light CADILLAC ESCALADE 2000 1.G User Guide

2-31
The transfer case switches are below and to the left of
the climate controls. Use these switches to shift into and
out of four
-wheel drive. You can choose among four
driving settings:
2HI: This setting is used for driving in most situations.
Your front axle is not engaged in two
-wheel drive. This
setting also provides the best fuel economy.
AUTO 4WD: This setting is ideal for use when road
conditions are variable. When driving your vehicle in
AUTO 4WD, the front axle is engaged, but the vehicle's
power is sent only to the rear wheels. When the vehicle
senses a loss of traction, the system will automatically
engage four
-wheel drive. Driving in this mode results in
lower fuel economy than 2HI.
4HI: Use 4HI when you need extra traction, such as on
snowy or icy roads or in most off
-road situations. This
setting also engages your front axle to help drive
your vehicle.
4LO: This setting also engages your front axle and
delivers extra torque. You may never need 4LO. It sends
maximum power to all four wheels. You might choose
4LO if you are driving off
-road in deep sand, deep mud,
deep snow and climbing or descending steep hills.
CAUTION:
Shifting the transfer case to NEUTRAL can
cause your vehicle to roll even if the transmission
is in PARK (P). You or someone else could be
seriously injured. Be sure to set the parking
brake before placing the transfer case in
NEUTRAL. See ªParking Brakeº in the Index.
NEUTRAL: Shift the vehicle's transfer case to
NEUTRAL only when towing your vehicle. See
ªRecreational Vehicle Towingº or ªTowing Your
Vehicleº in the Index for more information.
Indicator lights in the switches show which setting you
are in. The indicator lights will come on briefly when
you turn on the ignition and one will stay on. If the
lights do not come on, you should take your vehicle to
your dealer for service. An indicator light will flash
while shifting the transfer case. It will remain
illuminated when the shift is complete. If for some
reason the transfer case cannot make a requested shift, it
will return to the last chosen setting.

2-32
If the SERVICE 4WD light stays on, you should take
your vehicle to your dealer for service. See ªService
4WDº in the Index for further information.
Shifting to 4HI or AUTO 4WD
Press and release the 4HI or AUTO 4WD switch. This
can be done at any speed, and the indicator light will
flash while shifting. It will remain illuminated when the
shift is completed.
Shifting to 2HI
Press and release the 2HI switch. This can be done at
any speed.
Shifting to 4LO
To shift to 4LO, the vehicle's engine must be running
and the vehicle must be stopped or moving less than 3
mph (4.8 km/h) with the transmission in NEUTRAL
(N). The preferred method for shifting into 4LO is to
have your vehicle moving 1 to 2 mph (1.6 to 3.2 km/h).
Press and release the 4LO switch. You must wait for the
4LO indicator light to stop flashing and remain
illuminated before shifting your transmission into gear.If the 4LO switch is pressed when your vehicle is in
gear and/or moving, the 4LO indicator light will flash
for 30 seconds and not complete the shift unless your
vehicle is moving less than 3 mph (4.8 km/h) and the
transmission is in NEUTRAL (N). After 30 seconds the
transfer case will return to the setting last chosen.
Shifting Out of 4LO
To shift from 4LO to 4HI, AUTO 4WD or 2HI your
vehicle must be stopped or moving less than 3 mph
(4.8 km/h) with the transmission in NEUTRAL (N) and
the engine running. The preferred method for shifting
out of 4LO is to have your vehicle moving 1 to 2 mph
(1.6 to 3.2 km/h). Press and release the 4HI, AUTO
4WD or 2HI switch. You must wait for the 4HI, AUTO
4WD or 2HI indicator light to stop flashing and remain
illuminated before shifting your transmission into gear.
If the 4HI, AUTO 4WD or 2HI switch is pressed when
your vehicle is in gear and/or moving, the 4HI, AUTO
4WD or 2HI indicator light will flash for 30 seconds but
will not complete the shift unless your vehicle is moving
less than 3 mph (4.8 km/h) and the transmission is in
NEUTRAL (N).

