GMC Sierra/Sierra Denali Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/
Mexico-1500-11698638) - 2019 - CRC - 5/14/19
Driving and Operating 199
Driving and
Operating
Driving Information
Distracted Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Defensive Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Drunk Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Control of a Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Off-Road Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Driving on Wet Roads . . . . . . . . 208
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . 209
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
If the Vehicle Is Stuck . . . . . . . . . 211
Vehicle Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Truck-Camper LoadingInformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Starting and Operating
New Vehicle Break-In . . . . . . . . . 220
Ignition Positions (KeyAccess) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Ignition Positions (Keyless Access) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Starting the Engine . . . . . . . . . . . 224 Stop/Start System . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Engine Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Retained Accessory
Power (RAP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Shifting Into Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Shifting out of Park . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Parking over Things
That Burn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Active Fuel Management . . . . . 231
Extended Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Engine Exhaust
Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Running the Vehicle While Parked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Automatic Transmission
Automatic Transmission . . . . . . 233
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Tow/Haul Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Drive Systems
Four-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Brakes
Antilock BrakeSystem (ABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Electric Parking Brake . . . . . . . . 245
Brake Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Hill Start Assist (HSA) . . . . . . . . 247
Ride Control Systems
Traction Control/Electronic Stability Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Hill Descent Control (HDC) . . . 249
Driver Mode Control . . . . . . . . . . 250
Limited-Slip Differential . . . . . . . 255
Locking Rear Axle . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Cruise Control
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Driver Assistance Systems
Driver Assistance Systems . . . 258
Assistance Systems for Parking or Backing . . . . . . . . . . 259
Assistance Systems for Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Forward Collision Alert (FCA) System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Forward Automatic Braking (FAB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Front Pedestrian Braking (FPB) System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Side Blind Zone Alert (SBZA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Lane Change Alert (LCA) . . . . . 272
Lane Departure Warning (LDW) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Lane Keep Assist (LKA) . . . . . . 274
GMC Sierra/Sierra Denali Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/
Mexico-1500-11698638) - 2019 - CRC - 5/14/19
Driving and Operating 255
When Terrain Mode is selected:
.Auto Engine Start/Stop will be
disabled.
. The Terrain Mode indicator
displays on the instrument
cluster.
Limited-Slip Differential
If equipped, the limited-slip
differential can give more traction on
snow, mud, ice, sand, or gravel.
It works like a standard axle most of
the time, but when traction is low,
this feature allows the drive wheel
with the most traction to move the
vehicle. For vehicles with the
limited-slip differential, driven under
severe conditions, the rear axle fluid
should be changed. See
Maintenance Schedule 0420.
Locking Rear Axle
Vehicles with a locking rear axle can
give more traction on snow, mud,
ice, sand, or gravel. It works like a
standard axle most of the time, but
when traction is low, this feature will
allow the rear wheel with the most
traction to move the vehicle.
Cruise Control
{Warning
Cruise control can be dangerous
where you cannot drive safely at
a steady speed. Do not use
cruise control on winding roads or
in heavy traffic.
Cruise control can be dangerous
on slippery roads. On such roads,
fast changes in tire traction can
cause excessive wheel slip, and
you could lose control. Do not use
cruise control on slippery roads.
If equipped with cruise control, a
speed of about 40 km/h (25 mph) or
more can be maintained without
keeping your foot on the
accelerator. Cruise control does not
work at speeds below about
40 km/h (25 mph).
If the cruise control is being used
and the Traction Control System
(TCS) or StabiliTrak/Electronic
Stability Control (ESC) begins to
limit wheel spin, the cruise control
GMC Sierra/Sierra Denali Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/
Mexico-1500-11698638) - 2019 - CRC - 5/14/19
346 Vehicle Care
.When the differential is cold, add
enough lubricant to raise the
level from 0 mm (0 in) to 3.2 mm
(1/8 in) below the fill plug hole.
. When the differential is at
operating temperature (warm),
add enough lubricant to raise the
level to the bottom of the fill
plug hole.
What to Use
Refer to Recommended Fluids and
Lubricants 0430 to determine what
kind of lubricant to use.
Rear Axle
When to Check Lubricant
It is not necessary to regularly
check rear axle fluid unless a leak is
suspected or an unusual noise is
heard. A fluid loss could indicate a
problem. Have it inspected and
repaired.
All axle assemblies are filled by
volume of fluid during production.
They are not filled to reach a certain
level. When checking the fluid level
on any axle, variations in the
readings can be caused by factory
fill differences between the minimum
and the maximum fluid volume.
Also, if a vehicle has just been
driven before checking the fluid
level, it may appear lower than
normal because fluid has traveled
out along the axle tubes and has
not drained back to the sump area.
Therefore, a reading taken
five minutes after the vehicle has
been driven will appear to have a
lower fluid level than a vehicle that
has been stationary for an hour or two. The rear axle assembly must
be supported on a flat, level surface
to get a true reading.How to Check Lubricant
To get an accurate reading, the
vehicle should be on a level
surface.
.
