GMC Sierra/Sierra Denali Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/
Mexico-13337776) - 2020 - CRC - 8/27/19
Vehicle Care 351
Caution
If the pressure cap is not tightly
installed, coolant loss and engine
damage may occur. Be sure the
cap is properly and tightly
secured.
Engine Overheating
If the vehicle has the Duramax
diesel engine, see the Duramax
diesel supplement.
Caution
Do not run the engine if there is a
leak in the engine cooling system.
This can cause a loss of all
coolant and can damage the
system and vehicle. Have any
leaks fixed right away.
The vehicle has several indicators
to warn of engine overheating. There is a coolant temperature
gauge in the vehicle's instrument
cluster. See
Engine Coolant
Temperature Gauge 0133.
In addition, there are ENGINE
OVERHEATED STOP ENGINE,
ENGINE OVERHEATED IDLE
ENGINE, and ENGINE POWER IS
REDUCED messages in the Driver
Information Center (DIC).
If the decision is made not to lift the
hood when this warning appears,
get service help right away. See
Roadside Assistance Program
0 466.
If the decision is made to lift the
hood, make sure the vehicle is
parked on a level surface.
2.7L L4, 4.3L V6, 5.3L V8, and 6.2L
V8 Engines
Check to see if the engine cooling
fans are running. If the engine is
overheating, the fans should be
running. If they are not, do not
continue to run the engine and have
the vehicle serviced. If the engine or transmission detects
an impending hot fluid condition,
then the transmission may force
upshifts to limit temperatures.
Downshifts may also be prevented
in this instance. Normal operation
may continue unless the display
indicates there is a hot condition
and engine should be idled.
If Steam is Coming from the
Engine Compartment
{Warning
Steam and scalding liquids from a
hot cooling system are under
pressure. Turning the pressure
cap, even a little, can cause them
to come out at high speed and
you could be burned. Never turn
the cap when the cooling system,
including the pressure cap, is hot.
Wait for the cooling system and
pressure cap to cool.
GMC Sierra/Sierra Denali Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/
Mexico-13337776) - 2020 - CRC - 8/27/19
Vehicle Care 379
Wheels and Tires
Tires
Every new GM vehicle has
high-quality tires made by a
leading tire manufacturer. See
the warranty manual for
information regarding the tire
warranty and where to get
service. For additional
information refer to the tire
manufacturer.
{Warning
.Poorly maintained and
improperly used tires are
dangerous.
.Overloading the tires can
cause overheating as a
result of too much
flexing. There could be a
blowout and a serious
crash. SeeVehicle Load
Limits 0200.
(Continued)
Warning (Continued)
.Underinflated tires pose
the same danger as
overloaded tires. The
resulting crash could
cause serious injury.
Check all tires frequently
to maintain the
recommended pressure.
Tire pressure should be
checked when the tires
are cold.
.Overinflated tires are
more likely to be cut,
punctured, or broken by
a sudden impact —such
as when hitting a pothole.
Keep tires at the
recommended pressure.
.Worn or old tires can
cause a crash. If the
tread is badly worn,
replace them.
(Continued)
Warning (Continued)
.Replace any tires that
have been damaged by
impacts with potholes,
curbs, etc.
.Improperly repaired tires
can cause a crash. Only
the dealer or an
authorized tire service
center should repair,
replace, dismount, and
mount the tires.
.Do not spin the tires in
excess of 56 km/h
(35 mph) on slippery
surfaces such as snow,
mud, ice, etc. Excessive
spinning may cause the
tires to explode.
All-Season Tires
This vehicle may come with
all-season tires. These tires are
designed to provide good overall
GMC Sierra/Sierra Denali Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/
Mexico-13337776) - 2020 - CRC - 8/27/19
388 Vehicle Care
{Warning
Neither tire underinflation nor
overinflation is good.
Underinflated tires, or tires
that do not have enough air,
can result in:
.Tire overloading and
overheating which could
lead to a blowout.
.Premature or
irregular wear.
.Poor handling.
.Reduced fuel economy.
Overinflated tires, or tires that
have too much air, can
result in:
.Unusual wear.
.Poor handling.
.Rough ride.
.Needless damage from
road hazards. The Tire and Loading
Information label on the vehicle
indicates the original equipment
tires and the correct cold tire
inflation pressures. The
recommended pressure is the
minimum air pressure needed to
support the vehicle's maximum
load carrying capacity.
