coolant temperature GMC SIERRA 1500 2014 User Guide

Black plate (21,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
5853626) - 2014 - 3rd crc - 8/15/13
Vehicle Care 10-21
Use a 50/50 mixture of clean,
drinkable water and DEX-COOL
coolant. If using this mixture,
nothing else needs to be added.
This mixture:
.Gives freezing protection down
to−37°C (−34°F), outside
temperature.
.Gives boiling protection up to
129°C (265°F), engine
temperature.
.Protects against rust and
corrosion.
.Will not damage aluminum parts.
.Helps keep the proper engine
temperature.
{Caution
If improper coolant mixture,
inhibitors, or additives are used in
the vehicle cooling system, the
engine could overheat and be
damaged. Too much water in the
(Continued)
Caution (Continued)
mixture can freeze and crack
engine cooling parts. The repairs
would not be covered by the
vehicle warranty. Use only the
proper mixture of engine coolant
for the cooling system. See
Recommended Fluids and
Lubricants on page 11-12.
Never dispose of engine coolant by
putting it in the trash, or by pouring
it on the ground, or into sewers,
streams, or bodies of water. Have
the coolant changed by an
authorized service center, familiar
with legal requirements regarding
used coolant disposal. This will help
protect the environment and your
health.
Checking Coolant
The coolant surge tank is located in
the engine compartment on the
passenger side of the vehicle. See
Engine Compartment Overview on
page 10-5.
The vehicle must be on a level
surface when checking the coolant
level.
Check to see if coolant is visible in
the coolant surge tank. If the coolant
inside the coolant surge tank is
boiling, wait until it cools down. The
coolant level should be at or above
the FULL COLD mark. If it is not,
there may be a leak in the cooling
system.
If coolant is visible but the coolant
level is not at or above the FULL
COLD mark, see “How to Add
Coolant to the Coolant Surge Tank
for Gasoline Engines,” following.

Black plate (23,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
5853626) - 2014 - 3rd crc - 8/15/13
Vehicle Care 10-23
1. Remove the coolant surge tankpressure cap when the cooling
system, including the coolant
surge tank pressure cap and
upper radiator hose, is no
longer hot.
Turn the pressure cap slowly
counterclockwise about one full
turn. If a hiss is heard, wait for
that to stop. A hiss means there
is still some pressure left.
2. Keep turning the pressure cap slowly, and remove it.
3. Fill the coolant surge tank with the proper mixture to the FULL
COLD mark.
4. With the coolant surge tank pressure cap off, start the
engine and let it run until the
engine coolant temperature
gauge indicates approximately
90°C (195°F). By this time, the coolant level
inside the coolant surge tank
may be lower. If the level is
lower, add more of the proper
mixture to the coolant surge tank
until the level reaches the FULL
COLD mark.
5. Replace the pressure cap tightly.
6. Verify coolant level after the engine is shut off and the
coolant is cold. If necessary,
repeat coolant fill procedure
Steps 1–6.
{Caution
If the pressure cap is not tightly
installed, coolant loss and
possible engine damage may
occur. Be sure the cap is properly
and tightly secured.
Engine Overheating
If the vehicle has the Duramax
diesel engine, see the Duramax
diesel supplement.
{Caution
Running the engine without
coolant may cause damage or a
fire. Vehicle damage would not be
covered by the vehicle warranty.
The vehicle has several indicators
to warn of engine overheating.
There is a coolant temperature
gauge in the vehicle's instrument
cluster. See Engine Coolant
Temperature Gauge on page 5-16.

Black plate (26,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
5853626) - 2014 - 3rd crc - 8/15/13
10-26 Vehicle Care
{Caution
After driving in the overheated
engine protection operating
mode, the engine oil will be
severely degraded. Any repairs
performed before the engine is
cool may cause engine damage.
Allow the engine to cool before
attempting any repair. Repair the
cause of coolant loss, change the
oil, and reset the oil life system.
SeeEngine Oil on page 10-10.
Engine Fan
If the vehicle has a clutched engine
cooling fan, when the clutch is
engaged, the fan spins faster to
provide more air to cool the engine.
In most everyday driving conditions,
the fan is spinning slower and the
clutch is not fully engaged. This
improves fuel economy and reduces
fan noise. Under heavy vehicle
loading, trailer towing, and/or high
outside temperatures, the fan speed increases as the clutch more fully
engages, so an increase in fan
noise may be heard. This is normal
and should not be mistaken as the
transmission slipping or making
extra shifts. It is merely the cooling
system functioning properly. The fan
will slow down when additional
cooling is not required and the
clutch disengages.
This fan noise may also be heard
when starting the engine. It will go
away as the fan clutch partially
disengages.
If the vehicle has electric cooling
fans, the fans may be heard
spinning at low speed during most
everyday driving. The fans may turn
off if no cooling is required. Under
heavy vehicle loading, trailer towing,
high outside temperatures,
or operation of the air conditioning
system, the fans may change to
high speed and an increase in fan
noise may be heard. This is normal
and indicates that the cooling
system is functioning properly. The
fans will change to low speed when
additional cooling is no longer
required.
The electric engine cooling fans
may run after the engine has been
turned. off. This is normal and no
service is required.
Power Steering Fluid
(1500 Series)
The vehicle has electric power
steering and does not use power
steering fluid.
Power Steering Fluid
(2500/3500 Series)
See
Engine Compartment Overview
on page 10-5 for reservoir location.

