2008 GMC ENVOY transmission

DRIVE (D):This position is for normal driving.
It provides the best fuel economy for your vehicle.
If you need more power for passing, and you are:
Going less than about 35 mph (55 km/h), push the
accelerator pedal about halfway down.
Going about 35 mph (55 km/h) or more, push the
accelerator all the way down.
You will shift down to the next gear and have more
power.
Downshifting the transmission in slippery road conditions
could result in skidding, see “Skidding” underLoss of
Control on page 4-12.
DRIVE (D) can be used when towing a trailer, carrying a
heavy load, driving on steep hills, or for off-road driving.
You may want to shift the transmission to THIRD (3) or,
if necessary, a lower gear selection if the transmission
shifts too often.
THIRD (3):This position is also used for normal driving.
It reduces vehicle speed more than DRIVE (D) without
using your brakes. You might choose THIRD (3) instead
of DRIVE (D) when driving on hilly, winding roads,
when towing a trailer, so there is less shifting between
gears and when going down a steep hill.
To shift to the THIRD (3) position, you must rst press
the large button on the shift handle. While the button
is pressed, move the shifter in the THIRD (3) position.SECOND (2):This position reduces vehicle speed even
more than THIRD (3) without using your brakes. You can
use SECOND (2) on hills. It can help control your speed
as you go down steep mountain roads, but then you
would also want to use your brakes off and on.
To shift to the SECOND (2) position, you must rst press
the large button on the shift handle. While the button is
pressed, move the shifter in the SECOND (2) position.
You can also use SECOND (2) for starting the vehicle
from a stop on slippery road surfaces.
FIRST (1):This position reduces vehicle speed even
more than SECOND (2) without using your brakes.
You can use it on very steep hills, or in deep snow
or mud. If the shift lever is put in FIRST (1) while the
vehicle is moving forward, the transmission will not shift
into rst gear until the vehicle is going slowly enough.
To shift to the FIRST (1) position, you must rst press
the large button on the shift handle. While the button is
pressed, move the shifter in the FIRST (1) position.
Notice:Spinning the tires or holding the vehicle in
one place on a hill using only the accelerator pedal
may damage the transmission. The repair will not be
covered by your warranty. If you are stuck, do not
spin the tires. When stopping on a hill, use the brakes
to hold the vehicle in place.
2-28

AUTO (Automatic Four-Wheel Drive):This setting is
ideal for use when road conditions are variable. When
driving your vehicle in automatic four-wheel drive, the
front axle is engaged, but the vehicle’s power is sent to
the rear wheels. When the vehicle senses a loss of
traction, the system will automatically engage four-wheel
drive. Driving in this mode results in slightly lower fuel
economy than Two-Wheel High.
4
m(Four-Wheel High):This setting should be used
when you need extra traction, such as on snowy or
icy roads or in most off-road situations. This setting also
engages your front axle to help drive your vehicle.
4
n(Four-Wheel Low):This setting also engages
your front axle and delivers extra torque. It sends
maximum power to all four wheels. You might choose
this setting if you are driving off-road in deep sand,
deep mud, and climbing or descending steep hills.
{CAUTION:
Shifting the transfer case to NEUTRAL
can cause your vehicle to roll even if the
transmission is in PARK (P). You or someone
else could be seriously injured. Be sure to set
the parking brake before placing the transfer
case in NEUTRAL. SeeParking Brake on
page 2-33.
NEUTRAL:Shift the vehicle’s transfer case
to NEUTRAL only when towing your vehicle.
SeeRecreational Vehicle Towing on page 4-40
for more information.
An indicator light in the knob will show you which
position the transfer case is in. The indicator lights will
come on briey when you turn on the ignition and one will
stay on. If the lights do not come on, you should take your
vehicle to your dealer for service. An indicator light will
ash while shifting the transfer case. It will stay on when
the shift is complete. If for some reason the transfer case
cannot make a requested shift, it will return to the last
chosen setting.
If the service Four-Wheel Drive Warning Light on the
instrument panel cluster stays on, you should take
your vehicle to your dealer for service. SeeService
Four-Wheel Drive Warning Light on page 3-47for
further information.
2-30

