2012 GMC SIERRA 1500 instrument panel

Black plate (103,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2012 - CRC - 11/15/11
Vehicle Care 10-103
Instrument Panel, Leather,
Vinyl, & Other Plastic Surfaces
Use a soft microfiber cloth
dampened with water to remove
dust and loose dirt. For a more
thorough cleaning, use a soft
microfiber cloth dampened with a
mild soap solution.
Notice:Soaking or saturating
leather, especially perforated
leather, as well as other interior
surfaces, may cause permanent
damage. Wipe excess moisture
from these surfaces after
cleaning and allow them to dry
naturally. Never use heat, steam,
spot lifters or spot removers. Do
not use cleaners that contain
silicone or wax-based products.
Cleaners containing these
solvents can permanently
change the appearance and
feel of leather or soft trim and
are not recommended. Do not use cleaners that increase
gloss, especially on the instrument
panel. Reflected glare can decrease
visibility through the windshield
under certain conditions.
Notice:
Use of air fresheners may
cause permanent damage to
plastics and painted surfaces.
If an air freshener comes in
contact with any plastic or
painted surface in the vehicle,
blot immediately and clean with a
soft cloth dampened with a mild
soap solution. Damage caused by
air fresheners would not be
covered by the vehicle warranty.
Care of Safety Belts
Keep belts clean and dry.
{WARNING
Do not bleach or dye safety belts.
It may severely weaken them. In
a crash, they might not be able
to provide adequate protection.
Clean safety belts only with mild
soap and lukewarm water.

Black plate (1,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2012 - CRC - 11/15/11
Technical Data 12-1
Technical Data
Vehicle Identification
Vehicle IdentificationNumber (VIN) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-1
Service Parts Identification Label . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-1
Vehicle Data
Capacities andSpecifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2
Engine Drive Belt Routing . . . 12-6
Vehicle Identification
Vehicle Identification
Number (VIN)
This legal identifier is in the front
corner of the instrument panel, on
the left side of the vehicle. It can be
seen through the windshield from
outside. The VIN also appears on
the Vehicle Certification and Service
Parts labels and certificates of title
and registration.
Engine Identification
The eighth character in the VIN
is the engine code. This code
identifies the vehicle's engine,
specifications, and replacement
parts. See “Engine Specifications”
under Capacities and Specifications
on page 12‑2 for the vehicle's
engine code.
Service Parts
Identification Label
This label, on the inside of the glove
box, has the following information:
.Vehicle Identification
Number (VIN).
.Model designation.
.Paint information.
.Production options and special
equipment.
Do not remove this label from the
vehicle.

Black plate (2,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2012 - CRC - 11/15/11
13-2 Customer Information
STEP TWO:If after contacting a
member of dealership management,
it appears your concern cannot be
resolved by your dealership without
further help, in the U.S., call
1-800-462-8782. In Canada,
call General Motors of Canada
Customer Care Centre at
1-800-263-3777 (English) or
1-800-263-7854 (French).
We encourage you to call the
toll-free number in order to give your
inquiry prompt attention. Have the
following information available to
give the Customer Assistance
representative:
.Vehicle Identification
Number (VIN). This is available
from the vehicle registration or
title, or the plate at the top left of
the instrument panel and visible
through the windshield.
.Dealership name and location.
.Vehicle delivery date and
present mileage. When contacting GMC, remember
that your concern will likely be
resolved at a dealer's facility. That is
why we suggest following Step One
first.
STEP THREE
—U.S. Owners:
Both General Motors and your
dealer are committed to making
sure you are completely satisfied
with the new vehicle. However,
if you continue to remain unsatisfied
after following the procedure
outlined in Steps One and Two, you
can file with the Better Business
Bureau (BBB) Auto Line
®Program
to enforce your rights.
The BBB Auto Line Program is an
out-of-court program administered
by the Council of Better Business
Bureaus to settle automotive
disputes regarding vehicle repairs or
the interpretation of the New Vehicle
Limited Warranty. Although you may
be required to resort to this informal
dispute resolution program prior to
filling out a court action, use of the
program is free of charge and your
case will generally be heard within 40 days. If you do not agree with the
decision given in your case, you
may reject it and proceed with any
other venue for relief available
to you.
You may contact the BBB Auto
Line Program using the toll-free
telephone number or write them at
the following address:
BBB Auto Line Program
Council of Better Business
Bureaus, Inc.
4200 Wilson Boulevard
Suite 800
Arlington, VA 22203-1838
Telephone: 1-800-955-5100
www.dr.bbb.org/goauto
This program is available in all
50 states and the District of
Columbia. Eligibility is limited by
vehicle age, mileage, and other
factors. General Motors reserves
the right to change eligibility
limitations and/or discontinue its
participation in this program.

