2011 GMC SIERRA seats

Black plate (76,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2011
3-76 Seats and Restraints
Neverput a rear-facing child
restraint in the right front passenger
seat. Here is why:
{WARNING
A child in a rear-facing child
restraint can be seriously
injured or killed if the right front
passenger's airbag inflates.
This is because the back of
the rear-facing child restraint
would be very close to the
inflating airbag. Always secure
a rear-facing child restraint in a
rear seat.
If the vehicle does not have
a rear seat that will accommodate
a rear-facing child restraint, a
rear-facing child restraint should not
be installed in the vehicle, even if
the airbag is off. If the child restraint has the
LATCH system, see
Lower Anchors
and Tethers for Children (LATCH
System) on page 3‑57 for how and
where to install the child restraint
using LATCH. If you secure a child
restraint using a safety belt and
it uses a top tether, see Lower
Anchors and Tethers for Children
(LATCH System) on page 3‑57
for top tether anchor locations.
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 as
it will go before securing the
forward-facing child restraint.
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.

Black plate (77,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2011
Seats and Restraints 3-77
4. Push the latch plate into thebuckle until it clicks.
Make sure the release button is
positioned so you would be able
to unbuckle the safety belt
quickly 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.6. To tighten the belt, push downon the child restraint, pull the
shoulder portion of the belt to
tighten the lap portion of the belt,
and feed the shoulder belt back
into the retractor. When installing
a forward-facing child restraint,
it may be helpful to use your
knee to push down on the child
restraint as you tighten the belt.
Try to pull the belt out of
the retractor to make sure
the retractor is locked. If the
retractor is not locked, repeat
Steps 5 and 6.

Black plate (78,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2011
3-78 Seats and Restraints
7. If your child restraint has a toptether, follow the child restraint
manufacturer's instructions
regarding the use of the top
tether. See Lower Anchors and
Tethers for Children (LATCH
System) on page 3‑57 for more
information.
8. Before placing a child in the child restraint, make sure it is
securely held in place. To check,
grasp the child restraint at the
safety belt path and attempt to
move it side to side and back
and forth. When the child
restraint is properly installed,
there should be no more than
2.5 cm (1 in) of movement.
To remove the child restraint,
unbuckle the vehicle safety belt and
let it return to the stowed position.
If the top tether is attached to a top
tether anchor, disconnect it.Securing Child Restraints
(Center Front Seat
Position)
{WARNING
A child in a child restraint in the
center front seat can be badly
injured or killed by the frontal
airbags if they inflate. Never
secure a child restraint in the
center front seat. It is always
better to secure a child restraint
in a rear seat.
Do not use child restraints in the
center front seat position.

Black plate (8,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2011
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, or seats during
the calibration procedure.
2. Press the vehicle information button until PRESS
VTO
CALIBRATE COMPASS
displays. Or, if the vehicle
does not have DIC buttons,
press the trip odometer
reset stem until CALIBRATE
COMPASS displays. 3. Press the set/reset button to
start the compass calibration.
Or, if the vehicle does not have
DIC buttons, press and hold
the trip odometer reset stem
for two seconds 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
AM-FM Radio and AM‐FM
Radio with CD Player
To set the clock:
1. Turn the ignition key to
ACC/ACCESSORY or ON/RUN,
then press the
Obutton to turn
the radio on.
2. Press the
Hbutton until the hour
numbers begin to flash, then
turn the
fknob to increase or
decrease the hour.
3. Press the
Hbutton until the
minute numbers begin to flash,
then turn the
fknob to increase
or decrease the minutes.

Black plate (41,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2011
Instruments and Controls 5-41
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 5‑45. You should change
the oil as soon as you can.
See Engine Oil on page 10‑7.
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 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.Vehicle Messages
Messages displayed on the DIC
indicate the status of the vehicle
or some action may be needed
to correct a condition. Multiple
messages may appear one after
another.
The messages that do not
require immediate action can be
acknowledged and cleared by
pressing
V(Set/Reset) or the
trip odometer reset stem.
The messages that require
immediate action cannot be cleared
until that action is performed.
All messages should be taken
seriously and clearing the message
does not correct the problem.
The following are the possible
messages and some information
about them.
Battery Voltage and
Charging Messages
BATTERY LOW START
VEHICLE
When the vehicle’ s battery is
severely discharged, this message
will display and four chimes
will sound. Start the vehicle
immediately. If the vehicle is not
started and the battery continues
to discharge, the climate controls,
heated seats, and audio systems
will shut off and the vehicle may
require a jump start. These systems
will function again after the vehicle
is started.

