
GMC Canyon/Canyon Denali Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-
14430430) - 2021 - CRC - 2/18/21
Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Keys, Doors, and Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Seats and Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Instruments and Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Infotainment System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Climate Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Driving and Operating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Vehicle Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Service and Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
Technical Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
Customer Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
Reporting Safety Defects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
OnStar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
Connected Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347
Introduction
The names, logos, emblems, slogans, vehicle
model names, and vehicle body designs
appearing in this manual including, but not
limited to, GM, the GM logo, GMC, the GMC
Truck Emblem, CANYON, and DENALI are
trademarks and/or service marks of General
Motors LLC, its subsidiaries, affiliates,
or licensors.
For vehicles first sold in Canada, substitute
the name“General Motors of Canada
Company” for GMC wherever it appears in
this manual.
This manual describes features that may or
may not be on the vehicle because of
optional equipment that was not purchased
on the vehicle, model variants, country
specifications, features/applications that may not be available in your region, or changes
subsequent to the printing of this owner’s
manual.
If this vehicle has the Duramax diesel
engine, see the Duramax diesel supplement
for additional and specific information on
this engine.
Refer to the purchase documentation
relating to your specific vehicle to confirm
the features.
Keep this manual in the vehicle for quick
reference.
Litho in U.S.A.
Part No. 84426904 C Third Printing©2021 General Motors LLC. All Rights Reserved.

GMC Canyon/Canyon Denali Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-
14430430) - 2021 - CRC - 9/9/20
164 Climate Controls
Climate Controls
Climate Control Systems
Climate Control Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Automatic Climate Control System . . . . 166
Air Vents
Air Vents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Maintenance
Passenger Compartment Air Filter . . . . . 169
Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Climate Control Systems
With this system the heating, cooling, and ventilation can be controlled.
1. Fan Control
2. A/C (Air Conditioning)
3. Air Delivery Mode Controls4. Defrost
5. TEMP (Temperature Control)
6. Rear Window Defogger (If Equipped)
7. Air Recirculation

GMC Canyon/Canyon Denali Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-
14430430) - 2021 - CRC - 9/9/20
Climate Controls 169
Air Vents
Adjustable air vents are in the center and on
the side of the instrument panel. Use the
sliding knobs on the air vents to change the
direction of the airflow. Slide the knob up or
down to open or close off the airflow.
Air vents blow warm air on the side
windows in cold weather. If Floor, Defog,
or Defrost modes are selected, a small
amount of air will come from the vents
close to the window. If the airflow is shut
off using the sliding knobs, warm air will be
directed to the other instrument panel
vents. This is normal operation.
Use the sliding knobs to turn vent airflow
on or off based on the mode selected.
Operation Tips
.Clear away any ice, snow, or leaves from
air inlets at the base of the windshield
that could block the flow of air into the
vehicle.
.Clear snow off the hood to improve
visibility and help decrease moisture
drawn into the vehicle.
.Keep the path under the front seats clear
of objects to help circulate the air inside
of the vehicle more effectively.
.Use of non-GM approved hood deflectors
can adversely affect the performance of
the system. Check with your dealer
before adding equipment to the outside
of the vehicle.
Maintenance
Passenger Compartment Air Filter
The passenger compartment air filter
reduces dust, pollen, and other airborne
irritants from outside air that is pulled into
the vehicle. The filter will need to be
replaced periodically. SeeMaintenance
Schedule 0310.
Using the climate control system without an
air filter installed is not recommended.
Water or other debris could enter the
system and result in leaks or noises. Always
install a new filter when removing the old
filter.
For more information on filter replacement,
see your dealer.
Service
All vehicles have a label underhood that
identifies the refrigerant used in the vehicle.
The refrigerant system should only be
serviced by trained and certified technicians.
The air conditioning evaporator should never
be repaired or replaced by one from a
salvage vehicle. It should only be replaced
by a new evaporator to ensure proper and
safe operation.
During service, all refrigerants should be
reclaimed with proper equipment. Venting
refrigerants directly to the atmosphere is
harmful to the environment and may also
create unsafe conditions based on
inhalation, combustion, frostbite, or other
health-based concerns.
The air conditioning system requires periodic
maintenance. See Maintenance Schedule
0 310.