For the 2.7L, 4.3L, and 5.3L
engines, the proper level is
1.0 mm to 19.0 mm (0.04 in to
0.7 in) below the bottom of the
fill hole, located on the rear axle.
Add only enough fluid to reach
the proper level.
GMC Sierra/Sierra Denali Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/-
Mexico-1500-11698638) - 2019 - CRC - 5/13/19
466 Index
ChargingWireless . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Charging System Light . . . . . . . . . 151
Check Engine Light (MalfunctionIndicator) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Ignition Transmission Lock . . . 348
Child Restraints Infants and Young Children . . . 101
Lower Anchors and Tethersfor Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Older Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Securing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118, 122
Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
Cleaning Exterior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408
Interior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413
Climate Control Systems . . . . . . . 191 Air Conditioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Dual Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Cluster, Instrument . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Collision Damage Repair . . . . . . . 445
Compartments Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 Connected Services
Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461
Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463
Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460
Connections Connected Services . . . . . . . . . . 461
Control
Hill Descent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Traction and ElectronicStability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Control Light
Hill Descent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Control of a Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Convex Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Coolant Engine Temperature Gauge . . 147
Engine Temperature
Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Cooling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191, 193
Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
Courtesy Transportation Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255 Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Cupholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Customer Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . 441
Offices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440 Customer Assistance (cont'd)
Text Telephone (TTY)
Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441
Customer Information
Publications OrderingInformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447
Customer Satisfaction Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438
D
Damage Repair, Collision . . . . . . . 445
Danger, Warning, and Caution . . . . 3
Data CollectionInfotainment System . . . . . . . . . . 451
OnStar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451
Data Recorders, Event . . . . . . . . . 450
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Defensive Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Diagnostics
Connected Services . . . . . . . . . . 463
Differential, Limited-Slip . . . . . . . . 255
Distracted Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Dome Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Door Ajar Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
GMC Sierra/Sierra Denali Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/-
Mexico-1500-11698638) - 2019 - CRC - 5/13/19
470 Index
Lane Keep Assist Light . . . . . . . . . 156
Lap-Shoulder Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
LATCH SystemReplacing Parts after aCrash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118
LATCH, Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children . . . . . . . . . . . 107
LED Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
Lighting Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Exit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Illumination Control . . . . . . . . . . . 186
LED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
Task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Lights Airbag Readiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Antilock Brake System
(ABS) Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Brake System Warning . . . . . . . 153
Charging System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Check Engine (Malfunction Indicator) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Door Ajar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Driver Mode Control . . . . . . . . . . 158
Electric Parking Brake . . . . . . . . 154
Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 Lights (cont'd)
Engine Coolant
Temperature Warning . . . . . . . 158
Engine Oil Pressure . . . . . . . . . . 159
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Four-Wheel-Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Front Fog Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
High-Beam On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
High/Low Beam Changer . . . . . 181
Hill Descent Control . . . . . . . . . . 156
Lane Keep Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Low Fuel Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Seat Belt Reminders . . . . . . . . . . 149
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Service Electric Parking
Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Tow/Haul Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Traction Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Limited-Slip Differential . . . . . . . . . 255
Locking Rear Axle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Locks Automatic Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Lockout Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Power Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . . . . 160
Low-Profile Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
Lower Anchors and Tethers
for Children (LATCH
System) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Lumbar Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
M
MaintenanceRecords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433
Maintenance and Care Additional . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427
Maintenance Schedule . . . . . . . . . 420 Recommended Fluids andLubricants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430
Transfer Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Malfunction Indicator Lamp . . . . . 151
Manual Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Manual Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Memory Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Memory Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Messages Engine Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Vehicle Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
GMC Sierra/Sierra Denali Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/-
Mexico-1500-11698638) - 2019 - CRC - 5/13/19
474 Index
Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
SystemBrake Pad Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
Engine Air Filter Life . . . . . . . . . . 330
Forward CollisionAlert (FCA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Infotainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190, 451
Noise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347
Systems Driver Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
T
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Tailgate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
TaillampsBulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
Task Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Text Telephone (TTY) Users . . . . 441
Theft-Deterrent Systems . . . . . . . . . 56
Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
All-Season . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364
All-Terrain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
Chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
Designations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368 Tires (cont'd)
Different Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384
Full-Size Spare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399
If a Tire Goes Flat . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
Low Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372, 373
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Pressure Monitor Operation . . 375
Pressure Monitor System . . . . . 374
Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
Sidewall Labeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
Terminology and Definitions . . 369
Uniform Tire Quality
Grading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385
Wheel Alignment and Tire Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386
Wheel Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 386
When It Is Time for New
Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
Winter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364
Top Tier Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Tow/Haul Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Tow/Haul Mode Light . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Towing Driving Characteristics . . . . . . . . 281
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
General Information . . . . . . . . . . 281 Towing (cont'd)
Recreational Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . 404
Trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Trailer Sway Control (TSC) . . . 299
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
Traction Limited-Slip Differential . . . . . . . 255
Off Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Traction Control/Electronic
Stability Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Trailer Sway Control (TSC) . . . . . . . . . . 299
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Trailer Towing
App . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Trailering App . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Transfer Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Transmission Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Fluid, Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Transportation Program, Courtesy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444
Trip Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Truck-Camper Loading
Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Turn and Lane-Change Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184