
Black plate (51,1)GMC Canyon Owner Manual - 2012
Vehicle Care 10-51
Tire Designations
Tire Size
The following is an example of a
typical passenger vehicle
tire size.
(A) Passenger (P‐Metric) Tire:
The United States version of a
metric tire sizing system. The
letter P as the first character in
the tire size means a passenger
vehicle tire engineered to
standards set by the U.S. Tire
and Rim Association.
(B) Tire Width
:The three‐digit
number indicates the tire section
width in millimeters from
sidewall to sidewall. (C) Aspect Ratio
:A two‐digit
number that indicates the tire
height‐to‐width measurements.
For example, if the tire size
aspect ratio is 60, as shown in
item C of the illustration, it would
mean that the tire's sidewall is
60 percent as high as it is wide.
(D) Construction Code
:
A letter code is used to indicate
the type of ply construction in
the tire. The letter R means
radial ply construction; the
letter D means diagonal or bias
ply construction; and the letter B
means belted‐bias ply
construction.
(E) Rim Diameter
:Diameter of
the wheel in inches.
(F) Service Description
:These
characters represent the load
index and speed rating of the
tire. The load index represents
the load carrying capacity a tire is certified to carry. The speed
rating is the maximum speed a
tire is certified to carry a load.
Tire Terminology and
Definitions
Air Pressure:The amount of
air inside the tire pressing
outward on each square inch
of the tire. Air pressure is
expressed in kPa (kilopascal)
or psi (pounds per square inch).
Accessory Weight
:The
combined weight of optional
accessories. Some examples of
optional accessories are
automatic transmission, power
steering, power brakes, power
windows, power seats, and air
conditioning.
Aspect Ratio
:The relationship
of a tire's height to its width.

Black plate (71,1)GMC Canyon Owner Manual - 2012
Vehicle Care 10-71
Put the tools to the side while you
access the jack and wheel blocks.
Regular/Extended Cab
For regular and extended cab
vehicles, the jack and wheel blocks
are located under the cover at the
center of the vehicle behind the
front seats.
1. Turn the wing nut on the covercounterclockwise to remove it.
A. Jack
B. Wheel Blocks
C. Wing Nut
D. Jack Knob
2. Lower the jack (A) by turning the jack knob (D) counterclockwise
to release the jack (A) from the
bracket.
3. Turn the wing nut (C) counterclockwise to release the
wheel blocks (B). Crew Cab
For crew cab models, the jack and
wheel blocks are located under the
driver side rear seat.
1. Reach under the rear seat to
access the jack and wheel
blocks.
2. Turn the jack knobcounterclockwise to lower the
jack all the way and release it
from the bracket.

Black plate (1,1)GMC Canyon Owner Manual - 2012
INDEX i-1
A
Accessories andModifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-4
Accessory Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-28
Add-On Electrical Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-64
Adjustments
Lumbar, Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Air Cleaner/Filter, Engine . . . . . 10-17
Air Vents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-3
Airbag System Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-35
How Does an AirbagRestrain? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-26
Passenger Sensing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-28
What Makes an Airbag Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-26
What Will You See after an Airbag Inflates? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-27 Airbag System (cont'd)
When Should an Airbag
Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-25
Where Are the Airbags? . . . . . . 3-23
Airbags Adding Equipment to theVehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-34
Passenger Status Indicator . . . 5-11
Readiness Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Servicing Airbag-Equipped Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-33
System Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-21
Alarm System Anti-theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10
AM-FM Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-9
Antenna Satellite Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-16
Anti-theft
Alarm System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10
Antilock Brake System (ABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-41
Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16 Appearance Care
Exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-96
Interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-100
Ashtrays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
Assistance Program, Roadside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-8, 13-10
Audio Players . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-16
CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-16
Audio System Chime Level Adjustment . . . . . . . 5-6
Fixed Mast Antenna . . . . . . . . . . 7-16
Radio Reception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-15
Theft-Deterrent Feature . . . . . . . . 7-3
Automatic Door Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6
Headlamp System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-33
Transmission Fluid . . . . . . . . . 10-13
Automatic Transmission Shift Lock ControlFunction Check . . . . . . . . . . . 10-33
Axle, Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-31
Axle, Rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-32