Black plate (10,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2011
6-10 Lighting
The battery can be discharged at
idle if the electrical loads are very
high. This is true for all vehicles.
This is because the generator
(alternator) may not be spinning
fast enough at idle to produce all
the power that is needed for very
high electrical loads.
A high electrical load occurs when
several of the following are on,
such as: headlamps, high beams,
fog lamps, rear window defogger,
climate control fan at high speed,
heated seats, engine cooling fans,
trailer loads, and loads plugged into
accessory power outlets.
EPM works to prevent excessive
discharge of the battery. It does this
by balancing the generator's output
and the vehicle's electrical needs.
It can increase engine idle speed
to generate more power, whenever
needed. It can temporarily reduce
the power demands of some
accessories.Normally, these actions occur
in steps or levels, without being
noticeable. In rare cases at the
highest levels of corrective action,
this action may be noticeable to the
driver. If so, a Driver Information
Center (DIC) message might be
displayed, such as BATTERY
SAVER ACTIVE, BATTERY
VOLTAGE LOW, or LOW BATTERY.
If one of these messages displays,
it is recommended that the driver
reduce the electrical loads as much
as possible. See
Driver Information
Center (DIC) on page 5‑33.
Battery Power Protection
This feature shuts off the dome and
reading lamps, if they are left on
for more than 10 minutes after the
ignition is turned off. The cargo
lamp shuts off after 20 minutes.
This prevents the battery from
running down.

Black plate (11,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2011
Climate Controls 8-11
The interior temperature sensor,
located in the headliner, measures
the temperature of the air inside the
vehicle.There is also an exterior
temperature sensor located
behind the front grille. This sensor
reads the outside air temperature
and helps maintain the temperature
inside the vehicle. Any cover on
the front of the vehicle could cause
a false reading in the displayed
temperature.
The climate control system uses
the information from these sensors
to maintain comfort settings by
adjusting the outlet temperature, fan
speed, and the air delivery mode.
The system may also supply cooler
air to the side of the vehicle facing
the sun. The recirculation mode will
also be used as needed to maintain
cool outlet temperatures.
Air Vents
Use the air outlets located in the
center and on the side of the
instrument panel to direct the
airflow. Use the thumbwheels
near the air outlets to open or
close off the airflow.
Operation Tips
.Clear away any ice, snow,
or leaves from air inlets at the
base of the windshield that could
block the flow of air into the
vehicle.
.Keep the path under the front
seats clear of objects to help
circulate the air inside of the
vehicle more effectively.
.Use of non‐GM approved hood
deflectors can adversely affect
the performance of the system.
Check with your dealer before
adding equipment to the outside
of the vehicle.

Black plate (30,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2011
9-30 Driving and Operating
If you put things inside your
vehicle—like suitcases,
tools, packages, or anything
else —they go as fast as the
vehicle goes. If you have to
stop or turn quickly, or if there
is a crash, they will keep going.
{WARNING
Things you put inside the
vehicle can strike and injure
people in a sudden stop or
turn, or in a crash.
.Put things in the cargo
area of the vehicle. Try to
spread the weight evenly.
.Never stack heavier
things, like suitcases,
inside the vehicle so that
some of them are above
the tops of the seats.
(Continued)
WARNING (Continued)
.Do not leave an
unsecured child restraint
in the vehicle.
.When you carry something
inside the vehicle, secure
it whenever you can.
.Do not leave a seat folded
down unless you need to.
There is also important loading
information for off-road driving in
this manual. See “Loading Your
Vehicle for Off-Road Driving“
under Off-Road Driving on
page 9‑7. Two-Tiered Loading
Depending on the model of your
pick‐up, an upper load platform
can be created by positioning
three or four 5 cm (2 inches) by
15 cm (6 inches) wooden planks
across the width of the pickup
box. The planks must be
inserted in the pickup box
depressions.
When using this upper load
platform, be sure the load is
securely tied down to prevent it
from shifting. The load's center
of gravity should be positioned
in a zone over the rear axle.
The zone is located in the area
between the front of each wheel
well and the rear of each wheel
well. The center of gravity height
must not extend above the top
of the pickup box flareboard.