GMC Yukon/Yukon XL/Denali Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./
Canada/Mexico-13690468) - 2021 - crc - 8/14/20
280 Driving and Operating
Trailer Towing
General Towing Information
Only use towing equipment that has been
designed for the vehicle. Contact your dealer
or trailering dealer for assistance with
preparing the vehicle to tow a trailer. Read
the entire section before towing a trailer.
To tow a disabled vehicle, seeTowing the
Vehicle 0370. To tow the vehicle behind
another vehicle such as a motor home, see
Recreational Vehicle Towing 0371.
Driving Characteristics and
Towing Tips
{Warning
You can lose control when towing a
trailer if the correct equipment is not
used or the vehicle is not driven properly.
For example, if the trailer is too heavy or
the trailer brakes are inadequate for the
load, the vehicle may not stop as
expected. You and others could be
seriously injured. The vehicle may also be
damaged, and the repairs would not be
covered by the vehicle warranty. Pull a
(Continued)
Warning (Continued)
trailer only if all the steps in this section
have been followed. Ask your dealer for
advice and information about towing a
trailer with the vehicle.
Driving with a Trailer
Trailering is different than just driving the
vehicle by itself. Trailering means changes in
handling, acceleration, braking, durability,
and fuel economy. Successful, safe trailering
takes correct equipment, and it has to be
used properly.
The following information has many
time-tested, important trailering tips and
safety rules. Many of these are important
for your safety and that of your passengers.
Read this section carefully before pulling a
trailer.
When towing a trailer:
.Become familiar with and follow all state
and local laws that apply to trailer
towing. These requirements vary from
state to state.
.State laws may require the use of
extended side view mirrors. Even if not
required, you should install extended side
view mirrors if your visibility is limited or
restricted while towing.
.Do not tow a trailer during the first
800 km (500 mi) of vehicle use to prevent
damage to the engine, axle, or other
parts.
.It is recommended to perform the first oil
change before heavy towing.
.During the first 800 km (500 mi) of trailer
towing, do not drive over 80 km/h
(50 mph) and do not make starts at full
throttle.
.Vehicles can tow in D (Drive). Tow/Haul
Mode is recommended for heavier trailers.
SeeTow/Haul Mode 0235. If the
transmission downshifts too often, a
lower gear may be selected using Manual
Mode. See Manual Mode 0235.
If equipped, the following driver assistance
features should be turned off when towing
a trailer:
.Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC)
.Super Cruise Control
.Lane Keep Assist (LKA)
.Park Assist
GMC Yukon/Yukon XL/Denali Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Cana-
da/Mexico-13690468) - 2021 - crc - 8/14/20
418 Index
IndexA
Accessories and Modifications . . . . . . . . . . . 309
Accessory Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Adaptive Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Add-On Electrical Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
Additional InformationOnStar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411
Additional Maintenance and Care . . . . . . . . 390
Adjustments Lumbar, Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Agreements Trademarks and License . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Air Cleaner/Filter, Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .318
Air Conditioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204, 207
Air Filter Life System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
Air Filter, Passenger Compartment . . . . . . . 209
Air Suspension Four Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Air Vents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Airbag System Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
How Does an Airbag Restrain? . . . . . . . . . . 64
Passenger Sensing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
What Makes an Airbag Inflate? . . . . . . . . . 64
What Will You See after an AirbagInflates? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
When Should an Airbag Inflate? . . . . . . . . 63 Airbag System (cont'd)
Where Are the Airbags? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Airbags Adding Equipment to the Vehicle . . . . . . . 69
Passenger Status Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Readiness Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Servicing Airbag-Equipped Vehicles . . . . . . 69
System Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Alarm Vehicle Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Alert Lane Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Rear Pedestrian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Side Blind Zone (SBZA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
All-Season Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
All-Terrain Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
AM-FM Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Antenna Multi-band . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Antilock Brake System (ABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240 Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Appearance Care Exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
Interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto . . . . . . . . . 186
Armrest Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Assistance Program, Roadside . . . . . . . . . . . . 402
Assistance Systems for Driving . . . . . . . . . . 267
GMC Yukon/Yukon XL/Denali Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Cana-
da/Mexico-13690468) - 2021 - crc - 8/14/20
420 Index
Child Restraints (cont'd)Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Cleaning Exterior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
Interior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
Climate Control Systems
Dual Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Cluster, Instrument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Collision Damage Repair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405
Compartments Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Connected Services Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416
Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417
Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415
Connections Connected Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416
Control Hill Descent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Traction and Electronic Stability . . . . . . . 242
Control Light Hill Descent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Control of a Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .214 Controls
Steering Wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Convenience Net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Convex Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Coolant Engine Temperature Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Engine Temperature Warning Light . . . . . 116
Cooling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204, 207
Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
Courtesy Transportation Program . . . . . . . . 404
Coverage Explanations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251 Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Cruise Control, Adaptive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Cupholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Customer Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401 Offices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401
Text Telephone (TTY) Users . . . . . . . . . . . . 401
Customer Information Publications Ordering Information . . . . . 406
Customer Satisfaction Procedure . . . . . . . . . 399
Cybersecurity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408
D
Damage Repair, Collision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405
Danger, Warning, and Caution . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Data Collection
Infotainment System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409 Data Collection (cont'd)
OnStar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409
Data Recorders, Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409
Database Coverage Explanations . . . . . . . . . 176
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Defensive Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .214
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Destination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Diagnostics Connected Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417
Distracted Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Dome Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Door Ajar Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Power Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Drive Belt Routing, Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398
Driver Teen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Driver Assistance Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Driver Information Center (DIC) . . . . . . . . . . 120
Driver Mode Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Driver Mode Control Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Driving Assistance Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Better Fuel Economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Characteristics and Towing Tips . . . . . . . . 280
GMC Yukon/Yukon XL/Denali Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Cana-
da/Mexico-13690468) - 2021 - crc - 8/14/20
Index 423
HVAC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204, 207
I
If the System Needs Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Ignition Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
IndicatorPedestrian Ahead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Vehicle Ahead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Infants and Young Children, Restraints . . . . .72
Information Publication Ordering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406
Infotainment System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409 Rear Seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Instrument Cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Instrument Panel Storage Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Instrument Panel Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Interior Rearview Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1, 142
J
Jump Starting - North America . . . . . . . . . . . 367
K
Keyless Entry Remote (RKE) System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
L
Labeling, Tire Sidewall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .341
Lamps
Daytime Running (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Dome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Exterior Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Exterior Lamps Off Reminder . . . . . . . . . . 136
Exterior Lighting Battery Saver . . . . . . . . . 141
Malfunction Indicator (CheckEngine) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
On Reminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Lane Change Alert (LCA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Lane Keep Assist (LKA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Lane Keep Assist Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Lap-Shoulder Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
LATCH System Replacing Parts after a Crash . . . . . . . . . . . 83
LATCH, Lower Anchors and Tethers for
Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
LED Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Liftgate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Lighting Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Exit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Illumination Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
LED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331 Lights
Airbag Readiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Antilock Brake System (ABS)
Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Brake System Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Charging System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Check Engine (Malfunction Indicator) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Door Ajar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Driver Mode Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Electric Parking Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Engine Coolant Temperature Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Engine Oil Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Four Corner Air Suspension . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Four-Wheel-Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Front Fog Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
High-Beam On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
High/Low Beam Changer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Hill Descent Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Lane Keep Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Low Fuel Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Seat Belt Reminders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119