
Black plate (7,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2012 - CRC - 11/15/11
Customer Information 13-7
.Retrieve your favorite articles,
quizzes, tips and multimedia
galleries organized into the
Features and Auto Care
Sections.
.Download the owner manual for
your vehicle, quickly and easily.
.Find the GMC-recommended
maintenance services for your
vehicle.
GM Mobility
Reimbursement Program
(U.S. and Canada)
This program is available to
qualified applicants for cost
reimbursement of eligible
aftermarket adaptive equipmentrequired for the vehicle, such as
hand controls or a wheelchair/
scooter lift for the vehicle.
For more information on the limited
offer, visit www.gmmobility.com or
call the GM Mobility Assistance
Center at 1-800-323-9935. Text
Telephone (TTY) users, call
1-800-833-9935.
General Motors of Canada also
has a Mobility Program. Call
1-800-GM-DRIVE (463-7483)
for details. TTY users call
1-800-263-3830.
Roadside Assistance
Program (U.S. and
Canada)
For U.S.‐purchased vehicles, call
1‐888‐881‐3302; (Text Telephone
(TTY): 1‐888‐889‐2438).
For Canadian‐purchased vehicles,
call
1-800-268-6800.
Service is available 24 hours a day,
365 days a year.
Calling for Assistance
When calling Roadside Assistance,
have the following information
ready:
.Your name, home address, and
home telephone number
.Telephone number of your
location
.Location of the vehicle
.Model, year, color, and license
plate number of the vehicle
.Odometer reading, Vehicle
Identification Number (VIN), and
delivery date of the vehicle
.Description of the problem
Coverage
Services are provided up to
5 years/160 000 km (100,000 mi),
whichever comes first.
In the U.S., anyone driving the
vehicle is covered. In Canada, a
person driving the vehicle without
permission from the owner is not
covered.

Black plate (5,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2012 - CRC - 11/15/11
INDEX i-5
Engine (cont'd)Cooling System Messages . . . 5-41
Drive Belt Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-6
Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-33
Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-24
Oil Life System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-10
Oil Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-42
Oil Pressure Gauge . . . . . . . . . . 5-15
Overheated Protection
Operating Mode . . . . . . . . . . . 10-24
Overheating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-22
Power Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-42
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-28
Running While Parked . . . . . . . . 9-34
Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-27
Entry Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-9
Equipment, Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-94
Event Data Recorders . . . . . . . . 13-19
Exit Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-9
Extender, Safety Belt . . . . . . . . . . 3-20
Exterior Lamp Controls . . . . . . . . . 6-1
Exterior Lamps Off Reminder . . . 6-2F
Fan Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-24
Fast Idle System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-29
Features Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-14
Filter,
Engine Air Cleaner . . . . . . . . . 10-17
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Flashers, Hazard Warning . . . . . . 6-5
Flat Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-75 Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-76
Floor Mats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10-104
Fluid AutomaticTransmission . . . . . . . 10-11, 10-14
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-28
Four-Wheel Drive Transfer Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-40
Power Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-25
Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-26 Fog Lamps
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Folding Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Four-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . 9-40, 10-30
Four-Wheel-Drive Light . . . . . . . . 5-26
Front Axle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-31
Front Fog Lamp Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-29
Front Seats Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Heated and Ventilated . . . . . . . . . 3-9
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-68 Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-70
E85 (85% Ethanol) . . . . . . . . . . . 9-71
Economy Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-36
Filling a Portable FuelContainer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-73
Filling the Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-72
Foreign Countries . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-69
Gasoline Specifications . . . . . . . 9-69
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . . 5-28

Black plate (8,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2012 - CRC - 11/15/11
i-8 INDEX
LightsAirbag On-Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-19
Airbag Readiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
Antilock Brake System
(ABS) Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
Brake System Warning . . . . . . . 5-25
Charging System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-30
Engine Oil Pressure . . . . . . . . . . 5-28
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Four-Wheel-Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
Front Fog Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-29
High-Beam On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-29
High/Low Beam Changer . . . . . . 6-3
Low Fuel Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-28
Safety Belt Reminders . . . . . . . . 5-17
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-29
StabiliTrak
®OFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-27
Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-27
Tow/Haul Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
Traction Control System (TCS)/StabiliTrak
®. . . . . . . . . . 5-27
Locking Rear Axle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-58 Locks
Automatic Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7
Lockout Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Power Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . . . 5-28
Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH
System) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-47
Lumbar Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4 Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
M
MaintenanceRecords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-16
Maintenance Schedule Recommended Fluidsand Lubricants . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-12
Transfer Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-40
Malfunction Indicator Lamp . . . . 5-22
Manual Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14 Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-38
Manual Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19
Memory Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-14
Memory Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
Messages
Airbag System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-45
Anti-theft Alarm System . . . . . . . 5-45
Battery Voltage andCharging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-39
Brake System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-40
Door Ajar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-40
Engine Cooling System . . . . . . . 5-41
Engine Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-42
Engine Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-42
Fuel System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-43
Key and Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-43
Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-43
Object Detection System . . . . . 5-43
Ride Control System . . . . . . . . . . 5-44
Starting the Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . 5-45
Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-45
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-46
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-39
Vehicle Reminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-47
Washer Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-48

