tow GMC SIERRA 2005 Owner's Manual

Seats and Restraint Systems........................... 1-1
Front Seats
............................................... 1-3
Rear Seats
............................................... 1-9
Safety Belts
.............................................1-11
Child Restraints
.......................................1-33
Airbag System
.........................................1-66
Restraint System Check
............................1-82
Features and Controls..................................... 2-1
Keys
........................................................ 2-3
Doors and Locks
....................................... 2-8
Windows
.................................................2-16
Theft-Deterrent Systems
............................2-19
Starting and Operating Your Vehicle
...........2-21
Mirrors
....................................................2-55
OnStar
®System
......................................2-64
HomeLink®Transmitter
.............................2-66
Storage Areas
.........................................2-70
Sunroof
..................................................2-73
Vehicle Personalization
.............................2-74
Instrument Panel............................................. 3-1
Instrument Panel Overview
.......................... 3-4
Climate Controls
......................................3-21
Warning Lights, Gages, and Indicators
........3-31
Driver Information Center (DIC)
..................3-50
Audio System(s)
.......................................3-69Driving Your Vehicle....................................... 4-1
Your Driving, the Road, and Your Vehicle
........ 4-2
Towing
...................................................4-62
Service and Appearance Care.......................... 5-1
Service
..................................................... 5-4
Fuel
......................................................... 5-6
Checking Things Under the Hood
...............5-12
Rear Axle
...............................................5-58
Four-Wheel Drive
.....................................5-58
Front Axle
...............................................5-60
Noise Control System
...............................5-61
Bulb Replacement
....................................5-62
Windshield Wiper Blade Replacement
.........5-72
Tires
......................................................5-72
Appearance Care
...................................5-112
Vehicle Identication
...............................5-120
Electrical System
....................................5-121
Capacities and Specications
...................5-130
Maintenance Schedule..................................... 6-1
Maintenance Schedule
................................ 6-2
Customer Assistance and Information.............. 7-1
Customer Assistance and Information
........... 7-2
Reporting Safety Defects
...........................7-10
Index................................................................ 1
2005 GMC Sierra Owner ManualM

Power SeatsIf your vehicle has a power seat, you can adjust
it with these controls located on the outboard sides
of the seats.
Raise or lower the front of the seat cushion by
raising or lowering the forward edge of the
horizontal control.
Move the seat forward or rearward by moving the
whole horizontal control forward or rearward.
Raise or lower the rear of the seat cushion by
raising or lowering the rear edge of the horizontal
control.
Moving the whole horizontal control up or down
raises or lowers the entire seat cushion.
If your vehicle has power reclining seats, you can use
the vertical control to adjust the angle of the seatback.
Move the reclining front seatback rearward or forward
by moving the control toward the rear or the front of the
vehicle. SeeReclining Seatbacks on page 1-6.
1-4

{CAUTION:
Never do this.
Here two children are wearing the same belt.
The belt can not properly spread the impact
forces. In a crash, the two children can be
crushed together and seriously injured. A belt
must be used by only one person at a time.
Q:What if a child is wearing a lap-shoulder belt,
but the child is so small that the shoulder belt
is very close to the child’s face or neck?
A:If the child is sitting in a rear outside seat position,
move the child toward the center of the vehicle. See
Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for Children and
Small Adults on page 1-30. If the child is sitting in the
center rear seat position of a crew cab, move the
child toward the safety belt buckle. In either case be
sure that the shoulder belt still is on the child’s
shoulder, so that in a crash the child’s upper body
would have the restraint that belts provide.
If the child is so small that the shoulder belt is still
very close to the child’s face or neck, you might
want to place the child a seat that has a lap belt, if
your vehicle has one.
1-34

Child Restraint Systems
An infant car bed (A), a special bed made for use in a
motor vehicle, is an infant restraint system designed
to restrain or position a child on a continuous at
surface. Make sure that the infant’s head rests toward
the center of the vehicle.A rear-facing infant seat (B) provides restraint with the
seating surface against the back of the infant. The
harness system holds the infant in place and, in a crash,
acts to keep the infant positioned in the restraint.
1-39