GMC Canyon/Canyon Denali Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-
14430430) - 2021 - CRC - 9/9/20
Driving and Operating 171
Driving Information
Driving for Better Fuel Economy
Driving habits can affect fuel mileage. Here
are some driving tips to get the best fuel
economy possible:
.Set the climate controls to the desired
temperature after the engine is started,
or turn them off when not required.
.Avoid fast starts and accelerate smoothly.
.Brake gradually and avoid abrupt stops.
.Avoid idling the engine for long periods
of time.
.When road and weather conditions are
appropriate, use cruise control.
.Always follow posted speed limits or
drive more slowly when conditions
require.
.Keep vehicle tires properly inflated.
.Combine several trips into a single trip.
.Replace the vehicle's tires with the same
TPC Spec number molded into the tire's
sidewall near the size.
.Follow recommended scheduled
maintenance.
Distracted Driving
Distraction comes in many forms and can
take your focus from the task of driving.
Exercise good judgment and do not let other
activities divert your attention away from
the road. Many local governments have
enacted laws regarding driver distraction.
Become familiar with the local laws in
your area.
To avoid distracted driving, keep your eyes
on the road, keep your hands on the
steering wheel, and focus your attention on
driving.
.Do not use a phone in demanding driving
situations. Use a hands-free method to
place or receive necessary phone calls.
.Watch the road. Do not read, take notes,
or look up information on phones or
other electronic devices.
.Designate a front seat passenger to
handle potential distractions.
.Become familiar with vehicle features
before driving, such as programming
favorite radio stations and adjusting
climate control and seat settings. Program
all trip information into any navigation
device prior to driving.
.Wait until the vehicle is parked to
retrieve items that have fallen to the
floor.
.Stop or park the vehicle to tend to
children.
.Keep pets in an appropriate carrier or
restraint.
.Avoid stressful conversations while
driving, whether with a passenger or on a
cell phone.
{Warning
Taking your eyes off the road too long or
too often could cause a crash resulting in
injury or death. Focus your attention on
driving.
Refer to the infotainment section for more
information on using that system and the
navigation system, if equipped, including
pairing and using a cell phone.
Defensive Driving
Defensive driving means “always expect the
unexpected.” The first step in driving
defensively is to wear the seat belt. See
Seat Belts 027.

GMC Canyon/Canyon Denali Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-
14430430) - 2021 - CRC - 9/9/20
Index 347
IndexA
Accessories and Modifications . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Accessory Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Active Fuel Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Add-On Electrical Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Additional InformationOnStar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
Additional Maintenance and Care . . . . . . . . 316
Adjustments Lumbar, Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Agreements Trademarks and License . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Air Cleaner/Filter, Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Air Conditioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164, 166
Air Filter, Passenger Compartment . . . . . . . 169
Air Vents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Airbag System Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
How Does an Airbag Restrain? . . . . . . . . . . 38
Passenger Sensing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
What Makes an Airbag Inflate? . . . . . . . . . 37
What Will You See after an AirbagInflates? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
When Should an Airbag Inflate? . . . . . . . . 37
Where Are the Airbags? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Airbags Adding Equipment to the Vehicle . . . . . . . 43
Passenger Status Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Airbags (cont'd)
Readiness Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Servicing Airbag-Equipped Vehicles . . . . . . 42
System Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Alarm Vehicle Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
All-Season Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
All-Terrain Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
AM-FM Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Antenna
Multi-band . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Antilock Brake System (ABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Appearance Care Exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
Interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto . . . . . . . . . 146
Assistance Program, Roadside . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Assistance Systems for Parking and Backing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Audio
Bluetooth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Automatic Climate Control System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Door Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Headlamp System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Transmission Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

GMC Canyon/Canyon Denali Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-
14430430) - 2021 - CRC - 9/9/20
Index 355
Seats (cont'd)Reclining Seatbacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Underseat Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Securing Child Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64, 69
Security Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
OnStar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Vehicle Alarm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169 Accessories and Modifications . . . . . . . . . 234
Climate Control System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Doing Your Own Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Maintenance Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
Maintenance, General Information . . . . . 309
Parts Identification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
Scheduling Appointments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Services Special Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
Servicing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Servicing the Airbag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .147
Shift Lock Control Function Check, Automatic Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Shifting Into Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Out of Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191 Sidemarker
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Signals, Turn and Lane-Change . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Software Updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Spare Tire Compact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Special Application Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
Specifications and Capacities . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
StabiliTrak OFF Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Start Assist, Hill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Start Vehicle, Remote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Starter Switch Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Starting the Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .187
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172 Heated Wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Wheel Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Wheel Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Steering Wheel Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Stoplamps and Back-Up Lamps Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Storage Areas Center Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Glove Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Sunglasses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Underseat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Storage Compartments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73 Struts
Gas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Stuck Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Sun Visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Sunglass Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73
Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
System Forward Collision Alert (FCA) . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Global Positioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Infotainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
OnStar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Systems Driver Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
T
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Tailgate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
TaillampsBulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Teen Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Text Telephone (TTY) Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
Theft-Deterrent Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266 All-Season . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
All-Terrain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267