Shifting Into Four-Wheel High or Automatic
Four-Wheel Drive
Turn the knob to Four-Wheel High or Automatic
Four-Wheel Drive. This can be done at any speed
unless you are shifting out of Four-Wheel Low.
The indicator light will ash while shifting. It will
remain on when the shift is complete.
Shifting Into Two-Wheel High
Turn the knob to Two-Wheel High. This can be done at
any speed unless you are shifting out of Four-Wheel Low.
Shifting Into Four-Wheel Low
To shift to Four-Wheel Low, the vehicle’s engine must
be running and the vehicle must be stopped or moving
less than 2 mph (3.2 km/h) with the transmission in
NEUTRAL (N). The preferred method for shifting into
Four-Wheel Low is to have your vehicle moving 1 or
2 mph (1.6 to 3.2 km/h). Turn the knob to Four-Wheel
Low. You must wait for the Four-Wheel Low indicator
light to stop ashing and stay on before shifting the
transmission into gear.
If you turn the knob to Four-Wheel Low when your vehicle
is in gear and/or moving, the Four-Wheel Low indicator
light will ash for 30 seconds and not complete the shiftunless your vehicle is moving less than 2 mph (3.2 km/h)
and the transmission is in NEUTRAL (N). After
30 seconds, the transfer case will return to the
setting last chosen.
Shifting Out of Four-Wheel Low
To shift from Four-Wheel Low to Four-Wheel High, Auto
Four-Wheel Drive, or Two-Wheel High, your vehicle must
be stopped or moving less than 2 mph (3.2 km/h) with the
transmission in NEUTRAL (N) and the engine running.
The preferred method for shifting out of Four-Wheel
Low is to have your vehicle moving 1 or 2 mph
(1.6 to 3.2 km/h). Turn the knob to Four-Wheel High,
Auto Four-Wheel Drive, or Two-Wheel High. You must
wait for the Four-Wheel High, Auto Four-Wheel Drive, or
Two-Wheel High indicator light to stop ashing and stay
off before shifting your transmission into gear.
If the knob is turned to Four Wheel-High, Auto
Four-Wheel Drive, or Two-Wheel High when your
vehicle is in gear and/or moving, the Four-Wheel High,
Auto Four-Wheel Drive, or Two-Wheel High indicator
light will ash for 30 seconds. It will not complete
the shift unless your vehicle is moving less than
2 mph (3.2 km/h) with the transmission in NEUTRAL (N).
2-31

Shifting into NEUTRAL
Before shifting the transfer case to NEUTRAL, rst
make sure the vehicle is parked so that it will not roll.
1. Set the parking brake.
2. Start the vehicle.
3. Put the transmission in NEUTRAL (N).
4. Shift the transfer case to Two-Wheel High.
5. Turn the transfer case knob all of the way past
Four-Wheel Low and hold it there for a minimum of
10 seconds. The neutral indicator light will come on.
6. With the engine running, shift the transmission to
REVERSE (R) for one second, then shift the
transmission to DRIVE (D) for one second, to
ensure that the transfer case is in NEUTRAL.
7. Turn the engine off, by turning the key to
ACC/ACCESSORY.
8. Place the transmission shift lever in PARK (P).
9. Turn the ignition to LOCK/OFF.
Shifting Out of NEUTRAL
To shift the transfer case out of NEUTRAL, do the
following:
1. Set the parking brake and apply the regular brake
pedal.
2. Turn the ignition to ON/RUN with the engine off.
3. Put the transmission in NEUTRAL (N).
4. Turn the transfer case knob to the desired position
(Two-Wheel High, Four-Wheel High, or Auto
Four-Wheel Drive).
5. After the transfer case has shifted out of NEUTRAL,
the indicator light will go out.
6. Release the parking brake.
7. Start the engine and shift the transmission to the
desired position.
2-32

Leaving Your Vehicle With the Engine
Running
{CAUTION:
It can be dangerous to leave your vehicle with
the engine running. Your vehicle could move
suddenly if the shift lever is not fully in
PARK (P) with the parking brake rmly set.
If you have four-wheel drive, your vehicle will be
free to roll – even if your lever is in PARK (P) – if
your transfer case is in NEUTRAL. So be sure
the transfer case is in a drive gear – not
NEUTRAL. SeeFour-Wheel Drive on page 2-29.
And, if you leave the vehicle with the engine
running, it could overheat and even catch re.
You or others could be injured. Do not leave
your vehicle with the engine running unless
you have to.If you have to leave your vehicle with the engine
running, be sure your vehicle is in PARK (P) and your
parking brake is rmly set before you leave it. After you
have moved the shift lever into PARK (P), hold the
regular brake pedal down. Then, see if you can move
the shift lever away from PARK (P) without rst pressing
the button on the console shift lever. If you can, it
means that the shift lever was not fully locked into
PARK (P).
Torque Lock
If you are parking on a hill and you do not shift your
transmission into PARK (P) properly, the weight of the
vehicle may put too much force on the parking pawl
in the transmission. You may nd it difficult to pull
the shift lever out of PARK (P). This is called “torque
lock.” To prevent torque lock, set the parking brake
and then shift into PARK (P) properly before you leave
the driver’s seat. To nd out how, seeShifting Into
PARK (P) on page 2-34.
When you are ready to drive, move the shift lever out of
PARK (P) before you release the parking brake.
If torque lock does occur, you may need to have another
vehicle push yours a little uphill to take some of the
pressure from the parking pawl in the transmission,
so you can pull the shift lever out of PARK (P).
2-35

