transmission fluid GMC SIERRA 1500 2011 Owner's Manual

Black plate (8,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2011
11-8 Service and Maintenance
Recommended Fluids, Lubricants, and Parts
Recommended Fluids and Lubricants
This maintenance section applies to vehicles with a gasoline engine. If the vehicle has a diesel engine and/or an
Allison Transmission, see the maintenance schedule section in the DURAMAX®Diesel manual.
Fluids and lubricants identified below by name, part number, or specification can be obtained from your dealer.
Usage Fluid/Lubricant
Engine Oil The engine requires engine oil approved to the dexos specification. Oils
meeting this specification can be identified with the dexos certification
mark. Look for and use only an engine oil that displays the dexos
certification mark of the proper viscosity grade. See
Engine Oil on
page 10‑7.
Engine Coolant 50/50 mixture of clean, drinkable water and use only DEX-COOL coolant.
See
Engine Coolant on page 10‑22.
Hydraulic Brake System DOT 3 Hydraulic Brake Fluid (GM Part No. 12377967,
in Canada 89021320).
Windshield Washer Optikleen
®Washer Solvent.
Power Steering System GM Power Steering Fluid (GM Part No. 89021184, in Canada 89021186).
Automatic Transmission DEXRON
®-VI Automatic Transmission Fluid.
Key Lock Cylinders Multi-Purpose Lubricant, Superlube (GM Part No. 12346241,
in Canada 10953474).

Black plate (9,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2011
Service and Maintenance 11-9
UsageFluid/Lubricant
Floor Shift Linkage Lubriplate Lubricant Aerosol (GM Part No. 12346293, in Canada 992723)
or lubricant meeting requirements of NLGI #2 Category LB or GC-LB.
Chassis Lubrication Chassis Lubricant (GM Part No. 12377985, in Canada 88901242) or
lubricant meeting requirements of NLGI #2, Category LB or GC-LB.
Front Axle (1500 Series) ‐
Four‐Wheel Drive SAE 80W-90 Axle Lubricant (GM Part No. 89021671,
in Canada 89021672).
Front Axle (1500, 2500 HD, and 3500 HD Series) SAE 75W-90 Synthetic Axle Lubricant (GM Part No. 89021677,
in Canada 89021678).
Rear Axle SAE 75W-90 Synthetic Axle Lubricant (GM Part No. 89021677,
in Canada 89021678).
Transfer Case (Four‐Wheel Drive) DEXRON
®-VI Automatic Transmission Fluid.
Front Axle Propshaft Spline or One-Piece Propshaft Spline
(Two-Wheel Drive with 4‐Speed Auto. Trans.) Spline Lubricant, Special Lubricant (GM Part No. 12345879,
in Canada 10953511).

Black plate (4,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2011
12-4 Technical Data
ApplicationCapacities
Metric English
Transfer Case Fluid 1.5 L 1.6 qt
Transmission Fluid - Automatic (Pan Removal and Filter Replacement)
4-Speed Transmission 4L60-E Electronic Transmission 4.7 L 5.0 qt
6-Speed Transmission 6L80-E 5.7 L 6.0 qt
6-Speed Transmission 6L90-E 6.0 L 6.3 qt
6-Speed Transmission Allison 7.0 L 7.4 qt
Wheel Nut Torque 190 Y140 ft lb
All capacities are approximate. When adding, be sure to fill to the approximate level, as recommended in this
manual. Recheck fluid level after filling.

Black plate (1,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2011
INDEX i-1
A
Accessories andModifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Accessory Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-40
Active Fuel Management
®. . . . . 9-44
Add-On Electrical Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-125
Adding a Snow Plow or Similar Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . 9-125
Adjustable Throttle and Brake Pedal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-35
Adjustments Lumbar, Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
Air Cleaner/Filter, Engine . . . . . 10-19
Air Vents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-11
Airbag Light On-Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-21
Airbag System Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-48
How Does an AirbagRestrain? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-35
Passenger Sensing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-40
What Makes an Airbag Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-34 Airbag System (cont.)
What Will You See After
an Airbag Inflates? . . . . . . . . . . 3-35
When Should an Airbag
Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-32
Where Are the Airbags? . . . . . . 3-31
Airbags Adding Equipment to theVehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-46
On-Off Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-21
On-Off Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-37
Passenger Status Indicator . . . 5-23
Readiness Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-20
Servicing Airbag-Equipped Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-46
System Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-29
Alarm System Anti-Theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
AM-FM Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-8
Antenna Satellite Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-15
Anti-Theft Alarm System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Alarm System Messages . . . . . 5-48 Antilock Brake
System (ABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-68
Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-28
Appearance Care Exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-108
Interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-112
Armrest Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Ashtrays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Assistance Program,
Roadside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-8, 13-10
Audio Players . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-15
CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-15
CD/DVD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-22
Audio System Fixed Mast Antenna . . . . . . . . . . 7-15
Radio Reception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-14
Rear Seat (RSA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-48
Theft-Deterrent Feature . . . . . . . . 7-2
Automatic Door Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Headlamp System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Automatic Transmission . . . . . . . 9-46 Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-13, 10-16
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-50
Shift Lock ControlFunction Check . . . . . . . . . . . 10-40

