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246 Driving and Operating
Following Distance
Stay at least twice as far behind the
vehicle ahead as you would when
driving without a trailer. This can
help to avoid heavy braking and
sudden turns.
Passing
More passing distance is needed
when towing a trailer. The
combination of the vehicle and
trailer will not accelerate as quickly
and is much longer than the vehicle
alone. It is necessary to go much
farther beyond the passed vehicle
before returning to the lane. Pass
on level roadways. Avoid passing
on hills if possible.
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 that hand to the right.
Always back up slowly and,
if possible, have someone
guide you.
Making TurnsCaution
Turn more slowly and make wider
arcs when towing a trailer to
prevent damage to your vehicle.
Making very sharp turns could
cause the trailer to contact the
vehicle.
Make wider turns than normal when
towing, so the trailer will not go over
soft shoulders, over curbs, or strike
road signs, trees, or other objects.
Always signal turns well in advance.
Do not steer or brake suddenly.
Driving on Grades
Reduce speed and shift to a lower
gear before starting down a long or
steep downhill grade. If the
transmission is not shifted down, the
brakes may overheat and result in
reduced braking efficiency. The vehicle 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.
When towing at higher altitudes,
engine coolant will boil at a lower
temperature than at lower altitudes.
If the engine is turned off
immediately after towing at high
altitude on steep uphill grades, the
vehicle could show signs similar to
engine overheating. To avoid this,
let the engine run, 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
0275.Parking on Hills
{Warning
To prevent serious injury or death,
always park your vehicle and
trailer on a level surface when
possible.
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248 Driving and Operating
Trailer Weight Ratings
When towing a trailer, the combined
weight of the vehicle, vehicle
contents, trailer, and trailer contents
must be below all of the maximum
weight ratings for the vehicle,
including:
.GCWR: Gross Combined Weight
Rating
. GVWR: Gross Vehicle Weight
Rating
. Maximum Trailer Weight Rating
. Maximum Trailer Tongue Weight
Rating
See “Weight-Distributing Hitch
Adjustment” underTowing
Equipment 0251 to determine if
equalizer bars are required to obtain
the maximum trailer weight rating.
See “Trailer Brakes” underTowing
Equipment 0251 to determine if
brakes are required based on your
trailer's weight.
The only way to be sure the weight
is not exceeding any of these
ratings is to weigh the tow vehicle and trailer combination, fully loaded
for the trip, getting individual
weights for each of these items.
{Warning
You and others could be seriously
injured or killed if the trailer is too
heavy or the trailer brakes are
inadequate for the load. The
vehicle may be damaged, and the
repairs would not be covered by
the vehicle warranty.
Only tow a trailer if all the steps in
this section have been followed.
Ask your dealer for advice and
information about towing a trailer.
Gross Combined Weight
Rating (GCWR)
GCWR is the total allowable weight
of the completely loaded vehicle
and trailer including any fuel,
passengers, cargo, equipment, and
accessories. Do not exceed the
GCWR for your vehicle. The GCWR
for the vehicle is on the tow rating
chart later in this section.To check that the weight of the
vehicle and trailer are within the
GCWR for the vehicle, follow these
steps:
1. Start with the "curb weight" from the Trailering Information
label.
2. Add the weight of the trailer loaded with cargo and ready
for the trip.
3. Add the weight of all passengers.
4. Add the weight of all cargo in the vehicle.
5. Add the weight of hitch hardware such as a draw bar,
ball, load equalizer bars,
or sway bars.
6. Add the weight of any accessories or aftermarket
equipment added to the
vehicle.
The resulting weight cannot exceed
the GCWR value on the Trailering
Information label.
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Driving and Operating 253
slack so the combination can turn.
Never allow safety chains to drag on
the ground.
Trailer Brakes
Loaded trailers over 450 kg
(1,000 lb) must be equipped with
brake systems and with brakes for
each axle. Trailer braking equipment
conforming to Canadian Standards
Association (CSA) requirement
CAN3-D313, or its equivalent, is
recommended.
State or local regulations may
require trailers to have their own
braking system if the loaded weight
of the trailer exceeds certain
minimums that can vary from state
to state. Read and follow the
instructions for the trailer brakes so
they are installed, adjusted, and
maintained properly. Never attempt
to tap into your vehicle's hydraulic
brake system. If you do, both the
vehicle antilock brakes and the
trailer brakes may not function,
which could result in a crash.
Trailer Wiring Harness
Basic Trailer Wiring
The trailer wiring harness, with a
seven-pin connector, is at the rear
of the vehicle and is tied to the
vehicle's frame. The harness
requires the installation of a trailer
connector, which is available
through your dealer.
Use only a round, seven-wire
connector with flat blade terminals
meeting SAE J2863 specifications
for proper electrical connectivity.