2-33
Shifting to NEUTRAL
To shift the transfer case to NEUTRAL, first make sure
the vehicle is parked so that it will not roll:
1. Set the parking brake.
2. Start the vehicle.
3. Connect the vehicle to the towing vehicle.
4. Put the transmission in NEUTRAL (N).
5. Shift the transfer case to 2HI.
6. Simultaneously press and hold the 2HI and 4LO
buttons for 10 seconds. The red NEUTRAL light
will come on when the transfer case shift to
NEUTRAL is complete.
7. Shift the transmission to REVERSE (R) for
one second, then shift to AUTOMATIC
OVERDRIVE (
) for one second.
8. Turn the ignition to OFF.
9. Place the transmission shift lever in PARK (P).
10. Release the parking brake prior to towing.Shifting Out of NEUTRAL
To shift out of NEUTRAL:
1. Set the parking brake and apply the regular
brake pedal.
2. Start the vehicle with the transmission in PARK (P)
or NEUTRAL (N).
3. Shift the transmission to REVERSE (R).
4. Shift the transmission to NEUTRAL(N) and
immediately press the button for the desired transfer
case shift position (2HI, 4HI, AUTO 4WD or 4LO).
After the transfer case has shifted out of NEUTRAL,
the red light will go out.
5. Shift the transmission to the desired position.
6. Release the parking brake.

2-34
Parking Brake
To set the parking brake, hold the regular brake pedal
down with your right foot. Push down the parking brake
pedal with your left foot.
If the ignition is on, the brake system warning light will
come on.
To release the parking
brake, hold the regular
brake pedal down. Pull the
lever, located just above the
parking brake pedal,
marked BRAKE
RELEASE, to release the
parking brake.If the ignition is on when the parking brake is released,
the brake system warning light will go off.
NOTICE:
Driving with the parking brake on can cause
your rear brakes to overheat. You may have to
replace them, and you could also damage other
parts of your vehicle.
If you are towing a trailer and are parking on any hill,
see ªTowing a Trailerº in the Index. That section shows
what to do first to keep the trailer from moving.

2-40
Locking Rear Axle
Your locking rear axle can give you additional traction
on snow, mud, ice, sand or gravel. It works like a
standard axle most of the time, but when one of the rear
wheels has no traction and the other does, this feature
will allow the wheel with traction to move the vehicle.
Windows
Power Windows
The power window controls are located on each of the
side doors.The driver's door has a switch for the passenger
windows as well. Your power windows will work when
the ignition has been turned to ACCESSORY or RUN or
when Retained Accessory Power (RAP) is present. See
ªRetained Accessory Powerº in the Index.
Push the rear of the switch with the power window
symbol on it to lower the window.
Push the front of the switch with the power window
symbol on it to raise the window.
The driver's window switch has an express
-down
feature. Press and hold the side of the window switch
marked AUTO for one second to activate the
express
-down mode. The express-down mode can be
canceled at any time by pressing the opposite side of the
switch. To open the window partway, lightly tap the
switch until the window is at the desired position.
The power window switch has a lockout feature. This
feature prevents the passenger windows from operating
except from the driver's position, when the front
driver's side switch is in LOCK. When the switch is
moved to NORM, the passenger windows will
operate again.

2-43 Headlamp High/Low-Beam Changer
To change the headlamps from low beam to high or high
to low, pull the turn signal lever all the way toward you.
Then release it.
When the high beams are
on, this light located on the
instrument panel also will
be on.
Windshield Wipers
You operate the windshield wipers by turning the
control with the wiper symbol on it located on the
multifunction lever.
For a single wiping cycle, turn the control to MIST.
Hold it there until the wipers start, then let go. The
wipers will stop after one cycle. If you want more
cycles, hold the control on MIST longer.You can set the wiper speed for a long or short delay
between wipes. This can be very useful in light rain or
snow. Turn the control to choose the delay time. The
closer to LOW, the shorter the delay.
For steady wiping at low speed, turn the control to the
LOW position. For high
-speed wiping, turn the control
further, to HIGH. To stop the wipers, turn the control
to OFF.
Damaged wiper blades may prevent you from seeing
well enough to drive safely. To avoid damage, be sure to
clear ice and snow from the wiper blades before using
them. If they are frozen to the windshield, carefully
loosen or thaw them. If your blades do become
damaged, get new blades or blade inserts. See
ªWindshield Wipers, Blade Replacementº in the Index.
Heavy snow or ice can overload your wipers. The
windshield wiper motor is protected from overload by a
circuit breaker and a fuse. If the motor overheats due to
heavy snow or ice, the wiper will stop until the motor
cools. Although the circuit is protected from electrical
overload, overload due to heavy snow or ice may cause
wiper linkage damage. Always clear ice and heavy
snow from the windshield before using your
windshield wipers.

2-47
Increasing Speed While Using Cruise Control
There are two ways to go to a higher speed:

Use the accelerator pedal to get to the higher speed.
Push the SET button at the end of the lever, then
release the button and the accelerator pedal. You'll
now cruise at the higher speed.

Move the cruise control switch from ON to R/A.
Hold it there until you get up to the speed you want,
and then release the switch. To increase your speed
in very small amounts, move the switch to R/A
briefly. Each time you do this, your vehicle will go
about 1 mph (1.6 km/h) faster.
Reducing Speed While Using Cruise Control
There are two ways to reduce your speed while using
cruise control:

Push in the SET button at the end of the lever until
you reach the lower speed you want, then release it.

