2012 GMC ACADIA 10-1

Black plate (16,1)GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual - 2012
10-16 Vehicle Care
Checking Coolant
The vehicle must be on a level
surface when checking the coolant
level.
Check to see if coolant is visible in
the coolant recovery tank. If the
coolant inside the coolant recovery
tank is boiling, do not do anything
else until it cools down. If coolant is
visible but the coolant level is not at
or above the FULL COLD mark, add
a 50/50 mixture of clean, drinkable
water and DEX-COOL coolant at the
coolant recovery tank, but be sure
the cooling system is cool before
this is done. SeeCooling System on
page 10‑14 for more information.
The coolant recovery tank cap has
this symbol on it.
When the engine is cold, the coolant
level should be at or above the
FULL COLD line marked on the
recovery tank.
When the engine is hot, the level
could be higher than the FULL
COLD line. If the coolant is below
the FULL COLD line when the
engine is hot, there could be a leak
in the cooling system.
If the coolant is low, add the coolant
or take the vehicle to a dealer for
service.
How to Add Coolant to the
Recovery Tank
{WARNING
You can be burned if you spill
coolant on hot engine parts.
Coolant contains ethylene glycol
and it will burn if the engine parts
are hot enough. Do not spill
coolant on a hot engine.
Notice: This vehicle has a
specific coolant fill procedure.
Failure to follow this procedure
could cause the engine to
overheat and be severely
damaged.
If coolant is needed, add the proper
DEX-COOL coolant mixture at the
coolant recovery tank.

Black plate (17,1)GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual - 2012
Vehicle Care 10-17
How to Add Coolant to the
Radiator
{WARNING
An electric engine cooling fan
under the hood can start up even
when the engine is not running
and can cause injury. Keep
hands, clothing, and tools away
from any underhood electric fan.
{WARNING
Steam and scalding liquids from a
hot cooling system can blow out
and burn you badly. They are
under pressure, and if you
turn the surge tank pressure
cap—even a little —they can
come out at high speed. Never
turn the cap when the cooling
system, including the surge tank
pressure cap, is hot. Wait for the
(Continued)
WARNING (Continued)
cooling system and surge tank
pressure cap to cool if you ever
have to turn the pressure cap.
If coolant is needed, add the proper
mixture directly to the radiator, but
be sure the cooling system is cool
before this is done.
1. Detach the fasteners and lift off the panel that covers the
radiator cap.
2. Remove the radiator pressurecap when the cooling system,
including the upper radiator
hose, is no longer hot.
Turn the pressure cap slowly
counterclockwise about one
full turn.
If a hiss is heard, wait for that
to stop. A hiss means there is
still some pressure left in the
system.
3. Keep turning the pressure cap slowly and remove it.
4. Fill the radiator to the base of the filler neck with the proper
DEX-COOL coolant mixture.

Black plate (18,1)GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual - 2012
10-18 Vehicle Care
5. Fill the coolant recovery tank tothe FULL COLD mark.
6. Reinstall the cap on the coolant recovery tank but leave the
radiator pressure cap off.
7. Start the engine and let it run until the upper radiator hose
feels warm. Any time during this
procedure, watch out for the
engine cooling fans. 8. If the coolant level inside the
radiator filler neck is low, add
more of the proper DEX-COOL
coolant mixture through the filler
neck until the level is back up to
the base of the filler neck.
9. Replace the pressure cap. Be sure to secure it tightly.
At any time during this
procedure if coolant begins
to flow out of the filler neck,
reinstall the pressure cap.
Notice: If the pressure cap is not
tightly installed, coolant loss and
possible engine damage may
occur. Be sure the cap is properly
and tightly secured.
Engine Overheating
The vehicle has several indicators
to warn of engine overheating.
There is an engine coolant
temperature gauge on the
instrument panel cluster.
See Engine Coolant Temperature
Gauge on page 5‑14.
The vehicle may also display
an ENGINE OVERHEATED
IDLE ENGINE and ENGINE
OVERHEATED STOP ENGINE
message in the Driver Information
Center (DIC). See Engine Cooling
System Messages on page 5‑39.
You may decide not to lift the hood
when this warning appears, but
instead get service help right away.
See Roadside Assistance Program
(U.S. and Canada) on page 13‑8
or Roadside Assistance Program
(Mexico) on page 13‑10.

