engine GMC SAVANA 2013 Owner's Guide

Black plate (17,1)GMC Savana Owner Manual - 2013 - 2nd Edition - 9/25/12
Instruments and Controls 5-17
as a system check. If you are using
remote start, if equipped, to start the
vehicle from a distance, you may
not see the system check. Then,
after several more seconds, the
status indicator will light either ON
or OFF, or either the on or off
symbol to let you know the status of
the right front passenger frontal
airbag.
If the word ON or the on symbol is
lit on the passenger airbag status
indicator, it means that the right
front passenger frontal airbag is
enabled, and may inflate.
If the word OFF or the off symbol is
lit on the airbag status indicator, it
means that the passenger sensing
system has turned off the right front
passenger frontal airbag.
If, after several seconds, both status
indicator lights remain on, or if there
are no lights at all, there may be a
problem with the lights or the
passenger sensing system. See
your dealer for service.{WARNING
If the airbag readiness light ever
comes on and stays on, it means
that something may be wrong
with the airbag system. To help
avoid injury to yourself or others,
have the vehicle serviced right
away. SeeAirbag Readiness
Light on page 5‑14 for more
information, including important
safety information.
Charging System Light
This light comes on briefly when the
ignition key is turned to START, but
the engine is not running, as a
check to show it is working. If it does not, have the vehicle
serviced by your dealer.
The light should go out once the
engine starts. If it stays on,
or comes on while driving, there
could be a problem with the
charging system. A charging system
message in the Driver Information
Center (DIC) can also appear. See
Battery Voltage and Charging
Messages on page 5‑30
for more
information. This light could indicate
that there are problems with a
generator drive belt, or that there is
an electrical problem. Have it
checked right away. If the vehicle
must be driven a short distance with
the light on, turn off accessories,
such as the radio and air
conditioner.
Malfunction
Indicator Lamp
A computer system called OBD II
(On-Board Diagnostics-Second
Generation) monitors the operation
of the vehicle to ensure emissions

Black plate (18,1)GMC Savana Owner Manual - 2013 - 2nd Edition - 9/25/12
5-18 Instruments and Controls
are at acceptable levels, helping to
maintain a clean environment. The
malfunction indicator lamp comes
on when the vehicle is placed in
ON/RUN, as a check to show it is
working. If it does not, have the
vehicle serviced by your dealer. See
Ignition Positions on page 9‑15.
If the malfunction indicator lamp
comes on while the engine is
running, this indicates that the
OBD II system has detected a
problem and diagnosis and service
might be required.
Malfunctions often are indicated by
the system before any problem is
apparent. Being aware of the light
can prevent more serious damage
to the vehicle. This system alsoassists the service technician in
correctly diagnosing any
malfunction.
Notice:
If the vehicle is
continually driven with this light
on, the emission controls might
not work as well, the vehicle fuel
economy might not be as good,
and the engine might not run as
smoothly. This could lead to
costly repairs that might not be
covered by the vehicle warranty.
Notice: Modifications made to the
engine, transmission, exhaust,
intake, or fuel system of the
vehicle or the replacement of the
original tires with other than
those of the same Tire
Performance Criteria (TPC) can
affect the vehicle's emission
controls and can cause this light
to come on. Modifications to
these systems could lead to
costly repairs not covered by the
vehicle warranty. This could also
result in a failure to pass a
required Emission Inspection/ Maintenance test. See
Accessories and Modifications on
page 10‑3.
This light comes on during a
malfunction in one of two ways:
Light Flashing:
A misfire condition
has been detected. A misfire
increases vehicle emissions and
could damage the emission control
system on the vehicle. Diagnosis
and service might be required.
To prevent more serious damage to
the vehicle:.Reduce vehicle speed.
.Avoid hard accelerations.
.Avoid steep uphill grades.
.If towing a trailer, reduce the
amount of cargo being hauled as
soon as it is possible.
If the light continues to flash, find a
safe place to stop and park the
vehicle. Turn the vehicle off, wait at
least 10 seconds, and restart the
engine. If the light is still flashing,