Black plate (4,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2012 - CRC - 11/15/11
i-4 INDEX
D
Damage Repair, Collision . . . . . 13-14
Danger, Warnings, andCautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
Data Recorders, Event . . . . . . . 13-19
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Defensive Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Devices, Auxiliary . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-32
Diagnostics, OnStar
®. . . . . . . . . . 14-5
Distracted Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
Dome Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Door Ajar Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-40
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7
Power Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Rear Doors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Drive Belt Routing, Engine . . . . . 12-6
Driver Information
Center (DIC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-30 Driving
Characteristics and
Towing Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-74
Defensive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Drunk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
For Better Fuel Economy . . . . . 1-36
Highway Hypnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-12
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . . 9-12
If the Vehicle is Stuck . . . . . . . . . 9-15
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Off-Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Vehicle Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . 9-16
Wet Roads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-11
Winter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-13
Dual Automatic Climate
Control System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-5
Dual Tire Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-67
DVD Rear Seat Entertainment
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-37
DVD/CD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-21
E
E85 Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-71
Electrical Equipment, Add-On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-105
Electrical System Engine CompartmentFuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-44
Fuses and Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-44
Instrument Panel Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-48
Overload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-43
Emergency, OnStar
®. . . . . . . . . . 14-2
Engine Air Cleaner/Filter . . . . . . . . . . . 10-17
Check and Service EngineSoon Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Compartment Overview . . . . . . . 10-6
Coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-19
Coolant Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-30
Coolant Temperature Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-18

Black plate (6,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2012 - CRC - 11/15/11
i-6 INDEX
Fuel (cont'd)Management, Active . . . . . . . . . . 9-32
Recommended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-68
Requirements, California . . . . . 9-69
System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-43
Full-Size Spare Tire . . . . . . . . . . 10-87
Fuses Engine CompartmentFuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-44
Fuses and Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-44
Instrument Panel Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-48
G
Garage Door Opener . . . . . . . . . . 5-56Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-56
Gasoline Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-69 Gauges
Engine Coolant
Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Engine Oil Pressure . . . . . . . . . . 5-15
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Trip Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Voltmeter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Warning Lights and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
General Information Service and Maintenance . . . . . 11-1
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-74
Vehicle Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2
Glass Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . 10-37
Glove Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
GM Mobility Reimbursement Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-7
H
Halogen Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-39
Hazard Warning Flashers . . . . . . . 6-5
Head Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
HeadlampsAiming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-37
Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-39
Daytime RunningLamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Headlamps, Front Turn
Signal, Sidemarker, and
Parking Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-39
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . 5-29
High/Low Beam Changer . . . . . . 6-3
Heated and Ventilated Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9
Heated Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Heater Engine Coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-30

Black plate (7,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2012 - CRC - 11/15/11
INDEX i-7
Heating and AirConditioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1, 8-4
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . . 5-29
High-Speed Operation . . . . . . . . 10-60
Highway Hypnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-12
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . . . 9-12
Hill Start Assist (HSA) . . . . . . . . . 9-54
Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-5
Horn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-13
I
Idle System
Fast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-29
Ignition Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-26
Ignition Transmission Lock Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-35
Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Infants and Young Children, Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-41
Infotainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1 Instrument Cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Instrument Panel
Storage Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
J
Jump Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-88
K
Key and Lock Messages . . . . . . . 5-43
Keyless Entry Remote (RKE) System . . . . . . . . 2-3
Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
L
Labeling, Tire Sidewall . . . . . . . . 10-52
Lamps Auxiliary Roof
Mounted Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Cargo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Daytime Running (DRL) . . . . . . . 6-3
Dome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8 Lamps (cont'd)
Exterior Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1
Exterior Lamps Off
Reminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
License Plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-42
Malfunction Indicator . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-43
Pick-up Box Identification and Fender Marker . . . . . . . . 10-40
Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Taillamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-40
Lap Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-19
Lap-Shoulder Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-14
LATCH System Replacing Parts after aCrash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-55
LATCH, Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children . . . . . . . . . . 3-47
Lighter, Cigarette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Lighting Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-9
Exit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-9
Illumination Control . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7

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