Crab Walk: It’s More Than a Party Trick

GMC’s new electric trucks and SUVs are built on unique platforms designed to make the most of their battery-driven powertrains. One of the cooler side effects of this transition is the introduction of new features that were far more difficult to implement with internal-combustion powertrains. One of the more talked-about features available on the 2025 GMC Hummer EV and Sierra EV Denali is Crab Walk, and while it’s not an offshoot of GMC’s battery-electric setup, it does make these powerful, imposing off-roaders more capable than their ICE-powered cousins.  

How does it work? Vehicles with Crab Walk have steering hardware on the rear axle that enables the rear wheels to turn up to ten degrees in the same direction as those up front. At speeds of up to 20 miles per hour, you can drive the entire truck diagonally, giving you more flexibility in various situations.  

Depending on which GMC you drive, you activate Crab Walk one of two ways. No matter what you’re driving, the first step is to slow to a crawl (~ 1 mph or less). If you’re in a GMC Hummer EV, you simply hold down the 4-Wheel Steer button for four seconds. Boom! Crab Walk is enabled. If you’re in a GMC Sierra EV, you can enable it by opening the Controls app and clicking on the CrabWalk icon; simple as that! Exceeding the speed threshold will automatically disable the system, so don’t worry about things getting out of hand.  

On paper, Crab Walk is just the latest in a long line of GM’s truck and SUV handling innovations. Remember Quadrasteer? This four-wheel steering system was engineered primarily to allow the rear wheels of a truck to turn in the opposite direction of the front wheels, giving the truck a turning circle just as tight as a compact car’s.  

But Quadrasteer had another feature: it could also turn the rear wheels in the same direction as the fronts, but only slightly. This feature made Quadrasteer-equipped trucks more stable during high-speed cornering, such as on a highway onramp. Crab Walk, on the other hand, comes at the situation from an entirely different perspective. 

Crab Walk allows you to approach low-speed maneuvers from an entirely different angle — literally. Rather than having to turn the entire truck to maneuver through a narrow lane, for example, it can drift left or right instead, minimizing the chances of dinging your bumpers or bed sides on a protruding tree branch or boulder.  

If you’re on a more-beaten path, Crab Walk is handy for entering and exiting awkward parking spaces, especially in lots that were designed long before today’s full-size trucks were conceived. It’s especially helpful if you need to clear obstacles protruding from the sides of tight alleyways or garages, where you may not have room to swing the rear end of your vehicle wide enough.  

Want to see Crab Walk in action? Head on down to GMC of Rochester and check it out for yourself!