
Black plate (42,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2012 - CRC - 11/15/11
5-42 Instruments and Controls
SeeOverheated Engine Protection
Operating Mode on page 10‑24 for
information on driving to a safe
place in an emergency.
ENGINE OVERHEATED STOP
ENGINE
This message displays and a
chime may sound if the engine
cooling system reaches unsafe
temperatures for operation. Stop
and turn off the vehicle as soon as
it is safe to do so to avoid severe
damage. This message clears when
the engine has cooled to a safe
operating temperature.
Engine Oil Messages
CHANGE ENGINE OIL SOON
This message displays when the
engine oil needs to be changed.
When you change the engine oil, be
sure to reset the CHANGE ENGINE
OIL SOON message. See Engine
Oil Life System on page 10‑10 for
information on how to reset the
message. See Engine Oil on page 10‑7
andMaintenance
Schedule on page 11‑3 for more
information.
ENGINE OIL HOT IDLE
ENGINE
This message displays when the
engine oil becomes hotter than the
normal operating temperature. Stop
and allow the vehicle to idle until it
cools down. See Engine Coolant
Temperature Gauge on page 5‑16.
OIL PRESSURE LOW STOP
ENGINE
Notice: If you drive the vehicle
while the engine oil pressure is
low, severe engine damage may
occur. If a low oil pressure
warning appears on the Driver
Information Center (DIC), stop the
vehicle as soon as possible. Do
not drive the vehicle until the
cause of the low oil pressure is
corrected. See Engine Oil on
page 10‑7 for more information. This message displays if low oil
pressure levels occur. Stop the
vehicle as soon as safely possible
and do not operate it until the cause
of the low oil pressure has been
corrected. Check the oil as soon
as possible and have the vehicle
serviced by your dealer. See
Engine
Oil on page 10‑7.
Engine Power Messages
ENGINE POWER IS REDUCED
This message displays and a chime
may sound when the cooling system
temperature gets too hot and the
engine further enters the engine
coolant protection mode. See
Engine Overheating on page 10‑22
for more information.
This message also displays when
the vehicle's engine power is
reduced. Reduced engine power
can affect the vehicle's ability to
accelerate. If this message is
on, but there is no reduction in
performance, proceed to your
destination. The performance may

Black plate (59,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2012 - CRC - 11/15/11
Instruments and Controls 5-59
The switch positions on the
hand-held transmitter could be
labeled as follows:
.A switch in the up position
could be labeled as Up,
+, or On.
.A switch in the down
position could be labeled as
Down,−, or Off.
.A switch in the middle
position could be labeled as
Middle, 0, or Neutral.
2. Write down the 8 to 12 switch settings from left to right as
follows:
.When a switch is in the up
position, write “Left.”
.When a switch is in the
down position, write “Right.”
.If a switch is set between
the up and down position,
write“Middle.”
The switch settings written
down in Step 2 now
become the button strokes
to be entered into the
Universal Home Remote in
Step 4. Be sure to enter the
switch settings written down
in Step 2, in order from left
to right, into the Universal
Home Remote, when
completing Step 4.
3. From inside your vehicle, first firmly press all three buttons
at the same time for about
three seconds. Release the
buttons to put the Universal
Home Remote into
programming mode.
A. Left Button (Up, +, or On)
B. Middle Button (Middle, 0,or Neutral)
C. Right Button (Down, −,
or Off)

Black plate (5,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2012 - CRC - 11/15/11
Lighting 6-5
If the vehicle is not equipped
with DIC buttons, exit lighting is
automatic. When it is dark enough
outside, the exterior lamps remain
on for 30 seconds after the ignition
is moved from ON/RUN to
LOCK/OFF.
For vehicles without a radio, the
instrument panel light remains on for
30 seconds with the driver door
closed. For vehicles with a radio,
the instrument panel light remains
on for 10 minutes with the driver
door closed. SeeRetained
Accessory Power (RAP) on
page 9‑29.
The regular headlamp system can
be turned on when needed.Hazard Warning Flashers
|(Hazard Warning Flashers):
Press this button located on top of
the steering column, to make the
front and rear turn signal lamps
flash on and off. This warns others
that you are having trouble. Press
again to turn the flashers off.
When the hazard warning flashers
are on, the vehicle's turn signals will
not work.
Turn and Lane-Change
Signals
An arrow on the instrument panel
cluster flashes in the direction of the
turn or lane change.
Move the lever all the way up or
down to signal a turn.
Raise or lower the lever for less
than one second until the arrow
starts to flash to signal a lane
change. This causes the turn
signals to automatically flash
three times. It will flash six times
if tow-haul mode is active.