Black plate (19,1)GMC Savana Owner Manual - 2013 - 2nd Edition - 9/25/12
Instruments and Controls 5-19
follow the previous steps and see
your dealer for service as soon as
possible.
Light On Steady:An emission
control system malfunction has
been detected on the vehicle.
Diagnosis and service might be
required.
The following may correct an
emission control system
malfunction:
.Check that the fuel cap is fully
installed. See Filling the Tank on
page 9‑45. The diagnostic
system can determine if the fuel
cap has been left off or
improperly installed. A loose or
missing fuel cap allows fuel to
evaporate into the atmosphere.
A few driving trips with the cap
properly installed should turn the
light off.
.Check that good quality fuel is
used. Poor fuel quality causes
the engine not to run as
efficiently as designed and may
cause stalling after start-up, stalling when the vehicle is
changed into gear, misfiring,
hesitation on acceleration,
or stumbling on acceleration.
These conditions might go away
once the engine is warmed up.
If one or more of these conditions
occurs, change the fuel brand used.
It may require at least one full tank
of the proper fuel to turn the light off.
See Recommended Fuel on
page 9‑42.
If none of the above have made the
light turn off, your dealer can check
the vehicle. The dealer has the
proper test equipment and
diagnostic tools to fix any
mechanical or electrical problems
that might have developed.
Emissions Inspection and
Maintenance Programs
Depending on where you live, your
vehicle may be required to
participate in an emission control
system inspection and maintenance
program. For the inspection, the emission system test equipment will
likely connect to the vehicle's Data
Link Connector (DLC).
The DLC is under the instrument
panel to the left of the steering
wheel. See your dealer if assistance
is needed.
The vehicle may not pass
inspection if:
.The malfunction indicator lamp is
on with the engine running, or if
the light does not come on when
the ignition is turned to ON/RUN
while the engine is off. See your
dealer for assistance in verifying
proper operation of the
malfunction indicator lamp.
.The OBD II (On-Board
Diagnostics) system determines
that critical emission control

Black plate (21,1)GMC Savana Owner Manual - 2013 - 2nd Edition - 9/25/12
Instruments and Controls 5-21
Antilock Brake System
(ABS) Warning Light
For vehicles with the Antilock Brake
System (ABS), this light comes on
briefly when the engine is started.
If it does not, have the vehicle
serviced by your dealer. If the
system is working normally the
indicator light then goes off.
If the ABS light stays on, turn the
ignition off. If the light comes on
while driving, stop as soon as it is
safely possible and turn the ignition
off. Then start the engine again to
reset the system. If the ABS light
stays on, or comes on again while
driving, the vehicle needs service.
If the regular brake system warning
light is not on, the vehicle still has
brakes, but not antilock brakes.If the regular brake system warning
light is also on, the vehicle does not
have antilock brakes and there is a
problem with the regular brakes.
See
Brake System Warning Light on
page 5‑20.
Tow/Haul Mode Light
For vehicles with the Tow/Haul
Mode feature, this light comes on
when the Tow/Haul Mode has been
activated.
See Tow/Haul Mode on page 9‑29.
StabiliTrak®OFF Light
This light comes on briefly while
starting the engine.
If it does not, have the vehicle
serviced by your dealer. If the
system is working normally, the
indicator light then goes off.
Press and release the Traction
Control System (TCS)/StabiliTrak
button to turn off TCS, and a
message displays in the DIC.
Press and briefly hold the TCS/
StabiliTrak button to turn off the
StabiliTrak system; the StabiliTrak
Off light comes on and a message
appears in the Driver Information
Center (DIC).

Black plate (22,1)GMC Savana Owner Manual - 2013 - 2nd Edition - 9/25/12
5-22 Instruments and Controls
If the StabiliTrak/TCS system is off,
the system does not assist in
controlling the vehicle. Turn on the
StabiliTrak/TCS system and the
indicator light turns off.
SeeStabiliTrak
®System on
page 9‑32, and Ride Control System
Messages on page 5‑34 for more
information.
Traction Control System
(TCS)/StabiliTrak®Light
The Traction Control System (TCS)/
StabiliTrak light comes on briefly
when the engine is started.
If the light does not come on or
stays on, have the vehicle serviced
by your dealer. If the system is
working normally, the indicator light
turns off. If the light comes on and stays on
while driving, and a message
displays in the Driver Information
Center (DIC), have the vehicle
serviced by your dealer. See
Ride
Control System Messages on
page 5‑34 for more information.
If the light flashes while driving, this
means that the StabiliTrak or the
TCS is assisting in controlling the
vehicle. See StabiliTrak
®System on
page 9‑32 for more information.
Four chimes sound if the light
turns on.
Tire Pressure Light
For vehicles with the Tire Pressure
Monitor System (TPMS), this light
comes on briefly when the engine is
started. It provides information
about tire pressures and the TPMS.
When the Light Is On Steady
This indicates that one or more of
the tires are significantly
underinflated.
A Driver Information Center (DIC)
tire pressure message may also
display. See Tire Messages on
page 5‑36. Stop as soon as
possible, and inflate the tires to the
pressure value shown on the Tire
and Loading Information label. See
Tire Pressure on page 10‑52.
When the Light Flashes First and
Then Is On Steady
If the light flashes for about a minute
and then stays on, there may be a
problem with the TPMS. If the
problem is not corrected, the light
will come on at every ignition cycle.
See Tire Pressure Monitor
Operation on page 10‑54.

