CADILLAC ESCALADE ESV 2011 Owners Manual

Black plate (15,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
Customer Information 13-15Remember, if the vehicle is leased,
you may be obligated to have the
vehicle repaired with Genuine GM
parts, even if your insurance
coverage does not pay the full cost.
If another party's insurance
company is paying for the repairs,
you are not obligated to accept a
repair valuation based on that
insurance company's collision
policy repair limits, as you have no
contractual limits with that company.
In such cases, you can have control
of the repair and parts choices as
long as the cost stays within
reasonable limits. Service Publications
Ordering Information Service Manuals Service Manuals have the diagnosis
and repair information on the
engines, transmission, axle,
suspension, brakes, electrical,
steering, body, etc.
Service Bulletins Service Bulletins give additional
technical service information
needed to knowledgeably service
General Motors cars and trucks.
Each bulletin contains instructions
to assist in the diagnosis and
service of the vehicle. Owner Information Owner publications are written
specifically for owners and intended
to provide basic operational
information about the vehicle. The
Owner Manual includes the
Maintenance Schedule for all
models.
In-Portfolio: Includes a Portfolio,
Owner Manual, and Warranty
Booklet.
RETAIL SELL PRICE:
$35.00 (U.S.) plus handling and
shipping fees.
Without Portfolio: Owner
Manual only.
RETAIL SELL PRICE:
$25.00 (U.S.) plus handling and
shipping fees.

Black plate (16,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
13-16 Customer Information Current and Past Models Technical Service Bulletins and
Manuals are available for current
and past model GM vehicles.
ORDER TOLL FREE:
1-800-551-4123 Monday - Friday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM Eastern Time
For Credit Card Orders Only
(VISA-MasterCard-Discover), visit
Helm, Inc. at: www.helminc.com.
Or write to:
Helm, Incorporated
P.O. Box 07130
Detroit, MI 48207
Prices are subject to change
without notice and without incurring
obligation. Allow ample time for
delivery.
All listed prices are quoted in
U.S. funds. Make checks payable
in U.S. funds. Reporting Safety
Defects Reporting Safety Defects
to the United States
Government If you believe that your vehicle
has a defect which could cause
a crash or could cause injury or
death, you should immediately
inform the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) in addition to notifying
General Motors.
If NHTSA receives similar
complaints, it may open an
investigation, and if it finds that
a safety defect exists in a group
of vehicles, it may order a recall
and remedy campaign. However, NHTSA cannot
become involved in individual
problems between you, your
dealer, or General Motors.
To contact NHTSA, you may
call the Vehicle Safety Hotline
toll-free at 1-888-327-4236
(TTY: 1-800-424-9153); go to
http://www.safercar.gov; or
write to:
Administrator, NHTSA
1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20590
You can also obtain other
information about motor
vehicle safety from
http://www.safercar.gov .

Black plate (17,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
Customer Information 13-17
Reporting Safety Defects
to the Canadian
Government If you live in Canada, and you
believe that the vehicle has a safety
defect, notify Transport Canada
immediately, and notify General
Motors of Canada Limited. Call
them at 1-800-333-0510 or
write to:
Transport Canada
Road Safety Branch
2780 Sheffield Road
Ottawa, Ontario K1B 3V9 Reporting Safety Defects
to General Motors In addition to notifying NHTSA
(or Transport Canada) in a situation
like this, notify General Motors.
Call 1-800-458-8006, or write:
Cadillac Customer Assistance
Center
Cadillac Motor Car Division
P.O. Box 33169
Detroit, MI 48232-5169
In Canada, call 1 ‐ 888 ‐ 446 ‐ 2000,
or write:
Canadian Cadillac Customer
Communication Centre,
Mail Code: CA1-163-005
General Motors of Canada Limited
1908 Colonel Sam Drive
Oshawa, Ontario L1H 8P7 Vehicle Data
Recording and
Privacy This GM vehicle has a number of
sophisticated computers that record
information about the vehicle ’ s
performance and how it is driven.
For example, the vehicle uses
computer modules to monitor and
control engine and transmission
performance, to monitor the
conditions for airbag deployment
and deploy airbags in a crash, and,
if so equipped, to provide antilock
braking to help the driver control the
vehicle. These modules may store
data to help the dealer technician
service the vehicle. Some modules
may also store data about how you
operate the vehicle, such as rate of
fuel consumption or average speed.
These modules may also retain the
owner ’ s personal preferences, such
as radio pre-sets, seat positions,
and temperature settings.