Black plate (12,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2012 - CRC - 11/15/11
i-12 INDEX
Service (cont'd)Parts Identification Label . . . . . 12-1
Publications Ordering
Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-16
Scheduling Appointments . . . 13-12
Servicing the Airbag . . . . . . . . . . . 3-36
Shift Lock Control Function Check, Automatic
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-35
Shifting Into Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-30
Out of Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-32
Signals, Turn and Lane-Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Snow Plow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-106
Specifications and Capacities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
StabiliTrak
OFF Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-27
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-55
Start Assist, Hills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-54
Start Vehicle, Remote . . . . . . . . . . 2-5 Starter Switch Check . . . . . . . . . 10-35
Starting the Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-27
Starting the Vehicle
Messsages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-45
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-4 Fluid, Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-25
Wheel Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
Wheel Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
Stoplamps and Back-up Lamps Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-41
Storage Areas
Center Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Glove Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Instrument Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Stuck Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-15
Sun Visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-21
Sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-22, 2-23
Switches Airbag On-Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-29
Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
System Infotainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1
Noise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-34T
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Tailgate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10
Taillamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-40Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-41
Text Telephone (TTY) Users . . . 13-6
Theft-Deterrent Systems . . . . . . . 2-13 Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Throttle, Adjustable . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-25
Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7
Tires Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . 10-68
Chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-74
Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-76
Designations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-54
Different Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-70
Dual Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-67
Full-Size Spare . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-87
If a Tire Goes Flat . . . . . . . . . . 10-75
Inflation Monitor System . . . . 10-62
Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-65
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-45
Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-60

Black plate (13,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2012 - CRC - 11/15/11
INDEX i-13
Tires (cont'd)Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-27
Pressure Monitor System . . . 10-60
Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-65
Sidewall Labeling . . . . . . . . . . . 10-52
Terminology and
Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-55
Uniform Tire Quality Grading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-70
Wheel Alignment and Tire Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-72
Wheel Replacement . . . . . . . . 10-72
When It Is Time for New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-68
Tow/Haul Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-39
Tow/Haul Mode Light . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
Towing Driving Characteristics . . . . . . . . 9-74
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-94
General Information . . . . . . . . . . 9-74
Recreational Vehicle . . . . . . . . 10-93
Trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-78
Trailer Sway
Control (TSC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-105
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-93 Traction
Control System (TCS)/
StabiliTrak
®Light . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-27
Trailer Sway Control (TSC) . . . . . . . . 9-105
Tow Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-78
Transfer Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-40
Transmission Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-35
Fluid, Automatic . . . . . 10-11, 10-14
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-46
Transportation Program, Courtesy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-13
Trip Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Truck-Camper Loading Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-23
Turn and Lane-Change Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Turn Signal Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-41
U
Ultrasonic Parking Assist . . . . . . 9-61
Uniform Tire Quality
Grading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-70
Universal Remote System . . . . . 5-56 Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-61
Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-56
Using This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
V
Vehicle Canadian Owners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-4
IdentificationNumber (VIN) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-1
Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-16
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-39
Personalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-48
Reminder Messages . . . . . . . . . . 5-47
Remote Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-93

Black plate (14,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2012 - CRC - 11/15/11
i-14 INDEX
Vehicle CareTire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-58
Ventilation, Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-10
Visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-21
Voltmeter Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
W
Warning Brake System Light . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Warning Lights, Gauges, and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
Warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv Cautions and Danger . . . . . . . . . . . .iv
Hazard Flashers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Washer Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-26 Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-48
Wheels Alignment and Tire
Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-72
Different Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-70
Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-72
When It Is Time for New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-68
Where to Put the Restraint . . . . 3-45 Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19
Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19
Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-20
Rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-21
Windshield Wiper/Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4
Winter
Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-13
Wiper Blade Replacement . . . . 10-36