parking brake CHEVROLET CORVETTE 2012 6.G Owner's Guide

Black plate (1,1)Chevrolet Corvette Owner Manual - 2012
Vehicle Care 10-1
Vehicle Care
General Information
General Information . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
California Proposition65 Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
California Perchlorate Materials Requirements . . . . 10-3
Accessories and Modifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-4
Lifting the Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-4
Vehicle Checks
Doing Your Own Service Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-8
Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-9
Engine Compartment Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-10
Engine Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-16
Engine Oil Life System . . . . . 10-22 Automatic Transmission
Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-23
Manual Transmission Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-24
Hydraulic Clutch . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-24
Engine Air Cleaner/Filter . . . . 10-25
Cooling System (Engine) . . . 10-28
Cooling System
(Intercooler) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-29
Engine Coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-30
Engine Overheating . . . . . . . . 10-34
Overheated Engine Protection
Operating Mode . . . . . . . . . . . 10-36
Power Steering Fluid . . . . . . . 10-36
Washer Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-38
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-38
Brake Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-42
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-43
Rear Axle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-44
Starter Switch Check . . . . . . . 10-45 Automatic Transmission
Shift Lock Control
Function Check . . . . . . . . . . . 10-46
Park Brake and P (Park) Mechanism Check . . . . . . . . 10-46
Wiper Blade Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-47
Windshield Replacement . . . 10-47
Headlamp Aiming
Headlamp Aiming . . . . . . . . . . 10-48
Bulb Replacement
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-48
Halogen Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-48
High Intensity Discharge (HID) Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-48
Headlamps, Front Turn Signal and Parking
Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-49
Taillamps, Turn Signal, and Stoplamps . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-50
Replacement Bulbs . . . . . . . . . 10-50

Black plate (4,1)Chevrolet Corvette Owner Manual - 2012
10-4 Vehicle Care
Accessories and
Modifications
Adding non‐dealer accessories or
making modifications to the vehicle
can affect vehicle performance and
safety, including such things as
airbags, braking, stability, ride and
handling, emissions systems,
aerodynamics, durability, and
electronic systems like antilock
brakes, traction control, and stability
control. These accessories or
modifications could even cause
malfunction or damage not covered
by the vehicle warranty.Damage to vehicle components
resulting from modifications or the
installation or use of non‐GM
certified parts, including control
module or software modifications,
is not covered under the terms of
the vehicle warranty and may affect
remaining warranty coverage for
affected parts.
GM Accessories are designed to
complement and function with other
systems on the vehicle. See your
dealer to accessorize the vehicle
using genuine GM Accessories
installed by a dealer technician.
Also, see
Adding Equipment to
the Airbag-Equipped Vehicle on
page 3‑26.
Lifting the Vehicle
{WARNING
Lifting a vehicle can cause an
injury. The vehicle can slip off the
jack and roll over you or other
people. You and they could be
badly injured. Find a level place
to lift your vehicle. To help
prevent the vehicle from moving:
1. Set the parking brake firmly.
2. Put an automatic transmission shift lever in
P (Park), or shift a manual
transmission to 1 (First) or
R (Reverse).
3. Turn off the engine.
To be even more certain the
vehicle won't move, put blocks in
front of and behind the wheels.

Black plate (45,1)Chevrolet Corvette Owner Manual - 2012
Vehicle Care 10-45
If the level is below the bottom of
the fill plug hole, some lubricant will
need to be added. Add enough
lubricant to raise the level to the
bottom of the fill plug hole.
What to Use
To add lubricant when the level is
low or to completely refill after
draining, seeRecommended Fluids
and Lubricants on page 11‑12.
Then fill to the bottom of the fill plug
hole with the required lubricant.
Starter Switch Check
{WARNING
When you are doing this
inspection, the vehicle could
move suddenly. If the vehicle
moves, you or others could be
injured.
1. Before starting this check, be sure there is enough room
around the vehicle.
2. Firmly apply both the parking brake and the regular brake.
See Parking Brake on
page 9‑36.
Do not use the accelerator
pedal, and be ready to turn off
the engine immediately if it
starts. 3. For automatic transmission
vehicles, try to start the engine
in each gear. The vehicle
should start only in P (Park) or
N (Neutral). If the vehicle starts
in any other position, contact
your dealer for service.
For manual transmission
vehicles, put the shift lever in
Neutral, push the clutch pedal
down halfway, and try to start
the engine. The vehicle should
start only when the clutch pedal
is pushed down all the way to
the floor. If the vehicle starts
when the clutch pedal is not
pushed all the way down,
contact your dealer for service.

