Black plate (28,1)GMC Terrain Owner Manual - 2011
3-28 Seats and Restraints
Where Are the Airbags?
The driver frontal airbag is in the
middle of the steering wheel.
The right front passenger frontal
airbag is in the instrument panel on
the passenger side.Driver Side Shown, PassengerSide Similar
The seat-mounted side impact
airbags for the driver and right front
passenger are in the side of the
seatbacks closest to the door.
Black plate (29,1)GMC Terrain Owner Manual - 2011
Seats and Restraints 3-29
Driver Side Shown, PassengerSide Similar
The roof-rail airbags for the driver,
right front passenger, and second
row outboard passengers are in the
ceiling above the side windows.
{WARNING
If something is between an
occupant and an airbag, the
airbag might not inflate properly
or it might force the object into
that person causing severe injury (Continued)
WARNING (Continued)
or even death. The path of an
inflating airbag must be kept
clear. Do not put anything
between an occupant and an
airbag, and do not attach or put
anything on the steering wheel
hub or on or near any other
airbag covering.
Do not use seat accessories
that block the inflation path of a
seat-mounted side impact airbag.
Never secure anything to the roof
of a vehicle with roof-rail airbags
by routing a rope or tie down
through any door or window
opening. If you do, the path of an
inflating roof-rail airbag will be
blocked.
When Should an Airbag
Inflate?
Frontal airbags are designed to
inflate in moderate to severe frontal
or near-frontal crashes to help
reduce the potential for severe
injuries mainly to the driver's or right
front passenger's head and chest.
However, they are only designed
to inflate if the impact exceeds
a predetermined deployment
threshold. Deployment thresholds
are used to predict how severe a
crash is likely to be in time for the
airbags to inflate and help restrain
the occupants.
Whether the frontal airbags will or
should deploy is not based on
how fast your vehicle is traveling.
It depends largely on what you hit,
the direction of the impact, and how
quickly your vehicle slows down.
Black plate (31,1)GMC Terrain Owner Manual - 2011
Seats and Restraints 3-31
determined by the location and
severity of the side impact. In a
rollover event, roof-rail airbag
deployment is determined by the
direction of the roll.
What Makes an Airbag
Inflate?
In a deployment event, the sensing
system sends an electrical signal
triggering a release of gas from the
inflator. Gas from the inflator fills the
airbag causing the bag to break out
of the cover and deploy. The inflator,
the airbag, and related hardware are
all part of the airbag module.
Frontal airbag modules are located
inside the steering wheel and
instrument panel. For vehicles with
seat-mounted side impact airbags,
there are airbag modules in the side
of the front seatbacks closest to
the door. For vehicles with roof-rail
airbags, there are airbag modules in
the ceiling of the vehicle, near the
side windows that have occupant
seating positions.
How Does an Airbag
Restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or
near frontal collisions, even belted
occupants can contact the steering
wheel or the instrument panel. In
moderate to severe side collisions,
even belted occupants can contact
the inside of the vehicle.
Airbags supplement the protection
provided by safety belts. Frontal
airbags distribute the force of
the impact more evenly over the
occupant's upper body, stopping
the occupant more gradually.
Seat‐mounted side impact and
roof-rail airbags distribute the force
of the impact more evenly over the
occupant's upper body.
Rollover capable roof-rail airbags
are designed to help contain the
head and chest of occupants in
the outboard seating positions in
the first and second rows. The
rollover capable roof-rail airbags are
designed to help reduce the risk offull or partial ejection in rollover
events, although no system can
prevent all such ejections.
But airbags would not help in
many types of collisions, primarily
because the occupant's motion
is not toward those airbags. See
When Should an Airbag Inflate? on
page 3‑29
for more information.
Airbags should never be regarded
as anything more than a supplement
to safety belts.
What Will You See After
an Airbag Inflates?
After the frontal airbags and
seat-mounted side impact airbags
inflate, they quickly deflate, so
quickly that some people may not
even realize an airbag inflated.
Roof-rail airbags may still be at least
partially inflated for some time after
they deploy. Some components of
the airbag module may be hot for
several minutes. For location of the
airbag modules, see What Makes
an Airbag Inflate? on page 3‑31.