Black plate (18,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
13-18 Customer Information
Event Data Recorders This vehicle has an Event Data
Recorder (EDR). The main purpose
of an EDR is to record, in certain
crash or near crash-like situations,
such as an airbag deployment or
hitting a road obstacle, data that will
assist in understanding how a
vehicle's systems performed. The
EDR is designed to record data
related to vehicle dynamics and
safety systems for a short period of
time, typically 30 seconds or less.
The EDR in this vehicle is designed
to record such data as: .
How various systems in the
vehicle were operating. .
Whether or not the driver and
passenger safety belts were
buckled/fastened. .
How far, if at all, the driver was
pressing the accelerator and/or
brake pedal. .
How fast the vehicle was
traveling. This data can help provide a better
understanding of the circumstances
in which crashes and injuries occur.
Important: EDR data is recorded
by the vehicle only if a non-trivial
crash situation occurs; no data is
recorded by the EDR under normal
driving conditions and no personal
data (e.g., name, gender, age, and
crash location) is recorded.
However, other parties, such as law
enforcement, could combine the
EDR data with the type of
personally identifying data routinely
acquired during a crash
investigation.
To read data recorded by an EDR,
special equipment is required, and
access to the vehicle or the EDR is
needed. In addition to the vehicle
manufacturer, other parties, such as
law enforcement, that have the
special equipment, can read the
information if they have access to
the vehicle or the EDR. GM will not access this data or
share it with others except: with the
consent of the vehicle owner or,
if the vehicle is leased, with the
consent of the lessee; in response
to an official request by police or
similar government office; as part of
GM's defense of litigation through
the discovery process; or, as
required by law. Data that GM
collects or receives may also be
used for GM research needs or may
be made available to others for
research purposes, where a need is
shown and the data is not tied to a
specific vehicle or vehicle owner.

Black plate (19,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
Customer Information 13-19
OnStar ®
If the vehicle is equipped with an
active OnStar system, that system
may also record data in crash or
near crash ‐ like situations. The
OnStar Terms and Conditions
provides information on data
collection and use and is available
in the OnStar glove box kit, at
www.onstar.com (U.S.) or
www.onstar.ca (Canada), or by
pressing the
Q button and
speaking to an advisor.
Navigation System If the vehicle has a navigation
system, use of the system may
result in the storage of destinations,
addresses, telephone numbers, and
other trip information. See Using the
Navigation System on page 7 ‑ 60 for
information on stored data and for
deletion instructions. Radio Frequency
Identification (RFID) RFID technology is used in some
vehicles for functions such as tire
pressure monitoring and ignition
system security, as well as in
connection with conveniences
such as key fobs for remote door
locking/unlocking and starting, and
in-vehicle transmitters for garage
door openers. RFID technology in
GM vehicles does not use or record
personal information or link with
any other GM system containing
personal information. Radio Frequency
Statement This vehicle has systems that
operate on a radio frequency that
comply with Part 15 of the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC)
rules and with Industry Canada
Standards RSS ‐ 210/220/310.
Operation is subject to the following
two conditions:
1. The device may not cause
interference.
2. The device must accept any
interference received, including
interference that may cause
undesired operation of the
device.
Changes or modifications to any of
these systems by other than an
authorized service facility could void
authorization to use this equipment.

Black plate (20,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
13-20 Customer Information
2 NOTES

Black plate (1,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
INDEX i-1
AAccessories and
Modifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Accessory Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-35
Active Fuel Management ®
. . . . . 9-38
Add-On Electrical
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-82
Adjustable Throttle and
Brake Pedal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-31
Adjustments
Lumbar, Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
Air Cleaner/Filter, Engine . . . . . 10-14
Air Vents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-8
Airbag
Adding Equipment to the
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-49
Airbag System
Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-50
How Does an Airbag
Restrain? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-42
Passenger Sensing
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-44
What Makes an Airbag
Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-41 Airbag System (cont.)
What Will You See After
an Airbag Inflates? . . . . . . . . . . 3-42
When Should an Airbag
Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-40
Where Are the Airbags? . . . . . . 3-38
Airbags
Passenger Status Indicator . . . 5-16
Readiness Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Servicing Airbag-Equipped
Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-48
System Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-35
Alarm System
Anti-Theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
All-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . . . 10-28, 9-45
AM-FM Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-10
Antenna
Rear Side Window . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-18
Satellite Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-18
Anti-Theft
Alarm System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Alarm System Messages . . . . . 5-38
Antilock Brake
System (ABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-45
Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22 Appearance Care
Exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-90
Interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-94
Armrest Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Ashtrays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
Audio Players
CD/DVD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-19
MP3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-28
Audio System
Radio Reception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-17
Rear Seat (RSA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-58
Theft-Deterrent Feature . . . . . . . . 7-3
Automatic
Dimming Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
Door Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Headlamp System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Level Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-50
Automatic Transmission . . . . . . . 9-40
Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10-11
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-43
Shift Lock Control
Function Check . . . . . . . . . . . 10-31
Auxiliary Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-31
Axle, Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-29
Axle, Rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-29