Black plate (46,1)Chevrolet Corvette Owner Manual - 2012
10-46 Vehicle Care
Automatic Transmission
Shift Lock Control
Function Check
{WARNING
When you are doing this
inspection, the vehicle could
move suddenly. If the vehicle
moves, you or others could be
injured.
1. Before starting this check, be sure there is enough room
around the vehicle. It should be
parked on a level surface.
2. Firmly apply the parking brake. See Parking Brake on
page 9‑36.
Be ready to apply the regular
brake immediately if the vehicle
begins to move. 3. With the engine off, turn the
ignition on, but do not start the
engine. Without applying the
regular brake, try to move the
shift lever out of P (Park) with
normal effort. If the shift lever
moves out of P (Park), contact
your dealer for service.
Park Brake and P (Park)
Mechanism Check
{WARNING
When you are doing this check,
the vehicle could begin to move.
You or others could be injured
and property could be damaged.
Make sure there is room in front
of the vehicle in case it begins to
roll. Be ready to apply the regular
brake at once should the vehicle
begin to move. Park on a fairly steep hill, with the
vehicle facing downhill. Keeping
your foot on the regular brake,
set the parking brake.
.To check the parking brake's
holding ability: With the engine
running and the transmission in
N (Neutral), slowly remove foot
pressure from the regular brake
pedal. Do this until the vehicle is
held by the parking brake only.
.To check the P (Park)
mechanism's holding ability:
With the engine running, shift to
P (Park). Then release the
parking brake followed by the
regular brake.
Contact your dealer if service is
required.

Black plate (53,1)Chevrolet Corvette Owner Manual - 2012
Vehicle Care 10-53
FuseUsage
3 Antilock Brake
System (ABS)/Real
Time Damping
4 Wiper
5 Stoplamps/Back-Up
Lamps
6 Oxygen Sensor
7 Battery Main 5
8 Parking Lamps
9 Powertrain Relay
Input/Electronic
Throttle Control
10 Manual
Transmission
Solenoids
11 Antilock Brake
System
12 Odd Numbered Fuel
Injectors Fuse
Usage
13 Electronic
Suspension Control
(Option)
14 Canister Purge
Solenoid, Mass Air
Flow Sensor
15 Air Conditioner
Compressor
16 Even Numbered
Fuel Injectors
17 Windshield Washer
18 Headlamp Washer
19 Passenger Side
Low-Beam
Headlamp
20 Fuel Pump
(except ZR1)
21 Driver Side
Low-Beam
Headlamp Fuse
Usage
22 Front Fog Lamp
23 Passenger Side
High-Beam
Headlamp
24 Driver Side
High-Beam
Headlamp
56 Engine Control
Module (ECM)/
Transmission
Control Module
(TCM)/Easy Key
Module
J-Style Fuses Usage
25 Cooling Fan
26 Battery Main 3
27 Antilock Brake
System