Black plate (19,1)GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual - 2012
Vehicle Care 10-19
If you do decide to lift the hood,
make sure the vehicle is parked on
a level surface.
Then check to see if the engine
cooling fans are running. If the
engine is overheating, both fans
should be running. If they are not,
do not continue to run the engine
and have the vehicle serviced.
Notice:Engine damage from
running the engine without
coolant is not covered by the
warranty.
Notice: If the engine catches fire
while driving with no coolant, the
vehicle can be badly damaged.
The costly repairs would not be
covered by the vehicle warranty.
See Overheated Engine
Protection Operating Mode on
page 10‑20 for information on
driving to a safe place in an
emergency.If Steam Is Coming from the
Engine Compartment
{WARNING
Steam from an overheated engine
can burn you badly, even if you
just open the hood. Stay away
from the engine if you see or hear
steam coming from it. Turn it off
and get everyone away from the
vehicle until it cools down. Wait
until there is no sign of steam or
coolant before you open
the hood.
If you keep driving when the
vehicles engine is overheated,
the liquids in it can catch fire.
You or others could be badly
burned. Stop the engine if it
overheats, and get out of the
vehicle until the engine is cool.
(Continued)
WARNING (Continued)
SeeOverheated Engine
Protection Operating Mode on
page 10‑20 for information on
driving to a safe place in an
emergency.
If No Steam Is Coming from
the Engine Compartment
If an engine overheat warning is
displayed but no steam can be seen
or heard, the problem may not be
too serious. Sometimes the engine
can get a little too hot when the
vehicle:
.Climbs a long hill on a hot day
.Stops after high-speed driving
.Idles for long periods in traffic
.Tows a trailer

Black plate (1,1)GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual - 2012
INDEX i-1
A
Accessories andModifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Accessory Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-20
Add-On Electrical Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-53
Additional Information,
OnStar
®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-5
Adjustments Lumbar, Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Air Cleaner/Filter, Engine . . . . . 10-12
Air Filter, Passenger
Compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-13
Air Vents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-12
Airbag System Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-37
How Does an Airbag
Restrain? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-29
Passenger Sensing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-31
What Makes an Airbag Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-29 Airbag System (cont'd)
What Will You See after an
Airbag Inflates? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-29
When Should an Airbag
Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-27
Where Are the Airbags? . . . . . . 3-26
Airbags Adding Equipment to theVehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-36
Passenger Status Indicator . . . 5-17
Readiness Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Servicing Airbag-Equipped Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-35
System Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-24
Alarm System Anti-theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
All-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . . . 9-27, 10-26
AM-FM Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-7
Antenna Multi-band . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-13
Anti-theft Alarm System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Alarm System Messages . . . . . 5-42 Antilock Brake
System (ABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-27
Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Appearance Care Exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-86
Interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-89
Armrest Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Assistance Program,
Roadside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-8, 13-10
Audio Controller, Rear (RAC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-48
Audio Players . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-13 CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-13
CD/DVD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-15
MP3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-23, 7-29
Audio System
Radio Reception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-12
Rear Seat (RSA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-47
Theft-Deterrent Feature . . . . . . . . 7-2
Automatic Dimming Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
Door Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-23
Transmission Fluid . . . . . . . . . 10-12