Black plate (23,1)GMC Savana Owner Manual - 2013 - 2nd Edition - 9/25/12
Instruments and Controls 5-23
Engine Oil Pressure Light
Notice:Lack of proper engine oil
maintenance can damage the
engine. Driving with the engine
oil low can also damage the
engine. The repairs would not be
covered by the vehicle warranty.
Check the oil level as soon as
possible. Add oil if required, but
if the oil level is within the
operating range and the oil
pressure is still low, have the
vehicle serviced. Always follow
the maintenance schedule for
changing engine oil.
This light comes on briefly while
starting the engine. If it does not,
have the vehicle serviced by your
dealer. If the system is working
normally, the indicator light then
goes off. If the light comes on and stays on, it
means that oil is not flowing through
the engine properly. The vehicle
could be low on oil and it might
have some other system problem.
Low Fuel Warning Light
English Shown, Metric Similar
This light comes on for a few
seconds when the ignition is turned
on as a check to indicate it is
working. If it does not come on,
have it fixed. The low fuel warning light comes on
and a chime sounds when the
vehicle is low on fuel. The light turns
off when fuel is added to the
fuel tank.
See
Driver Information Center (DIC)
on page 5‑24.
Security Light
The immobilizer light should come
on briefly as the engine is started.
If it does not come on, have the
vehicle serviced by your dealer.
If the system is working normally,
the indicator light turns off.
If the light stays on and the engine
does not start, there could be a
problem with the theft-deterrent
system. See Immobilizer Operation
on page 2‑11.

Black plate (24,1)GMC Savana Owner Manual - 2013 - 2nd Edition - 9/25/12
5-24 Instruments and Controls
High-Beam On Light
This light comes on when the
high-beam headlamps are in use.
SeeHeadlamp High/Low-Beam
Changer on page 6‑2.
Cruise Control Light
The cruise control light comes on
whenever the cruise control is set.
The light goes out when the cruise
control is turned off. See Cruise
Control on page 9‑34 for more
information.
Information Displays
Driver Information
Center (DIC)
This vehicle has a DIC.
All messages will appear in the DIC
display at the bottom of the
instrument cluster. The DIC buttons
are on the instrument panel, next to
the instrument cluster.
The DIC comes on when the ignition
is on. After a short delay, the DIC
will display the information that was
last displayed before the engine
was turned off.
The DIC displays trip, fuel, and
vehicle system information, and
warning messages if a system
problem is detected.
If the vehicle has these features, the
DIC also displays the compass
direction and the outside air
temperature when viewing the trip
and fuel information. The compass
direction appears on the top right

Black plate (25,1)GMC Savana Owner Manual - 2013 - 2nd Edition - 9/25/12
Instruments and Controls 5-25
corner of the DIC display. The
outside air temperature
automatically appears in the bottom
right corner of the DIC display.
If there is a problem with the system
that controls the temperature
display, the numbers will be
replaced with dashes. If this occurs,
have the vehicle serviced by your
dealer.
If the vehicle has a diesel engine,
see the Duramax diesel
supplement.
DIC Operation and Displays
The DIC has different displays
which can be accessed by pressing
the DIC buttons on the instrument
panel, next to the instrument cluster.DIC Buttons
The buttons are the trip/fuel, vehicle
information, customization, and set/
reset buttons. The button functions
are detailed in the following pages.
3(Trip/Fuel):
Press this button
to display the odometer, trip
odometers, fuel range, average
economy, fuel used, timer, average
speed, and digital tachometer.
T(Vehicle Information): Press
this button to display the oil life, rear
park assist, units, tire pressure
readings for vehicles with the Tire Pressure Monitor System (TPMS),
engine hours, Tire Pressure Monitor
System (TPMS) programming for
vehicles with the TPMS and without
a Remote Keyless Entry (RKE)
transmitter, and compass zone and
compass calibration on vehicles
with this feature.
U(Customization):
Press this
button to customize the feature
settings on the vehicle. See Vehicle
Personalization on page 5‑38 for
more information.
V(Set/Reset): Press this button to
set or reset certain functions and to
turn off or acknowledge messages
on the DIC.

