
Black plate (7,1)GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual - 2011
Instruments and Controls 5-7
2. Find the vehicle's currentlocation and variance zone
number on the map.
Zones 1 through 15 are
available.
3. Press the set/reset button to scroll through and select the
appropriate variance zone. 4. Press the trip/fuel button
until the vehicle heading,
for example, N for North,
is displayed in the DIC.
5. If calibration is necessary, calibrate the compass.
See “Compass Calibration
Procedure” following.
Compass Calibration
The compass can be manually
calibrated. Only calibrate the
compass in a magnetically clean
and safe location, such as an
open parking lot, where driving the
vehicle in circles is not a danger.
It is suggested to calibrate away
from tall buildings, utility wires,
manhole covers, or other industrial
structures, if possible. If CAL should ever appear in the
DIC display, the compass should be
calibrated.
If the DIC display does not show a
heading, for example, N for North,
or the heading does not change
after making turns, there may be
a strong magnetic field interfering
with the compass. Such interference
may be caused by a magnetic CB
or cell phone antenna mount, a
magnetic emergency light, magnetic
note pad holder, or any other
magnetic item. Turn off the vehicle,
move the magnetic item, then turn
on the vehicle and calibrate the
compass. 

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5-8 Instruments and Controls
To calibrate the compass, use the
following procedure:
Compass Calibration Procedure
1. Before calibrating the compass,make sure the compass zone
is set to the variance zone in
which the vehicle is located.
See “Compass Variance (Zone)
Procedure” earlier in this
section.
Do not operate any switches
such as window, sunroof,
climate controls, seats, etc.
during the calibration procedure.
2. Press the vehicle information button until PRESS
VTO
CALIBRATE COMPASS
displays.
3. Press the set/reset button to start the compass calibration. 4. The DIC will display
CALIBRATING: DRIVE IN
CIRCLES. Drive the vehicle
in tight circles at less than
8 km/h (5 mph) to complete the
calibration. The DIC will display
CALIBRATION COMPLETE
for a few seconds when the
calibration is complete. The DIC
display will then return to the
previous menu.
Clock
To adjust the time and date:
1. Turn the ignition key to
ACC/ACCESSORY or ON/RUN,
then press
O, to turn the
radio on.
2. Press
Gto display HR, MIN,
MM, DD, YYYY (hour, minute,
month, day, and year). 3. Press the pushbutton located
under any one of the labels to
be changed.
4. To increase the time or date, do one of the following:
.Press the pushbutton below
the selected label.
.Press¨SEEK.
.Press\FWD.
.Turnfclockwise.
5. To decrease the time or date, do one of the following:
.Press©SEEK.
.PresssREV.
.Turnfcounter‐clockwise. 

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5-10 Instruments and Controls
When adding electrical equipment,
be sure to follow the proper
installation instructions included
with the equipment. SeeAdd-On
Electrical Equipment on page 9‑56.
Notice: Hanging heavy
equipment from the power
outlet can cause damage not
covered by the vehicle warranty.
The power outlets are designed
for accessory power plugs only,
such as cell phone charge cords.Power Outlet 110 Volt
Alternative Current
The vehicle may have a power
outlet that can be used to plug in
electrical equipment that uses a
maximum limit of 150 watts.
The power outlet is located on the
rear of the center console. An indicator light on the outlet turns
on to show it is in use. The light
comes on when the ignition is in
ON/RUN and equipment requiring
less than 150 watts is plugged into
the outlet, and no system fault is
detected.
If equipment is connected using
more than 150 watts or a system
fault is detected, a protection circuit
shuts off the power supply and the
indicator light turns off. To reset the
circuit, unplug the item and plug
it back in or turn the Retained
Accessory Power (RAP) off and
then back on. See
Retained
Accessory Power (RAP) on
page 9‑21. The power restarts
when equipment using 150 watts
or less is plugged into the outlet
and a system fault is not detected. 