Black plate (74,1)Chevrolet Corvette Owner Manual - 2012
10-74 Vehicle Care
The rubber in tires ages over time.
This also applies for the spare tire,
if the vehicle has one, even if it is
never used. Multiple conditions
including temperatures, loading
conditions, and inflation pressure
maintenance affect how fast aging
takes place. Tires will typically need
to be replaced due to wear before
they may need to be replaced due
to age. Consult the tire
manufacturer for more information
on when tires should be replaced.
Vehicle Storage
Tires age when stored normally
mounted on a parked vehicle.
Park a vehicle that will be stored for
at least a month in a cool, dry, clean
area away from direct sunlight to
slow aging. This area should be
free of grease, gasoline, or other
substances that can deteriorate
rubber.Parking for an extended period can
cause flat spots on the tires that
may result in vibrations while
driving. When storing a vehicle for
at least a month, remove the tires
or raise the vehicle to reduce the
weight from the tires.
Buying New Tires
GM has developed and matched
specific tires for the vehicle. The
original equipment tires installed
were designed to meet General
Motors Tire Performance Criteria
Specification (TPC Spec) system
rating. When replacement tires are
needed, GM strongly recommends
buying tires with the same TPC
Spec rating.
GM's exclusive TPC Spec system
considers over a dozen critical
specifications that impact the
overall performance of the
vehicle, including brake systemperformance, ride and handling,
traction control, and tire pressure
monitoring performance. GM's TPC
Spec number is molded onto the
tire's sidewall near the tire size.
If the tires have an all‐season
tread design, the TPC Spec
number will be followed by MS for
mud and snow. See
Tire Sidewall
Labeling on page 10‑62, for
additional information.
GM recommends replacing all the
tires at the same time. Uniform tread
depth on all tires will help to
maintain the performance of the
vehicle. Braking and handling
performance may be adversely
affected if all the tires are not
replaced at the same time. See Tire
Inspection on page 10‑72 andTire
Rotation on page 10‑72.

Black plate (82,1)Chevrolet Corvette Owner Manual - 2012
10-82 Vehicle Care
Jump Starting
For more information about the
vehicle battery, seeBattery on
page 10‑43.
If your battery has run down, you
may want to use another vehicle
and some jumper cables to start
your vehicle. Be sure to use the
following steps to do it safely.
{WARNING
Batteries can hurt you. They can
be dangerous because:
.They contain acid that can
burn you.
.They contain gas that can
explode or ignite.
.They contain enough
electricity to burn you.
If you do not follow these steps
exactly, some or all of these
things can hurt you. Notice:
If you try to start your
vehicle by pushing or pulling it,
you could damage your vehicle.
Do not push or pull your vehicle
to start it; instead, use the jump
starting procedure in this manual
to start your vehicle when the
battery has run down.
1. Check the other vehicle. It must
have a 12-volt battery with a
negative ground system.
Notice: Only use a vehicle that
has a 12-volt system with a
negative ground for jump
starting. If the other vehicle does
not have a 12-volt system with a
negative ground, both vehicles
can be damaged.
2. Get the vehicles close enough so the jumper cables can reach,
but be sure the vehicles are not
touching each other. If they are,
it could cause a ground
connection you do not want.
You would not be able to start
your vehicle, and the bad
grounding could damage the
electrical systems. To avoid the possibility of the
vehicles rolling, set the parking
brake firmly on both vehicles
involved in the jump start
procedure. Put an automatic
transmission in P (Park) or a
manual transmission in Neutral
before setting the parking
brakes.
Notice: If the radio or other
accessories are left on during the
jump starting procedure, they
could be damaged. The repairs
would not be covered by the
warranty. Always turn off the
radio and other accessories when
jump starting the vehicle.
3. Turn off the ignition on both vehicles. Unplug unnecessary
accessories plugged into the
cigarette lighter or the accessory
power outlet. Turn off the radio
and all lamps that are not
needed. This will avoid sparks
and help save both batteries.
And it could save the radio!

