
Black plate (45,1)GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual - 2011
Seats and Restraints 3-45
A wet seat can affect the
performance of the passenger
sensing system. Here is how:
.The passenger sensing system
may turn off the passenger
airbag when liquid is soaked
into the seat. If this happens,
the off indicator will be lit, and
the airbag readiness light on the
instrument panel will also be lit.
.Liquid pooled on the seat that
has not soaked in may make it
more likely that the passenger
sensing system will enable (turn
on) the passenger airbag while a
child restraint or child occupant
is on the seat. If the passenger
airbag is turned on, the on
indicator will be lit.
If the passenger seat gets wet, dry
the seat immediately. If the airbag
readiness light is lit, do not install
a child restraint or allow anyone
to occupy the seat. See Airbag
Readiness Light on page 5‑15
for important safety information. The on indicator may be lit if
an object, such as a briefcase,
handbag, grocery bag, laptop or
other electronic device, is put on
an unoccupied seat. If this is not
desired remove the object from
the seat.
{WARNING
Stowing of articles under the
passenger seat or between the
passenger seat cushion and
seatback may interfere with the
proper operation of the passenger
sensing system.
Servicing the
Airbag-Equipped Vehicle
Airbags affect how the vehicle
should be serviced. There are
parts of the airbag system in
several places around the vehicle.
Your dealer and the service manual
have information about servicing
the vehicle and the airbag system.
To purchase a service manual,
see
Service Publications Ordering
Information on page 13‑15.
{WARNING
For up to 10 seconds after the
ignition is turned off and the
battery is disconnected, an airbag
can still inflate during improper
service. You can be injured if you
are close to an airbag when it
inflates. Avoid yellow connectors.
They are probably part of the
airbag system. Be sure to follow
proper service procedures, and
make sure the person performing
work for you is qualified to do so.

Black plate (47,1)GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual - 2011
Seats and Restraints 3-47
Q: Because I have a disability,I have to get my vehicle
modified. How can I find out
whether this will affect my
airbag system?
A: If you have questions,
call Customer Assistance.
The phone numbers and
addresses for Customer
Assistance are in Step Two
of the Customer Satisfaction
Procedure in this manual.
See Customer Satisfaction
Procedure (U.S. and Canada) on
page 13‑1 orCustomer
Satisfaction Procedure (Mexico)
on page 13‑3. In addition, the dealer and the
service manual have information
about the location of the airbag
sensors, sensing and diagnostic
module and airbag wiring.
Airbag System Check
The airbag system does not need
regularly scheduled maintenance
or replacement. Make sure the
airbag readiness light is working.
See
Airbag Readiness Light on
page 5‑15 for more information. Notice:
If an airbag covering is
damaged, opened, or broken,
the airbag may not work properly.
Do not open or break the airbag
coverings. If there are any
opened or broken airbag covers,
have the airbag covering and/or
airbag module replaced. For the
location of the airbag modules,
see What Makes an Airbag
Inflate? on page 3‑38.
See your dealer for service.

Black plate (48,1)GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual - 2011
3-48 Seats and Restraints
Replacing Airbag System
Parts After a Crash
{WARNING
A crash can damage the
airbag systems in the vehicle.
A damaged airbag system
may not work properly and
may not protect you and your
passenger(s) in a crash, resulting
in serious injury or even death.
To help make sure the airbag
systems are working properly
after a crash, have them
inspected and any necessary
replacements made as soon
as possible.If an airbag inflates, you will need
to replace airbag system parts.
See your dealer for service.
If the airbag readiness light stays on
after the vehicle is started or comes
on when you are driving, the airbag
system may not work properly.
Have the vehicle serviced right
away. See
Airbag Readiness Light
on page 5‑15 for more information.
Child Restraints
Older Children
Older children who have outgrown
booster seats should wear the
vehicle safety belts.

Black plate (68,1)GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual - 2011
3-68 Seats and Restraints
Do not secure a child seat in a
position without a top tether anchor
if a national or local law requires
that the top tether be anchored,
or if the instructions that come with
the child restraint say that the top
strap must be anchored.
In Canada, the law requires that
forward-facing child restraints have
a top tether, and that the tether be
attached.
You will be using the lap-shoulder
belt to secure the child restraint in
this position. Follow the instructions
that came with the child restraint.
1. Move the seat as far back asit will go before securing the
forward-facing child restraint.
When the passenger sensing
system has turned off the
right front passenger frontal
airbag, the off indicator on
the passenger airbag status
indicator should light and stay
lit when the vehicle is started.
See Passenger Airbag Status
Indicator on page 5‑16. 2. Put the child restraint on
the seat.
3. Pick up the latch plate, and run the lap and shoulder portions of
the vehicle's safety belt through
or around the restraint. The child
restraint instructions will show
you how.
4. Push the latch plate into thebuckle until it clicks.
Position the release button on
the buckle so that the safety belt
could be quickly unbuckled if
necessary.
5. Pull the shoulder belt all the wayout of the retractor to set the
lock. When the retractor lock is
set, the belt can be tightened but
not pulled out of the retractor.

