steering wheel GMC YUKON 2011 Owner's Guide

Black plate (1,1)GMC Yukon/Yukon XL Owner Manual - 2011
Lighting 6-1
Lighting
Exterior Lighting
Exterior Lamp Controls . . . . . . . . 6-1
Exterior Lamps OffReminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Headlamp High/Low-Beam Changer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Automatic Headlamp System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Hazard Warning Flashers . . . . . 6-5
Turn and Lane-Change Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Fog Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Auxiliary Roof-Mounted Lamp . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Interior Lighting
Instrument Panel IlluminationControl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Dome Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Reading Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Lighting Features
Entry Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-9
Exit Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-9
Battery Load Management . . . . 6-9
Battery Power Protection . . . . 6-10
Exterior Lighting
Exterior Lamp Controls
The exterior lamps control is located
on the instrument panel to the left of
the steering wheel.
It controls the following systems:
.Headlamps
.Taillamps
.Parking Lamps
.License Plate Lamps
.Instrument Panel Lights

Black plate (7,1)GMC Yukon/Yukon XL Owner Manual - 2011
Infotainment System 7-7
Radio
AM-FM Radio
Radio Data System (RDS)
For radios with the Radio Data
System (RDS) feature, it only works
with FM stations that broadcast
RDS information. This system relies
upon receiving specific information
from these stations and only works
when the information is available.
While the radio is tuned to an
FM-RDS station, the station name
or call letters displays. In rare
cases, a radio station could
broadcast incorrect information
that causes the radio features to
work improperly. If this happens,
contact the radio station.
4(Information) (RDS Features):
For vehicles with RDS features,
press
4to display additional text
information related to the current
FM-RDS station. If information is
available, the song title information
displays on the top line of the display and artist information
displays on the bottom line.
When information is not available,
“NO INFO”
displays.
Finding a Station
BAND:Press to switch between
AM, FM, or XM™, if equipped.
f(Tune): Turn to manually select
radio stations.
©SEEK: Press to seek the
previous radio station. Press and
hold for a few seconds until a
beep sounds to scan for radio
stations in descending order,
press the
©SEEK button again to
stop scanning radio stations. The
radio only seeks and scans stations
with a strong signal that are in the
selected band.
¨SEEK: Press to seek the next
radio station. Press and hold for a
few seconds until a beep sounds to
scan for radio stations in ascending
order, press the
©SEEK button
again to stop scanning radio stations. The radio only seeks and
scans stations with a strong signal
that are in the selected band.
sREV:
Press to manually tune to
a radio station in descending order.
\FWD: Press to manually tune to
a radio station in ascending order.
FAV (Favorites): Press to select
different favorite pages for stored
radio stations.
Storing Radio Stations
Drivers are encouraged to store
radio station while the vehicle is
parked, see Defensive Driving on
page 9‑2. Tune to stored radio
stations using the presets, favorites
button, and steering wheel controls,
if the vehicle has this feature.
Up to 36 stations can be
programmed as favorites using the
6 softkeys below the radio station
frequency tabs and by using the
FAV button. Press the FAV button
to go through up to 6 pages of
favorites, each having 6 favorite
stations available per page.

Black plate (10,1)GMC Yukon/Yukon XL Owner Manual - 2011
7-10 Infotainment System
Adding and Removing Categories
Categories cannot be added or
removed while the vehicle is moving
faster than 8 km/h (5 mph).
To add or remove a category:
1. Press the MENU button.
2. Press the softkey located belowthe XM CAT tab.
3. Turn the
fknob to display the
category to add or remove.
4. Press the softkey located under the Add or Remove tab.
To restore all removed
categories, press the softkey
under the Restore All tab.
5. Repeat the steps to remove more categories.
Storing XM Channels
Drivers are encouraged to store
XM channels while the vehicle is
parked; see Defensive Driving on
page 9‑2. Tune to stored radio
stations using the presets, favorites
button, and steering wheel controls,
if the vehicle has this feature.
Up to 36 stations can be
programmed as favorites using
the six softkeys below the radio
station frequency tabs and by
using the FAV button. Press the FAV
button to go through up to six pages
of favorites, each having six favorite
stations available per page. Each
page of favorites can contain any
combination of AM, FM, or XM,
if equipped, stations.
Storing an XM Channel as a
Favorite
To store a station as a favorite:
1. Tune to an XM channel.
2. Press the FAV button to display the page where the station will
be stored. 3. Press and hold one of the
six softkeys until a beep sounds.
4. Repeat Steps 1 through 3 to store additional radio stations.
The number of favorites pages can
be set up using the MENU button.
To set up the number of favorites
pages:
1. Press the MENU button.
2. Press the softkey located below the FAV 1-6 tab.
3. Select the number of favorites pages by pressing the softkey
located below the displayed
page numbers.
4. Press the FAV button, or let the menu time out, to return to
the original main radio screen
showing the radio station
frequency tabs and to begin
the process of programming
favorites.

