2016 GMC SIERRA tow haul mode

GMC Sierra Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
9234758) - 2016 - crc - 11/9/15
308 Driving and Operating
vehicle will slow down to the
previous set cruise speed. While
pressing the accelerator pedal or
shortly following the release to
override cruise control, briefly
pressing the SET–button will result
in cruise control set to the current
vehicle speed.
Using Cruise Control on Hills
How well the cruise control works
on hills depends on the vehicle
speed, the load, and the steepness
of the hills. When going up steep
hills, pressing the accelerator pedal
may be necessary to maintain
vehicle speed.
While going downhill:
. Vehicles with a 6-speed
automatic transmission and a
gasoline engine have Cruise
Grade Braking to help maintain
driver selected speed.
Cruise Grade Braking is enabled
when the vehicle is started and
cruise control is active. It is not
enabled in Range Selection
Mode. It assists in maintaining
driver selected speed when driving on downhill grades by
using the engine and
transmission to slow the vehicle.
To disable and enable Cruise
Grade Braking for the current
ignition key cycle, press and
hold the Tow/Haul button for
five seconds. A DIC message
displays. See
Transmission
Messages 0160.
. Vehicles with a diesel engine
have Cruise Grade Braking
enabled when Tow/Haul Mode is
on, the exhaust brake is on,
or both are on.
For other forms of descent control,
see Hill Descent Control (HDC)
0 305,Automatic Transmission
0 286, and Tow/Haul Mode 0292.
Ending Cruise Control
There are four ways to end cruise
control:
. Step lightly on the brake pedal.
. Press
*.
. Shift the transmission to
N (Neutral). .
To turn off cruise control,
press
5.
Erasing Speed Memory
The cruise control set speed is
erased from memory if
5is pressed
or the ignition is turned off.

GMC Sierra Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
9234758) - 2016 - crc - 11/9/15
Driving and Operating 323
.The trailer must be equipped
with brakes adequate for the
intended use. A loaded trailer
weighing more than 900 kg
(2,000 lb) must be equipped with
its own brake system, with
brakes working on all axles.
Trailer braking equipment
conforming to Canadian
Standards Association (CSA)
requirement CAN3-D313, or its
equivalent, is recommended.
. Do not tow a trailer during the
first 800 km (500 mi) to prevent
damage to the engine, axle,
or other parts.
. Then during the first 800 km
(500 mi) of trailer towing, do not
drive over 80 km/h (50 mph) and
do not make starts at full throttle.
. Vehicles can tow in D (Drive).
The Tow/Haul Mode may be
used if the transmission shifts
too often. See Tow/Haul
Mode 0292.
. Turn off Park Assist when
towing.{Warning
When towing a trailer, exhaust
gases may collect at the rear of
the vehicle and enter if the
liftgate, trunk/hatch, or rear-most
window is open.
When towing a trailer:
. Do not drive with the
liftgate, trunk/hatch,
or rear-most window open.
. Fully open the air outlets on
or under the instrument
panel.
. Also adjust the climate
control system to a setting
that brings in only outside
air. See “Climate Control
Systems” in the Index.
For more information about
carbon monoxide, see Engine
Exhaust 0285.
Towing a trailer requires a certain
amount of experience. The
combination you are driving is
longer and not as responsive as the vehicle itself. Get acquainted with
the handling and braking of the rig
before setting out for the open road.
The structure, tires, and brakes of
the trailer must be rated to carry the
load. Inadequate trailer equipment
can cause the combination to
operate in an unexpected or unsafe
manner.
Before starting, check all trailer hitch
parts and attachments, safety
chains, electrical connectors, lamps,
tires, and mirrors. Get familiar with
the handling and braking of the rig.
If the trailer has electric brakes, start
the combination moving and then
apply the trailer brake controller by
hand to be sure the brakes work.
During the trip, check occasionally
to be sure that the load is secure
and the lamps and any trailer
brakes still work.
Following Distance
Stay at least twice as far behind the
vehicle ahead as you would when
driving the vehicle without a trailer.
This can help to avoid heavy
braking and sudden turns.

