climate control GMC SIERRA DENALI 2016 Owner's Manual
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Driving and Operating 175
Warning (Continued)
If the vehicle is stuck in snow:. Clear snow from the base of
the vehicle, especially any
blocking the exhaust pipe.
. Open a window about 5 cm
(2 in) on the vehicle side
that is away from the wind,
to bring in fresh air.
. Fully open the air outlets on
or under the instrument
panel.
. Adjust the climate control
system to circulate the air
inside the vehicle and set
the fan speed to the highest
setting. See “Climate
Control Systems.”
For more information about CO,
see Engine Exhaust 0192. To save fuel, run the engine for
short periods to warm the vehicle
and then shut the engine off and
partially close the window. Moving
about to keep warm also helps.
If it takes time for help to arrive,
when running the engine, push the
accelerator pedal slightly so the
engine runs faster than the idle
speed. This keeps the battery
charged to restart the vehicle and to
signal for help with the headlamps.
Do this as little as possible, to
save fuel.
If the Vehicle Is Stuck
Slowly and cautiously spin the
wheels to free the vehicle when
stuck in sand, mud, ice, or snow.
See
“Rocking the Vehicle to Get It
Out” later in this section.
The Traction Control System (TCS)
can often help to free a stuck
vehicle. See Traction Control/
Electronic Stability Control 0208.
If TCS cannot free the vehicle, see
“Rocking the Vehicle to Get it Out”
following.
{Warning
If the vehicle's tires spin at high
speed, they can explode, and you
or others could be injured. The
vehicle can overheat, causing an
engine compartment fire or other
damage. Spin the wheels as little
as possible and avoid going
above 56 km/h (35 mph).
For information about using tire
chains on the vehicle, see Tire
Chains 0314.
Rocking the Vehicle to Get
It Out
Turn the steering wheel left and
right to clear the area around the
front wheels. For four-wheel-drive
vehicles, shift into Four-Wheel Drive
High. Turn the TCS off. Shift back
and forth between R (Reverse) and
a forward gear, spinning the wheels
as little as possible. To prevent
transmission wear, wait until the
wheels stop spinning before shifting
gears. Slowly spinning the wheels in
the forward and reverse directions
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184 Driving and Operating
Starting and
Operating
New Vehicle Break-In
Caution
The vehicle does not need an
elaborate break-in. But it will
perform better in the long run if
you follow these guidelines:. Keep the vehicle speed at
88 km/h (55 mph) or less for
the first 805 km (500 mi).
. Do not drive at any one
constant speed, fast or slow,
for the first 805 km (500 mi).
Do not make full-throttle
starts. Avoid downshifting to
brake or slow the vehicle.
. Avoid making hard stops for
the first 322 km (200 mi) or
so. During this time the new
brake linings are not yet
broken in. Hard stops with
new linings can mean
(Continued)
Caution (Continued)
premature wear and earlier
replacement. Follow this
breaking-in guideline every
time you get new brake
linings.
. Do not tow a trailer during
break-in. See Trailer Towing
0 231 for the trailer towing
capabilities of the vehicle
and more information.
Following break-in, engine speed
and load can be gradually
increased.
Adjustable Throttle and
Brake Pedal
If equipped, the position of the
throttle and brake pedals can be
changed.
The pedals can only be adjusted
when the vehicle is in P (Park).
The switch used to adjust the
pedals is on the center stack, below
the climate controls.
Lift the switch up to move the
pedals closer to your body. Press
the switch down to move the
pedals away.
Before you start driving, fully press
the brake pedal to confirm the
adjustment is right for you.
The vehicle may have a memory
function, which lets pedal settings
be saved and recalled. See Memory
Seats 051.
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210 Driving and Operating
Caution
Do not repeatedly brake or
accelerate heavily when TCS is
off. The vehicle driveline could be
damaged.
To turn off only TCS, press and
release the
gbutton. The traction
off light
idisplays in the instrument
cluster. The appropriate message
will display in the DIC. See Ride
Control System Messages 0130. To
turn TCS on again, press and
release the
gbutton. The traction
off light
idisplayed in the
instrument cluster will turn off.