The seven-wire harness contains
the following trailer circuits:
.Yellow: Left Stop/Turn Signal
. Green: Right Stop/Turn Signal
. Brown: Tail/Parking Lamps
. White: Trailer Ground
. Red: Stop Lamp Supply Voltage
. Black: Back Up Lamp Supply
Voltage
. Blue: Service Brakes The fuse for the electric trailer brake
circuit is in the engine compartment
fuse block, but the wires may not be
connected. They should be
connected by your dealer or a
qualified service center. To control
electric trailer brakes, a trailer brake
controller needs to be installed on
the vehicle by your dealer or a
qualified service center. See electric
brake control wiring provisions.
If a battery outside the vehicle is
being charged, place the vehicle in
Tow/Haul Mode. This will boost the
vehicle system voltage and properly
charge the battery. If the trailer is
too light for Tow/Haul Mode, turn on
the non-HID only headlamps as a
second way to boost the vehicle
system voltage and charge the
battery.
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254 Driving and Operating
Electric Trailer Brake Control
Wiring Provisions
Wiring provisions for an aftermarket
electric trailer brake controller are
included with the vehicle as part of
the trailer wiring package. The
harness contains the following
circuits:
These wiring provisions for an
electric trailer brake controller are
included with the vehicle as part of
the trailer wiring package. The body
harness, inside the front driver side
instrument panel, contains blunt cut
wires below the headlamp switch for
the electric trailer brake controller.
The harness contains the following
wires:
.Blue: Electric Trailer Brakes
. Blue: Battery Feed
. White/Blue: Brake Apply Signal
. Black: Ground
Refer to the aftermarket electric
trailer brake controller owner's
manual to determine wire color
coding of the electric trailer brake
controller. The wire colors on the brake controller may be different
from the vehicle. The electric trailer
brake controller should be installed
by your dealer or a qualified service
center.
Trailer Lamps
Always check all trailer lamps are
working at the beginning of each
trip, and periodically on longer trips.
Turn Signals When Towing a
Trailer
When properly connected, the trailer
turn signals will illuminate to indicate
the vehicle is turning, changing
lanes, or stopping. When towing a
trailer, the arrows on the instrument
cluster will illuminate even if the
trailer is not properly connected or
the bulbs are burned out.
Tow/Haul Mode
For instructions on how to enter
Tow/Haul Mode, see
Driver Mode
Control 0210.
Tow/Haul assists when pulling a
heavy trailer or a large or heavy
load. See Tow/Haul Mode 0204. Tow/Haul Mode 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 0247. Tow/Haul
Mode is most useful when towing a
heavy trailer or carrying a large or
heavy load:
. Through rolling terrain.
. In stop-and-go traffic.
. In busy parking lots.
Operating the vehicle in Tow/Haul
Mode when lightly loaded or not
towing will not cause damage;
however, it is not recommended and
may result in unpleasant engine and
transmission driving characteristics
and reduced fuel economy.Trailer Sway
Control (TSC)
Vehicles with StabiliTrak/Electronic
Stability Control (ESC) have a
Trailer Sway Control (TSC) feature.
Trailer sway is unintended
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Driving and Operating 255
side-to-side motion of a trailer while
towing. If the vehicle is towing a
trailer and the TSC detects that
sway is increasing, the vehicle
brakes are selectively applied at
each wheel, to help reduce
excessive trailer sway. If equipped
with the Integrated Trailer Brake
Control (ITBC) system, and the
trailer has an electric brake system,
StabiliTrak/ESC may also apply the
trailer brakes.
If TSC is enabled, the Traction
Control System (TCS)/StabiliTrak
light will flash on the instrument
cluster. Reduce vehicle speed by
gradually removing your foot from
the accelerator. If trailer sway
continues, StabiliTrak/ESC can
reduce engine torque to help slow
the vehicle. TSC will not function ifStabiliTrak/ESC is turned off. See
Traction Control/Electronic Stability
Control
0208.
{Warning
Trailer sway can result in a crash
and in serious injury or death,
even if the vehicle is equipped
with TSC.
If the trailer begins to sway,
reduce vehicle speed by
gradually removing your foot from
the accelerator. Then pull over to
check the trailer and vehicle to
help correct possible causes,
including an improperly or
overloaded trailer, unrestrained
cargo, improper trailer hitch
configuration, or improperly
inflated or incorrect vehicle or
trailer tires. See Towing
Equipment 0251 for trailer ratings
and hitch setup
recommendations.
Trailer Tires
Special Trailer (ST) tires differ from
vehicle tires. Trailer tires are
designed with stiff sidewalls to help
prevent sway and to support heavy
loads. These features can make it
difficult to determine if the trailer tire
pressures are low only based on a
visual inspection.
Always check all trailer tire
pressures before each trip when the
tires are cool. Low trailer tire
pressure is a leading cause of trailer
tire blowouts.
Trailer tires deteriorate over time.
The trailer tire sidewall will show the
week and year the tire was
manufactured. Many trailer tire
manufacturers recommend
replacing tires more than six
years old.
Overloading is another leading
cause of trailer tire blowouts. Never
load your trailer with more weight
than the tires are designed to
support. The load rating is on the
trailer tire sidewall.