Black plate (38,1)GMC Terrain Owner Manual - 2011
3-38 Seats and Restraints
To purchase a service manual, see
Service Publications Ordering
Information on page 13‑14.
{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.
Adding Equipment to the
Airbag-Equipped Vehicle
Q: Is there anything I might addto or change about the vehicle
that could keep the airbags
from working properly?
A: Yes. If you add things that
change the vehicle's frame,
bumper system, height, front end
or side sheet metal, they may
keep the airbag system from
working properly. Changing or
moving any parts of the front
seats, safety belts, the airbag
sensing and diagnostic module,
steering wheel, instrument
panel, roof-rail airbag modules,
ceiling headliner or pillar garnish
trim, overhead console, front
sensors, side impact sensors,
rollover sensor module, or airbag
wiring can affect the operation of
the airbag system. In addition, the vehicle has a
passenger sensing system
for the right front passenger
position, which includes sensors
that are part of the passenger
seat. The passenger sensing
system may not operate
properly if the original seat trim
is replaced with non-GM covers,
upholstery or trim, or with GM
covers, upholstery or trim
designed for a different vehicle.
Any object, such as an
aftermarket seat heater or a
comfort enhancing pad or
device, installed under or on
top of the seat fabric, could
also interfere with the operation
of the passenger sensing
system. This could either
prevent proper deployment of
the passenger airbag(s) or
prevent the passenger sensing
system from properly turning off
the passenger airbag(s). See
Passenger Sensing System on
page 3‑33.
Black plate (1,1)GMC Terrain Owner Manual - 2011
Instruments and Controls 5-1
Instruments and
Controls
Controls
Steering Wheel Adjustment . . . 5-2
Steering Wheel Controls . . . . . . 5-2
Horn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
Windshield Wiper/Washer . . . . . 5-3
Rear Window Wiper/Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4
Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4
Clock (With Date Display) . . . . . 5-5
Clock (Without Date Display) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
Power Outlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
Warning Lights, Gauges, and
Indicators
Warning Lights, Gauges, and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7
Instrument Cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9 Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
Fuel Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
Engine Coolant Temperature
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Safety Belt Reminders . . . . . . . 5-10
Airbag Readiness Light . . . . . . 5-11
Passenger Airbag Status Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
Charging System Light . . . . . . 5-12
Malfunction Indicator Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Brake System Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15
Antilock Brake System (ABS) Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Traction Off Light . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
StabiliTrak
®OFF Light . . . . . . . 5-16
Traction Control System (TCS)/StabiliTrak
®Light . . . . 5-17
Tire Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Engine Oil Pressure Light . . . . 5-18
Fuel Economy Light . . . . . . . . . 5-18
Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . 5-19 Security Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-19
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . 5-19
Front Fog Lamp Light . . . . . . . . 5-20
Lamps On Reminder . . . . . . . . . 5-20
Cruise Control Light . . . . . . . . . 5-20
Information Displays
Driver Information
Center (DIC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-20
Vehicle Messages
Vehicle Messages . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Battery Voltage and ChargingMessages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Brake System Messages . . . . 5-24
Compass Messages . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Cruise Control Messages . . . . 5-25
Door Ajar Messages . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Engine Cooling System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Engine Oil Messages . . . . . . . . 5-26
Engine Power Messages . . . . 5-26
Fuel System Messages . . . . . . 5-27
Key and Lock Messages . . . . . 5-27
Black plate (2,1)GMC Terrain Owner Manual - 2011
5-2 Instruments and Controls
Object Detection SystemMessages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-27
Ride Control System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-27
Airbag System Messages . . . . 5-28
Safety Belt Messages . . . . . . . 5-28
Anti-Theft Alarm System
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-28
Service Vehicle Messages . . . 5-28
Tire Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-28
Transmission Messages . . . . . 5-29
Vehicle Reminder Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-29
Vehicle Personalization
Vehicle Personalization . . . . . . 5-30
Controls
Steering Wheel
Adjustment
To adjust the steering wheel:
1. Pull the lever (A) down.
2. Move the steering wheel up
or down. 3. Pull or push the steering wheel
closer or away from you.