Black plate (4,1)GMC Canyon Owner Manual - 2012
i-4 INDEX
Engine (cont'd)Cooling System Messages . . . 5-24
Drive Belt Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-4
Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-31
Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-25
Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-27
Oil Life System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-12
Oil Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Overheating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-23
Power Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
Running While Parked . . . . . . . . 9-32
Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-26
Equipment, Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-63
Event Data Recorders . . . . . . . . 13-20
Exit Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Extender, Safety Belt . . . . . . . . . . 3-20
Exterior Cargo Lamps . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Exterior Lamp Controls . . . . . . . . . 6-1
Exterior Lamps Off Reminder . . . 6-2F
Fan
Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-25
Filter, Engine Air Cleaner . . . . . . . . . 10-17
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Flashers, Hazard Warning . . . . . . 6-4
Flat Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-69 Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-70
Floor Mats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10-102
Fluid Automatic Transmission . . . . 10-13
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-28
Four-Wheel DriveTransfer Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-37
Power Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-25
Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-26
Fog Lamps Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Four-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . 10-30, 9-37
Front Axle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-31 Front Seats
Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Heated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-49 Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-50
Economy Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-19
Filling a Portable FuelContainer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-53
Filling the Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-52
Foreign Countries . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-50
Gasoline Specifications . . . . . . . 9-50
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Recommended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-49
Requirements, California . . . . . 9-50
System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Full-Size Spare Tire . . . . . . . . . . 10-86
Fuses
Engine CompartmentFuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-41
Fuses and Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-41

Black plate (5,1)GMC Canyon Owner Manual - 2012
INDEX i-5
G
GasolineSpecifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-50
Gauges Engine CoolantTemperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Trip Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Warning Lights and
Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
General Information Service and Maintenance . . . . . 11-1
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-54
Vehicle Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Glove Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
GM Mobility Reimbursement Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-8
H
Halogen Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-37
Hazard Warning Flashers . . . . . . . 6-4
Head Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Headlamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-37
Aiming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-36
Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-37
Daytime RunningLamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . 5-19
High/Low Beam Changer . . . . . . 6-2
Heated Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8
Heater Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-27
Heating and Air Conditioning . . . 8-1
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . . 5-19
High-Speed Operation . . . . . . . . 10-56
Highway Hypnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-13
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . . . 9-13 Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-5
Horn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
How to Wear Safety Belts
Properly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-13
Hydraulic Clutch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-16
I
Ignition Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-24
Ignition Transmission Lock Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-33
Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11
Infants and Young Children, Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-38
Infotainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1
Instrument Cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii

Black plate (6,1)GMC Canyon Owner Manual - 2012
i-6 INDEX
J
Jump Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-87
K
Keyless EntryRemote (RKE) System . . . . . . . . 2-3
Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
L
Labeling, Tire Sidewall . . . . . . . . 10-49
Lamps Daytime Running (DRL) . . . . . . . 6-3
Dome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Exterior Cargo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Exterior Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1
Exterior Lamps OffReminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
License Plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-39
Malfunction Indicator . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Lap Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-19 Lap-Shoulder Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-14
LATCH System
Replacing Parts after aCrash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-54
LATCH, Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children . . . . . . . . . . 3-44
Latches, Seatback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
Lighter, Cigarette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
Lighting
Exit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Illumination Control . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Lights Airbag Readiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Antilock Brake System(ABS) Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Brake System Warning . . . . . . . 5-15
Charging System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-19
Engine Oil Pressure . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
High-Beam On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-19 Lights (cont'd)
High/Low Beam Changer . . . . . . 6-2
Safety Belt Reminders . . . . . . . . . 5-9
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-19
StabiliTrak
®OFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Traction Control System (TCS)/StabiliTrak
®. . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Limited-Slip Rear Axle . . . . . . . . . 9-46
Locks
Automatic Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6
Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5
Lockout Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6
Power Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6
Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH
System) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-44
Lumbar Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4 Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4