Black plate (48,1)GMC Yukon/Yukon XL Owner Manual - 2011
7-48 Infotainment System
When to Speak:A short tone
sounds after the system responds
indicating when it is waiting for a
voice command. Wait until the tone
and then speak.
How to Speak: Speak clearly in a
calm and natural voice.
Audio System
When using the in‐vehicle Bluetooth
system, sound comes through the
vehicle's front audio system
speakers and overrides the audio
system. Use the audio system
volume knob, during a call, to
change the volume level. The
adjusted volume level remains in
memory for later calls. To prevent
missed calls, a minimum volume
level is used if the volume is turned
down too low.
Bluetooth Controls
Use the buttons located on the
steering wheel to operate the
in‐vehicle Bluetooth system. See
Steering Wheel Controls on
page 5‑2 for more information.
bg(Push To Talk): Press to
answer incoming calls, confirm
system information, and start
speech recognition.
c x(Phone On Hook): Press to
end a call, reject a call, or cancel an
operation.
Pairing
A Bluetooth cell phone must be
paired to the Bluetooth system and
then connected to the vehicle before
it can be used. See the cell phone
manufacturer's user guide for
Bluetooth functions before pairing
the cell phone. If a Bluetooth phone
is not connected, calls will be made
using OnStar Hands‐Free Calling,
if equipped. Refer to the OnStar
Owner's Guide for more information. Pairing Information
.Up to five cell phones can be
paired to the Bluetooth system.
.The pairing process is disabled
when the vehicle is moving.
.Pairing only needs to be
completed once, unless the
pairing information on the cell
phone changes or the cell phone
is deleted from the system.
.Only one paired cell phone can
be connected to the Bluetooth
system at a time.
.If multiple paired cell phones are
within range of the system, the
system connects to the first
available paired cell phone in the
order that they were first paired
to the system. To connect to a
different paired phone, see
“Connecting to a Different
Phone”
later in this section.

Black plate (1,1)GMC Yukon/Yukon XL Owner Manual - 2011
Driving and Operating 9-1
Driving and
Operating
Driving Information
Defensive Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
Drunk Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
Control of a Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-4
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
Off-Road Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-7
Driving on Wet Roads . . . . . . . 9-18
Highway Hypnosis . . . . . . . . . . . 9-19
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . 9-19
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-20
If the Vehicle is Stuck . . . . . . . . 9-22
Vehicle Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . 9-23
Starting and Operating
New Vehicle Break-In . . . . . . . . 9-28
Adjustable Throttle and BrakePedal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-28
Ignition Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-29 Starting the Engine . . . . . . . . . . 9-30
Engine Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-32
Retained Accessory
Power (RAP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-33
Shifting Into Park . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-33
Shifting Out of Park . . . . . . . . . . 9-34
Parking Over Things
That Burn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-35
Active Fuel Management
®. . . 9-35
Engine Exhaust
Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-36
Running the Vehicle While Parked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-36
Automatic Transmission
Automatic Transmission . . . . . 9-37
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-41
Tow/Haul Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-42
Drive Systems
Four-Wheel Drive (Two SpeedAutomatic
Transfer Case) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-43
Four-Wheel Drive (Single Speed Automatic
Transfer Case) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-48
Brakes
Antilock BrakeSystem (ABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-50
Parking Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-51
Brake Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-52
Ride Control Systems
StabiliTrak®System . . . . . . . . . 9-52
Locking Rear Axle . . . . . . . . . . . 9-55
Continuous Damping Control (CDC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-55
Automatic Level Control . . . . . 9-55
Cruise Control
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-56
Object Detection Systems
Ultrasonic Parking Assist . . . . 9-58
Side Blind Zone Alert (SBZA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-60
Rear Vision Camera (RVC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-63

