
GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/
Mexico-12146149) - 2019 - crc - 7/30/18
In Brief 7
1.Air Vents 0203.
2. Exterior Lamp Controls 0164.
Turn Signal Lever. See Turn
and Lane-Change Signals
0 168.
3. Instrument Cluster 0127.
4. Windshield Wiper/Washer
0120.
Rear Window Wiper/Washer
0 121.
5. Light Sensor. See Automatic
Headlamp System 0167.
6. Infotainment 0173.
7. Dual Automatic Climate Control
System 0198.
8. Heated and Ventilated Front
Seats 064 (If Equipped).
9. USB Port 0181 (If Equipped).
Auxiliary Input Jack. See
Auxiliary Devices 0187.
10. Hazard Warning Flashers
0168.
Traction Control/Electronic
Stability Control 0236. 11.
Power Outlets 0124.
12. Driver Mode Control 0239.
Assistance Systems for
Parking or Backing 0253 (If
Equipped).
Lane Keep Assist (LKA) 0266
(If Equipped).
13. Shift Lever. See Automatic
Transmission 0230.
14. ENGINE START/STOP Button. SeeStarting the Engine 0223.
15. Steering Wheel Controls 0119
(If Equipped).
Driver Information Center (DIC)
Buttons.
See Driver Information Center
(DIC) (Base and Midlevel)
0 145 orDriver Information
Center (DIC) (Uplevel) 0148.
16. Horn 0120.
17. Steering Wheel Adjustment
0119.
18. Cruise Control 0240.
Adaptive Cruise Control 0243
(If Equipped). Forward Collision Alert (FCA)
System
0257 (If Equipped).
Heated Steering Wheel 0120
(If Equipped).
19. Hood Release. See Hood
0 287.
20. Instrument Panel Illumination
Control 0169 (Out of View).
21. Data Link Connector (DLC) (Out of View). See Malfunction
Indicator Lamp (Check Engine
Light) 0136.
22. Electric Parking Brake 0234.

GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/
Mexico-12146149) - 2019 - crc - 7/30/18
36 Keys, Doors, and Windows
may require a person using remote
start to have the vehicle in view.
Check local regulations for any
requirements.
Other conditions can affect the
performance of the transmitter. See
Remote Keyless Entry (RKE)
System029.
Starting the Engine Using Remote
Start
1. Press and release
Qon the
RKE transmitter.
2. Immediately press and hold
/
for at least four seconds or until
the turn signal lamps flash. The
turn signal lamps flashing
confirms the request to remote
start the vehicle has been
received.
During the remote start the
doors will be locked and the
parking lamps will remain on as
long as the engine is running.
The engine will shut off after
15 minutes unless a time
extension is done or the
vehicle is started. 3. With the RKE transmitter in the
vehicle, press the brake pedal
and start the vehicle to drive.
Extending Engine Run Time
The engine run time can also be
extended by another 15 minutes,
if during the first 15 minutes
Steps 1 and 2 are repeated while
the engine is still running. An
extension can be requested
30 seconds after starting. This
provides a total of 30 minutes.
The remote start can only be
extended once.
When the remote start is extended,
the second 15-minute period is
added on to the first 15 minutes for
a total of 30 minutes.
A maximum of two remote starts,
or a remote start with an extension,
are allowed between ignition cycles.
The vehicle must be started and
then turned off before the remote
start procedure can be used again. Canceling a Remote Start
To cancel a remote start, do any of
the following:
.
Press and hold
/until the
parking lamps turn off.
. Turn on the hazard warning
flashers.
. Turn the vehicle on and then off.
Conditions in Which Remote Start
Will Not Work
The remote start will not operate if
any of the following occur:
. A transmitter is in the vehicle.
. The hood is not closed.
. The hazard warning flashers
are on.
. There is an emission control
system malfunction.
. The engine coolant temperature
is too high.
. The oil pressure is low.
. Two remote vehicle starts or a
start with an extension have
already been used.

GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/
Mexico-12146149) - 2019 - crc - 7/30/18
118 Instruments and Controls
Instruments and
Controls
Controls
Steering Wheel Adjustment . . . 119
Steering Wheel Controls . . . . . . 119
Heated Steering Wheel . . . . . . . 120
Horn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Windshield Wiper/Washer . . . . 120
Rear Window Wiper/Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Power Outlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Warning Lights, Gauges, and
Indicators
Warning Lights, Gauges, and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Instrument Cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Trip Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Fuel Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Engine Coolant Temperature Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Seat Belt Reminders . . . . . . . . . 134 Airbag Readiness Light . . . . . . . 135
Passenger Airbag Status
Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Charging System Light . . . . . . . 136
Malfunction Indicator Lamp (Check Engine Light) . . . . . . . . 136
Brake System Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Electric Parking Brake Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Service Electric Parking Brake Light (Uplevel and Midlevel
Cluster Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Antilock Brake System (ABS) Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Tow/Haul Mode Light . . . . . . . . . 140
Hill Descent Control Light . . . . 140
Lane Keep Assist (LKA) Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Vehicle Ahead Indicator . . . . . . 140
Pedestrian Ahead Indicator . . . 141
Traction Off Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
StabiliTrak OFF Light . . . . . . . . . 141
Traction Control System (TCS)/ StabiliTrak Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Tire Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Engine Oil Pressure Light . . . . 142
Low Fuel Warning Light (Base Level) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 Low Fuel Warning Light
(Midlevel and Uplevel) . . . . . . 143
Security Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . 144
Front Fog Lamp Light . . . . . . . . . 144
Lamps On Reminder . . . . . . . . . 144
Cruise Control Light . . . . . . . . . . 144
Door Ajar Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Information Displays
Driver Information Center (DIC) (Base and Midlevel) . . . . . . . . . 145
Driver Information Center (DIC) (Uplevel) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Vehicle Messages
Vehicle Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Engine Power Messages . . . . . 151
Vehicle Speed Messages . . . . . 151
Vehicle Personalization
Vehicle Personalization . . . . . . . 152
Universal Remote System
Universal Remote System . . . . 160
Universal Remote SystemProgramming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Universal Remote System Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/
Mexico-12146149) - 2019 - crc - 7/30/18
Instruments and Controls 139
{Warning
The brake system might not be
working properly if the brake
system warning light is on.
Driving with the brake system
warning light on can lead to a
crash. If the light is still on after
the vehicle has been pulled off
the road and carefully stopped,
have the vehicle towed for
service.
Electric Parking Brake
Light
MetricEnglish
This light comes on when the
parking brake is applied. If the light
continues flashing after the parking
brake is released, or while driving,
there is a problem with the Electric Parking Brake system. A message
may also display in the Driver
Information Center (DIC).
If the light does not come on,
or remains flashing, see your dealer.
Service Electric Parking
Brake Light (Uplevel and
Midlevel Cluster Only)
On some vehicles the service
electric parking brake light should
come on briefly when the vehicle is
started. If it does not come on, have
it fixed so it will be ready to warn if
there is a problem. For vehicles with
the reconfigurable cluster, this light
may not come on when the vehicle
is started.
If this light stays on, the vehicle
should be taken to a dealer as soon
as possible. See
Electric Parking Brake
0234. A message may also
display in the Driver Information
Center (DIC).
Antilock Brake System
(ABS) Warning Light
This light comes on briefly when the
engine is started.
If the light does not come on, have it
fixed so it will be ready to warn if
there is a problem.
If the light comes on while driving,
stop as soon as it is safely possible
and turn off the vehicle. Then start
the engine again to reset the
system. If the ABS light stays on,
or comes on again while driving, the
vehicle needs service. A chime may
also sound when the light comes on
steady.

GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/
Mexico-12146149) - 2019 - crc - 7/30/18
Lighting 167
.The parking brake is released or
the vehicle is not in P (Park).
When the DRL are on, the taillamps
and other lamps will not be on.
The DRL turn off when the
headlamps are turned to
Oor the
ignition is off. For vehicles first sold
in Canada, the DRL can only be
turned off when the vehicle is
parked.
Automatic Headlamp
System
When the exterior lamp control is
set to AUTO and it is dark enough
outside, the headlamps come on
automatically.
There is a light sensor on top of the
instrument panel. Do not cover the
sensor.
The system may also turn on the
headlamps when driving through a
parking garage or tunnel.
If the vehicle is started in a dark
garage, the automatic headlamp
system comes on immediately. If it
is light outside when the vehicle
leaves the garage, there is a slight
delay before the automatic
headlamp system changes to the
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL).
During that delay, the instrument
cluster may not be as bright as
usual. Make sure the instrument panel brightness control is in the full
bright position. See
Instrument
Panel Illumination Control 0169.
When it is bright enough outside,
the headlamps will turn off or may
change to DRL.
The automatic headlamp system
turns off when the exterior lamp
control is turned to
Oor the ignition
is off.
For vehicles sold in Canada, this
control only works when the
transmission is in P (Park).
Lights On with Wipers
If the windshield wipers are
activated in daylight with the engine
on, and the exterior lamp control is
in AUTO, the headlamps, parking
lamps, and other exterior lamps
come on. The transition time for the
lamps coming on varies based on
wiper speed. When the wipers are
not operating, these lamps turn off.
Move the exterior lamp control to
O
or;to disable this feature.

GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/
Mexico-12146149) - 2019 - crc - 7/30/18
Driving and Operating 205
Driving and
Operating
Driving Information
Distracted Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Defensive Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Drunk Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Control of a Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Off-Road Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Driving on Wet Roads . . . . . . . . 214
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . 215
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
If the Vehicle Is Stuck . . . . . . . . 217
Vehicle Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Starting and Operating
New Vehicle Break-In . . . . . . . . . 221
Ignition Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Starting the Engine . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Stop/Start System . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Engine Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Retained AccessoryPower (RAP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Shifting Into Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226 Shifting out of Park . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Parking over Things
That Burn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Active Fuel Management . . . . . 228
Extended Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Engine Exhaust
Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Running the Vehicle While Parked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Automatic Transmission
Automatic Transmission . . . . . . 230
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Tow/Haul Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Drive Systems
All-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Brakes
Antilock BrakeSystem (ABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Electric Parking Brake . . . . . . . . 234
Brake Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Hill Start Assist (HSA) . . . . . . . . 235
Ride Control Systems
Traction Control/Electronic Stability Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Hill Descent Control (HDC) . . . 238
Driver Mode Control . . . . . . . . . . 239
Cruise Control
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Adaptive Cruise Control . . . . . . 243
Driver Assistance Systems
Driver Assistance Systems . . . 251
Assistance Systems for Parking or Backing . . . . . . . . . . 253
Assistance Systems for Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Forward Collision Alert (FCA) System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Forward Automatic Braking (FAB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Front Pedestrian Braking (FPB) System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Side Blind Zone Alert (SBZA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Lane Change Alert (LCA) . . . . . 264
Lane Departure Warning (LDW) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Lane Keep Assist (LKA) . . . . . . 266
Fuel
Top Tier Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Recommended Fuel . . . . . . . . . . 268
Prohibited Fuels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Fuels in Foreign Countries . . . 269
Fuel Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Filling the Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/
Mexico-12146149) - 2019 - crc - 7/30/18
Driving and Operating 211
.Do not park over things that
burn. See Parking over Things
That Burn 0228.
Driving on Hills
Driving safely on hills requires good
judgment and an understanding of
what the vehicle can and cannot do.
{Warning
Many hills are simply too steep
for any vehicle. Driving up hills
can cause the vehicle to stall.
Driving down hills can cause loss
of control. Driving across hills can
cause a rollover. You could be
injured or killed. Do not drive on
steep hills.
Before driving on a hill, assess the
steepness, traction, and
obstructions. If the terrain ahead
cannot be seen, get out of the
vehicle and walk the hill before
driving further. When driving on hills:
.
Use a low gear and keep a firm
grip on the steering wheel.
. Maintain a slow speed.
. When possible, drive straight up
or down the hill.
. Slow down when approaching
the top of the hill.
. Use headlamps even during the
day to make the vehicle more
visible.
{Warning
Driving to the top of a hill at high
speed can cause a crash. There
could be a drop-off, embankment,
cliff, or even another vehicle. You
could be seriously injured or
killed. As you near the top of a
hill, slow down and stay alert.
. Never go downhill forward or
backward with the transmission
in N (Neutral). The brakes could
overheat and you could lose
control. .
When driving down a hill, keep
the vehicle headed straight
down. Use a low gear because
the engine will work with the
brakes to slow the vehicle and
help keep the vehicle under
control.
{Warning
Heavy braking when going down
a hill can cause your brakes to
overheat and fade. This could
cause loss of control and you or
others could be injured or killed.
Apply the brakes lightly when
descending a hill and use a low
gear to keep vehicle speed under
control.
If the vehicle stalls on a hill: 1. Apply the brakes to stop the vehicle, and then apply the
parking brake.

GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/
Mexico-12146149) - 2019 - crc - 7/30/18
212 Driving and Operating
2. Shift into P (Park) and thenrestart the engine.
.If driving uphill when the
vehicle stalls, shift to
R (Reverse), release the
parking brake, and back
straight down.
. Never try to turn the vehicle
around. If the hill is steep
enough to stall the vehicle,
it is steep enough to cause
it to roll over.
. If you cannot make it up the
hill, back straight down
the hill.
. Never back down a hill in
N (Neutral) using only the
brake.
. The vehicle can roll
backward quickly and you
could lose control.
. If driving downhill when the
vehicle stalls, shift to a
lower gear, release the
parking brake, and drive
straight down the hill. 3. If the vehicle cannot be
restarted after stalling, set the
parking brake, shift into
P (Park), and turn the
vehicle off.
3.1. Leave the vehicle and
seek help.
3.2. Stay clear of the path the vehicle would take if it
rolled downhill.
. Avoid turns that take the vehicle
across the incline of the hill.
A hill that can be driven straight
up or down might be too steep to
drive across. Driving across an
incline puts more weight on the
downhill wheels which could
cause a downhill slide or a
rollover.
. Surface conditions can be a
problem. Loose gravel, muddy
spots, or even wet grass can
cause the tires to slip sideways,
downhill. If the vehicle slips
sideways, it can hit something
that will trip it –a rock, a rut,
etc. –and roll over. .
Hidden obstacles can make the
steepness of the incline more
severe. If a rock is driven across
with the uphill wheels, or if the
downhill wheels drop into a rut
or depression, the vehicle can tilt
even more.
. If an incline must be driven
across, and the vehicle starts to
slide, turn downhill. This should
help straighten out the vehicle
and prevent the side slipping.
{Warning
Getting out of the vehicle on the
downhill side when stopped
across an incline is dangerous.
If the vehicle rolls over, you could
be crushed or killed. Always get
out on the uphill side of the
vehicle and stay well clear of the
rollover path.