Single Stage Airbags
If your vehicle has frontal airbags with single stage
deployment and your vehicle goes straight into a wall
that does not move or deform, the threshold level
is about 13 to 16 mph (20 to 25 km/h). (The threshold
level can vary, however, with specic vehicle design, so
that it can be somewhat above or below this range.)
What Makes an Airbag Inate?
In an impact of sufficient severity, the airbag sensing
system detects that the vehicle is in a crash. The sensing
system triggers a release of gas from the inator, which
inates the airbag. The inator, airbag, and related
hardware are all part of the airbag modules inside the
steering wheel and in the instrument panel in front of the
right front passenger.
How Does an Airbag Restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions,
even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel or
the instrument panel. Airbags supplement the protection
provided by safety belts. Airbags distribute the force of
the impact more evenly over the occupant’s upper body,
stopping the occupant more gradually. But airbags would
not help you in many types of collisions, including
rollovers, rear impacts and many side impacts, primarily
because an occupant’s motion is not toward those
airbags. Airbags should never be regarded as anything
more than a supplement to safety belts, and then only in
moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions.
1-71

Aftermarket equipment, such as seat covers, can affect
how well the passenger sensing system operates.
You may want to consider not using seat covers or other
aftermarket equipment if your vehicle has the passenger
sensing system. SeeAdding Equipment to Your
Airbag-Equipped Vehicle on page 1-81for more
information about modications that can affect how the
system operates.
{CAUTION:
Stowing of articles under the passenger’s seat
or between the passenger’s seat cushion and
seatback may interfere with the proper
operation of the passenger sensing system.
Servicing Your Airbag-Equipped
Vehicle
Airbags affect how your vehicle should be serviced.
There are parts of the airbag system in several places
around your vehicle. You do not want the system to
inate while someone is working on your vehicle. Your
dealer and the service manual have information
about servicing your vehicle and the airbag system. To
purchase a service manual, seeService Publications
Ordering Information on page 7-11.
{CAUTION:
For up to 10 seconds after the ignition key is
turned off and the battery is disconnected, an
airbag can still inate during improper service.
You can be injured if you are close to an
airbag when it inates. Avoid yellow
connectors. They are probably part of the
airbag system. Be sure to follow proper
service procedures, and make sure the person
performing work for you is qualied to do so.
The airbag system does not need regular maintenance.
1-80

Keys...............................................................2-3
Remote Keyless Entry System.........................2-4
Remote Keyless Entry System Operation...........2-5
Doors and Locks.............................................2-8
Door Locks....................................................2-8
Power Door Locks..........................................2-9
Delayed Locking...........................................2-10
Programmable Automatic Door Locks..............2-10
Rear Door Security Locks (Crew Cab).............2-13
Lockout Protection........................................2-13
Rear Doors..................................................2-14
Tailgate.......................................................2-15
Windows........................................................2-16
Manual Windows..........................................2-16
Power Windows............................................2-17
Swing-Out Windows......................................2-18
Sliding Rear Window.....................................2-18
Sun Visors...................................................2-18
Theft-Deterrent Systems..................................2-19
Content Theft-Deterrent.................................2-19
Passlock
®....................................................2-21
Starting and Operating Your Vehicle................2-21
New Vehicle Break-In....................................2-21
Ignition Positions..........................................2-22
Retained Accessory Power (RAP)...................2-23Starting Your Engine.....................................2-23
Engine Coolant Heater..................................2-25
Automatic Transmission Operation...................2-26
Tow/Haul Mode............................................2-29
Manual Transmission Operation......................2-32
Four-Wheel Drive..........................................2-37
Parking Brake..............................................2-48
Shifting Into Park (P)
(Automatic Transmission)............................2-49
Shifting Out of Park (P)
(Automatic Transmission)............................2-51
Parking Your Vehicle
(Manual Transmission)...............................2-52
Parking Over Things That Burn.......................2-52
Engine Exhaust............................................2-53
Running Your Engine While You Are Parked.......2-54
Mirrors...........................................................2-55
Manual Rearview Mirror.................................2-55
Automatic Dimming Rearview Mirror
with OnStar
®, Compass and
Temperature Display..................................2-55
Automatic Dimming Rearview Mirror with
Compass and Temperature Display..............2-58
Outside Manual Mirrors..................................2-60
Outside Camper-Type Mirrors.........................2-61
Outside West Coast-Type Mirrors....................2-61
Section 2 Features and Controls
2-1