Black plate (9,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2012 - CRC - 11/15/11
Infotainment System 7-9
Radio
AM-FM Radio
Radio Data System (RDS)
For radios with the Radio Data
System (RDS) feature, it only works
with FM stations that broadcast
RDS information. This system relies
upon receiving specific information
from these stations and only works
when the information is available.
While the radio is tuned to an
FM-RDS station, the station name
or call letters will display. In rare
cases, a radio station could
broadcast incorrect information that
causes the radio features to work
improperly. If this happens, contact
the radio station.
4(Information) (RDS Features):
For vehicles with RDS features,
press
4to display additional text
information related to the current
FM-RDS station. If information is
available, the song title information
displays on the top line of the display and artist information
displays on the bottom line. When
information is not available,
“NO
INFO” displays.
Finding a Station
BAND: Press to switch between
AM, FM, or XM™, if equipped.
f(Tune): Turn to manually select
radio stations.
©SEEK: Press to seek the
previous radio station. Press and
hold for a few seconds until a
beep sounds to scan for radio
stations in descending order; press
the
©SEEK button again to stop
scanning radio stations. The radio
only seeks and scans stations with
a strong signal that are in the
selected band.
For the AM-FM Radio, press and
hold the
©SEEK for four seconds
until a double beep sounds to scan
the preset stations. The station
frequency flashes while the radio is
in the scan mode.
¨SEEK: Press to seek the next
radio station. Press and hold for a
few seconds until a beep sounds to
scan for radio stations in ascending
order; press the
¨SEEK button
again to stop scanning radio
stations. The radio only seeks and
scans stations with a strong signal
that are in the selected band.
For the AM-FM Radio, press and
hold the
¨SEEK for four seconds
until a double beep sounds to scan
the preset stations. The station
frequency flashes while the radio is
in the scan mode.
sREV: Press to manually tune to
a radio station in descending order.
\FWD: Press to manually tune to
a radio station in ascending order.
FAV (Favorites): Press to select
different favorites pages for stored
radio stations.

Black plate (18,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2012 - CRC - 11/15/11
7-18 Infotainment System
For the Radio with USB and
Six-Disc CD (MP3):
1. Press the softkey positionedunder the RDM tab until
Randomize All Discs displays to
play tracks from all CDs loaded
in random order.
2. Press the softkey positioned under the RDM tab until Random
Current Disc displays to play
tracks from a single CD in
random order.
3. Press the same softkey again to turn off random play.
MP3‐Supported Files
The Radio with CD (MP3), Radio
with USB and CD (MP3), and Radio
with USB and Six-Disc CD (MP3)
have the capability of playing an
MP3 CD-R or CD-RW disc.
Format
Radios that have the capability of
playing MP3s can play .mp3 or .wma
files that were recorded onto a
CD-R or CD-RW disc. The files can be recorded with the following fixed
bit rates: 32 kbps, 40 kbps, 56 kbps,
64 kbps, 80 kbps, 96 kbps, 112 kbps,
128 kbps, 160 kbps, 192 kbps,
224 kbps, 256 kbps, and 320 kbps or
a variable bit rate.
Compressed Audio or Mixed Mode
Discs
The radio can play discs that
contain both uncompressed CD
audio and MP3 files. If both formats
are on the disc, the radio reads
all MP3 files first, then the
uncompressed CD audio files.
CD‐R‐
or CD‐RW‐Supported File
and Folder Structure
The radio supports:
.Up to 50 folders.
.Up to 8 folders in depth.
.Up to 50 playlists.
.Up to 255 files.
.Playlists with an .m3u or .wpl
extension.
.Files with an .mp3, .wma, or .cda
file extension.
Root Directory
The root directory is treated as a
folder. Files are stored in the root
directory when the disc or storage
device does not contain folders.
Files accessed from the root
directory of a CD display as
F1 ROOT.
Empty Folder
Folders that do not contain files are
skipped, and the player advances to
the next folder that contains files.
Order of Play
Compressed audio files are
accessed in the following order:
.Playlists (Px).
.Files stored in the root directory.
.Files stored in folders in the root
directory.