For additional information
regarding how much weight the
vehicle can carry, and an
example of the Tire and Loading
Information label, see
Vehicle
Load Limits 0200. How the
vehicle is loaded affects vehicle
handling and ride comfort. Never
load the vehicle with more
weight than it was designed to
carry.
When to Check
Check the pressure of the tires
once a month or more. Do not forget the spare tire,
if the vehicle has one. See
Full-Size Spare Tire
0418 for
additional information.
How to Check
Use a good quality pocket-type
gauge to check tire pressure.
Proper tire inflation cannot be
determined by looking at the tire.
Check the tire inflation pressure
when the tires are cold, meaning
the vehicle has not been driven
for at least three hours or no
more than 1.6 km (1 mi).
Remove the valve cap from the
tire valve stem. Press the tire
gauge firmly onto the valve to
get a pressure measurement.
If the cold tire inflation pressure
matches the recommended
pressure on the Tire and
Loading Information label, no
further adjustment is necessary.
If the inflation pressure is low,
add air until the recommended
pressure is reached. If the
GMC Sierra/Sierra Denali Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/-
Mexico-13337776) - 2020 - CRC - 8/27/19
490 Index
DiagnosticsConnected Services . . . . . . . . . . 486
Differential, Limited-Slip . . . . . . . . 242
Distracted Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Dome Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Door Ajar Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Power Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Drive Belt Routing, Engine . . . . . . 461
Driver Assistance Systems . . . . . 255
Driver Information
Center (DIC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147, 148
Driver Mode Control . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Driver Mode Control Light . . . . . . 144
Driving Assistance Systems . . . . . . . . . . 268
Better Fuel Economy . . . . . . . . . 186
Characteristics andTowing Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Defensive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Drunk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . . 197
If the Vehicle is Stuck . . . . . . . . . 199
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Off-Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . 190 Driving (cont'd)
Vehicle Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Wet Roads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Winter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Dual Automatic Climate Control System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
E
E85 or FlexFuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Electric Brake Boost . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Electric Parking Brake . . . . . . . . . . 233
Electric Parking Brake Light . . . . 140
Electrical Equipment,Add-On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
Electrical System Engine Compartment FuseBlock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
Fuses and Circuit Breakers . . . 370
Instrument Panel Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374, 376
Overload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370
Electronic Stability Control (ESC) Off Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Emergency
OnStar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477
Engine Air Cleaner/Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344 Engine (cont'd)
Check Light (Malfunction
Indicator) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Compartment Overview . . . . . . . 332
Coolant Temperature
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Coolant Temperature Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
Drive Belt Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . 461
Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353
Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Oil Life System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
Oil Pressure Gauge . . . . . . . . . . 132
Oil Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Overheated Protection Operating Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
Overheating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
Power Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Running While Parked . . . . . . . . 220
Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Engine Air Filter Life System . . . . 343
Entry Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Equipment, Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Event Data Recorders . . . . . . . . . . 474
Exit Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Extended Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
GMC Sierra/Sierra Denali Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/-
Mexico-13337776) - 2020 - CRC - 8/27/19
494 Index
Maintenance Schedule (cont'd)Recommended Fluids and
Lubricants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452
Transfer Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Malfunction Indicator Lamp . . . . . 137
Manual Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Manual Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Memory Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Messages Engine Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Vehicle Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Mirror
Rear Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Mirrors Automatic Dimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Automatic DimmingRearview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Blind Spot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Convex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Folding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Heated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Manual Rearview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Tilt in Reverse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Trailer Tow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Mirrors, Interior Rearview . . . . . . . . 44
Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Driver Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Monitor System, Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
N
NavigationConnected Services . . . . . . . . . . 484
New Vehicle Break-In . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Noise Control System . . . . . . . . . . 362
O
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 Trip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Off-Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191 Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Oil Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
Engine Oil Life System . . . . . . . 341
Engine Oil Pressure Gauge . . . 132
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Older Children, Restraints . . . . . . . 84
Online Owner Center . . . . . . . . . . . 465
OnStar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475
OnStar Additional Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 478
OnStar Emergency . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477 OnStar Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476
OnStar Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 478
Operating Mode
Overheated EngineProtection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
Operation Fog Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Outlets Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Overheated Engine Protection Operating Mode . . . . 352
Overheating, Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
Overview Instrument Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
P
ParkShifting Out of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Park Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Parking Brake and P (Park)
Mechanism Check . . . . . . . . . . 364
Extended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Over Things That Burn . . . . . . . 219
Parking or Backing Assistance Systems . . . . . . . . . . 257
Passenger Airbag Status Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136