Keep the original hand-held transmitter for use in other
vehicles as well as for future Universal Home Remote
programming. It is also recommended that upon the
sale of the vehicle, the programmed Universal Home
Remote buttons should be erased for security purposes.
See “Erasing Universal Home Remote Buttons” later
in this section.
When programming a garage door, park outside of
the garage. Park directly in line with and facing the
garage door opener motor-head or gate motor-head.
Be sure that people and objects are clear of the garage
door or gate you are programming.
It is recommended that a new battery be installed
in your hand-held transmitter for quicker and more
accurate transmission of the radio-frequency signal.
Programming the Universal Home
Remote System
If you have questions or need help programming the
Universal Home Remote System, call 1-800-355-3515
or go to www.homelink.com.
Programming a garage door opener involves
time-sensitive actions, so read the entire procedure
before you begin. If you do not follow these actions,
the device will time out and you will have to repeat the
procedure.To program up to three devices:
1. From inside the vehicle, press and hold down the
two outside buttons at the same time, releasing
only when the Universal Home Remote indicator
light begins to ash, after 20 seconds. This step
will erase the factory settings or all previously
programmed buttons.
Do not hold down the buttons for longer than
30 seconds and do not repeat this step to program
the remaining two Universal Home Remote buttons.
2. Hold the end of your hand-held transmitter about
1 to 3 inches (3 to 8 cm) away from the Universal
Home Remote buttons while keeping the indicator
light in view. The hand-held transmitter was supplied
by the manufacturer of your garage door opener
receiver (motor head unit).
2-53

Gate Operator and Canadian
Programming
If you have questions or need help programming the
Universal Home Remote System, call 1-800-355-3515
or go to www.homelink.com.
Canadian radio-frequency laws require transmitter
signals to time out or quit after several seconds of
transmission. This may not be long enough for Universal
Home Remote to pick up the signal during programming.
Similarly, some U.S. gate operators are manufactured
to time out in the same manner.
If you live in Canada, or you are having difficulty
programming a gate operator or garage door opener
by using the “Programming Universal Home Remote”
procedures, regardless of where you live, replace Step 3
under “Programming Universal Home Remote” with
the following:
Continue to press and hold the Universal Home Remote
button while you press and release every two seconds
(cycle) the hand-held transmitter button until the
frequency signal has been successfully accepted by the
Universal Home Remote. The Universal Home Remote
indicator light will ash slowly at rst and then rapidly.
Proceed with Step 4 under “Programming Universal
Home Remote” to complete.
Using Universal Home Remote
Press and hold the appropriate Universal Home Remote
button for at least half of a second. The indicator light
will come on while the signal is being transmitted.
Erasing Universal Home Remote
Buttons
Erase the programmed buttons when you sell or
terminate your lease.
To erase all programmed buttons on the Universal
Home Remote device:
1. Press and hold down the two outside buttons until
the indicator light begins to ash, after 20 seconds.
2. Release both buttons.
2-56

Ending Cruise Control
There are three ways to turn off the cruise control:
Step lightly on the brake pedal.
Move the cruise switch to off, or
Shift the transmission to NEUTRAL (N).
Erasing Speed Memory
When you turn off the cruise control or the ignition,
the cruise control set speed memory is erased.
Headlamps
The exterior lamps knob
is located on your
instrument panel to the
left of the steering wheel.
c(Off):Turn the knob to this symbol and release
it to turn off the Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) and the
Automatic Headlamps (AHS). An indicator illuminates
when the position is selected. This position is not
available for vehicles rst sold in Canada.
?(Automatic DRL/AHS):Turn the knob to this
symbol to put the system into automatic headlamp mode.
;(Parking Lamps):Turn the knob to this symbol
to turn on the parking lamps, as well as the following:
Sidemarker Lamps
Taillamps
License Plate Lamps
Instrument Panel Lights
2(Headlamps):Turn the knob to this symbol
to turn on the headlamps, as well as the following:
Parking Lamps
Sidemarker Lamps
Taillamps
License Plate Lamps
Instrument Panel Lights
3-14