
Black plate (54,1)GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual - 2012
10-54 Vehicle Care
Different Size Tires and
Wheels
If wheels or tires are installed that
are a different size than the original
equipment wheels and tires, vehicle
performance, including its braking,
ride and handling characteristics,
stability, and resistance to rollover
may be affected. If the vehicle has
electronic systems such as antilock
brakes, rollover airbags, traction
control, and electronic stability
control, the performance of these
systems can also be affected.
{WARNING
If different sized wheels are used,
there may not be an acceptable
level of performance and safety
if tires not recommended for
those wheels are selected.
This increases the chance of
a crash and serious injury.
Only use GM specific wheel and
tire systems developed for the
vehicle, and have them properly
installed by a GM certified
technician.
See Buying New Tires on
page 10‑52 andAccessories and
Modifications on page 10‑3 for
additional information.
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

Black plate (17,1)GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual - 2012
Customer Information 13-17
Many insurance policies provide
reduced protection to the GM
vehicle by limiting compensation
for damage repairs through the
use of aftermarket collision parts.
Some insurance companies will not
specify aftermarket collision parts.
When purchasing insurance, we
recommend that you ensure that the
vehicle will be repaired with GM
original equipment collision parts.
If such insurance coverage is not
available from your current
insurance carrier, consider switching
to another insurance carrier.
If the vehicle is leased, the leasing
company may require you to have
insurance that ensures repairs with
Genuine GM Original Equipment
Manufacturer (OEM) parts or
Genuine Manufacturer replacement
parts. Read the lease carefully, as
you may be charged at the end of
the lease for poor quality repairs.If a Crash Occurs
If there has been an injury, call
emergency services for help. Do not
leave the scene of a crash until all
matters have been taken care of.
Move the vehicle only if its position
puts you in danger, or you are
instructed to move it by a police
officer.
Give only the necessary information
to police and other parties involved
in the crash.
For emergency towing see
Roadside Assistance Program
(U.S. and Canada) on page 13‑8
orRoadside Assistance Program
(Mexico) on page 13‑10.
Gather the following information:
.Driver name, address, and
telephone number.
.Driver license number.
.Owner name, address, and
telephone number.
.Vehicle license plate number.
.Vehicle make, model, and
model year.
.Vehicle Identification
Number (VIN).
.Insurance company and policy
number.
.General description of the
damage to the other vehicle.
Choose a reputable repair facility
that uses quality replacement parts.
See “Collision Parts” earlier in this
section.
If the airbag has inflated, see
What Will You See after an Airbag
Inflates? on page 3‑29.
Managing the Vehicle Damage
Repair Process
In the event that the vehicle requires
damage repairs, GM recommends
that you take an active role in its
repair. If you have a pre-determined
repair facility of choice, take the
vehicle there, or have it towed there.

Black plate (20,1)GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual - 2012
13-20 Customer Information
Reporting Safety Defects
to the Canadian
Government
If you live in Canada, and you
believe that the vehicle has a
safety defect, notify Transport
Canada immediately, and notify
General Motors of Canada Limited.
Call Transport Canada at
1-800-333-0510 or write to:
Transport Canada
Road Safety Branch
80 rue Noel
Gatineau, QC J8Z 0A1
Reporting Safety Defects
to General Motors
In addition to notifying NHTSA
(or Transport Canada) in a situation
like this, please notify General
Motors.
Call 1-800-GMC-8782
(1-800-462-8782), or write:
GMC Customer Assistance Center
P.O. Box 33172
Detroit, MI 48232-5172
In Canada, call 1-800-263-3777
(English) or 1-800-263-7854
(French), or write:
General Motors of Canada Limited
Customer Care Centre,
Mail Code: CA1-163-005
1908 Colonel Sam Drive
Oshawa, Ontario L1H 8P7
Vehicle Data
Recording and
Privacy
This GM vehicle has a number of
sophisticated computers that record
information about the vehicle’s
performance and how it is driven.
For example, the vehicle uses
computer modules to monitor and
control engine and transmission
performance, to monitor the
conditions for airbag deployment
and deploy airbags in a crash, and,
if so equipped, to provide antilock
braking to help the driver control the
vehicle. These modules may store
data to help your dealer technician
service the vehicle. Some modules
may also store data about how you
operate the vehicle, such as rate of
fuel consumption or average speed.
These modules may also retain the
owner’s personal preferences, such
as radio presets, seat positions, and
temperature settings.

Black plate (21,1)GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual - 2012
Customer Information 13-21
Event Data Recorders
This vehicle has an Event Data
Recorder (EDR). The main purpose
of an EDR is to record, in certain
crash or near crash-like situations,
such as an airbag deployment or
hitting a road obstacle, data that
will assist in understanding how a
vehicle's systems performed.
The EDR is designed to record data
related to vehicle dynamics and
safety systems for a short period of
time, typically 30 seconds or less.
The EDR in this vehicle is designed
to record such data as:
.How various systems in the
vehicle were operating.
.Whether or not the driver and
passenger safety belts were
buckled/fastened.
.How far, if at all, the driver was
pressing the accelerator and/or
brake pedal.
.How fast the vehicle was
traveling.This data can help provide a better
understanding of the circumstances
in which crashes and injuries occur.
Important:
EDR data is recorded
by the vehicle only if a non-trivial
crash situation occurs; no data is
recorded by the EDR under normal
driving conditions and no personal
data (e.g., name, gender, age, and
crash location) is recorded.
However, other parties, such as law
enforcement, could combine the
EDR data with the type of
personally identifying data routinely
acquired during a crash
investigation.
To read data recorded by an EDR,
special equipment is required, and
access to the vehicle or the EDR is
needed. In addition to the vehicle
manufacturer, other parties, such as
law enforcement, that have the
special equipment, can read the
information if they have access to
the vehicle or the EDR. GM will not access this data or
share it with others except: with the
consent of the vehicle owner or,
if the vehicle is leased, with the
consent of the lessee; in response
to an official request by police or
similar government office; as part of
GM's defense of litigation through
the discovery process; or, as
required by law. Data that GM
collects or receives may also be
used for GM research needs or may
be made available to others for
research purposes, where a need is
shown and the data is not tied to a
specific vehicle or vehicle owner.

