Shifting Out Of Park - GMC 2011 Sierra Denali Owner's Manual

3. Turn the ignition key to
LOCK/OFF.
4. Remove the key and take it with
you. If you can leave the vehicle
with the ignition key in your
hand, the vehicle is in P (Park).
Leaving the Vehicle with the
Engine Running
WARNING
It can be dangerous to leave the
vehicle with the engine running.
The vehicle could move suddenly
if the shift lever is not fully in
P (Park) with the parking brake
firmly set. And, if you leave the
vehicle with the engine running, it
could overheat and even catch
fire. You or others could be
injured. Do not leave the vehicle
with the engine running.
If you have to leave the vehicle
with the engine running, be sure
the vehicle is in P (Park) and
the parking brake is firmly set.
After the shift lever is moved into
P (Park), hold the regular brake
pedal down. Then, see if you can
move the shift lever away from
P (Park) without first pulling it toward
you. If you can, it means that the
shift lever was not fully locked into
P (Park).
Torque Lock
If you are parking on a hill and
you do not shift the transmission
into P (Park) properly, the weight
of the vehicle can put too much
force on the parking pawl in the
transmission. It might be difficult
to pull the shift lever out of
P (Park). This is called torque lock.
To prevent torque lock, set the
parking brake and then shift into
P (Park) properly before you leave
the driver seat. To find out how, see
Shifting Into Park on page 9 36.
Driving and Operating
When you are ready to drive, move
the shift lever out of P (Park) before
releasing the parking brake.
If torque lock does occur, you might
need to have another vehicle push
yours a little uphill to take some of
the pressure from the parking pawl
in the transmission. Then you
should be able to pull the shift lever
out of P (Park).

Shifting Out of Park

This vehicle is equipped with an
electronic shift lock release
system. The shift lock release is
designed to:
Prevent ignition key removal
unless the shift lever is in
P (Park) with the shift lever
button fully released.
Prevent movement of the shift
lever out of P (Park), unless
the ignition is in ON/RUN or
ACC/ACCESSORY and the
regular brake pedal is applied.
9-37