If TCS is limiting wheel spin when
the
gbutton is pressed, the system
will not turn off until the wheels stop
spinning.
To turn off both TCS and StabiliTrak,
press and hold the
gbutton until
the traction off light
iand the
StabiliTrak OFF light
gcome on
and stay on in the instrument cluster, then release. The
appropriate message will display in
the DIC. See
Ride Control System
Messages 0130.
To turn TCS and StabiliTrak on
again, press and release the
g
button. The traction off lightiand
the StabiliTrak OFF light
gin the
instrument cluster turn off.
StabiliTrak will automatically turn on
if the vehicle exceeds 56 km/h
(35 mph). Traction control will
remain off.
The vehicle has a Trailer Sway
Control (TSC) feature and a Hill
Start Assist (HSA) feature. See
Trailer Sway Control (TSC) 0246 or
Hill Start Assist (HSA) 0208.
Adding accessories can affect the
vehicle performance. See
Accessories and Modifications
0 252.
Hill Descent
Control (HDC)
If equipped, HDC can be used when
driving downhill. It sets and
maintains vehicle speed while
descending a very steep incline in a
forward or reverse gear.
The HDC switch is on the center
stack, below the climate controls.
Press
5to enable or disable HDC.
Vehicle speed must be below
50 km/h (31 mph).
The HDC light displays on the
instrument cluster when enabled.
HDC can maintain vehicle speeds
between 3 and 22 km/h (2 and
14 mph) on an incline greater than
or equal to a 10% grade. A blinking
HDC light indicates the system is
actively applying the brakes to
maintain vehicle speed.
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Driving and Operating 229
Warning (Continued)
.Do not drive with the
liftgate, trunk/hatch,
or rear-most window open.
. Fully open the air outlets on
or under the instrument
panel.
. Also adjust the climate
control system to a setting
that brings in only outside
air. See “Climate Control
Systems” in the Index.
For more information about
Carbon Monoxide, see Engine
Exhaust 0192.
Towing a trailer requires a certain
amount of experience. The
combination you are driving is
longer and not as responsive as the
vehicle itself. Get acquainted with
the handling and braking of the rig
before setting out for the open road.
Before starting, check all trailer hitch
parts and attachments, safety
chains, electrical connectors, lamps,
tires, and mirrors. If the trailer has electric brakes, start the
combination moving and then apply
the trailer brake controller by hand
to be sure the brakes work.
During the trip, check occasionally
to be sure that the load is secure
and the lamps and any trailer
brakes still work.
Following Distance
Stay at least twice as far behind the
vehicle ahead as you would when
driving the vehicle without a trailer.
This can help to avoid heavy
braking and sudden turns.
Passing
More passing distance is needed
when towing a trailer. The
combination will not accelerate as
quickly and is longer so it is
necessary to go much farther
beyond the passed vehicle before
returning to the lane.
Backing Up
Hold the bottom of the steering
wheel with one hand. To move the
trailer to the left, move that hand to
the left. To move the trailer to the
right, move your hand to the right.
Always back up slowly and,
if possible, have someone
guide you.
Making Turns
Caution
Making very sharp turns while
trailering could cause the trailer to
come in contact with the vehicle.
The vehicle could be damaged.
Avoid making very sharp turns
while trailering.
When turning with a trailer, make
wider turns than normal. Do this so
the trailer will not strike soft
shoulders, curbs, road signs, trees,
or other objects. Avoid jerky or
sudden maneuvers. Signal well in
advance.
If the trailer turn signal bulbs burn
out, the arrows on the instrument
cluster will still flash for turns. It is
important to check occasionally to
be sure the trailer bulbs are still
working.
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312 Vehicle Care
Warning (Continued)
developed for the vehicle, and
have them properly installed by a
GM certified technician.
See Buying New Tires 0310 and
Accessories and Modifications
0 252.
Uniform Tire Quality
Grading
The following information relates
to the system developed by the
United States National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA), which grades tires by
treadwear, traction, and
temperature performance. This
applies only to vehicles sold in
the United States. The grades
are molded on the sidewalls of
most passenger car tires. The
Uniform Tire Quality Grading
(UTQG) system does not apply
to deep tread, winter tires,
compact spare tires, tires with nominal rim diameters of
10 to 12 inches (25 to 30 cm),
or to some limited-production
tires.
