CADILLAC ESCALADE 2011 3.G Owners Manual

Black plate (7,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
Climate Controls 8-7
The rear climate control system
can also be turned off by pressing
and holding the
Cbutton. To turn
the system on from the rear seats,
press any rear climate control
button, except the
Cbutton.
Mimic Mode: This mode matches
the rear climate control to the front
climate control airflow settings.
It comes on when REAR is pressed
the first time.
Independent Mode: This mode
directs rear seating airflow
according to the settings of
the rear controls.
To turn the system on from the
rear, press any rear climate control
button, except the
Cbutton.
Automatic Operation, If
Equipped
AUTO: Press the air delivery mode
button until this setting is selected
to control the inside temperature,
air delivery, and fan speed. AUTO
appears in the display when
automatic operation is active.
+/−(Increase/Decrease
Temperature): Press the + or−
buttons to increase or decrease the
cabin temperature. The rear control
temperature display will show the
temperature setting increasing or
decreasing.
The display only indicates climate
control functions when the system is
in rear independent mode.
Manual Operation
D C(Fan Control): Press these
buttons on the rear seat audio
control panel to increase or
decrease the airflow. Pressing
the fan up button when the system
is off will turn the system on.
The air delivery mode will remain
under automatic control.
+/−(Temperature Control):
Press these buttons to adjust the
temperature of the air flowing into
the passenger area. Press the
+ button for warmer air and press
the −button for cooler air.
N(Air Delivery Mode Control):
Press the mode button to change
the direction of the airflow in the
vehicle. Repeatedly press the
button until the desired mode
appears on the display. Multiple
presses will cycle through the
delivery selections.

Black plate (8,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
8-8 Climate Controls
Air Vents
Use the air outlets located in the
center and on the side of the
instrument panel to direct the
airflow.
Operation Tips
.Keep the hood and front air
inlets free of ice, snow, or
any other obstruction (such
as leaves). The heater and
defroster will work far better,
reducing the chance of fogging
the inside of the windows.
.When you enter a vehicle in
cold weather, press the fan up
button to the maximum fan level
before driving. This helps clear
the intake ducts of snow and
moisture, and reduces the
chance of fogging the inside
of the window.
.Keep the air path under the front
seats clear of objects. This helps
air to circulate throughout the
vehicle.
.Adding outside equipment to
the front of the vehicle, such as
hood-air deflectors, may affect
the performance of the heating
and air conditioning system.
Check with your dealer before
adding equipment to the outside
of the vehicle.

Black plate (1,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
Driving and Operating 9-1
Driving and
Operating
Driving Information
Defensive Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
Drunk Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Control of a Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-4
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
Off-Road Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-7
Driving on Wet Roads . . . . . . . 9-18
Highway Hypnosis . . . . . . . . . . . 9-20
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . 9-20
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-21
If the Vehicle is Stuck . . . . . . . . 9-23
Vehicle Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . 9-24
Starting and Operating
New Vehicle Break-In . . . . . . . . 9-30
Adjustable Throttle and BrakePedal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-31
Ignition Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-32
Starting the Engine . . . . . . . . . . 9-33
Engine Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-35 Retained Accessory
Power (RAP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-35
Shifting Into Park . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-36
Shifting Out of Park . . . . . . . . . . 9-37
Parking Over Things That Burn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-38
Active Fuel Management™ . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-38
Engine Exhaust
Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-38
Running the Vehicle While
Parked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-39
Automatic Transmission
Automatic Transmission . . . . . 9-40
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-43
Tow/Haul Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-43
Drive Systems
All-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-45
Brakes
Antilock BrakeSystem (ABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-45
Parking Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-46
Brake Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-47
Ride Control Systems
StabiliTrak®System . . . . . . . . . 9-47
Locking Rear Axle . . . . . . . . . . . 9-49
Road Sensing Suspension . . . 9-50
Continuous Damping Control (CDC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-50
Automatic Level Control . . . . . 9-50
Cruise Control
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-51
Object Detection Systems
Ultrasonic Parking Assist . . . . 9-54
Side Blind Zone Alert (SBZA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-56
Rear Vision Camera (RVC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-59
Fuel
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-63
Recommended Fuel . . . . . . . . . 9-64
Gasoline Specifications . . . . . . 9-64
California FuelRequirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-64
Fuels in Foreign Countries . . . 9-65
Fuel Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-65
Fuel E85 (85% Ethanol) . . . . . 9-66
Filling the Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-68
Filling a Portable Fuel Container . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-70