Black plate (21,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2012 - CRC - 11/15/11
Infotainment System 7-21
To change from playback by artist to
playback by album:
1. Press the softkey located belowthe Sort By tab.
2. Press one of the softkeys below the Album tab from the sort
screen.
3. Press the softkey below the Back tab to return to the main
music navigator screen.
The album name displays on the
second line between the arrows,
and songs from the current album
begin to play. Once all songs from
that album have played, the player
moves to the next album in
alphabetical order on the CD and
begins playing MP3s from that
album.
To exit music navigator mode, press
the softkey below the Back tab to
return to normal MP3 playback.CD Player Messages
CHECK DISC: If this message
displays and/or the CD ejects, it
could be for one of the following
reasons:
.It is very hot. When the
temperature returns to normal,
the CD should play.
.The road is very rough. When
the road becomes smoother, the
CD should play.
.The CD is dirty, scratched, wet,
or upside down.
.The air is very humid. If so, wait
about an hour and try again.
.There was a problem while
burning the CD.
.The label is caught in the CD
player. If the CD is not playing correctly,
for any other reason, try a known
good CD.
If any error occurs repeatedly or if
an error cannot be corrected,
contact your dealer. If the radio
displays an error message, write it
down and provide it to your dealer
when reporting the problem.
CD/DVD Player
Care of the CD and DVD Player
Do not add any label to a disc.
It could get caught in the CD or
DVD player. If a disc is recorded
on a personal computer and a
description label is needed, try
labeling the top of the recorded disc
with a marking pen.

Black plate (25,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2012 - CRC - 11/15/11
Infotainment System 7-25
MP3 and WMA Supported Files
Format
The radio can play .mp3 or .wma
files that were recorded onto a
CD-R or CD-RW disc.
Compressed Audio or Mixed Mode
Discs
The radio plays discs that contain
both uncompressed CD audio and
MP3/WMA files depending on which
slot the disc is loaded into.
The DVD player only reads
uncompressed audio and ignores
MP3/WMA files on a mixed
mode disc.
The CD player reads both
uncompressed audio and MP3/
WMA files on a mixed mode disc.
Uncompressd audio is played
before MP3/WMA files. Press the
CAT (category) button to toggle
between uncompressed audio and
MP3/WMA files.CD‐R or CD‐RW Supported File
and Folder Structure
The DVD player supports:
.Up to 255 folders.
.Up to eight folders in depth.
.Up to 15 playlists.
.Up to 40 sessions.
.Playlists with an .m3u or .wpl
extension.
.Files with an .mp3, .wma, or .cda
file extension.
The CD player supports:
.Up to 512 files and folders.
.Up to 8 folders in depth.
.Playlists with an .m3u or .wpl
extension.
.Files with an .mp3, .wma, or .cda
file extension. Root Directory
The root directory of the disc is
treated as a folder. If the root
directory has compressed audio
files, the directory displays as
F1 ROOT on the radio.
If a disc contains both
uncompressed CD audio and
MP3/WMA files, a folder under the
root directory called CD accesses
all of the CD audio tracks on
the disc.
Empty Folder
Folders that do not contain files are
skipped, and the player advances to
the next folder that contains files.
No Folder
When the disc contains only
compressed files, the files are
located under the root folder. The
next and previous folder function
does not function on a disc that was
recorded without folders or playlists.
When displaying the name of the
folder, the radio displays ROOT.

Black plate (26,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2012 - CRC - 11/15/11
7-26 Infotainment System
When the disc contains only
playlists and compressed audio
files, but no folders, all files are
located under the root folder. The
folder down and the folder up
buttons search playlists first and
then go to the root folder. When the
radio displays the name of the
folder, the radio displays ROOT.
Order of Play
Compressed audio files are
accessed in the following order:
.Playlists (Px).
.Files stored in the root directory.
.Files stored in folders in the root
directory.
Tracks are played in the following
order:
.Play begins from the first track in
the first playlist and continues
sequentially through all tracks in
each playlist. When the last
track of the last playlist has
played, play continues from the
first track of the first playlist.
.Play begins from the first track in
the first folder and continues
sequentially through all tracks in
each folder. When the last track
of the last folder has played,
play continues from the first
track of the first folder.
When play enters a new folder, the
display does not automatically show
the new folder name unless the
folder mode has been chosen as
the default display. The new track
name displays.
File System and Naming
The song name that displays is the
song name that is contained in the
ID3 tag. If the song name is not
present in the ID3 tag, then the
radio displays the file name without
the extension (such as .mp3) as the
track name.
Track names longer than
32 characters or 4 pages are
shortened. Parts of words on the
last page of text and the extension
of the file name do not display. Preprogrammed Playlists
Preprogrammed playlists that
were created using WinAmp™,
MusicMatch™, or Real Jukebox™
software can be accessed; however,
they cannot be edited using the
radio. These playlists are treated
as special folders containing
compressed audio song files.
Playlists that have an .m3u or .pls
file extension and are stored on a
USB device may be supported by
the radio with a USB port.
Playing an MP3 or WMA
(in Either the DVD or CD Slot)
If a disc is inserted into the top DVD
slot, the rear seat operator can turn
on the video screen and use the
remote control to navigate the CD
(tracks only).
f(Tune):
Turn to select MP3/WMA
files.
©SEEK: Press to go to the start of
the track, if more than five seconds
have played. Press and hold or
press multiple times, if less than