Black plate (8,1)GMC Canyon Owner Manual - 2012
i-8 INDEX
P
ParkShifting Into . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-28
Shifting Out of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-30
Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-30 Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-42
Brake and P (Park)Mechanism Check . . . . . . . . 10-34
Over Things That Burn . . . . . . . 9-31
Passenger Airbag Status Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
Passenger Sensing System . . . 3-28
Perchlorate Materials Requirements, California . . . . . 10-3
Phone Bluetooth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-22
Pickup Conversion to Chassis Cab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-64
Power Door Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6
Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Outlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
Protection, Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Retained Accessory (RAP) . . . 9-28 Power (cont'd)
Seat Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Steering Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-25
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Pregnancy, Using Safety Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-19
Privacy Radio FrequencyIdentification (RFID) . . . . . . . 13-21
Program Courtesy Transportation . . . . 13-14
Proposition 65 Warning, California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
R
Radio FrequencyIdentification (RFID) . . . . . . . . 13-21
Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-22
Radios AM-FM Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-9
Reception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-15
Satellite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-12
Rear Axle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-32 Limited-Slip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-46
Rear Doors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7 Rear Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9, 3-10
Rear Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Rear Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
Rearview Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Automatic Dimming . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Reclining Seatbacks . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
Recommended Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-49
Recommended Fluids and Lubricants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-13
Records
Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-17
Recreational Vehicle Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-91
Reimbursement Program, GM Mobility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-8
Remote Keyless Entry (RKE) System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3
Replacement Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . 10-39
Replacement Parts Airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-35
Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-15
Replacing Airbag System . . . . . . 3-35
Replacing LATCH System Parts after a Crash . . . . . . . . . . . 3-54

Black plate (9,1)GMC Canyon Owner Manual - 2012
INDEX i-9
Replacing Safety BeltSystem Parts after a Crash . . . 3-21
Reporting Safety Defects Canadian Government . . . . . . 13-19
General Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-19
U.S. Government . . . . . . . . . . . 13-18
Restraints
Where to Put . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-42
Retained Accessory Power (RAP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-28
Ride Control Systems
Limited Slip Rear Axle . . . . . . . . 9-46
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
Roads Driving, Wet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-12
Roadside Assistance
Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-8, 13-10
Rotation, Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-61
Routing, Engine Drive Belt . . . . . 12-4
Running the Vehicle While Parked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-32S
Safety Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12
Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-20
Extender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-20
How to Wear Safety BeltsProperly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-13
Lap Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-19
Lap-Shoulder Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-14
Reminders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
Replacing after a Crash . . . . . . 3-21
Use During Pregnancy . . . . . . . . 3-19
Safety Defects Reporting Canadian Government . . . . . . 13-19
General Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-19
U.S. Government . . . . . . . . . . . 13-18
Safety Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6
Safety System Check . . . . . . . . . . 3-20
Satellite Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-12
Scheduling Appointments . . . . . 13-13
Seatback Latches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
Seats
Adjustment, Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Head Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Heated Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8
Lumbar Adjustment, Front . . . . . 3-4 Seats (cont'd)
Power Adjustment, Front . . . . . . 3-4
Rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9, 3-10
Reclining Seatbacks . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
Secondary Latch System . . . . . 10-82
Securing Child Restraints . . . . . . . . 3-55, 3-57, 3-59
Security Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-19
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10
Service Accessories andModifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-4
Doing Your Own Work . . . . . . . . 10-4
Engine Soon Light . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Maintenance Records . . . . . . .11-17
Maintenance, General Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-1
Parts Identification Label . . . . . 12-1
Publications Ordering Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-17
Scheduling Appointments . . . 13-13
Vehicle Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-27
Servicing the Airbag . . . . . . . . . . . 3-33