Black plate (2,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
9-2 Driving and Operating
Towing
General TowingInformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-70
Driving Characteristics and Towing Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-71
Trailer Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-74
Towing Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . 9-78
Conversions and Add-Ons
Add-On Electrical
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-82
Driving Information
Defensive Driving
Defensive driving means “always
expect the unexpected.” The first
step in driving defensively is to wear
your safety belt. See Safety Belts on
page 3‑22.
{WARNING
Assume that other road users
(pedestrians, bicyclists, and other
drivers) are going to be careless
(Continued)
WARNING (Continued)
and make mistakes. Anticipate
what they might do and be ready.
In addition:
.Allow enough following
distance between you and
the driver in front of you.
.Focus on the task of driving.
Driver distraction can cause
collisions resulting in injury or
possible death. These simple
defensive driving techniques
could save your life.

Black plate (3,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
Driving and Operating 9-3
Drunk Driving
{WARNING
Drinking and then driving is
very dangerous. Your reflexes,
perceptions, attentiveness,
and judgment can be affected by
even a small amount of alcohol.
You can have a serious—or
even fatal —collision if you drive
after drinking. Do not drink and
drive or ride with a driver who has
been drinking. Ride home in a
cab; or if you are with a group,
designate a driver who will not
drink.
Death and injury associated with
drinking and driving is a global
tragedy.
Alcohol affects four things that
anyone needs to drive a vehicle:
judgment, muscular coordination,
vision, and attentiveness. Police records show that
almost 40 percent of all motor
vehicle-related deaths involve
alcohol. In most cases, these
deaths are the result of someone
who was drinking and driving.
In recent years, more than
17,000 annual motor vehicle-related
deaths have been associated with
the use of alcohol, with about
250,000 people injured.
For persons under 21, it is against
the law in every U.S. state to drink
alcohol. There are good medical,
psychological, and developmental
reasons for these laws.
The obvious way to eliminate the
leading highway safety problem is
for people never to drink alcohol
and then drive.
Medical research shows that
alcohol in a person's system
can make crash injuries worse,
especially injuries to the brain,
spinal cord, or heart. This means
that when anyone who has been
drinking
—driver or passenger —is
in a crash, that person's chance of
being killed or permanently disabled
is higher than if the person had not
been drinking.
Control of a Vehicle
The following three systems
help to control the vehicle while
driving —brakes, steering, and
accelerator. At times, as when
driving on snow or ice, it is easy to
ask more of those control systems
than the tires and road can provide.
Meaning, you can lose control of the
vehicle. See StabiliTrak
®System on
page 9‑47.
Adding non‐dealer accessories
can affect vehicle performance.
See Accessories and Modifications
on page 10‑3.

Black plate (4,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
9-4 Driving and Operating
Braking
SeeBrake System Warning Light on
page 5‑21.
Braking action involves perception
time and reaction time. Deciding
to push the brake pedal is
perception time. Actually doing
it is reaction time.
Average reaction time is about
three‐fourths of a second. But that
is only an average. It might be
less with one driver and as long
as two or three seconds or more
with another. Age, physical
condition, alertness, coordination,
and eyesight all play a part. So do
alcohol, drugs, and frustration. But
even in three‐fourths of a second,
a vehicle moving at 100 km/h
(60 mph) travels 20 m (66 ft).
That could be a lot of distance
in an emergency, so keeping
enough space between the
vehicle and others is important. And, of course, actual stopping
distances vary greatly with the
surface of the road, whether it is
pavement or gravel; the condition
of the road, whether it is wet, dry,
or icy; tire tread; the condition of the
brakes; the weight of the vehicle;
and the amount of brake force
applied.
Avoid needless heavy
braking. Some people drive in
spurts
—heavy acceleration
followed by heavy braking —rather
than keeping pace with traffic.
This is a mistake. The brakes
might not have time to cool between
hard stops. The brakes will wear
out much faster with a lot of heavy
braking. Keeping pace with the
traffic and allowing realistic following
distances eliminates a lot of
unnecessary braking. That means
better braking and longer brake life. If the engine ever stops while
the vehicle is being driven, brake
normally but do not pump the
brakes. If the brakes are pumped,
the pedal could get harder to push
down. If the engine stops, there will
still be some power brake assist but
it will be used when the brake is
applied. Once the power assist is
used up, it can take longer to stop
and the brake pedal will be harder
to push.
Adding non‐dealer accessories
can affect vehicle performance.
See
Accessories and Modifications
on page 10‑3.