The following instructions tell you how to change the
automatic door lock mode (automatic transmission only).
Choose one of the two programming options listed
above before entering the program mode. To enter the
program mode, do the following:
1. Begin with the ignition off. Then pull the turn
signal/multifunction lever toward you and hold
it there while you perform the next step.
2. Turn the key to RUN then back to LOCK twice.
Then, with the key in LOCK, release the turn
signal/multifunction lever. Once you do this, the
doors will lock and unlock, the horn will chirp twice,
and a 30-second timer will begin. You are now
ready to program the automatic door lock feature.
3. Press the door lock switch once. You will hear either
one or two chimes. The number of chimes tells you
which lock mode is currently selected. Continue
to press the door lock switch until the number
of chimes that you hear matches the number of the
mode that you want. If you take longer than
30 seconds, the locks will automatically lock and
unlock and the horn will chirp twice to indicate that
you have left the program mode. If this occurs,
you can repeat the procedure beginning with Step 1
to re-enter the programming mode.You can exit the program mode any time by turning the
ignition to RUN (the doors will automatically lock and
unlock and the horn will chirp twice to indicate that you
are leaving the program mode). If the lock/unlock
switches are not pressed while in the programming
mode, the current automatic settings will not be
modied.
See your dealer for more information.
Programmable Unlocking Feature
The following is the list of available programming
options:
Mode 1:Driver’s door unlocks when the transmission is
shifted into PARK (P), for automatic transmission
vehicles only.
Mode 2:All doors unlock when the transmission is
shifted into PARK (P), for automatic transmission
vehicles only. This is the mode that is pre-programmed
in the factory for your vehicle.
Mode 3:All doors unlock when the key is removed
from the ignition. This is the mode that is
pre-programmed in the factory for manual transmission
vehicles.
Mode 4:No automatic door unlock.
2-11

The following instructions tell you how to change the
automatic door unlock mode (automatic transmission
only). Choose one of the four programming options
listed above before entering the program mode. To enter
the program mode, do the following:
1. Begin with the ignition off. Then pull the turn
signal/multifunction lever toward you and hold
it there while you perform the next step.
2. Turn the key to RUN and LOCK twice. Then, with
the key in LOCK, release the turn
signal/multifunction lever. Once you do this, the
doors will lock and unlock, the horn will chirp twice,
and a 30-second timer will begin. You are now
ready to program the automatic door unlock feature.3. Press the door unlock switch once. You will hear
one, two, three, or four chimes. The number of
chimes tells you which unlock mode is currently
selected. Continue to press the door unlock switch
until the number of chimes that you hear matches the
number of the mode that you want. If you take longer
than 30 seconds, the locks will automatically lock
and unlock and the horn will chirp twice to indicate
that you have left the program mode. If this occurs,
you can repeat the procedure beginning with Step 1
to re-enter the programming mode.
You can exit the program mode any time by turning the
ignition to RUN. The doors will automatically lock and
unlock and the horn will chirp twice to indicate that you
are leaving the program mode. If the lock/unlock switches
are not pressed while in the programming mode, the
current automatic settings will not be modied.
See your dealer for more information.
2-12

Tailgate
You can open the tailgate by lifting up on its handle while
pulling the tailgate toward you.
To shut the tailgate, rmly push it upward until it latches.
After you put the tailgate back up, pull it back towards
you to be sure it latches securely.
Tailgate Removal
The tailgate on your vehicle can be removed to allow for
different loading situations. Although the tailgate can be
removed without assistance, you may want someone to
assist you with the removal to avoid possible damage to
the vehicle.
To remove the tailgate, do the following:
1. Raise the tailgate
slightly and release
both retaining cable
clips. To release the
retaining cable clips, lift
the cable so it points
straight out and push
the cable clip forward.2. With the tailgate at a
slight upward angle,
pull back on the tailgate
at the right edge and
then move the tailgate
to the right to release
the left edge.
Reverse the above procedure to reinstall. Make sure the
tailgate is secure.
2-15