2010 GMC YUKON DENALI tires

Pulling A Trailer
Here are some important points:
.There are many different laws, including speed
limit restrictions, having to do with trailering. Make
sure the rig will be legal, not only where you live
but also where you will be driving. A good source
for this information can be state or provincial
police.
.Consider using a sway control. See“Hitches”later
in this section.
.Do not tow a trailer at all during the first 500 miles
(800 km) the new vehicle is driven. The engine,
axle or other parts could be damaged.
.Then, during the first 500 miles (800 km) that a
trailer is towed, do not drive over 50 mph (80 km/h)
and do not make starts at full throttle. This helps
the engine and other parts of the vehicle wear in at
the heavier loads.
.Vehicles can tow in D (Drive). Shift the
transmission to a lower gear if the transmission
shifts too often under heavy loads and/or hilly
conditions.
.If the vehicle has the Side Blind Zone Alert (SBZA)
system and it doesn't seem to be working properly
while pulling a trailer, turn the system off. See Side
Blind Zone Alert (SBZA)
on page 3‑47for more
information.
Important considerations that have to do with weight:
.The weight of the trailer
.The weight of the trailer tongue
.The weight on the vehicle's tires
.And the weight of the trailering combination
5-43

Trailering may be limited by the vehicle's ability to carry
tongue weight. Tongue or kingpin weight cannot cause
the vehicle to exceed the GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight
Rating) or the RGAWR (Rear Gross Axle Weight
Rating). See“Total Weight on the Vehicle's Tires” later
in this section for more information.
After loading the trailer, weigh the trailer and then the
tongue, separately, to see if the weights are proper.
If they are not, adjustments might be made by moving
some items around in the trailer.
Total Weight on the Vehicle's Tires
Be sure the vehicle's tires are inflated to the inflation
pressures found on the Certification label on the driver
door or see Loading the Vehicle
on page 5‑31for more
information. Make sure not to exceed the GVWR limit
for the vehicle, or the RGAWR, with the tow vehicle and
trailer fully loaded for the trip including the weight of the
trailer tongue. If using a weight distributing hitch, make
sure not to exceed the RGAWR before applying the
weight distribution spring bars.
Weight of the Trailering Combination
It is important that the combination of the tow
vehicle and trailer does not exceed any of its weight
ratings —GCWR, GVWR, RGAWR, Trailer Weight
Rating or Tongue Weight. The only way to be sure it is
not exceeding any of these ratings is to weigh the tow
vehicle and trailer combination, fully loaded for the trip,
getting individual weights for each of these items.
Hitches
The correct hitch equipment helps maintain combination
control. Most small-to-medium trailers can be towed
with a weight carrying hitch which simply features a
coupler latched to the hitch ball. Larger trailers may
require a weight distributing hitch that uses spring bars
to distribute the trailer tongue weight among the two
vehicle and trailer axles. See “Weight of the Trailer
Tongue” earlier in this section for rating limits with
various hitch types.
If a step-bumper hitch will be used, the bumper could
be damaged in sharp turns. Make sure there is ample
room when turning to avoid contact between the trailer
and the bumper.
Consider using sway controls with any trailer. Ask a
trailering professional about sway controls or refer to
the trailer manufacturer's recommendations and
instructions.
5-46

Driving with a Trailer
{WARNING:
When towing a trailer, exhaust gases may collect
at the rear of the vehicle and enter if the liftgate,
trunk/hatch, or rear-most window is open.
Engine exhaust contains carbon monoxide (CO)
which cannot be seen or smelled. It can cause
unconsciousness and even death.
To maximize safety when towing a trailer:
.Have the exhaust system inspected for leaks
and make necessary repairs before starting
a trip.
.Never drive with the liftgate, trunk/hatch,
or rear-most window open.(Continued)
WARNING: (Continued)
.Fully open the air outlets on or under the
instrument panel.
.Adjust the Climate Control system to a setting
that brings in only outside air and set the fan
speed to the highest setting. See Climate
Control System in the Index.
For more information about carbon monoxide, see
Engine Exhaust on page 3‑40.
Towing a trailer requires a certain amount of
experience. The combination you are driving is longer
and not as responsive as the vehicle itself. Get
acquainted with the handling and braking of the rig
before setting out for the open road.
Before starting, check all trailer hitch parts and
attachments, safety chains, electrical connectors,
lamps, tires and mirrors. If the trailer has electric
brakes, start the combination moving and then apply the
trailer brake controller by hand to be sure the
brakes work.
During the trip, check occasionally to be sure that the
load is secure and the lamps and any trailer brakes
still work.
5-56

Section 6 Service and Appearance Care
Service. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Accessories and Modifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
California Proposition 65 Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
California Perchlorate Materials Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Doing Your Own Service Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Adding Equipment to the Outside of the Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Gasoline Octane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Gasoline Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
California Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Fuel E85 (85% Ethanol) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Fuels in Foreign Countries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Filling the Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-9
Filling a Portable Fuel Container . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-11
Checking Things Under the Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-12
Hood Release . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-12
Engine Compartment Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-14
Engine Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-15
Engine Oil Life System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-18
Engine Air Cleaner/Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-20
Automatic Transmission Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-22
Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-26
Engine Coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-27 Engine Overheating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-32
Overheated Engine Protection
Operating Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-35
Engine Fan Noise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-35
Power Steering Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-36
Windshield Washer Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-37
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-38
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-41
Jump Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-42
All-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-47
Rear Axle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-48
Front Axle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-49
Headlamp Aiming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-50
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-52
Halogen Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-53
Taillamps, Turn Signal, Stoplamps and Back-up Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-53
License Plate Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-54
Replacement Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-54
Windshield Wiper Blade Replacement . . . . . . . . . . .6-55
Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-57
Tire Sidewall Labeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-58
Tire Terminology and Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-61
Inflation - Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-64
6-1