To slow down in very small amounts, push the SET
button briefly. Each time you do this, you'll go about
1 mph (1.6 km/h) slower.Passing Another Vehicle While Using Cruise Control
Use the accelerator pedal to increase your speed. When
you take your foot off the pedal, your vehicle will slow
down to the cruise control speed you set earlier.
Using Cruise Control on Hills
How well your cruise control will work on hills depends
upon your speed, load and the steepness of the hills.
When going up steep hills, you may have to step on the
accelerator pedal to maintain your speed. If the
steepness of the hill causes the vehicle speed to drop
more than 15 mph (24 km/h) below the set speed, your
cruise control will automatically disengage. When going
downhill, you may have to brake or shift to a lower gear
to keep your speed down. Of course, applying the brake
takes you out of cruise control. Many drivers find this to
be too much trouble and don't use cruise control on
steep hills.
Ending Cruise Control
There are two ways to turn off the cruise control:

Step lightly on the brake pedal or

Move the cruise control switch to OFF.

2-48
Erasing Speed Memory
When you turn off the cruise control or the ignition,
your cruise control set speed memory is erased.
Exterior Lamps
Your parking/headlamp knob is located on the driver's
side of your instrument panel.Turn the knob clockwise, to the parking lamp symbol, to
turn on the following:

Parking Lamps

Sidemarker Lamps

Taillamps

License Plate Lamps

Instrument Panel Lights
Turn the knob clockwise again, to the master lighting
symbol, to turn on all the lamps listed as well as
the headlamps.
Turn the knob counterclockwise to OFF, to turn off your
lamps. For additional information on headlamp
operation, see ªHeadlamp Delayº in the Index.
Turn the thumbwheel next to the knob up to adjust
instrument panel lights. Turn the thumbwheel up to the
first notch to return the radio display and gearshift
indicator LED display to full intensity when the
headlamps or parking lamps are on. To turn on the dome
lamps (with the vehicle doors closed) turn the
thumbwheel up to the second notch position.
You can switch your headlamps from high to low beam
by pulling on the turn signal/high
-beam lever.

2-49 Automatic Headlamp System
When it is dark enough outside, your automatic
headlamp system will turn on your headlamps at the
normal brightness along with other lamps such as the
taillamps, sidemarker, parking lamps and the instrument
panel lights.
To idle your vehicle with the automatic headlamp
system off, set the parking brake while the ignition is
off. Then start the vehicle. The automatic headlamp
system will stay off until you release the parking brake.
The headlamp switch can always be used to turn on the
regular lamps. As with any vehicle, you should turn on
the regular headlamp system when you need it.
Headlamps-On Reminder
A chime will sound when your headlamps are turned on
and your ignition is in OFF, LOCK or ACCESSORY.
Daytime Running Lamps
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) can make it easier for
others to see the front of your vehicle during the day.
DRL can be helpful in many different driving
conditions, but they can be especially helpful in the
short periods after dawn and before sunset.The DRL system will make your headlamps come on at
a reduced brightness when:

the ignition is on,

the headlamp switch is off,

the parking brake is released and

it is bright enough outside and the automatic
headlamps are off.
When the DRL are on, only your headlamps will be on.
The taillamps, sidemarker and other lamps won't be on.
Your instrument panel won't be lit up either.
When it begins to get dark, your DRL will turn off. Your
headlamps will come on automatically.
When it begins to get bright, the regular lamps will go
off, and your headlamps will change to the reduced
brightness of DRL.
To idle your vehicle with the DRL off, set the parking
brake. The DRL will stay off until you release the
parking brake.
As with any vehicle, you should turn on the regular
headlamp system when you need it.

2-50 Fog Lamps
Your vehicle has fog lamps. Use them for better vision
in foggy or misty conditions. Your parking lamps and/or
low
-beam headlamps must be on for your fog lamps to
work. Fog lamps are not meant to be used without
headlamps in the dark.
The fog lamp switch is
located to the right of the
instrument panel cluster.
Press the ribbed top part of the switch to turn the fog
lamps on. Press the bottom of the switch to turn them
off. An indicator light will illuminate in the switch when
the fog lamps are on.
Fog lamps will go off whenever your high
-beam
headlamps come on. When the high
-beams are off, the
fog lamps will come on again.
Headlamp Delay
Your vehicle is equipped with a headlamp delay feature
that holds the headlamps on for a short period of time
after the ignition is turned off.
The HEADLAMP DELAY button is located on the
lower left side of the inside rearview mirror.