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5-22 Instruments and Controls
Then start the engine again to reset
the system. If the light still stays on,
or comes on again while driving, the
vehicle needs service. If the regular
brake system warning light is not
on, there are still brakes, but no
antilock brakes. If the regular brake
system warning light is also on,
there are no antilock brakes and
there is a problem with the regular
brakes. SeeBrake System Warning
Light on page 5‑20.
Tow/Haul Mode Light
This light comes on when the
Tow/Haul mode has been activated.
For more information, see Tow/Haul
Mode on page 9‑28.
StabiliTrak®Indicator
Light
This light comes on briefly while
starting the engine. If it does not,
have the vehicle serviced by your
dealer. If the system is working
normally the indicator light goes off.
If it stays on, or comes on while
driving, there could be a problem
with the StabiliTrak system and the
vehicle might need service. When
this warning light is on, the system
is off and will not limit wheel spin.
This light flashes when the
StabiliTrak system is active.
See StabiliTrak
®System on
page 9‑31 for more information.
Engine Coolant
Temperature Warning
Light
The engine coolant temperature
warning light comes on briefly when
the engine is started.
If it does not, have the vehicle
serviced by your dealer. If the
system is working normally, the
indicator light then goes off.
If the light comes on and stays on
while driving, the vehicle may have
a problem with the cooling system.
Stop the vehicle and turn off the
engine to avoid damage to the
engine. A warning chime sounds
when this light is on.
SeeEngine Overheating on
page 10‑19 for more information. 

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Instruments and Controls 5-25
Information Displays
Driver Information Center
(DIC) (With DIC Buttons)
If your vehicle has DIC buttons,
the information below explains the
operation of this system.
The DIC displays information
about your vehicle. It also displays
warning messages if a system
problem is detected.
All messages will appear in the DIC
display located at the top of the
instrument panel cluster.
The DIC comes on when the ignition
is on. After a short delay, the DIC
will display the information that was
last displayed before the engine
was turned off.
The DIC also displays a shift lever
position indicator on the bottom
line of the display. SeeAutomatic
Transmission on page 9‑25 for more
information. The outside air temperature and
compass, if equipped, also display
on the DIC when viewing the trip
and fuel information. The outside
air temperature automatically
appears in the top right corner
of the DIC display. If there is a
problem with the system that
controls the temperature display,
the numbers will be replaced with
dashes. If this occurs, have the
vehicle serviced. The compass will
be shown in the bottom right corner
of the DIC display. See
Compass on
page 5‑6 for more information.
The DIC has different displays
which can be accessed by pressing
the DIC buttons located on the
instrument panel.
The DIC also allows some features
to be customized. See Vehicle
Personalization (With DIC Buttons)
on page 5‑47 for more information.
If your vehicle has DIC buttons, you
can also use the trip odometer reset
stem to view the odometer and trip
odometers. DIC Buttons
The buttons are the set/reset,
customization, vehicle information,
and trip/fuel buttons. The button
functions are detailed in the
following pages.
V(Set/Reset):
Press this button to
set or reset certain functions and to
turn off or acknowledge messages
on the DIC.
U(Customization): Press
this button to customize the
feature settings on your vehicle.
See Vehicle Personalization (With
DIC Buttons) on page 5‑47 for more
information. 

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5-26 Instruments and Controls
T(Vehicle Information):Press
this button to display the oil life,
park assist on vehicles with this
feature, units, tire pressure readings
on vehicles with this feature, and
compass calibration and zone
setting on vehicles with this feature.
3(Trip/Fuel): Press this
button to display the odometer, trip
odometers, fuel range, average
economy, timer, fuel used, and
average speed.
Vehicle Information Menu
Items
T(Vehicle Information): Press
this button to scroll through the
following menu items:
OIL LIFE
Press the vehicle information
button until OIL LIFE REMAINING
displays. This display shows an
estimate of the oil's remaining
useful life. If you see 99% OIL LIFE
REMAINING on the display, that
means 99% of the current oil life
remains. The engine oil life system will alert you to change the oil on
a schedule consistent with your
driving conditions.
When the remaining oil life is low,
the CHANGE ENGINE OIL SOON
message will appear on the display.
See
“CHANGE ENGINE OIL SOON”
under Engine Oil Messages on
page 5‑40. You should change the
oil as soon as you can. See Engine
Oil on page 10‑8. In addition to the
engine oil life system monitoring the
oil life, additional maintenance is
recommended in the Maintenance
Schedule in this manual. See
Scheduled Maintenance on
page 11‑2 for more information.
Remember, you must reset the
OIL LIFE display yourself after each
oil change. It will not reset itself.
Also, be careful not to reset the
OIL LIFE display accidentally at any
time other than when the oil has just
been changed. It cannot be reset
accurately until the next oil change.
To reset the engine oil life system,
see Engine Oil Life System on
page 10‑11. PARK ASSIST
If your vehicle has the Ultrasonic
Rear Parking Assist (URPA) system,
press the vehicle information button
until PARK ASSIST displays.
This display allows the system
to be turned on or off. Once in this
display, press the set/reset button to
select between ON or OFF. If you
choose ON, the system will be
turned on. If you choose OFF, the
system will be turned off. The URPA
system automatically turns back on
after each vehicle start. When the
URPA system is turned off and the
vehicle is shifted out of P (Park), the
DIC will display the PARK ASSIST
OFF message as a reminder that
the system has been turned off.
See
Object Detection System
Messages on page 5‑42 and
Ultrasonic Parking Assist on
page 9‑35 for more information. 