Black plate (3,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
5853626) - 2014 - 3rd crc - 8/15/13
INDEX i-3
CargoTie-Downs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4
Cargo Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Cautions, Danger, and Warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
CD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-16
Center Console Storage . . . . . . . . 4-3
Center High-Mounted Stoplamp (CHMSL) and
Cargo Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-41
Center Seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Chains, Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-75
Charging System Light . . . . . . . . 5-21
Check
Engine Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
IgnitionTransmission Lock . . . . . . . . 10-37
Child Restraints Infants and YoungChildren . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-40
Lower Anchors and
Tethers for Children . . . . . . . . . 3-46
Older Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-38
Securing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-58, 3-68
Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-42 Cleaning
Exterior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-96
Interior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-101
Climate Control Systems . . . 8-1, 8-3 Air Conditioning . . . . . . . . . . 8-1, 8-3
Dual Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-5
Heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1, 8-3
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
Cluster, Instrument . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Collision Damage Repair . . . . . . 13-9
Compartments Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5 Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-36
Connections OnStar
®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-3
Control Traction and ElectronicStability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-54
Control of a Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Convex Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Coolant Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-20
Engine TemperatureGauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16 Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-19
Engine Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-36
Courtesy Transportation Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-8
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-57 Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-29
Cupholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Customer Assistance . . . . . . . . . . 13-4
Offices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-3
Text Telephone (TTY)Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-4
Customer Information Service PublicationsOrdering Information . . . . . . .13-11
Customer Satisfaction Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-1
D
Damage Repair, Collision . . . . . . 13-9
Danger, Warnings, and
Cautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
Data Recorders, Event . . . . . . . 13-14
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Defensive Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9

Black plate (4,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
5853626) - 2014 - 3rd crc - 8/15/13
i-4 INDEX
DiagnosticsOnStar®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-5
Distracted Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
Dome Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Door Ajar Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-36
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7
Power Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Drive Belt Routing, Engine . . . . . 12-5
Driver Assistance Systems . . . . 9-60
Driver Information Center (DIC) . . . . . . . . . . . 5-30, 5-32
Driving Assistance Systems . . . . . . . . . . 9-64
Characteristics andTowing Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-74
Defensive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Drunk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
For Better Fuel Economy . . . . . 1-29
Highway Hypnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-12
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . . 9-12
If the Vehicle is Stuck . . . . . . . . . 9-14
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5 Driving (cont'd)
Off-Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Vehicle Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . 9-16
Wet Roads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-11
Winter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-13
Dual Automatic Climate Control System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-5
Dual Tire
Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-69
E
E85 or FlexFuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-71
Electrical Equipment,Add-On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-99
Electrical System
Engine CompartmentFuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-43
Fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-43
Instrument Panel Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . 10-47, 10-49
Overload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-42
Emergency OnStar
®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-2 Engine
Air Cleaner/Filter . . . . . . . . . . . 10-17
Check and Service Engine
Soon Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Compartment Overview . . . . . . . 10-5
Coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-20
Coolant Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-29
Coolant Temperature Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-19
Cooling System Messages . . . 5-36
Drive Belt Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-5
Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-33
Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-26
Oil Life System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-13
Oil Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-37
Oil Pressure Gauge . . . . . . . . . . 5-15
Overheated Protection Operating Mode . . . . . . . . . . . 10-25
Overheating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-23
Power Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-38
Running While Parked . . . . . . . . 9-34
Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-27
Entry Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Equipment, Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-89
Event Data Recorders . . . . . . . . 13-14

Black plate (6,1)GMC Sierra Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
5853626) - 2014 - 3rd crc - 8/15/13
i-6 INDEX
GaugesEngine Coolant
Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Engine Oil Pressure . . . . . . . . . . 5-15
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Trip Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Voltmeter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Warning Lights and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
General Information Service and Maintenance . . . . . 11-1
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-74
Vehicle Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2
Glass Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . 10-38
Glove Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
GM Mobility Reimbursement Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-5H
Halogen Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-39
Hazard Warning Flashers . . . . . . . 6-4
Head Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
HeadlampsAiming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-38
Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-39
Daytime RunningLamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Headlamps, Front Turn
Signal, Sidemarker, and
Parking Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-39
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . 5-29
High/Low Beam Changer . . . . . . 6-2
Lamps On Reminder . . . . . . . . . 5-29
Heated Steering Wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4
Heated and Cooled Front
Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8
Heated Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16 Heater
Engine Coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-29
Heating and Air Conditioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1, 8-3
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . . 5-29
Highway Hypnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-12
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . . . 9-12
Hill Descent Control (HDC) . . . . 9-56
Hill Descent Control Light . . . . . . 5-26
Hill Start Assist (HSA) . . . . . . . . . 9-54
Home Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-6
Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-4
Horn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-13
I
Idle SystemFast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-28
Ignition Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-25
Ignition Transmission Lock Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-37