Black plate (1,1)GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual - 2011
Instruments and Controls 5-1
Instruments and
Controls
Controls
Steering Wheel Adjustment . . . 5-2
Steering Wheel Controls . . . . . . 5-2
Horn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4
Windshield Wiper/Washer . . . . . 5-5
Rear WindowWiper/Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Power Outlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
Warning Lights, Gauges, and
Indicators
Warning Lights, Gauges, and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
Instrument Cluster . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Fuel Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13 Engine Coolant Temperature
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Voltmeter Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Safety Belt Reminders . . . . . . . 5-15
Airbag Readiness Light . . . . . . 5-15
Passenger Airbag Status Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Charging System Light . . . . . . 5-17
Malfunction Indicator Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
Brake System Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-20
Antilock Brake System (ABS) Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-21
Tow/Haul Mode Light . . . . . . . . 5-22
StabiliTrak
®Indicator Light . . . 5-22
Engine Coolant Temperature Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Tire Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . 5-23
Engine Oil Pressure Light . . . . 5-23
Security Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Front Fog Lamp Light . . . . . . . . 5-24
Cruise Control Light . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Information Displays
Driver Information Center (DIC) (With DIC Buttons) . . . 5-25
Driver Information Center (DIC) (Without DIC
Buttons) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-30
Head-Up Display (HUD) . . . . . 5-33
Vehicle Messages
Vehicle Messages . . . . . . . . . . . 5-37
Battery Voltage and Charging Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-37
Brake System Messages . . . . 5-38
Cruise Control Messages . . . . 5-38
Door Ajar Messages . . . . . . . . . 5-38
Engine Cooling System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-39
Engine Oil Messages . . . . . . . . 5-40
Engine Power Messages . . . . 5-41
Fuel System Messages . . . . . . 5-41
Key and Lock Messages . . . . . 5-41
Lamp Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-41
Object Detection System
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-42

Black plate (3,1)GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual - 2011
Instruments and Controls 5-3
To select preset or favorite radio
stations:
.Press and releaseworcx
to go to the next or previous
radio station stored as a preset
or favorite.
To select tracks on a CD/DVD:
Press and release
worc xto
go to the next or previous track.
To select tracks on an iPod or
USB device for vehicles without
a navigation system:
1. Press and hold
worc x
while listening to a song until
the contents of the current folder
display on the radio display.
2. Press and release
worc x
to scroll up or down the list, then
press and hold
w, or press¨to
play the highlighted track. To select tracks on an iPod or USB
device for vehicles with a navigation
system:
1. Press and hold
worc
x
while listening to a song listed
in the main audio page, to
quickly move forward or in
reverse through the tracks.
See the separate Navigation
System manual for more
information.
Track information is displayed
on the screen. Release
wor
c xwhen the desired track
is reached.
2. Press and release
c xto
begin playing the track shown
in the display. To navigate folders on an iPod or
USB device for vehicles without a
navigation system:
1. Press and hold
worc
x
while listening to a song until
the contents of the current folder
display on the radio display.
2. Press and hold
c xto go
back to the previous folder list.
3. Press and release
worc x
to scroll up or down the list.
.To select a folder, press
and hold
w, or press
¨when the folder is
highlighted.
.To go back further in
the folder list, press
and hold
c x.

Black plate (4,1)GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual - 2011
5-4 Instruments and Controls
To navigate folders on an iPod or
USB device for vehicles with a
navigation system:
1. Go to the Music Navigator byfirst touching the center touch
screen folder button in the main
audio page.
2. While in Music Navigator, select the folder/artist/genre/category,
etc. using the touch screen.
3. Press and release
c xto
scroll through the selected music
list. Touch the track label on the
touch screen to highlight and
begin playing the track from
that list.
4. Press and hold
c xto quickly
scroll through the selected
music list
b g(Mute/Push to Talk): Press to
silence the vehicle speakers only.
Press again to turn the sound on.
For vehicles with Bluetooth or
OnStar
®systems, press and hold
for longer than two seconds to interact with those systems.
See
Bluetooth on page 7‑50 and
the OnStar Owner's Guide for
more information.
c x(End): Press to reject an
incoming call, or end a current call.
SRCE (Source/Voice
Recognition): Press to switch
between the radio, CD, and for
vehicles with, DVD, front auxiliary,
and rear auxiliary.
For vehicles with the navigation
system, press and hold this
button for longer than one second
to initiate voice recognition.
See “Voice Recognition” in the
Navigation System manual for
more information.
¨(Seek): Press to go to the
next radio station while in AM,
FM, or XM™.
For vehicles with or without a
navigation system:
Press
¨to go to the next track or
chapter while sourced to the CD
or DVD slot. Press
¨to select a track or a folder
when navigating folders on an iPod
or USB device.
For vehicles with a navigation
system:
1. Press and hold
¨until a beep
is heard, to place the radio into
SCAN mode, a station will play
for five seconds before moving
to the next station.
2. To stop the SCAN function, press
¨again.
3. In CD/DVD, iPod, or AUX USB, press and hold to quickly move
forward through the tracks.
Release to stop on the desired
track.
+
e−e(Volume): Press to
increase or to decrease the volume.
Horn
Press near the horn symbols or
press on the steering wheel pad
to sound the horn.

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.