Black plate (4,1)Chevrolet Corvette Owner Manual - 2012
11-4 Service and Maintenance
.Check tire inflation pressures.
SeeTire Pressure on
page 10‑66.
.Inspect tire wear. See Tire
Inspection on page 10‑72.
.Visually check for fluid leaks.
.Inspect engine air cleaner filter.
See Engine Air Cleaner/Filter on
page 10‑25.
.Inspect brake system.
.Visually inspect steering,
suspension, and chassis
components for damaged, loose,
or missing parts or signs of
wear. See Exterior Care on
page 10‑86.
.Check restraint system
components. See Safety System
Check on page 3‑14.
.Visually inspect fuel system for
damage or leaks.
.Visually inspect exhaust system
and nearby heat shields for
loose or damaged parts.
.Lubricate body components. See
Exterior Care on page 10‑86.
.Check starter switch. See Starter
Switch Check on page 10‑45.
.Check automatic transmission
shift lock control function. See
Automatic Transmission Shift
Lock Control Function Check on
page 10‑46.
.Check parking brake and
automatic transmission park
mechanism. See Park Brake and
P (Park) Mechanism Check on
page 10‑46.
.Check accelerator pedal for
damage, high effort, or binding.
Replace if needed.
.Visually inspect gas strut for
signs of wear, cracks, or other
damage. Check the hold open
ability of the strut. See your
dealer if service is required.

Black plate (2,1)Chevrolet Corvette Owner Manual - 2012
i-2 INDEX
B
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-43Exterior Lighting BatterySaver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Jump Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-82
Power Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Voltage and Charging Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-37
Blade Replacement, Wiper . . . 10-47
Bluetooth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-18
Boost Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Brake System Warning Light . . . 5-22
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-38 Antilock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-35
Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-36
Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-42
Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-36
System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-37
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-4
Break-In, New Vehicle . . . . . . . . . 9-18
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-50 Fog Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Halogen Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-48
Headlamp Aiming . . . . . . . . . . . 10-48
Headlamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-48 Bulb Replacement (cont.)
Headlamps, Front Turn
Signal, and Parking
Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-49
High Intensity Discharge (HID) Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-48
Taillamps, Turn Signal, and Stoplamps . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-50
Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-74
C
Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
California
Fuel Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . 9-49
Perchlorate MaterialsRequirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Canadian Vehicle Owners . . . . . . . . iii
Capacities and Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2
Carbon Monoxide Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-26
Hatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-11
Cargo
Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3 Cautions, Danger, and
Warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
CD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-12
Center Console Storage . . . . . . . . 4-3
Chains, Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-80
Check Engine Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-19
Child Restraints Infants and YoungChildren . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-30
Lower Anchors and
Tethers for Children . . . . . . . . . 3-35
Older Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-28
Securing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-39
Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-33
Cigarette Lighter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7
Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-51
Cleaning
Exterior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-86
Interior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-90
Climate Control Systems
Dual Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
Cluster, Instrument . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
Clutch, Hydraulic . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-24
Collision Damage Repair . . . . . 13-15

Black plate (6,1)Chevrolet Corvette Owner Manual - 2012
i-6 INDEX
I
Ignition Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-19
Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Infants and Young Children,Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-30
Infotainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1
Instrument Cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
J
Jump Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-82
K
Key and Lock Messages . . . . . . . 5-43
Keyless Entry Remote (RKE) System . . . . . . . . 2-3
Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
L
Labeling, Tire Sidewall . . . . . . . . 10-62
Lamp Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-45
Lamps Courtesy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Daytime Running (DRL) . . . . . . . 6-2
Exterior Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1
Exterior Lamps OffReminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Exterior Lighting Battery Saver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Headlamps, Front Turn Signal, and Parking
Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-49
Malfunction Indicator . . . . . . . . . 5-19
On Reminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-27
Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Lap-Shoulder Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11
LATCH System Replacing Parts after a
Crash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-39
LATCH, Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children . . . . . . . . . . 3-35
Latches, Seatback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
Lifting the Vehicle, Tires . . . . . . . 10-4 Light
StabiliTrak®OFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Lighter, Cigarette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7
Lighting Entry/Exit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Illumination Control . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Lights
Active Handling System . . . . . . 5-25
Airbag Readiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
Antilock Brake System(ABS) Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Brake System Warning . . . . . . . 5-22
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Front Fog Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-27
High-Beam On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-27
High/Low Beam Changer . . . . . . 6-2
One-to-Four Shift . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-23
Safety Belt Reminders . . . . . . . . 5-17
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Traction Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Limited-Slip Rear Axle . . . . . . . . . 9-42