What Is Chevrolet's Teen Driver?

Chevy offers a safety mode that encourages young drivers to be attentive behind the wheel and lets parents keep tabs on their progress.

Bob Sorokanich | 

Jul 9, 2024 | 3 min read

Chevrolet

Having a young driver can be stressful. You hope your teenager will be respectful and responsible on the road, but you also know that the teenage mind doesn't always think logically.

Chevrolet's Teen Driver mode can give parents peace of mind by limiting certain vehicle features and encouraging good driving habits designed to help keep young drivers out of harm's way. Here's how Teen Driver works with your Chevrolet vehicle and how you can activate it.

Chevrolet

How Chevrolet Teen Driver Mode Works

Parents or guardians can activate Teen Driver mode through the dashboard touchscreen in many Chevrolet models manufactured over the past few years. After you assign Teen Driver limits to one of the car's key fobs, the system will restrict certain vehicle capabilities whenever your teen uses that fob to start the car.

When active, Teen Driver will automatically mute the stereo system until the driver and front passenger (when present) buckle their seat belts, for example. If the car runs low on fuel, a low-fuel light will flash and a non-dismissible warning message will appear on the instrument panel.

Chevrolet

If the vehicle has active safety features or advanced driver-assistance systems, features such as stability and traction control can't be turned off in Teen Driver mode. If equipped, adaptive cruise control will use a following distance set by parents that can't be changed by teens. On vehicles that have the advanced driver-assistance system Super Cruise, hands-free driving assistance cannot be activated while the car is in Teen Driver mode.

Additional Teen Driver features can be configured individually. For example, a parent can set a maximum volume for the car's sound system, activate a speed-warning chime for a preset speed, or enable a speed limiter that reduces the vehicle's maximum speed to 85 mph.

Some Chevrolet vehicles offer buckle-to-drive, which prevents the driver from shifting out of Park until all occupants buckle their seat belts or 20 seconds have elapsed. Additionally, parents can limit SiriusXM-equipped vehicles to block any XM channels that play explicit content.

Chevrolet

The Teen Driver Report Card

In addition to limiting certain features for inexperienced drivers, Teen Driver offers parents and guardians the chance to check on their kids' driving habits. A PIN-protected page on the dashboard touchscreen will show parents a Teen Driver Report Card that details the distance driven, maximum vehicle speed, number of over-speed warnings, and number of times the accelerator pedal was floored while the teen's key was in use.

On some Chevy models, the report card also indicates whether safety features such as traction control, stability control, collision alert, or collision-avoidance braking were activated under Teen Driver mode.

Chevrolet

Teen Driver Mode Has Limitations

As with any automotive safety feature, Teen Driver can't prevent every possible dangerous driving situation. It's meant to work in conjunction with thorough driving instruction from an experienced adult. Still, it's nice to be able to remind your young driver to buckle up, follow the speed limit, and keep the stereo at a reasonable volume — even when you're not riding along.

Bob Sorokanich

Bob Sorokanich is a car-obsessed journalist and editor who manages to maintain an old Mini Cooper and a love affair with automobiles while living in New York City. When he's not thinking about cars, he's riding his motorcycle, and when he's not riding his motorcycle, he's anticipating his next joy ride.