2020 GMC ACADIA ABS

GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/
Mexico-13687875) - 2020 - CRC - 10/28/19
Introduction 3
Danger, Warning, and
Caution
Warning messages found on vehicle
labels and in this manual describe
hazards and what to do to avoid or
reduce them.
{Danger
Danger indicates a hazard with a
high level of risk which will result
in serious injury or death.
{Warning
Warning indicates a hazard that
could result in injury or death.
Caution
Caution indicates a hazard that
could result in property or vehicle
damage.
A circle with a slash through it is a
safety symbol which means“Do
not,” “Do not do this,” or“Do not let
this happen.”
Symbols
The vehicle has components and
labels that use symbols instead of
text. Symbols are shown along with
the text describing the operation or
information relating to a specific
component, control, message,
gauge, or indicator.
M: Shown when the owner ’s
manual has additional instructions
or information.
*: Shown when the service
manual has additional instructions
or information.
0: Shown when there is more
information on another page —
“see page.”
Vehicle Symbol Chart
Here are some additional symbols
that may be found on the vehicle
and what they mean. See the
features in this manual for
information.
u: Air Conditioning System
G: Air Conditioning Refrigerant Oil
9:Airbag Readiness Light
!: Antilock Brake System (ABS)
$:Brake System Warning Light
9:Dispose of Used Components
Properly
P: Do Not Apply High Pressure
Water
B: Engine Coolant Temperature
_: Flame/Fire Prohibited

GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/
Mexico-13687875) - 2020 - CRC - 10/28/19
18 Keys, Doors, and Windows
“Keyless Access Operation”in
Remote Keyless Entry (RKE)
System Operation 08.
Driver Door Key Lock Cylinder
Access (In Case of Dead
Battery)
To access the driver door key lock
cylinder:
1. Pull the door handle (1) to the open position and hold it open
until cap removal is complete.
2. Insert the key into the slot (3) on the bottom of the cap (2)
and lift the key upward. 3. Move the cap (2) rearward and
remove.
4. Use the key in the cylinder.
To replace the cap: 1. Pull the door handle (1) to the open position and hold it open
until cap installation is
complete.
2. Insert the two tabs (6) at theback of the cap between the
seal (5) and the metal base (4).
3. Slide the cap forward andpress the forward edge to
install the cap in place.
4. Release the door handle.

GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/
Mexico-13687875) - 2020 - CRC - 10/28/19
Instruments and Controls 105
Instruments and
Controls
Controls
Steering Wheel Adjustment . . . 106
Steering Wheel Controls . . . . . . 107
Heated Steering Wheel . . . . . . . 107
Horn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Windshield Wiper/Washer . . . . 107
Rear Window Wiper/Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Power Outlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Wireless Charging . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Warning Lights, Gauges, and
Indicators
Warning Lights, Gauges, and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Instrument Cluster (Base and
Midlevel) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Instrument Cluster (Uplevel) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Trip Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Fuel Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Engine Oil Temperature
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Engine Coolant Temperature Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Voltmeter Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Seat Belt Reminders . . . . . . . . . 125
Airbag Readiness Light . . . . . . . 126
Passenger Airbag Status Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Charging System Light . . . . . . . 127
Malfunction Indicator Lamp (Check Engine Light) . . . . . . . . 127
Brake System Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Electric Parking Brake Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Service Electric Parking Brake Light (Uplevel and Midlevel
Cluster Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Antilock Brake System (ABS) Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Gear Shifting Light . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Tow/Haul Mode Light . . . . . . . . . 131
Hill Descent Control Light . . . . 131
Lane Keep Assist (LKA) Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Vehicle Ahead Indicator . . . . . . 132
Pedestrian Ahead Indicator . . . 132
Traction Off Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 StabiliTrak OFF Light . . . . . . . . . 133
Traction Control System (TCS)/
StabiliTrak Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Engine Coolant Temperature Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Tire Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Engine Oil Pressure Light . . . . 134
Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . 135
Security Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . 135
Front Fog Lamp Light . . . . . . . . . 136
Lamps On Reminder . . . . . . . . . 136
Cruise Control Light . . . . . . . . . . 136
Door Ajar Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Information Displays
Driver Information Center (DIC) (Base) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Driver Information Center (DIC) (Midlevel and Uplevel) . . . . . . 139
Head-Up Display (HUD) . . . . . . 142
Vehicle Messages
Vehicle Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Engine Power Messages . . . . . 146
Vehicle Speed Messages . . . . . 146
Vehicle Personalization
Vehicle Personalization . . . . . . . 146

GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/
Mexico-13687875) - 2020 - CRC - 10/28/19
130 Instruments and Controls
{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 0207. A message may also
display in the Driver Information
Center (DIC).
Antilock Brake System
(ABS) Warning Light
This warning light should come on
briefly when the vehicle is turned
on. 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,
safely stop as soon as it is possible
and turn off the vehicle. Then turn
on the vehicle again to reset the
system.

GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/
Mexico-13687875) - 2020 - CRC - 10/28/19
Instruments and Controls 131
If the ABS warning light stays on,
or comes on again while driving, the
vehicle needs service. A chime may
also sound when the light stays on.
If the ABS warning light is the only
light on, the vehicle has regular
brakes, but ABS is not functioning.
If both the ABS warning light and
the brake system warning light are
on, ABS is not functioning and there
is a problem with the regular brakes.
See your dealer for service.
SeeBrake System Warning Light
0 129.
Gear Shifting Light
If equipped, this light will display
when Performance Algorithm Liftfoot
(PAL) is activated. See Driver Mode
Control 0212.
Tow/Haul Mode Light
For vehicles with the Tow/Haul
Mode feature, this light comes on
when the Tow/Haul Mode has been
activated.
See Tow/Haul Mode 0206.
Hill Descent Control Light
If equipped, the Hill Descent Control
light comes on when the system is
ready for use. When the light
flashes, the system is active.
See Hill Descent Control (HDC)
0 211.
Lane Keep Assist (LKA)
Light
After the vehicle is started, this light
turns off and stays off if LKA has not
been turned on or is unavailable.
If available, this light is white if LKA
is turned on, but not ready to assist.
This light is green if LKA is turned
on and is ready to assist.
LKA may assist by gently turning
the steering wheel if the vehicle
approaches a detected lane
marking. The LKA light is amber
when assisting.
This light flashes amber as a Lane
Departure Warning (LDW) alert, to
indicate that the lane marking has
been crossed.

GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/
Mexico-13687875) - 2020 - CRC - 10/28/19
Driving and Operating 173
Driving and
Operating
Driving Information
Driving for Better FuelEconomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Distracted Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Defensive Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Drunk Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Control of a Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Off-Road Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Driving on Wet Roads . . . . . . . . 182
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . 183
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
If the Vehicle Is Stuck . . . . . . . . 185
Vehicle Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Starting and Operating
New Vehicle Break-In . . . . . . . . . 190
Ignition Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Starting the Engine . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Stop/Start System . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Engine Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194 Retained Accessory
Power (RAP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Shifting Into Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Shifting out of Park . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Parking over Things That Burn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Active Fuel Management . . . . . 199
Extended Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Engine Exhaust
Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Running the Vehicle While Parked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Automatic Transmission
Automatic Transmission . . . . . . 201
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Tow/Haul Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Drive Systems
All-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Brakes
Electric Brake Boost . . . . . . . . . . 206
Antilock BrakeSystem (ABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Electric Parking Brake . . . . . . . . 207
Brake Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Hill Start Assist (HSA) . . . . . . . . 209
Ride Control Systems
Traction Control/Electronic Stability Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Hill Descent Control (HDC) . . . 211
Driver Mode Control . . . . . . . . . . 212
Cruise Control
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Adaptive Cruise Control . . . . . . 216
Driver Assistance Systems
Driver Assistance Systems . . . 225
Assistance Systems for Parking or Backing . . . . . . . . . . 227
Assistance Systems for Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Forward Collision Alert (FCA) System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Front Pedestrian Braking (FPB) System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Side Blind Zone Alert (SBZA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Lane Change Alert (LCA) . . . . . 238
Lane Keep Assist (LKA) . . . . . . 240
Fuel
Top Tier Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Recommended Fuel . . . . . . . . . . 242
Prohibited Fuels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/
Mexico-13687875) - 2020 - CRC - 10/28/19
Driving and Operating 177
If the steering wheel is turned until it
reaches the end of its travel and is
held against that position for an
extended period of time, power
steering assist may be reduced.
Normal use of the power steering
assist should return when the
system cools down.
See your dealer if there is a
problem.
Curve Tips
.Take curves at a reasonable
speed.
. Reduce speed before entering a
curve.
. Maintain a reasonable steady
speed through the curve.
. Wait until the vehicle is out of
the curve before accelerating
gently into the straightaway.
Steering in Emergencies
.
There are some situations when
steering around a problem may
be more effective than braking. .
Holding both sides of the
steering wheel allows you to turn
180 degrees without removing
a hand.
. The Antilock Brake System
(ABS) allows steering while
braking.
Off-Road Recovery
The vehicle's right wheels can drop
off the edge of a road onto the
shoulder while driving. Follow
these tips: 1. Ease off the accelerator and
then, if there is nothing in the
way, steer the vehicle so that it
straddles the edge of the
pavement.
2. Turn the steering wheel about one-eighth of a turn, until the
right front tire contacts the
pavement edge.
3. Turn the steering wheel to go straight down the roadway.
Loss of Control
Skidding
There are three types of skids that
correspond to the vehicle's three
control systems:
.Braking Skid —wheels are not
rolling.
. Steering or Cornering Skid —
too much speed or steering in a
curve causes tires to slip and
lose cornering force.
. Acceleration Skid —too much
throttle causes the driving
wheels to spin.

GMC Acadia/Acadia Denali Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/
Mexico-13687875) - 2020 - CRC - 10/28/19
184 Driving and Operating
{Warning
Coasting downhill in N (Neutral)
or with the ignition off is
dangerous. This can cause
overheating of the brakes and
loss of steering assist. Always
have the engine running and the
vehicle in gear.
. Drive at speeds that keep the
vehicle in its own lane. Do not
swing wide or cross the
center line.
. Be alert on top of hills;
something could be in your lane
(e.g., stalled car, crash).
. Pay attention to special road
signs (e.g., falling rocks area,
winding roads, long grades,
passing or no-passing zones)
and take appropriate action.
Winter Driving
Driving on Snow or Ice
Snow or ice between the tires and
the road creates less traction or
grip, so drive carefully. Wet ice can
occur at about 0 °C (32 °F) when
freezing rain begins to fall. Avoid
driving on wet ice or in freezing rain
until roads can be treated.
For Slippery Road Driving:
.Accelerate gently. Accelerating
too quickly causes the wheels to
spin and makes the surface
under the tires slick.
. Turn on Traction Control. See
Traction Control/Electronic
Stability Control 0209.
. The Antilock Brake System
(ABS) improves vehicle stability
during hard stops, but the
brakes should be applied sooner
than when on dry pavement.
See Antilock Brake System
(ABS) 0206.
. Allow greater following distance
and watch for slippery spots. Icy
patches can occur on otherwise clear roads in shaded areas.
The surface of a curve or an
overpass can remain icy when
the surrounding roads are clear.
Avoid sudden steering
maneuvers and braking while
on ice.
. Turn off cruise control.
. Select All-Wheel Drive (AWD)
Mode for vehicles equipped with
AWD. Select Snow/Ice Mode for
FWD only vehicles. See Driver
Mode Control 0212 and
All-Wheel Drive 0206.
Blizzard Conditions
Stop the vehicle in a safe place and
signal for help. Stay with the vehicle
unless there is help nearby.
If possible, use Roadside
Assistance. See Roadside
Assistance Program 0374. To get
help and keep everyone in the
vehicle safe:
. Turn on the hazard warning
flashers.
. Tie a red cloth to an outside
mirror.