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 (6,1)GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual - 2012
i-6 INDEX
Headlamps (cont'd)Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
High/Low Beam Changer . . . . . . 6-2
Heated and Ventilated Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9
Heated Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Heater Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-19
Heating and Air Conditioning . . . 8-1
High Voltage Devices and Wiring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-30
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Highway Hypnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-7
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . . . . 9-7
Hill Start Assist (HSA) . . . . . . . . . 9-29
Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-4
Horn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-16
I
Ignition Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-16
Ignition Transmission LockCheck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-27 Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Infants and Young Children,
Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-40
Infotainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1
Instrument Cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Instrument Panel Storage Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
J
Jump Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-78
K
Key and Lock Messages . . . . . . . 5-41
Keyless Entry Remote (RKE) System . . . . . . . . 2-3
Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
L
Labeling, Tire Sidewall . . . . . . . . 10-38
Lamps Courtesy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Dome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Exterior Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1
License Plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-29 Lamps (cont'd)
Malfunction Indicator . . . . . . . . . 5-18
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-41
Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Lap-Shoulder Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-17
LATCH System Replacing Parts after aCrash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-53
LATCH, Lower Anchors and
Tethers for Children . . . . . . . . . . 3-46
LED Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-29
Liftgate Carbon Monoxide . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10
Lighting
Delayed Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Delayed Exit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Illumination Control . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
LED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-29
Parade Dimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Lights Airbag Readiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Antilock Brake System(ABS) Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Brake System Warning . . . . . . . 5-21
Charging System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25

Black plate (7,1)GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual - 2012
INDEX i-7
Lights (cont'd)Engine Coolant
Temperature Warning . . . . . . . 5-23
Engine Oil Pressure . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Front Fog Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
High-Beam On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
High/Low Beam Changer . . . . . . 6-2
Safety Belt Reminders . . . . . . . . 5-15
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
StabiliTrak
®Indicator . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-23
Tow/Haul Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Locks
Automatic Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7
Lockout Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Power Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children
(LATCH System) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-46
Lumbar Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4 Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
M
MaintenanceRecords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-14
Maintenance Schedule Recommended Fluidsand Lubricants . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-12
Malfunction Indicator Lamp . . . . 5-18
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-25
Memory Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8
Memory Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
Messages
Airbag System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-42
Anti-theft Alarm System . . . . . . . 5-42
Battery Voltage andCharging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-37
Brake System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-38
Door Ajar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-38
Engine Cooling System . . . . . . . 5-39
Engine Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-40
Engine Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-40
Fuel System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-40
Key and Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-41
Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-41
Object Detection System . . . . . 5-41
Ride Control System . . . . . . . . . . 5-42
Service Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-43 Messages (cont'd)
Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-43
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-44
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-37
Vehicle Reminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-45
Vehicle Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-45
Washer Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-45
Mirrors Automatic Dimming . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
Automatic Dimming
Rearview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-20
Blind Spot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
Convex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Folding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Heated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Manual Rearview . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19
Park Tilt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19
Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Monitor System, Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-45
MP3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-23, 7-29
Multi-band Antenna . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-13

Black plate (8,1)GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual - 2012
i-8 INDEX
N
NavigationOnStar®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-2
Vehicle Data Recording and Privacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-22
Net, Convenience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5
New Vehicle Break-In . . . . . . . . . . 9-15
O
Object Detection System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-41
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Oil Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-8
Engine Oil Life System . . . . . 10-10
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-40
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Older Children, Restraints . . . . . 3-38
Online Owner Center . . . . . . . . . . 13-7
OnStar
®
Additional Information . . . . . . . . 14-5
Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-4
Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-5
Emergency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-2 OnStar
®(cont'd)
Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-2
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-1
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-2
System, In Brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-25
Operation, Infotainment System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-2
Ordering Service Publications . . . . . . . . 13-18
Outlets Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
Overheated Engine Protection
Operating Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-20
Overheating, Engine . . . . . . . . . . 10-18
Overview, OnStar
®. . . . . . . . . . . . 14-1
P
Parade Dimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Park Shifting Into . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-20
Shifting Out of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-21
Tilt Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19 Parking
Assist, Ultrasonic . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-34
Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-28
Brake and P (Park)
Mechanism Check . . . . . . . . 10-27
Over Things That Burn . . . . . . . 9-22
Passenger Airbag Status
Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Passenger Compartment Air Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-13
Passenger Sensing System . . . 3-31
Perchlorate Materials
Requirements, California . . . . . 10-3
Personalization Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-46
Phone
Bluetooth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-49
Power Door Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Outlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
Protection, Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Retained Accessory (RAP) . . . 9-20
Seat Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Steering Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-21
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-21