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Vehicle Care 257
Vehicle Care
General Information
General Information . . . . . . . . . . 258
California Proposition65 Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
California Perchlorate Materials Requirements . . . . . 259
Accessories and Modifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Vehicle Checks
Doing Your OwnService Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Engine Compartment Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Engine Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Engine Oil Life System . . . . . . . 267
Automatic Transmission Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Engine Air Filter Life System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Engine Air Cleaner/Filter . . . . . . 269
Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Engine Overheating . . . . . . . . . . 275
Washer Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Brake Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278 Battery - North America . . . . . . 279
All-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Starter Switch Check . . . . . . . . . 280
Automatic Transmission Shift
Lock Control Function
Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Park Brake and P (Park) Mechanism Check . . . . . . . . . . 280
Wiper Blade Replacement . . . . 281
Windshield Replacement . . . . . 282
Gas Strut(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Headlamp Aiming
Headlamp Aiming . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Bulb Replacement
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
High Intensity Discharge (HID) Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
LED Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Back-Up Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Electrical System
High Voltage Devices and Wiring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Electrical System Overload . . . 286
Fuses and Circuit Breakers . . . 286
Engine Compartment Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Instrument Panel Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291 Rear Compartment Fuse
Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Wheels and Tires
Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
All-Season Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Winter Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Summer Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Tire Sidewall Labeling . . . . . . . . 298
Tire Designations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
Tire Terminology andDefinitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Tire Pressure for High-Speed Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
Tire Pressure Monitor System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Tire Pressure Monitor Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
Tire Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
Tire Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
When It Is Time for New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
Different Size Tires and Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Uniform Tire Quality Grading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
Wheel Alignment and Tire Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
Wheel Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 316
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Vehicle Care 259
California Perchlorate
Materials Requirements
Certain types of automotive
applications, such as airbag
initiators, seat belt pretensioners,
and lithium batteries contained in
Remote Keyless Entry transmitters,
may contain perchlorate materials.
Special handling may be necessary.
For additional information, see
www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/
perchlorate.
Accessories and
Modifications
Adding non-dealer accessories or
making modifications to the vehicle
can affect vehicle performance and
safety, including such things as
airbags, braking, stability, ride and
handling, emissions systems,
aerodynamics, durability, and
electronic systems like antilock
brakes, traction control, and stability
control. These accessories or
modifications could even cause
malfunction or damage not covered
by the vehicle warranty.Damage to suspension components
caused by modifying vehicle height
outside of factory settings will not be
covered by the vehicle warranty.
Damage to vehicle components
resulting from modifications or the
installation or use of non-GM
certified parts, including control
module or software modifications, is
not covered under the terms of the
vehicle warranty and may affect
remaining warranty coverage for
affected parts.
GM Accessories are designed to
complement and function with other
systems on the vehicle. See your
dealer to accessorize the vehicle
using genuine GM Accessories
installed by a dealer technician.
Also, see
Adding Equipment to the
Airbag-Equipped Vehicle 089.
Vehicle Checks
Doing Your Own
Service Work
{Warning
It can be dangerous to work on
your vehicle if you do not have
the proper knowledge, service
manual, tools, or parts. Always
follow owner ’s manual procedures
and consult the service manual
for your vehicle before doing any
service work.
If doing some of your own service
work, use the proper service
manual. It tells you much more
about how to service the vehicle
than this manual can. To order the
proper service manual, see
Publication Ordering Information
0 375.
This vehicle has an airbag system.
Before attempting to do your own
service work, see Servicing the
Airbag-Equipped Vehicle 089.
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Vehicle Care 277
Caution (Continued)
.When using concentrated
washer fluid, follow the
manufacturer instructions for
adding water.
. Fill the washer fluid tank
only three-quarters full when
it is very cold. This allows
for fluid expansion if
freezing occurs, which could
damage the tank if it is
completely full.
Brakes
Disc brake pads have built-in wear
indicators that make a high-pitched
warning sound when the brake pads
are worn and new pads are needed.
The sound can come and go or can
be heard all the time when the
vehicle is moving, except when
applying the brake pedal firmly.
{Warning
The brake wear warning sound
means that soon the brakes will
not work well. That could lead to
a crash. When the brake wear
warning sound is heard, have the
vehicle serviced.
Caution
Continuing to drive with worn-out
brake pads could result in costly
brake repair.
Some driving conditions or climates
can cause a brake squeal when the
brakes are first applied or lightly
applied. This does not mean
something is wrong with the brakes.
Properly torqued wheel nuts are
necessary to help prevent brake
pulsation. When tires are rotated,
inspect brake pads for wear and
evenly tighten wheel nuts in the proper sequence to torque
specifications. See
Capacities and
Specifications 0363.
Brake pads should be replaced as
complete sets.
Brake Pedal Travel
See your dealer if the brake pedal
does not return to normal height,
or if there is a rapid increase in
pedal travel. This could be a sign
that brake service may be required.
Replacing Brake System Parts
Always replace brake system parts
with new, approved replacement
parts. If this is not done, the brakes
may not work properly. The braking
performance expected can change
in many other ways if the wrong
replacement brake parts are
installed or if parts are improperly
installed.