4. Pull the lever (A) up to lock the steering wheel in place.
Do not adjust the steering wheel
while driving.
Steering Wheel Controls
For vehicles with audio steering
wheel controls, some audio controls
can be adjusted at the steering
wheel.
Black plate (3,1)GMC Terrain Owner Manual - 2011
Instruments and Controls 5-3
bg(Push to Talk): For vehicles
with a Bluetooth®or OnStar®, press
to interact with those systems. See
Bluetooth (Overview) on page 7‑45
or Bluetooth (Infotainment Controls)
on page 7‑46 orBluetooth (Voice
Recognition) on page 7‑51 or the
OnStar Owner's Guide for more
information.
$ i(Mute/End Call): Press to
reject an incoming call, or end a
current call. Press to silence the
vehicle speakers while using the
infotainment system. Press again to
turn the sound on.
_SRC^(Toggle Switch): Press to
select an audio source.
Toggle up or down to select the next
or previous favorite radio station or
CD/MP3 track.
+ x−(Volume): Press + or−to
increase or decrease the volume.
Horn
Press near the horn symbols or
press on the steering wheel pad to
sound the horn.
Windshield Wiper/Washer
The windshield wiper/washer lever
is located on the right side of the
steering column.
Move the lever to one of the
following positions:
8(Mist): Use for a single wipe,
move the lever to
8and then
release. The wipers stop after
one wipe.
((Off): Use to turn the wipers off.
&(Adjustable Interval Wipes):
For adjustable interval wipes. Turn
the
&band up for more frequent
wipes or down for less frequent
wipes.
1 (Low Speed): Use for slow
wipes.
2 (High Speed): Use for fast wipes.
Clear snow and ice from the wiper
blades before using them. If frozen
to the windshield, carefully loosen or
thaw them. Damaged wiper blades
should be replaced. See Wiper
Blade Replacement on page 10‑30.
Heavy snow or ice can overload the
wiper motor. A circuit breaker will
stop the motor until it cools down.
Black plate (14,1)GMC Terrain Owner Manual - 2011
5-14 Instruments and Controls
If the light continues to flash, when
it is safe to do so, stop the vehicle.
Find a safe place to park the
vehicle. Turn the vehicle off, wait at
least 10 seconds, and restart the
engine. If the light is still flashing,
follow the previous steps and see
your dealer for service as soon as
possible.
Light On Steady:An emission
control system malfunction has
been detected on the vehicle.
Diagnosis and service might be
required.
The following may correct an
emission system malfunction:
.Make sure the fuel cap is
fully installed. See Filling the
Tank on page 9‑55. The
diagnostic system can determine
if the fuel cap has been left off or
improperly installed. A loose or
missing fuel cap allows fuel to
evaporate into the atmosphere.
A few driving trips with the cap
properly installed should turn the
light off.
.Make sure the electrical system
is not wet. The system could be
wet if the vehicle was driven
through a deep puddle of
water. The condition is usually
corrected when the electrical
system dries out. A few driving
trips should turn the light off.
.Make sure to fuel the vehicle
with quality fuel. Poor fuel quality
causes the engine not to run as
efficiently as designed and can
cause: stalling after start-up,
stalling when the vehicle is
changed into gear, misfiring,
hesitation on acceleration,
or stumbling on acceleration.
These conditions might go away
once the engine is warmed up.
If one or more of these conditions
occurs, change the fuel brand used.
It will require at least one full tank of
the proper fuel to turn the light off.
See Recommended Fuel on
page 9‑52. If none of the above have made
the light turn off, your dealer can
check the vehicle. The dealer
has the proper test equipment
and diagnostic tools to fix any
mechanical or electrical problems
that might have developed.Emissions Inspection and
Maintenance Programs
Some local governments may
have programs to inspect the
on-vehicle emission control
equipment. For the inspection, the
emission system test equipment is
connected to the vehicle’s Data Link
Connector (DLC).
The DLC is under the instrument
panel to the left of the steering
wheel. See your dealer if assistance
is needed.