tow GMC SIERRA DENALI 2005 Owners Manual

Seats and Restraint Systems........................... 1-1
Front Seats
............................................... 1-2
Rear Seats
............................................... 1-6
Safety Belts
.............................................. 1-8
Child Restraints
.......................................1-27
Airbag System
.........................................1-48
Restraint System Check
............................1-61
Features and Controls..................................... 2-1
Keys
........................................................ 2-2
Doors and Locks
....................................... 2-7
Windows
.................................................2-12
Theft-Deterrent Systems
............................2-14
Starting and Operating Your Vehicle
...........2-16
Mirrors
....................................................2-29
OnStar
®System
......................................2-34
HomeLink®Transmitter
.............................2-36
Storage Areas
.........................................2-41
Sunroof
..................................................2-43
Vehicle Personalization
.............................2-44
Instrument Panel............................................. 3-1
Instrument Panel Overview
.......................... 3-4
Climate Controls
......................................3-20
Warning Lights, Gages, and Indicators
........3-26
Driver Information Center (DIC)
..................3-42Audio System(s)
.......................................3-60
Driving Your Vehicle....................................... 4-1
Your Driving, the Road, and Your Vehicle
..... 4-2
Towing
...................................................4-51
Service and Appearance Care.......................... 5-1
Service
..................................................... 5-3
Fuel
......................................................... 5-5
Checking Things Under the Hood
...............5-10
All-Wheel Drive
........................................5-46
Rear Axle
...............................................5-47
Front Axle
...............................................5-48
Bulb Replacement
....................................5-49
Windshield Wiper Blade Replacement
.........5-55
Tires
......................................................5-56
Appearance Care
.....................................5-92
Vehicle Identication
...............................5-101
Electrical System
....................................5-102
Capacities and Specications
...................5-112
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 Denali Owner ManualM

Front Seats
Power Seats
Horizontal Control:You can adjust your vehicle’s front
seats with the horizontal control located on the
outboard edge of each front seat.
Raise or lower the front of the seat by raising or
lowering the forward edge of the control. Raise or lower
the rear of the seat by raising or lowering the rear
edge of the control.
Move the seat forward or rearward by moving the whole
control toward the front or toward the rear of the vehicle.
Moving the whole control up or down raises or lowers the
entire seat cushion.
Vertical Control:SeeReclining Seatbacks on
page 1-4.
1-2

The low setting warms the seatback and cushion until
the seat temperature is near body temperature. The
medium and high settings heat the seatback and seat
cushion to a slightly higher temperature. You will be able
to feel heat in about two minutes.
To heat only the seatback, press the vertical button with
the heated seatback symbol. An indicator light on the
seatback button will be lit to designate that only the
seatback is being heated. Additional presses of
the seatback button will cycle through the heat levels for
the seatback only. Press the horizontal button again
to heat the whole seat.
The heated front seats will shut off automatically when
the ignition is turned off.Reclining Seatbacks
Your vehicles front seatbacks have a recline feature.
Vertical Control:You can use the vertical control to
adjust the angle of the seatback. Move the reclining front
seatback rearward or forward by moving the vertical
control toward the rear or toward the front of the vehicle.
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:Move the child toward the center of the vehicle, but
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 the belts provide.
If the child is sitting in a rear seat outside position,
seeRear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for Children
and Small Adults on page 1-24.
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 in a seat that has a lap belt,
if your vehicle has one.
1-28

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.
1-33

In any particular crash, no one can say whether an
airbag should have inated simply because of the
damage to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs
were. Ination is determined by the angle of the
impact and how quickly the vehicle slows down in frontal
or near-frontal impacts.
The airbag system is designed to work properly under a
wide range of conditions, including off-road usage.
Observe safe driving speeds, especially on rough
terrain. As always, wear your safety belt. SeeOperating
Your All-Wheel-Drive Vehicle Off Paved Roads on
page 4-13for more tips on off-road driving.
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.
1-53

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 1-60for 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.
1-59

Keys...............................................................2-2
Remote Keyless Entry System.........................2-3
Remote Keyless Entry System Operation...........2-4
Doors and Locks.............................................2-7
Door Locks....................................................2-7
Power Door Locks..........................................2-8
Delayed Locking.............................................2-8
Programmable Automatic Door Locks................2-9
Tailgate.......................................................2-11
Windows........................................................2-12
Power Windows............................................2-13
Sliding Rear Window.....................................2-14
Sun Visors...................................................2-14
Theft-Deterrent Systems..................................2-14
Content Theft-Deterrent.................................2-14
Passlock
®....................................................2-16
Starting and Operating Your Vehicle................2-16
New Vehicle Break-In....................................2-16
Ignition Positions..........................................2-17
Retained Accessory Power (RAP)...................2-17
Starting Your Engine.....................................2-18
Engine Coolant Heater..................................2-19
Automatic Transmission Operation...................2-20
Tow/Haul Mode............................................2-23
All-Wheel Drive............................................2-23
Parking Brake..............................................2-24Shifting Into Park (P).....................................2-25
Shifting Out of Park (P).................................2-26
Parking Over Things That Burn.......................2-27
Engine Exhaust............................................2-27
Running Your Engine While You Are Parked. . . .2-28
Mirrors...........................................................2-29
Automatic Dimming Rearview Mirror with
OnStar
®, Compass and Temperature
Display....................................................2-29
Outside Power Mirrors...................................2-32
Outside Power Foldaway Mirrors.....................2-32
Outside Automatic Dimming Mirror..................2-33
Outside Curb View Assist Mirrors....................2-33
Outside Convex Mirror...................................2-34
Outside Heated Mirrors..................................2-34
OnStar
®System.............................................2-34
HomeLink®Transmitter...................................2-36
Programming the HomeLink®Transmitter.........2-37
Storage Areas................................................2-41
Glove Box...................................................2-41
Cupholder(s)................................................2-41
Center Console Storage Area.........................2-41
Tonneau Cover............................................2-41
Sunroof.........................................................2-43
Vehicle Personalization...................................2-44
Memory Seat...............................................2-44
Section 2 Features and Controls
2-1

Programmable Automatic Door
Locks
Your vehicle is equipped with an automatic lock/unlock
feature which enables you to program your vehicle’s
power door locks. You can program this feature through
the Driver Information Center (DIC), or by the following
method. SeeDIC Vehicle Customization on page 3-54
for more information on DIC programming.
Programmable Locking Feature
The following two modes are available programming
options:
Mode 1:All doors lock when the transmission is shifted
out of PARK (P).
Mode 2:All doors lock when the vehicle speed is
greater than 8 mph (13 km/h).
The following instructions tell you how to change
the automatic door lock mode. 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 lock side of the power 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.
2-9

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).
Mode 2:All doors unlock when the transmission is
shifted into PARK (P).
Mode 3:All doors unlock when the key is removed
from the ignition.
Mode 4:No automatic door unlock.
The following instructions tell you how to change the
automatic door unlock mode. 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 unlock side of the power lock
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.
2-10