GMC Sierra Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
9234758) - 2016 - crc - 11/9/15
324 Driving and Operating
Passing
More passing distance is needed
when towing a trailer. The
combination will not accelerate as
quickly and is longer so it is
necessary to go much farther
beyond the passed vehicle before
returning to the lane.
Backing Up
Hold the bottom of the steering
wheel with one hand. To move the
trailer to the left, move that hand to
the left. To move the trailer to the
right, move your hand to the right.
Always back up slowly and,
if possible, have someone
guide you.
Making TurnsCaution
Making very sharp turns while
trailering could cause the trailer to
come in contact with the vehicle.
The vehicle could be damaged.
Avoid making very sharp turns
while trailering. When turning with a trailer, make
wider turns than normal. Do this so
the trailer will not strike soft
shoulders, curbs, road signs, trees,
or other objects. Avoid jerky or
sudden maneuvers. Signal well in
advance.
If the trailer turn signal bulbs burn
out, the arrows on the instrument
cluster will still flash for turns. It is
important to check occasionally to
be sure the trailer bulbs are still
working.
Driving on Grades
Reduce speed and shift to a lower
gear
before starting down a long or
steep downgrade. If the
transmission is not shifted down, the
brakes might get hot and no longer
work well.
Vehicles can tow in D (Drive). Shift
the transmission to a lower gear if
the transmission shifts too often
under heavy loads and/or hilly
conditions.
The Tow/Haul Mode may be used if
the transmission shifts too often.
See Tow/Haul Mode 0292. When towing at high altitude on
steep uphill grades, consider the
following: Engine coolant will boil at
a lower temperature than at normal
altitudes. If the engine is turned off
immediately after towing at high
altitude on steep uphill grades, the
vehicle may show signs similar to
engine overheating. To avoid this,
let the engine run while parked,
preferably on level ground, with the
transmission in P (Park) for a few
minutes before turning the engine
off. If the overheat warning comes
on, see
Engine Overheating 0375.Parking on Hills
{Warning
Parking the vehicle on a hill with
the trailer attached can be
dangerous. If something goes
wrong, the rig could start to move.
People can be injured, and both
the vehicle and the trailer can be
damaged. When possible, always
park the rig on a flat surface.

GMC Sierra Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
9234758) - 2016 - crc - 11/9/15
342 Driving and Operating
behind the spare tire mount. The
harness requires the installation of a
trailer connector, which is available
through your dealer.
Heavy-Duty Trailer Wiring Harness
Package
For vehicles equipped with
heavy-duty trailering, the harness
connector is mounted in the bumper.
For vehicles with the 5th wheel/
gooseneck trailer package, the
harness connector is mounted on
the inside of the pickup bed behind
the rear wheel.
The seven-wire harness contains
the following trailer circuits:
.Green/Violet: Left Stop/Turn
Signal
. Yellow/Gray: Right Stop/Turn
Signal
. Gray/Brown: Taillamps/Parking
Lamps
. White: Ground
. White/Green: Back-up Lamps .
Red/Green: Battery Feed
. Dark Blue: Trailer Brake
To help charge a remote
(non-vehicle) battery, press the Tow/
Haul Mode button at the end of the
shift lever. If the trailer is too light for
Tow/Haul Mode, turn on the
headlamps to help charge the
battery.
Camper/Fifth-Wheel Trailer Wiring
Package
For vehicles without the 5th wheel/
gooseneck tralier package,
seven-wire camper harness is under
the rear bumper, attached to the
frame near the rear crossmember.
A connector must be added to the
wiring harness that connects to the
camper.
The harness contains the following
camper/trailer circuits:
. Green/Violet: Left Stop/Turn
Signal
. Yellow/Gray: Right Stop/Turn
Signal
. Gray/Brown: Taillamps/Parking
Lamps

