GMC Sierra/Sierra Denali 1500 Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./
Canada/Mexico-14632426) - 2021 - CRC - 11/5/20
Vehicle Care 321
Vehicle Care
General Information
General Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
California Proposition 65 Warning . . . . . 322
California Perchlorate MaterialsRequirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
Accessories and Modifications . . . . . . . . . 323
Vehicle Checks
Doing Your Own Service Work . . . . . . . . . 323
Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
Engine Compartment Overview . . . . . . . . 325
Engine Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Engine Oil Life System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
Automatic Transmission Fluid . . . . . . . . . . 333
Engine Air Filter Life System . . . . . . . . . . . 333
Engine Air Cleaner/Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
Engine Overheating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
Overheated Engine Protection Operating Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
Engine Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
Washer Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
Brake Pad Life System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
Brake Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
Battery - North America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343 Four-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
Front Axle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
Rear Axle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
Starter Switch Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347
Automatic Transmission Shift Lock
Control Function Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347
Ignition Transmission Lock Check . . . . . . 347
Park Brake and P (Park) Mechanism Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347
Wiper Blade Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348
Glass Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348
Windshield Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348
Gas Strut(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
Headlamp Aiming
Front Headlamp Aiming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
Bulb Replacement
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
Halogen Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
LED Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
Headlamps, Front Turn Signal, Sidemarker, and Parking Lamps . . . . . . 350
Taillamps, Turn Signal, Stoplamps, and Back-Up Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
Center High-Mounted Stoplamp (CHMSL) and Cargo Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
License Plate Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
Electrical System
Electrical System Overload . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
Fuses and Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353
Engine Compartment Fuse Block . . . . . . . 353
Instrument Panel Fuse Block (Left) . . . . . 357
Instrument Panel Fuse Block (Right) . . . 358
Wheels and Tires
Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
All-Season Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361
Winter Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361
All-Terrain Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362
Tire Sidewall Labeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362
Tire Designations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364
Tire Terminology and Definitions . . . . . . 365
Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
Tire Pressure Monitor System . . . . . . . . . 368
Tire Pressure Monitor Operation . . . . . . 369
Tire Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
Tire Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
When It Is Time for New Tires . . . . . . . . 375
Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376
Different Size Tires and Wheels . . . . . . . . 377
Uniform Tire Quality Grading . . . . . . . . . . 377
Wheel Alignment and Tire Balance . . . . 378
Wheel Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
Tire Chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
If a Tire Goes Flat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
Tire Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
Full-Size Spare Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
GMC Sierra/Sierra Denali 1500 Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./
Canada/Mexico-14632426) - 2021 - CRC - 11/5/20
Vehicle Care 353
Choose some feature of the vehicle that is
not needed to use and replace it as soon as
possible.
Headlamp Wiring
An electrical overload may cause the lamps
to go on and off, or in some cases to
remain off. Have the headlamp wiring
checked right away if the lamps go on and
off or remain off.
Windshield Wipers
If the wiper motor overheats due to heavy
snow or ice, the windshield wipers will stop
until the motor cools and will then restart.
Although the circuit is protected from
electrical overload, overload due to heavy
snow or ice may cause wiper linkage
damage. Always clear ice and heavy snow
from the windshield before using the
windshield wipers.
If the overload is caused by an electrical
problem and not snow or ice, be sure to get
it fixed.
Fuses and Circuit Breakers
The wiring circuits in the vehicle are
protected from short circuits by a
combination of fuses and circuit breakers.
This greatly reduces the chance of damage
caused by electrical problems.
{Danger
Fuses and circuit breakers are marked
with their ampere rating. Do not exceed
the specified amperage rating when
replacing fuses and circuit breakers. Use
of an oversized fuse or circuit breaker can
result in a vehicle fire. You and others
could be seriously injured or killed.
{Warning
Installation or use of fuses that do not
meet GM’s original fuse specifications is
dangerous. The fuses could fail, and result(Continued)
Warning (Continued)
in a fire. You or others could be injured
or killed, and the vehicle could be
damaged.
See Accessories and Modifications 0323 and
General Information 0322.
To check a fuse, look at the silver-colored
band inside the fuse. If the band is broken
or melted, replace the fuse. Be sure to
replace a bad fuse with a new one of the
identical size and rating.
Fuses of the same amperage can be
temporarily borrowed from another fuse
location, if a fuse goes out. Replace the fuse
as soon as possible.
Engine Compartment Fuse Block
If the vehicle has a diesel engine, see the
Duramax diesel supplement.
The engine compartment fuse block is in the
engine compartment, on the passenger side
of the vehicle.
GMC Sierra/Sierra Denali 1500 Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Cana-
da/Mexico-14632426) - 2021 - CRC - 11/5/20
Index 459
Turn and Lane-Change Signals . . . . . . . . . . . .143
Turn SignalBulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
U
Underseat Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Uniform Tire Quality Grading . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
Universal Remote System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Updates Map Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
USB Port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .158
Using the Navigation System . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Using the System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Using This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
V
Vehicle Alarm System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Canadian Owners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Identification Number (VIN) . . . . . . . . . . . . 423
Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Personalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Remote Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Vehicle (cont'd)
Speed Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394
Vehicle Ahead Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Vehicle Care Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
Vehicle Data Recording and Privacy . . . . . . 437
Vehicle Positioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .174
Vehicle Security
Steering Column Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Ventilation, Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Voice Recognition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Voltmeter Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
W
Warning Brake System Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Caution and Danger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Warning Lights, Gauges, and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Warnings
Hazard Flashers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Washer Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
Wheels Alignment and Tire Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
Different Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378 When It Is Time for New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . 375
Where to Put the Restraint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Windshield
Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348
Wiper/Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Winter Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361
Wiper Blade Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348
Wireless Charging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103