Black plate (5,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2011
INDEX i-5
Engine (cont.)Cooling System Messages . . . 5-44
Drive Belt Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-6
Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-44
Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-28
Oil Pressure Gauge . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Overheated Protection
Operating Mode . . . . . . . . . . . 10-28
Overheating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-25
Power Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-45
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-31
Running While Parked . . . . . . . . 9-45
Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-37
Engine Oil
Life System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10-11
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-45
Entry Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-9
Equipment, Towing . . . . . . . . . . . 9-112
Event Data Recorders . . . . . . . . 13-17
Exit Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-9
Extender, Safety Belt . . . . . . . . . . 3-27
Exterior Lamp Controls . . . . . . . . . 6-1
Exterior Lamps Off Reminder . . . 6-3F
Fan Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-28
Fast Idle System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-39
Features Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-13
Filter
Engine Air Cleaner . . . . . . . . . 10-19
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Flashers, Hazard Warning . . . . . . 6-5
Flat Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-84 Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-86
Floor Mats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-116
Fluid AutomaticTransmission . . . . . . . 10-13, 10-16
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-32
Four-Wheel Drive Transfer Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-54
Power Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-29
Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-29 Fog Lamps
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Folding Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Four-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . 10-34, 9-54
Four-Wheel-Drive Light . . . . . . . . 5-29
Front Axle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-36
Front Fog Lamps Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-32
Front Seats Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Heated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-84 Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-86
E85 (85% Ethanol) . . . . . . . . . . . 9-87
Filling a Portable FuelContainer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-90
Filling the Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-88
Fuels in Foreign Countries . . . . 9-86
Gasoline Specifications . . . . . . . 9-85
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15
Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . . 5-31

Black plate (9,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2011
INDEX i-9
Messages (cont.)Fuel System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-46
Key and Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-46
Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-46
Object Detection System . . . . . 5-46
Ride Control System . . . . . . . . . . 5-47
Starting the Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . 5-48
Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-49
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-50
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-41
Vehicle Reminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-50
Washer Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-51
Mirrors Automatic Dimming
Rearview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
Convex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Folding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Heated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Manual Rearview . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
Park Tilt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Trailer Tow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Monitor System, Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-68N
NavigationVehicle Data Recordingand Privacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-18
New Vehicle Break-In . . . . . . . . . . 9-34
Noise Control System . . . . . . . . 10-38
O
Object Detection System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-46
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14 Trip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Off-Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-7
Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-7
Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Oil Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-7
Engine Oil Life System . . . . . .10-11
Engine Oil PressureGauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-45
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-31 Older Children, Restraints . . . . . 3-49
Online Owner Center . . . . . . . . . . 13-6
OnStar
®System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-36
Operation, Infotainment System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-2
Outlets Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Overheated Engine Protection
Operating Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-28
Overheating, Engine . . . . . . . . . . 10-25
P
Park
Shifting Into . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-41
Shifting Out of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-43
Park Tilt Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Parking Assist, Ultrasonic . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-76
Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-69
Brake and P (Park)Mechanism Check . . . . . . . . 10-40
Over Things That Burn . . . . . . . 9-43

Black plate (12,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2011
i-12 INDEX
ServiceAccessories and
Modifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Doing Your Own Work . . . . . . . . 10-4
Engine Soon Light . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Maintenance Records . . . . . . .11-12
Maintenance, General Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-1
Parts Identification Label . . . . . 12-1
Publications Ordering Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-15
Scheduling Appointments . . . 13-10
Servicing the Airbag . . . . . . . . . . . 3-46
Shift Lock Control Function Check, Automatic
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-40
Shifting Into Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-41
Out of Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-43 Signals, Turn and
Lane-Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Snow Plow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-125
Specifications and Capacities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
StabiliTrak
®Indicator Light . . . . 5-30
StabiliTrak®System . . . . . . . . . . . 9-70
Start Assist, Hills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-70
Start Vehicle, Remote . . . . . . . . . . 2-5
Starter Switch Check . . . . . . . . . 10-39
Starting the Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-37
Starting the Vehicle Messsages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-48
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-4 Fluid, Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-29
Wheel Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
Wheel Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3 Stoplamps and Back-Up Lamps
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-46
Storage Areas Armrest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Center Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Glove Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Instrument Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Stuck Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-23
Sun Visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-20
Sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-21, 2-22
Switches Airbag On-Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-37
Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
System Infotainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1
Noise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-38

Black plate (13,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2011
INDEX i-13
T
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15
Tailgate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10
Taillamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-46Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-46
Text Telephone (TTY) Users . . . 13-6
Theft-Deterrent Systems . . . . . . . 2-13 Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Throttle, Adjustable . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-35
Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Tires Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . 10-77
Chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-83
Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-86
Designations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-61
Different Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-79
Dual Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-75
Full-Size Spare . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-97
If a Tire Goes Flat . . . . . . . . . . 10-84
Inflation Monitor System . . . . 10-69
Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-73
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-49 Tires (cont.)
Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-67
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-30
Pressure Monitor System . . . 10-68
Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-73
Sidewall Labeling . . . . . . . . . . . 10-58
Terminology and
Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-62
Uniform Tire Quality
Grading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-80
Wheel Alignment and Tire Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-81
Wheel Replacement . . . . . . . . 10-82
When It Is Time for New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-76
Tow/Haul Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-51
Tow/Haul Mode Light . . . . . . . . . . 5-29
Towing Driving Characteristics . . . . . . . . 9-91
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9-112
General Information . . . . . . . . . . 9-90
Recreational Vehicle . . . . . . . 10-103 Towing (cont.)
Trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-95
Trailer Sway
Control (TSC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-124
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-103
Trailer Sway Control (TSC) . . . . . . . . 9-124
Tow Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Trailer Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-95
Transfer Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-54
Transmission
Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-46
Fluid, Automatic . . . . . 10-13, 10-16
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-50
Transportation Program, Courtesy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-11
Trip Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Truck-Camper Loading Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-32
Turn and Lane-Change Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Turn Signal Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-46