GMC Sierra Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
9234758) - 2016 - crc - 11/9/15
Driving and Operating 343
.White: Ground
. White/Green: Back-up Lamps
. Red/Green: Battery Feed
. Dark Blue: Trailer Brake
If the vehicle is equipped with the
heavy-duty trailering option, see
“Heavy-Duty Trailer Wiring Harness
Package” earlier in this section.
When the camper-wiring harness is
ordered without the heavy-duty
trailering package, a seven-wire
harness with a seven-pin connector
is at the rear of the vehicle and is
tied to the vehicle's frame.
Electric Brake Control Wiring
Provisions
These wiring provisions are
included with the vehicle as part of
the trailer wiring package. These
provisions are for an electric brake
controller.
The harness should be installed by
your dealer or a qualified service
center.
Tow/Haul Mode
Pressing this button at the end of
the shift lever turns on and off the
Tow/Haul Mode.
This indicator light on the instrument
cluster comes on when the Tow/
Haul Mode is on. Tow/Haul is a feature that assists
when pulling a heavy trailer or a
large or heavy load. See
Tow/Haul
Mode 0292.
Tow/Haul is designed to be most
effective when the vehicle and
trailer combined weight is at least
75% of the vehicle's Gross
Combined Weight Rating (GCWR).
See “Weight of the Trailer” under
Trailer Towing 0325. Tow/Haul is
most useful under the following
driving conditions:
. When pulling a heavy trailer or a
large or heavy load through
rolling terrain.
. When pulling a heavy trailer or a
large or heavy load in
stop-and-go traffic.
. When pulling a heavy trailer or a
large or heavy load in busy
parking lots where improved low
speed control of the vehicle is
desired.
Operating the vehicle in Tow/Haul
when lightly loaded or with no trailer
at all will not cause damage.
However, there is no benefit to the

GMC Sierra Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
9234758) - 2016 - crc - 11/9/15
502 Index
Lamps (cont'd)Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Lane Departure Warning (LDW) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
Lane Departure Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Lane Keep Assist (LKA) . . . . . . . . 315
Lane Keep Assist Light . . . . . . . . . 144
Lap Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Lap-Shoulder Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
LATCH System Replacing Parts after aCrash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
LATCH, Lower Anchors and
Tethers for Children . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
LED Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
Light Hill Decent Control . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Lighting Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Exit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Illumination Control . . . . . . . . . . . 180
LED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 Airbag On-Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Airbag Readiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Antilock Brake System(ABS) Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 Lights (cont'd)
Brake System Warning . . . . . . . 142
Charging System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Four-Wheel-Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Front Fog Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
High-Beam On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
High/Low Beam Changer . . . . . 176
Lane Departure Warning . . . . . . 144
Low Fuel Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Safety Belt Reminders . . . . . . . . 137
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
StabiliTrak
®OFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Tow/Haul Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Traction Control System (TCS)/StabiliTrak
®. . . . . . . . . . 146
Traction Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Locking Rear Axle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Locks Automatic Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Lockout Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Power Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260 Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . . . . 146
Low-Profile Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401
Lower Anchors and Tethers
for Children (LATCH
System) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Lumbar Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
M
Maintenance
Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466
Maintenance and Care
Additional . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460
Maintenance Schedule . . . . . . . . . 454 Recommended Fluids andLubricants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463
Transfer Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Malfunction Indicator Lamp . . . . . 141
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Memory Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Memory Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Messages Airbag System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Battery Voltage andCharging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Brake System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Door Ajar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Engine Cooling System . . . . . . . 154

GMC Sierra Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
9234758) - 2016 - crc - 11/9/15
Index 507
Tow/Haul Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Tow/Haul Mode Light . . . . . . . . . . . 144
TowingDriving Characteristics . . . . . . . . 322
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
General Information . . . . . . . . . . 322
Recreational Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . 439
Trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
Trailer Sway Control (TSC) . . . 348
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439
Traction
Control System (TCS)/StabiliTrak
®Light . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Off Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Traction Control/Electronic Stability Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Trademarks and License Agreements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Trailer Sway Control (TSC) . . . . . . . . . . 348
Tow Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
Transfer Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Transmission Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Fluid, Automatic . . . . . . . . . 367, 370
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160 Transportation Program,
Courtesy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 478
Trip Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Truck-Camper Loading Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Turn and Lane-Change Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Turn Signal Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
U
Uniform Tire Quality Grading . . . 419
Universal Remote System . . . . . . 170Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Updates Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
USB Port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205, 208
Using This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
V
Vehicle Alarm System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Canadian Owners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Identification Number (VIN) . . . 467
Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Personalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 Vehicle (cont'd)
Reminder Messages . . . . . . . . . . 162
Remote Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Speed Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439
Vehicle Ahead Indicator . . . . . . . . 145
Vehicle Care Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408
Vehicle Data Recording and Privacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 484
Ventilation, Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Voice Recognition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Voltage Devices and Wiring . . . . 391
Voltmeter Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
W
Warning Brake System Light . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Caution and Danger . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Lane Departure (LDW) . . . . . . . 314
Warning Lights, Gauges, and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Warnings Hazard Flashers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Washer Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379 Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163