban Heavy-Duty Package
supplement.
Vehicles with fuel caps marked as
“E85”or FlexFuel can use either
unleaded gasoline or ethanol fuel
containing up to 85% ethanol (E85).
All other vehicles should use only
the unleaded gasoline as described
in Fuel 0291.
The use of E85 or FlexFuel is
encouraged when the vehicle is
designed to use it. E85 or FlexFuel
is made from renewable sources.
Many fuel stations will not have an
85% ethanol fuel (E85) pump
available. Those stations that do
have E85 should have a label
indicating the FlexFuel ethanol
content. Do not use the fuel if the
ethanol content is greater than 85%. The starting characteristics of E85
or FlexFuel make it unsuitable for
use when temperatures fall below
-18 °C (0 °F). Use gasoline or add
gasoline to the E85 or FlexFuel.
Because E85 or FlexFuel has less
energy per liter (gallon) than
gasoline, the vehicle will need to be
refilled more often. See
Filling the
Tank 0293.
Caution
Some additives are not
compatible with E85 or FlexFuel
and can harm the vehicle's fuel
system. Do not add anything to
E85 or FlexFuel. Damage caused
by additives would not be covered
by the vehicle warranty.
Caution
Do not use fuel containing
methanol. It can corrode metal
parts in the fuel system and also
(Continued)
Caution (Continued)
damage plastic and rubber parts.
That damage would not be
covered under the vehicle
warranty.
Filling the Tank
{Warning
Fuel vapors and fuel fires burn
violently and can cause injury or
death.
. To help avoid injuries to you
and others, read and follow
all the instructions on the
fuel pump island.
. Turn off the engine when
refueling.
. Keep sparks, flames, and
smoking materials away
from fuel.
. Do not leave the fuel pump
unattended.
(Continued)

Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/
Mexico-9159366) - 2016 - crc - 5/19/15
Index 445
Folding Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Forward Collision Alert(FCA) System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Four-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . . . . 260, 331
Frequency Statement Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427
Front Automatic Braking
(FAB) System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Front Axle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
Front Fog Lamp Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Front Seats Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Heated and Cooled . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Front Turn Signal Lamps . . . . . . . 339
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291 Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Economy Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Filling a Portable FuelContainer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Filling the Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Foreign Countries . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . . 151
Management, Active . . . . . . . . . . 254
Requirements, California . . . . . 292
System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Full-Size Spare Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . 381 Fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
Engine Compartment Fuse
Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
Instrument Panel Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345, 348
Rear Compartment Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
G
Garage Door Opener . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Gauges
Engine CoolantTemperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Engine Oil Pressure . . . . . . . . . . 141
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Trip Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Voltmeter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Warning Lights and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
General Information Service and Maintenance . . . . . 400
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Vehicle Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .311
Glass Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
Glove Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 GM Mobility Reimbursement
Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421
H
Halogen Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
Hazard Warning Flashers . . . . . . . 187
Head Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Head-up Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Headlamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
Aiming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
Daytime RunningLamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
High Intensity Discharge (HID) Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . 152
High/Low Beam Changer . . . . . 185
Lamps On Reminder . . . . . . . . . 152
Heated
Rear Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Steering Wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Heated and Cooled Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Heated Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Heater
Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . . . 152