Section 6 Service and Appearance Care
High-Speed Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-66
Tire Pressure Monitor System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-66
Tire Pressure Monitor Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-68
Tire Inspection and Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-71
When It Is Time for New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-73
Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-74
Different Size Tires and Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-75
Uniform Tire Quality Grading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-76
Wheel Alignment and Tire Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-77
Wheel Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-77
Tire Chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-78
If a Tire Goes Flat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-79
Changing a Flat Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-80
Removing the Spare Tire and Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-81
Removing the Flat Tire and Installing theSpare Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-86
Secondary Latch System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-91
Storing a Flat or Spare Tire and Tools . . . . . . . . . 6-94
Spare Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-98
Appearance Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-98
Interior Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-98
Fabric/Carpet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-100
Leather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-100
Instrument Panel, Vinyl, and Other Plastic Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-101
Wood Panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-101 Speaker Covers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-101
Care of Safety Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-101
Weatherstrips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-101
Washing Your Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-102
Cleaning Exterior Lamps/Lenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-102
Finish Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-102
Windshield, Backglass, and Wiper Blades . . . . 6-103
Aluminum Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-104
Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-104
Sheet Metal Damage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-104
Finish Damage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-105
Underbody Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-105
Chemical Paint Spotting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-105
Vehicle Identification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-106
Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) . . . . . . . . . . . 6-106
Service Parts Identification Label . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-106
Electrical System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-106
Add-On Electrical Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-106
Windshield Wiper Fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-107
Power Windows and Other Power Options . . . 6-107
Fuses and Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-107
Instrument Panel Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-108
Center Instrument Panel Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . 6-110
Underhood Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-111
Capacities and Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-115
6-2

Brake Wear
This vehicle has disc brakes. Disc brake pads have
built-in wear indicators that make a high-pitched
warning sound when the brake pads are worn and new
pads are needed. The sound can come and go or be
heard all the time the vehicle is moving, except when
applying the brake pedal firmly.
{WARNING:
The brake wear warning sound means that soon
the brakes will not work well. That could lead to
an accident. When the brake wear warning sound
is heard, have the vehicle serviced.
Notice: Continuing to drive with worn-out brake
pads could result in costly brake repair.
Some driving conditions or climates can cause a brake
squeal when the brakes are first applied or lightly
applied. This does not mean something is wrong with
the brakes. Properly torqued wheel nuts are necessary to help
prevent brake pulsation. When tires are rotated, inspect
brake pads for wear and evenly tighten wheel nuts in
the proper sequence to torque specifications in
Capacities and Specifications on page 6‑115.
Brake linings should always be replaced as complete
axle sets.
Brake Pedal Travel
See your dealer/retailer if the brake pedal does not
return to normal height, or if there is a rapid increase in
pedal travel. This could be a sign that brake service
might be required.
Brake Adjustment
Every brake stop, the disc brakes adjust for wear.
Replacing Brake System Parts
The braking system on a vehicle is complex. Its many
parts have to be of top quality and work well together if
the vehicle is to have really good braking. The vehicle
was designed and tested with top-quality brake parts.
When parts of the braking system are replaced
—for
example, when the brake linings wear down and new
ones are installed —be sure to get new approved
replacement parts. If this is not done, the brakes might
6-40

Headlamp Aiming
The vehicle has a visual optical headlamp aiming
system. The aim of the headlamps have been preset at
the factory and should need no further adjustment.
However, if the vehicle is damaged in a crash, the aim
of the headlamps may be affected and adjustment may
be necessary.
If oncoming vehicles flash their high beams at you, this
may mean the vertical aim of your headlamps needs to
be adjusted.
It is recommended that the vehicle is taken to your
dealer/retailer for service if the headlamps need to
be adjusted. It is possible however, to re-aim the
headlamps as described.The vehicle should:.Be placed so the headlamps are 25 ft. (7.6 m) from
a light colored wall.
.Have all four tires on a level surface which is level
all the way to the wall.
.Be placed so it is perpendicular to the wall.
.Not have any snow, ice, or mud on it.
.Be fully assembled and all other work stopped
while headlamp aiming is being performed.
.Normally loaded with a full tank of fuel and one
person or 160 lbs (75 kg) sitting on the driver seat.
.Have the tires properly inflated.
.Have the spare tire is in its proper location in the
vehicle.
Headlamp aiming is done with the vehicle's low-beam
headlamps. The high-beam headlamps will be correctly
aimed if the low-beam headlamps are aimed properly.
6-50

Tires
Your new vehicle comes with high-quality tires
made by a leading tire manufacturer. If you ever
have questions about your tire warranty and
where to obtain service, see your vehicle
Warranty booklet for details. For additional
information refer to the tire manufacturer.
{WARNING:
.Poorly maintained and improperly used
tires are dangerous.
.Overloading your tires can cause
overheating as a result of too much
flexing. You could have an air-out and a
serious accident. SeeLoading the Vehicle
on page 5‑31.
(Continued)
WARNING: (Continued)
.Underinflated tires pose the same danger
as overloaded tires. The resulting
accident could cause serious injury.
Check all tires frequently to maintain the
recommended pressure. Tire pressure
should be checked when your tires are
cold. SeeInflation - Tire Pressure
on
page 6‑64
.
.Overinflated tires are more likely to be
cut, punctured, or broken by a sudden
impact —such as when you hit a
pothole. Keep tires at the recommended
pressure.
.Worn, old tires can cause accidents.
If your tread is badly worn, or if your tires
have been damaged, replace them.
See High-Speed Operation
on page 6‑66for
inflation pressure adjustment for high speed
driving.
6-57