Black plate (5,1)GMC Yukon/Yukon XL Owner Manual - 2011
Driving and Operating 9-5
Steering
Power Steering
If the vehicle is a hybrid, see
the hybrid supplement for more
information.
If power steering assist is lost
because the engine stops or the
power steering system is not
functioning, the vehicle can be
steered but it will take more effort.
Steering Tips
It is important to take curves at a
reasonable speed.
Traction in a curve depends on the
condition of the tires and the road
surface, the angle at which the
curve is banked, and vehicle speed.
While in a curve, speed is the one
factor that can be controlled.
If there is a need to reduce speed,
do it before entering the curve, while
the front wheels are straight.Try to adjust the speed so you can
drive through the curve. Maintain a
reasonable, steady speed. Wait to
accelerate until out of the curve,
and then accelerate gently into the
straightaway.
Steering in Emergencies
There are times when steering can
be more effective than braking. For
example, you come over a hill and
find a truck stopped in your lane,
or a car suddenly pulls out from
nowhere, or a child darts out from
between parked cars and stops right
in front of you. These problems can
be avoided by braking
—if you can
stop in time. But sometimes you
cannot stop in time because there
is no room. That is the time for
evasive action —steering around
the problem.
The vehicle can perform very well
in emergencies like these. First,
apply the brakes. See Braking on
page 9‑4. It is better to remove
as much speed as possible from a collision. Then steer around
the problem, to the left or right
depending on the space available.
An emergency like this requires
close attention and a quick decision.
If holding the steering wheel at the
recommended 9 and 3 o'clock
positions, it can be turned a full
180 degrees very quickly without
removing either hand. But you have
to act fast, steer quickly, and just as
quickly straighten the wheel once
you have avoided the object.

Black plate (6,1)GMC Yukon/Yukon XL Owner Manual - 2011
9-6 Driving and Operating
The fact that such emergency
situations are always possible is a
good reason to practice defensive
driving at all times and wear safety
belts properly.
Off-Road Recovery
The vehicle's right wheels can drop
off the edge of a road onto the
shoulder while driving.
If the level of the shoulder is
only slightly below the pavement,
recovery should be fairly easy. Ease
off the accelerator and then, if thereis nothing in the way, steer so that
the vehicle straddles the edge of
the pavement. Turn the steering
wheel 8 to 13 cm (3 to 5 in), about
one-eighth turn, until the right front
tire contacts the pavement edge.
Then turn the steering wheel to go
straight down the roadway.
Loss of Control
Let us review what driving experts
say about what happens when the
three control systems
—brakes,
steering, and acceleration —do not
have enough friction where the tires
meet the road to do what the driver
has asked.
In any emergency, do not give up.
Keep trying to steer and constantly
seek an escape route or area of
less danger.
Skidding
In a skid, a driver can lose control of
the vehicle. Defensive drivers avoid
most skids by taking reasonable
care suited to existing conditions,
and by not overdriving those
conditions. But skids are always
possible.
The three types of skids correspond
to the vehicle's three control
systems. In the braking skid, the
wheels are not rolling. In the
steering or cornering skid, too much
speed or steering in a curve causes
tires to slip and lose cornering force.
And in the acceleration skid, too
much throttle causes the driving
wheels to spin.
If the vehicle starts to slide, ease
your foot off the accelerator pedal
and quickly steer the way you
want the vehicle to go. If you start
steering quickly enough, the vehicle
may straighten out. Always be ready
for a second skid if it occurs.

Black plate (7,1)GMC Yukon/Yukon XL Owner Manual - 2011
Driving and Operating 9-7
Of course, traction is reduced when
water, snow, ice, gravel, or other
material is on the road. For safety,
slow down and adjust your driving to
these conditions. It is important to
slow down on slippery surfaces
because stopping distance is longer
and vehicle control more limited.
While driving on a surface with
reduced traction, try to avoid
sudden steering, acceleration,
or braking, including reducing
vehicle speed by shifting to a lower
gear. Any sudden changes could
cause the tires to slide. You might
not realize the surface is slippery
until the vehicle is skidding. Learn to
recognize warning clues—such as
enough water, ice, or packed snow
on the road to make a mirrored
surface —and slow down when you
have any doubt.
Remember: Antilock brakes help
avoid only the braking skid.Off-Road Driving
Vehicles with four-wheel drive
can be used for off-road driving.
Vehicles without four-wheel drive
and vehicles with 20‐inch tire/wheel
assemblies should not be driven
off-road except on a level, solid
surface.
The airbag system is designed to
work properly under a wide range of
conditions, including off‐road usage.
Always wear your safety belt and
observe safe driving speeds,
especially on rough terrain.
Drinking and driving can be very
dangerous on any road and this is
certainly true for off-road driving.
At the very time you need special
alertness and driving skills, your
reflexes, perceptions, and judgment
can be affected by even a small
amount of alcohol. You could have a
serious —or even fatal —accident
if you drink and drive or ride with a
driver who has been drinking. Off-roading can be great fun but has
some definite hazards. The greatest
of these is the terrain itself. When
off-road driving, traffic lanes are not
marked, curves are not banked, and
there are no road signs. Surfaces
can be slippery, rough, uphill,
or downhill.
Avoid sharp turns and abrupt
maneuvers. Failure to operate the
vehicle correctly off‐road could
result in loss of vehicle control or
vehicle rollover.
Off-roading involves some new
skills. That is why it is very
important that you read these
driving tips and suggestions to
help make off-road driving safer
and more enjoyable.

