Page 221 of 414

Black plate (9,1)GMC Savana Owner Manual - 2011
Driving and Operating 9-9
.Pay attention to special road
signs (falling rocks area, winding
roads, long grades, passing or
no-passing zones) and take
appropriate action.
Winter Driving
Driving on Snow or Ice
Drive carefully when there is snow
or ice between the tires and the
road, creating less traction or grip.
Wet ice can occur at about 0°C
(32°F) when freezing rain begins to
fall, resulting in even less traction.
Avoid driving on wet ice or in
freezing rain until roads can be
treated with salt or sand.Drive with caution, whatever the
condition. Accelerate gently so
traction is not lost. Accelerating too
quickly causes the wheels to spin
and makes the surface under the
tires slick, so there is even less
traction.
Try not to break the fragile traction.
If you accelerate too fast, the drive
wheels will spin and polish the
surface under the tires even more.
The
Antilock Brake System (ABS)
on page 9‑35 improves vehicle
stability during hard stops on a
slippery roads, but apply the brakes
sooner than when on dry pavement. Allow greater following distance on
any slippery road and watch for
slippery spots. Icy patches can
occur on otherwise clear roads in
shaded areas. The surface of a
curve or an overpass can remain icy
when the surrounding roads are
clear. Avoid sudden steering
maneuvers and braking while
on ice.
Turn off cruise control, if equipped,
on slippery surfaces.
Page 340 of 414

Black plate (68,1)GMC Savana Owner Manual - 2011
10-68 Vehicle Care
Uniform Tire Quality
Grading
Quality grades can be found
where applicable on the tire
sidewall between tread shoulder
and maximum section width. For
example:
Treadwear 200 Traction AA
Temperature A
The following information relates
to the system developed by the
United States National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA), which grades tires by
treadwear, traction, and
temperature performance. This
applies only to vehicles sold in
the United States. The grades
are molded on the sidewalls of
most passenger car tires. The
Uniform Tire Quality Grading
(UTQG) system does not apply
to deep tread, winter-type snow
tires, space-saver, or temporaryuse spare tires, tires with
nominal rim diameters of
10 to 12 inches (25 to 30 cm),
or to some limited-production
tires.
While the tires available on
General Motors passenger cars
and light trucks may vary with
respect to these grades, they
must also conform to federal
safety requirements and
additional General Motors Tire
Performance Criteria (TPC)
standards.
All Passenger Car Tires Must
Conform to Federal Safety
Requirements In Addition To
These Grades.
Treadwear
The treadwear grade is a
comparative rating based on the
wear rate of the tire when tested
under controlled conditions on a
specified government test
course. For example, a tire
graded 150 would wear one and
a half (1½) times as well on the
government course as a tire
graded 100. The relative
performance of tires depends
upon the actual conditions of
their use, however, and may
depart significantly from the
norm due to variations in driving
habits, service practices and
differences in road
characteristics and climate.
Page 404 of 414

Black plate (2,1)GMC Savana Owner Manual - 2011
i-2 INDEX
B
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-31Jump Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-84
Load Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Power Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Voltage and ChargingMessages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-32
Blade Replacement, Wiper . . . 10-37
Bluetooth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-23
Brake System Warning Light . . . 5-23
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-28 Antilock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-35
Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-29
Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-36
System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-32
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Break-In, New Vehicle . . . . . . . . . 9-17
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-43
Center High-MountedStoplamp (CHMSL) . . . . . . . 10-42
Front Turn Signal, Sidemarker, and
Parking Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-40 Bulb Replacement (cont.)
Halogen Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-38
Headlamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-38
License Plate Lamps . . . . . . . 10-42
Taillamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-40
Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-66
C
Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
California Fuel Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . 9-43
Perchlorate Materials
Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2
Canadian Vehicle Owners . . . . . . . . iii
Capacities and Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2
Carbon Monoxide Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-26
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-9
Cargo Door Relocking . . . . . . . . . . 2-7
Cautions, Danger, and Warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv CD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-12
Center High-Mounted
Stoplamp (CHMSL) . . . . . . . . . 10-42
Chains, Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-71
Charging System Light . . . . . . . . 5-20
Check Engine Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-20
Ignition
Transmission Lock . . . . . . . . 10-36
Child Restraints Infants and Young
Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-46
Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children . . . . . . . . . 3-52
Older Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-44
Securing . . . . . . . . . . 3-59, 3-62, 3-65
Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-49
Cigarette Lighter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-44
Cleaning Exterior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-91
Interior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-95
Climate Control System Rear Heating System . . . . . . . . . . 8-3
Page 414 of 414

Black plate (12,1)GMC Savana Owner Manual - 2011
i-12 INDEX
Ventilation, Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-6
Visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19
Voltmeter Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15
W
WarningBrake System Light . . . . . . . . . . . 5-23
Warning Lights, Gauges, and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv Cautions and Danger . . . . . . . . . . . .iv
Hazard Flashers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Washer Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-27
Wheels
Alignment and TireBalance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-69
Different Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-67
Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-70 When It Is Time for New
Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-65
Where to Put the Restraint . . . . 3-51
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16 Enhanced TechnologyGlass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Swing-out Windows . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Windshield Wiper/Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-9
Wiper Blade Replacement . . . . 10-37