Black plate (3,1)GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual - 2012
INDEX i-3
CleaningExterior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-86
Interior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-89
Climate Control Systems . . . . . . . 8-1 Air Conditioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1
Dual Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-4
Heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1
Rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-10, 8-11
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Cluster, Instrument . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Collision Damage Repair . . . . . 13-16
Compact Spare Tire . . . . . . . . . . 10-77
Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
Compressor Kit, Tire Sealant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-60
Connections, OnStar
®. . . . . . . . . 14-4
Control of a Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Convenience Net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5
Convex Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Coolant Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-14
Engine Temperature
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Engine Temperature Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-23 Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-14
Engine Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-39
Courtesy Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Courtesy Transportation Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-14
Cover Cargo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4
Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-8
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-32 Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-38
Cupholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Customer Assistance . . . . . . . . . . 13-6 Offices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-5, 13-6
Text Telephone (TTY)Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-6
Customer Information Service PublicationsOrdering Information . . . . . . 13-18
Customer Satisfaction Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-2, 13-4
D
Damage Repair, Collision . . . . . 13-16
Danger, Warnings, and
Cautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
Data Recorders, Event . . . . . . . 13-21
Daytime Running Lamps/Automatic Headlamp
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Defensive Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Delayed Entry Lighting . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Delayed Exit Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Delayed Headlamps . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Devices, Auxiliary . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-36
Diagnostics, OnStar
®. . . . . . . . . . 14-5
Distracted Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
Dome Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Door
Ajar Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-38
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7
Power Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Drive Belt Routing, Engine . . . . . 12-3

Black plate (4,1)GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual - 2012
i-4 INDEX
Drive SystemsAll-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . 9-27, 10-26
Driver Information Center (DIC) . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25, 5-30
Driving Characteristics andTowing Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-45
Defensive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Drunk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
For Better Fuel Economy . . . . . 1-24
Highway Hypnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-7
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . . . 9-7
If the Vehicle is Stuck . . . . . . . . . 9-10
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Vehicle Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . 9-10
Wet Roads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
Winter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-8
Dual Automatic Climate Control System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-4
DVD
Rear Seat EntertainmentSystem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-38
DVD/CD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-15E
Electrical Equipment, Add-On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-53
Electrical System Engine CompartmentFuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-31
Fuses and Circuit
Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-31
Instrument Panel Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-34
Overload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-30
Emergency, OnStar
®. . . . . . . . . . 14-2
Engine Air Cleaner/Filter . . . . . . . . . . . 10-12
Check and Service EngineSoon Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
Compartment Overview . . . . . . . 10-6
Coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-14
Coolant Temperature Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Coolant Temperature Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-23
Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-14
Cooling System Messages . . . 5-39
Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-8
Drive Belt Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-3 Engine (cont'd)
Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-22
Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-19
Oil Life System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-10
Oil Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-40
Overheated Protection
Operating Mode . . . . . . . . . . . 10-20
Overheating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-18
Power Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-40
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Running While Parked . . . . . . . . 9-23
Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-18
Entry Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Equipment, Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-51
Event Data Recorders . . . . . . . . 13-21
Extender, Safety Belt . . . . . . . . . . 3-22
Exterior Lamp Controls . . . . . . . . . 6-1
F
Features Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8
Filter, Engine Air Cleaner . . . . . . . . . 10-12
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Flashers, Hazard Warning . . . . . . 6-4

Black plate (5,1)GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual - 2012
INDEX i-5
Flat Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-58Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-68
Floor Console Storage . . . . . . . . . . 4-3
Floor Mats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-92
Fluid Automatic Transmission . . . . 10-12
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-24
Power Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-21
Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-22
Fog Lamps Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Folding Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Front Fog Lamp Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Front Seats Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Heated and Ventilated . . . . . . . . . 3-9
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-40 Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-41
Economy Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-24
Filling a Portable FuelContainer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-44
Filling the Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-42
Foreign Countries . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-41 Fuel (cont'd)
Gasoline Specifications . . . . . . . 9-40
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Recommended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-40
Requirements, California . . . . . 9-40
System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-40
Fuses Engine CompartmentFuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-31
Fuses and Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-31
Instrument Panel Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-34
G
Garage Door Opener . . . . . . . . . . 5-54Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-54
Gasoline Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-40
Gauges
Engine CoolantTemperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13 Gauges (cont'd)
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Voltmeter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15
Warning Lights and
Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
General Information Service and Maintenance . . . . . 11-1
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-44
Vehicle Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2
Glove Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
GM Mobility Reimbursement Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-8
H
Hazard Warning Flashers . . . . . . . 6-4
Head Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Head-up Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-33
HeadlampsAiming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-28
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-29
Daytime RunningLamps/Automatic
Headlamp System . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Delayed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3