Black plate (10,1)GMC Yukon/Yukon XL Owner Manual - 2011
9-10 Driving and Operating
For vehicles with a winch, be sure
to read the winch instructions. In a
remote area, a winch can be handy
if you get stuck but you will want to
know how to use it properly.
Getting Familiar with Off-Road
Driving
It is a good idea to practice in an
area that is safe and close to home
before you go into the wilderness.
Off-roading requires some new and
different skills.
Tune your senses to different kinds
of signals. Your eyes need to
constantly sweep the terrain for
unexpected obstacles. Your ears
need to listen for unusual tire or
engine sounds. Use your arms,
hands, feet, and body to respond
to vibrations and vehicle bounce.Controlling the vehicle is the key to
successful off-road driving. One of
the best ways to control the vehicle
is to control the speed. At higher
speeds:
.You approach things faster and
have less time to react.
.There is less time to scan the
terrain for obstacles.
.The vehicle has more bounce
when driving over obstacles.
.More braking distance is
needed, especially on an
unpaved surface.
{WARNING
When you are driving off-road,
bouncing and quick changes in
direction can easily throw you
out of position. This could cause
you to lose control and crash.
So, whether you are driving on
or off the road, you and your
passengers should wear safety
belts.
Scanning the Terrain
Off-road driving can take you over
many different kinds of terrain. Be
familiar with the terrain and its many
different features.
Surface Conditions:
Off-roading
surfaces can be hard-packed dirt,
gravel, rocks, grass, sand, mud,
snow, or ice. Each of these surfaces
affects the vehicle's steering,
acceleration, and braking in different
ways. Depending on the surface,
slipping, sliding, wheel spinning,
delayed acceleration, poor traction,
and longer braking distances can
occur.
Surface Obstacles: Unseen or
hidden obstacles can be hazardous.
A rock, log, hole, rut, or bump can
startle you if you are not prepared
for them. Often these obstacles are
hidden by grass, bushes, snow,
or even the rise and fall of the
terrain itself.

Black plate (11,1)GMC Yukon/Yukon XL Owner Manual - 2011
Driving and Operating 9-11
Some things to consider:
.Is the path ahead clear?
.Will the surface texture change
abruptly up ahead?
.Does the travel take you uphill or
downhill?
.Will you have to stop suddenly
or change direction quickly?
When driving over obstacles or
rough terrain, keep a firm grip on
the steering wheel. Ruts, troughs,
or other surface features can jerk
the wheel out of your hands.
When driving over bumps, rocks,
or other obstacles, the wheels can
leave the ground. If this happens,
even with one or two wheels, you
cannot control the vehicle as well or
at all. Because you will be on an unpaved
surface, it is especially important to
avoid sudden acceleration, sudden
turns, or sudden braking.
Off-roading requires a different kind
of alertness from driving on paved
roads and highways. There are no
road signs, posted speed limits,
or signal lights. Use good judgment
about what is safe and what is not.
Driving on Hills
Off-road driving often takes you up,
down, or across a hill. Driving safely
on hills requires good judgment
and an understanding of what the
vehicle can and cannot do. There
are some hills that simply cannot be
driven, no matter how well built the
vehicle.
{WARNING
Many hills are simply too steep
for any vehicle. If you drive up
them, you will stall. If you drive
down them, you cannot control
your speed. If you drive across
them, you will roll over. You could
be seriously injured or killed.
If you have any doubt about the
steepness, do not drive the hill.