Black plate (2,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
i-2 INDEX
BBattery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-27
Jump Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-82
Load Management . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-12
Power Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-12
Voltage and Charging
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-31
Blade Replacement, Wiper . . . 10-32
Bluetooth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-103
Brake
Pedal and Adjustable
Throttle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-31
Brake System Warning Light . . . 5-21
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-24
Antilock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-45
Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-47
Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-26
Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-46
System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-31
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-4
Break-In, New Vehicle . . . . . . . . . 9-30
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-38
Back-Up Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-36
Fog Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-9
Headlamp Aiming . . . . . . . . . . . 10-34 Bulb Replacement (cont.)
Headlamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-36
High Intensity Discharge
(HID) Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-36
License Plate Lamps . . . . . . . 10-37
Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-61
C Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
California
Fuel Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . 9-64
Perchlorate Materials
Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2
Camera, Rear Vision . . . . . . . . . . 9-59
Canadian Vehicle Owners . . . . . . . . iii
Capacities and
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2
Carbon Monoxide
Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-38
Liftgate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9, 2-10
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-21
Cautions, Danger, and
Warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
CD/DVD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-19
Center Console Storage . . . . . . . . 4-3 Chains, Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-66
Charging
System Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
Check
Engine Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
Ignition
Transmission Lock . . . . . . . . 10-31
Child Restraints
Infants and Young
Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-53
Lower Anchors and
Tethers for Children . . . . . . . . . 3-59
Older Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-51
Securing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-68, 3-71
Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-56
Cigarette Lighter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-39
Cleaning
Exterior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-90
Interior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-94
Climate Control Systems
Dual Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1
Rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-6
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Cluster, Instrument . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Collision Damage Repair . . . . . 13-12

Black plate (3,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
INDEX i-3Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
Configure Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-83
Continuous Damping
Control (CDC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-50
Control of a Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Convex Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Coolant
Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-16
Engine Temperature
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-16
Engine Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-33
Courtesy Transportation
Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-11
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-51
Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Cupholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Customer Assistance . . . . . . . . . . 13-6
Offices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-5
Text Telephone (TTY)
Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-6
Customer Information
Service Publications
Ordering Information . . . . . . 13-15
Customer Satisfaction
Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-1, 13-3 D Damage Repair, Collision . . . . . 13-12
Danger, Warnings, and
Cautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
Data Recorders, Event . . . . . . . 13-18
Database Coverage
Explanations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-99
Daytime Running
Lamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Defensive Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Destination, Navigation . . . . . . . . 7-69
Devices, Auxiliary . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-31
Dome Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-10
Door
Ajar Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-32
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7
Power Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7
Drive Systems
All-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . 10-28, 9-45
Driver Information
Center (DIC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26 Driving
Characteristics and
Towing Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-71
Defensive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
Drunk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Highway Hypnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-20
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . . 9-20
If the Vehicle is Stuck . . . . . . . . . 9-23
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
Off-Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-7
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
Vehicle Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . 9-24
Wet Roads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-18
Winter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-21
Driving for Better Fuel
Economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-23
Dual Automatic Climate
Control System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1
DVD
Rear Seat
Entertainment
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-33, 7-43
DVD/CD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-19

Black plate (4,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
i-4 INDEX
EE85 Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-66
Electrical Equipment,
Add-On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-82
Electrical System
Engine Compartment
Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-39
Fuses and Circuit
Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-39
Instrument Panel Fuse
Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-44
Overload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-38
Engine
Air Cleaner/Filter . . . . . . . . . . . 10-14
Check and Service Engine
Soon Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
Compartment Overview . . . . . . . 10-6
Coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-16
Coolant Temperature
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-16
Cooling System Messages . . . 5-33
Drive Belt Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-3
Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-38
Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-22
Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-35 Engine (cont.)
Overheated Protection
Operating Mode . . . . . . . . . . . 10-22
Overheating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-20
Power Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-34
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Running While Parked . . . . . . . . 9-39
Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-33
Engine Oil
Life System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-10
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-34
Entry Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-11
Equipment, Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-78
Event Data Recorders . . . . . . . . 13-18
Exit Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-11
Extender, Safety Belt . . . . . . . . . . 3-34
Exterior Lamp Controls . . . . . . . . . 6-1
Exterior Lamps Off Reminder . . . 6-5
F Fan
Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-22
Features
Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8 Filter,
Engine Air Cleaner . . . . . . . . . 10-14
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Flashers, Hazard Warning . . . . . . 6-8
Flat Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-66
Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-68
Floor Mats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-98
Fluid
Automatic Transmission . . . . .10-11
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-26
Power Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-23
Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-24
Fog Lamps
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-9
Front Axle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-29
Front Fog Lamp
Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Front Seats
Heated and Ventilated . . . . . . . . . 3-8
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-63
Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-65
E85 (85% Ethanol) . . . . . . . . . . . 9-66
Filling a Portable Fuel
Container . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-70
Filling the Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-68
Fuels in Foreign Countries . . . . 9-65