GMC Terrain Quiz
Lighting

Exterior Lamp Controls

In this manual: Lighting
Introduction — 1In Brief — 46Keys, Doors and Windows — 37Seats and Restraints — 60Storage — 6Instruments and Controls — 58Lighting — 16Infotainment System — 1Climate Control — 8Driving and Operation — 128Vehicle Care — 75Service and Maintenance — 8Technical Data — 5Customer Information — 18OnStar — 6Connected Services — 4
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GMC Terrain. Exterior Lamp Controls

The exterior lamp control is located on the instrument panel to the left of the steering column.

There are four positions.

GMC Terrain. Exterior Lamp Controls: Turns off the exterior lamps and disables AUTO mode. Turn toGMC Terrain. Exterior Lamp Controlsagain to activate Automatic mode.

In Canada, the headlamps will automatically turn on when the vehicle is shifted out of P (Park).

AUTO: Turns on the exterior lamps and turns off automatically depending on exterior lighting conditions.

GMC Terrain. Exterior Lamp Controls: Turns on the parking lamps, including all lamps except the headlamps.

GMC Terrain. Exterior Lamp Controls: Turns on the headlamps together with the parking lamps and instrument panel lighting.

IntelliBeam® System

If equipped, this system turns the vehicle's high beam headlamps on and off according to surrounding driving conditions.

The system turns on the high beam headlamps when it is dark enough and no other traffic is present.

GMC Terrain. Exterior Lamp Controls

This light illuminates in the instrument cluster when the IntelliBeam system is on.

Turning IntelliBeam On and Off

GMC Terrain. Exterior Lamp Controls

To turn on the IntelliBeam system, pressGMC Terrain. Exterior Lamp Controlson the turn signal lever when it is dark outside and the exterior lamp control is in AUTO, orGMC Terrain. Exterior Lamp Controls. The blue high beam on indicator appears in the instrument cluster when the high beams are on.

Driving with IntelliBeam

The system activates the high beams only when driving above 40 km/h.

The sensor is located at the top center of the windshield and automatically controls the system.

Keep this area of the windshield clean of debris to ensure the best system performance.

The high beams remain on, under automatic control, until one of the following conditions occurs:

  • The system detects the headlamps of an oncoming vehicle.
  • The system detects the taillamps of a vehicle ahead.
  • Exterior light is bright enough that high beams are not needed.
  • Vehicle speed drops below 20 km/h. The IntelliBeam system is turned off with the button on the turn signal lever. If this happens, pressGMC Terrain. Exterior Lamp Controlson the turn signal lever when the exterior lamp control is in the AUTO orGMC Terrain. Exterior Lamp Controlsposition to reactivate the IntelliBeam system. The IntelliBeam indicator light in the instrument cluster will illuminate when the IntelliBeam system is reactivated.
  • The IntelliBeam system will be turned off if the fog lamps are on.

The high beams may not turn off automatically if the system cannot detect the lamps of another vehicle due to any of the following:

  • The lamps of another vehicle are off, missing, damaged, obstructed from view, or otherwise not detected.
  • The lamps of another vehicle are covered with dirt, snow, and/or road spray.
  • The lamps of another vehicle cannot be detected due to heavy exhaust, smoke, fog, snow, road spray, mist, or other airborne obstructions.
  • The windshield is dirty, cracked, or blocked by something that obstructs the view of the light sensor.
  • The vehicle is loaded so that the front end is pointing upward, causing the light sensor to aim high and not detect headlamps and taillamps.
  • The vehicle is traveling on winding or hilly roads.

The IntelliBeam system may need to be turned off if any of the above conditions exist.

Test yourself

A quick GMC Terrain quiz: every answer comes with an explanation and a link to the manual page.