While the tires available on
General Motors passenger cars
and light trucks may vary with
respect to these grades, they
must also conform to federal
safety requirements and
additional General Motors Tire
Performance Criteria (TPC)
standards.
Quality grades can be found
where applicable on the tire
sidewall between tread shoulder
and maximum section width. For
example:
Treadwear 200 Traction AA
Temperature A
All Passenger Car Tires Must
Conform to Federal Safety
Requirements In Addition To
These Grades.
Treadwear
The treadwear grade is a
comparative rating based on the
wear rate of the tire when tested
under controlled conditions on a
specified government test
course. For example, a tire
graded 150 would wear one and
one-half (1½) times as well on
the government course as a tire
graded 100. The relative
performance of tires depends
upon the actual conditions of
their use, however, and may
depart significantly from the
norm due to variations in driving
habits, service practices and
differences in road
characteristics and climate.
Traction
The traction grades, from
highest to lowest, are AA, A, B,
and C. Those grades represent
the tire's ability to stop on wet
pavement as measured under
controlled conditions on
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Index 389
Check (cont'd)Malfunction Indicator
Engine Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115
Child Restraints
Infants and Young Children . . . . . 75
Lower Anchors and Tethersfor Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Older Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Securing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87, 89
Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Cleaning Exterior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
Interior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
Climate Control Systems
Dual Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Cluster, Instrument . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Collision Damage Repair . . . . . . . 370
Compartments Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Connections
OnStar
®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210 Traction and ElectronicStability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208 Control Light
Hill Descent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118
Control of a Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Convex Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Coolant Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Engine Temperature Gauge . . .110
Engine TemperatureWarning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266 Engine Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Courtesy Transportation Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211 Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Cupholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Customer Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . 365
Offices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
Text Telephone (TTY)Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
Customer Information
Service PublicationsOrdering Information . . . . . . . . 372
Customer Satisfaction Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
D
Damage Repair, Collision . . . . . . . 370
Danger, Warning, and Caution . . . . 3
Data Recorders, Event . . . . . . . . . 375
Daytime Running
Lamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Defensive Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Diagnostics OnStar
®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
Distracted Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Dome Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Door Ajar Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Ajar Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Power Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Drive Belt Routing, Engine . . . . . . 362
Driver Assistance Systems . . . . . 214
Driver Information
Center (DIC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Driving Assistance Systems . . . . . . . . . . 218
Characteristics and
Towing Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Defensive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Drunk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
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390 Index
Driving (cont'd)For Better Fuel Economy . . . . . . . 24
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . . 173
If the Vehicle is Stuck . . . . . . . . . 175
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Off-Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Vehicle Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Wet Roads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Winter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Dual Automatic Climate Control System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
E
E85 or FlexFuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Electrical Equipment,Add-On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Electrical System Engine Compartment Fuse
Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Instrument Panel Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288, 290
Overload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Emergency OnStar
®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
Engine Air Cleaner/Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265 Engine (cont'd)
Check and Service Engine
Soon Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115
Compartment Overview . . . . . . . 255
Coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Coolant Temperature
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110
Coolant Temperature Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Cooling System Messages . . . 128
Drive Belt Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . 362
Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Oil Life System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Oil Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Oil Pressure Gauge . . . . . . . . . . 109
Oil Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Overheated Protection Operating Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Overheating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Power Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Running While Parked . . . . . . . . 193
Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Entry Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Equipment, Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Event Data Recorders . . . . . . . . . . 375 Exit Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Extender, Safety Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Exterior Lamp Controls . . . . . . . . . 146
Exterior Lamps Off Reminder . . . 148
F
Fan
Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Fast Idle System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Features Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Filter,
Engine Air Cleaner . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Flashers, Hazard Warning . . . . . . 150
Flat Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315 Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
FlexFuel E85 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Floor Console Storage . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Floor Mats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
Fluid AutomaticTransmission . . . . . . . . . . . 261, 264
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Four-Wheel Drive Transfer Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Power Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
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