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Instruments and Controls 5-27
UNITS
Press the vehicle information button
until UNITS displays. This display
allows you to select between Metric
or English units of measurement.
Once in this display, press the
set/reset button to select between
METRIC or ENGLISH units. All of
the vehicle information will then
be displayed in the unit of
measurement selected.
FRONT TIRES or REAR TIRES
On vehicles with the Tire Pressure
Monitor System (TPMS), the
pressure for each tire can be
viewed in the DIC. The tire
pressure will be shown in either
kilopascals (kPa) or pounds per
square inch (psi). Press the vehicle
information button until the DIC
displays FRONT TIRES kPa (PSI)
LEFT ## RIGHT ##. Press the
vehicle information button again
until the DIC displays REAR
TIRES kPa (PSI) LEFT ##
RIGHT ##.If a low tire pressure condition
is detected by the system while
driving, a message advising you
add air to a specific tire will appear
in the display. See
Tire Pressure on
page 10‑45 andTire Messages on
page 5‑44 for more information.
If the tire pressure display shows
dashes instead of a value, there
may be a problem with your vehicle.
If this consistently occurs, see your
dealer for service.
COMPASS ZONE SETTING
This display will be available
if the vehicle has a compass.
See Compass on page 5‑6 for
more information.
COMPASS RECALIBRATION
This display will be available
if the vehicle has a compass.
See Compass on page 5‑6 for
more information. Blank Display
This display shows no information.
Trip/Fuel Menu Items
3(Trip/Fuel):
Press this button
to scroll through the following menu
items:
ODOMETER
Press the trip/fuel button until
ODOMETER displays. This display
shows the distance the vehicle has
been driven in either kilometers (km)
or miles (mi). Pressing the trip
odometer reset stem will also
display the odometer.
To switch between English and
metric measurements, see “UNITS”
earlier in this section. 

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5-28 Instruments and Controls
TRIP A and TRIP B
Press the trip/fuel button until
TRIP A or TRIP B displays.
This display shows the current
distance traveled in either
kilometers (km) or miles (mi) since
the last reset for each trip odometer.
Both trip odometers can be used at
the same time. Pressing the trip
odometer reset stem will also
display the trip odometers.
Each trip odometer can be reset
to zero separately by pressing the
set/reset button or the trip odometer
reset stem while the desired trip
odometer is displayed.
The trip odometer has a feature
called retroactive reset. This can
be used to set the trip odometer to
the number of kilometers (miles)
driven since the ignition was last
turned on. This can be used if the
trip odometer is not reset at the
beginning of the trip.To use the retroactive reset feature,
press and hold the set/reset button
for at least four seconds. The trip
odometer will display the number of
kilometers (km) or miles (mi) driven
since the ignition was last turned
on and the vehicle was moving.
Once the vehicle begins moving,
the trip odometer will accumulate
mileage. For example, if the vehicle
was driven 8 km (5 miles) before
it is started again, and then the
retroactive reset feature is activated,
the display will show 8 km (5 miles).
As the vehicle begins moving, the
display will then increase to 8.2 km
(5.1 miles), 8.4 km (5.2 miles), etc.
If the retroactive reset feature is
activated after the vehicle is started,
but before it begins moving, the
display will show the number of
kilometers (km) or miles (mi) that
were driven during the last ignition
cycle.
RANGE
Press the trip/fuel button until
RANGE displays. This display
shows the approximate number
of remaining kilometers (km) or
miles (mi) the vehicle can be driven
without refueling. The display will
show LOW if the fuel level is low.
The fuel range estimate is based
on an average of the vehicle's fuel
economy over recent driving history
and the amount of fuel remaining
in the fuel tank. This estimate will
change if driving conditions change.
For example, if driving in traffic and
making frequent stops, this display
may read one number, but if the
vehicle is driven on a freeway, the
number may change even though
the same amount of fuel is in the
fuel tank. This is because different
driving conditions produce different
fuel economies. Generally, freeway
driving produces better fuel
economy than city driving.
Fuel range cannot be reset.