Black plate (1,1)
GMC Sierra Owner Manual - 2011
Driving and Operating
9-1
Driving and
Operating
Driving Information
Defensive Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
Drunk Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Control of a Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-4
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-4
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
Off-Road Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-7
Driving on Wet Roads . . . . . . . 9-18
Highway Hypnosis . . . . . . . . . . . 9-18
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . 9-19
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-20
If the Vehicle is Stuck . . . . . . . . 9-22
Vehicle Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . 9-23
Truck-Camper Loading
Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-30
Starting and Operating
New Vehicle Break-In . . . . . . . . 9-32
Adjustable Throttle and Brake
Pedal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-33
Ignition Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-33
Retained Accessory
Power (RAP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-35
Starting the Engine . . . . . . . . . . 9-35
Fast Idle System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-37
Engine Coolant Heater . . . . . . . 9-37
Shifting Into Park . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-38
Shifting Out of Park . . . . . . . . . . 9-40
Parking Over Things
That Burn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-41
Active Fuel
Management
™
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-41
Engine Exhaust
Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-42
Running the Vehicle While
Parked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-42
Automatic Transmission
Automatic Transmission . . . . . 9-43
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-48
Tow/Haul Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-49
Drive Systems
Four-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-52
Brakes
Antilock Brake
System (ABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-65
Parking Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-66
Brake Assist (Except With
4.3L V6 Engine) . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-67
Hill Start Assist (HSA) . . . . . . . 9-67
Ride Control Systems
StabiliTrak
®
System . . . . . . . . . 9-68
Locking Rear Axle . . . . . . . . . . . 9-70
Cruise Control
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-71
Object Detection Systems
Ultrasonic Parking Assist . . . . 9-74
Rear Vision
Camera (RVC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-76
Fuel
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-81
Recommended Fuel . . . . . . . . . 9-82
Gasoline Specifications . . . . . . 9-82
California Fuel
Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-82
Fuels in Foreign Countries . . . 9-83
Fuel Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-83