Black plate (27,1)GMC Savana Owner Manual - 2013 - 2nd Edition - 9/25/12
Instruments and Controls 5-27
fuel tank. This is because different
driving conditions produce different
fuel economies. Generally, freeway
driving produces better fuel
economy than city driving.
If the vehicle is low on fuel, the
FUEL LEVEL LOW message will be
displayed. See“FUEL LEVEL LOW”
under Fuel System Messages on
page 5‑33 for more information.
Average Economy
Press
3until AVG ECONOMY
displays. This display shows the
approximate average liters per
100 kilometers (L/100 km) or miles
per gallon (mpg). This number is
calculated based on the number of
L/100 km (mpg) recorded since the
last time this menu item was reset.
To reset AVG ECONOMY, press and
hold
V. The display will return
to zero. Fuel Used
Press
3until FUEL USED
displays. This display shows the
number of liters (L) or gallons (gal)
of fuel used since the last reset of
this menu item. To reset the fuel
used information, press and hold
V
while FUEL USED is displayed.
Timer
Press
3until TIMER displays.
This display can be used as a timer.
To start the timer, press
Vwhile
TIMER is displayed. The display will
show the amount of time that has
passed since the timer was last
reset, not including time the ignition
is off. Time will continue to be
counted as long as the ignition is
on, even if another display is being
shown on the DIC. The timer will
record up to 99 hours, 59 minutes
and 59 seconds (99:59:59) after
which the display will return to zero.
To stop the timer, press
Vbriefly
while TIMER is displayed. To reset the timer to zero, press and
hold
Vwhile TIMER is displayed.
Average Speed
Press
3until AVERAGE SPEED
displays. This display shows the
average speed of the vehicle in
kilometers per hour (km/h) or miles
per hour (mph). This average is
calculated based on the various
vehicle speeds recorded since the
last reset of this value. To reset the
value, press and hold
V. The
display will return to zero.
Digital Tachometer
Press
3until
Tachometer ##00 RPM displays.
This display shows the engine
speed in revolutions per
minute (RPM).
Blank Display
This display shows no information.

Black plate (28,1)GMC Savana Owner Manual - 2013 - 2nd Edition - 9/25/12
5-28 Instruments and Controls
Vehicle Information Menu
Items
T(Vehicle Information):Press
this button to scroll through the
following menu items:
Oil Life
Press
Tuntil OIL LIFE
REMAINING displays. This display
shows an estimate of the oil's
remaining useful life. If you see
99% OIL LIFE REMAINING on the
display, that means 99% of the
current oil life remains. The engine
oil life system will alert you to
change the oil on a schedule
consistent with your driving
conditions.
When the remaining oil life is low,
the CHANGE ENGINE OIL SOON
message will appear on the display.
See “CHANGE ENGINE OIL SOON”
under Engine Oil Messages on
page 5‑32. You should change the
oil as soon as possible. See Engine
Oil on page 10‑6. In addition to the
engine oil life system monitoring the oil life, additional maintenance is
recommended in the Maintenance
Schedule in this manual. See
Maintenance Schedule on
page 11‑3
for more information.
Remember, you must reset the OIL
LIFE yourself after each oil change.
It will not reset itself. Also, be
careful not to reset the OIL LIFE
accidentally at any time other than
when the oil has just been changed.
It cannot be reset accurately until
the next oil change. To reset the
engine oil life system, see Engine
Oil Life System on page 10‑8.
Park Assist
If the vehicle has the Ultrasonic
Rear Parking Assist (URPA) system,
press
Tuntil PARK ASSIST
displays. This display allows the
system to be turned on or off. Once
in this display, press to select
between ON or OFF. The URPA
system automatically turns back on
after each vehicle start. When the
URPA system is turned off and the
vehicle is shifted out of P (Park), the DIC will display the PARK ASSIST
OFF message as a reminder that
the system has been turned off. See
Object Detection System Messages
on page 5‑33
andUltrasonic
Parking Assist on page 9‑37 for
more information.
Units
Press
Tuntil UNITS displays. This
display allows you to select between
metric or English units of
measurement. Once in this display,
press
Vto select between METRIC
or ENGLISH units.
Tire Pressure
If the vehicle has the Tire Pressure
Monitor System (TPMS), the
pressure for each tire can be viewed
in the DIC. The tire pressure will be
shown in either kilopascals (kPa) or
pounds per square inch (psi). Press
Tuntil the DIC displays FRONT
TIRES PSI (kPa) LEFT ##
RIGHT ##. Press
Tagain until the
DIC displays REAR TIRES
PSI (kPa) LEFT ## RIGHT ##.