Black plate (5,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
Driving and Operating 9-5
Steering
Power Steering
If the vehicle is a hybrid, see the
hybrid supplement for more
information.
If power steering assist is lost
because the engine stops or the
power steering system is not
functioning, the vehicle can be
steered but it will take more effort.
Steering Tips
It is important to take curves at a
reasonable speed.
Traction in a curve depends on
the condition of the tires and the
road surface, the angle at which the
curve is banked, and vehicle speed.
While in a curve, speed is the one
factor that can be controlled.
If there is a need to reduce speed,
do it before entering the curve, while
the front wheels are straight.Try to adjust the speed so you can
drive through the curve. Maintain a
reasonable, steady speed. Wait to
accelerate until out of the curve,
and then accelerate gently into the
straightaway.
Steering in Emergencies
There are times when steering
can be more effective than braking.
For example, you come over a hill
and find a truck stopped in your
lane, or a car suddenly pulls out
from nowhere, or a child darts out
from between parked cars and stops
right in front of you. These problems
can be avoided by braking
—if you
can stop in time. But sometimes
you cannot stop in time because
there is no room. That is the time
for evasive action —steering around
the problem.
The vehicle can perform very well
in emergencies like these. First,
apply the brakes. See Braking on
page 9‑4. It is better to remove as
much speed as possible from a collision. Then steer around
the problem, to the left or right
depending on the space available.
An emergency like this requires
close attention and a quick decision.
If holding the steering wheel at
the recommended 9 and 3 o'clock
positions, it can be turned a full
180 degrees very quickly without
removing either hand. But you have
to act fast, steer quickly, and just as
quickly straighten the wheel once
you have avoided the object.

Black plate (6,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
9-6 Driving and Operating
The fact that such emergency
situations are always possible is a
good reason to practice defensive
driving at all times and wear safety
belts properly.
Off-Road Recovery
The vehicle's right wheels can drop
off the edge of a road onto the
shoulder while driving.
If the level of the shoulder is
only slightly below the pavement,
recovery should be fairly easy.Ease off the accelerator and then,
if there is nothing in the way, steer
so that the vehicle straddles the
edge of the pavement. Turn the
steering wheel 8 to 13 cm (3 to
5 inches), about one-eighth turn,
until the right front tire contacts
the pavement edge. Then turn the
steering wheel to go straight down
the roadway.
Loss of Control
Let us review what driving experts
say about what happens when the
three control systems
—brakes,
steering, and acceleration —do not
have enough friction where the tires
meet the road to do what the driver
has asked.
In any emergency, do not give up.
Keep trying to steer and constantly
seek an escape route or area of
less danger.
Skidding
In a skid, a driver can lose control of
the vehicle. Defensive drivers avoid
most skids by taking reasonable
care suited to existing conditions,
and by not overdriving those
conditions. But skids are always
possible.
The three types of skids correspond
to the vehicle's three control
systems. In the braking skid,
the wheels are not rolling. In the
steering or cornering skid, too much
speed or steering in a curve causes
tires to slip and lose cornering force.
And in the acceleration skid, too
much throttle causes the driving
wheels to spin.
If the vehicle starts to slide,
ease your foot off the accelerator
pedal and quickly steer the way you
want the vehicle to go. If you start
steering quickly enough, the vehicle
may straighten out. Always be ready
for a second skid if it occurs.

Black plate (7,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
Driving and Operating 9-7
Of course, traction is reduced when
water, snow, ice, gravel, or other
material is on the road. For safety,
slow down and adjust your driving
to these conditions. It is important
to slow down on slippery surfaces
because stopping distance is longer
and vehicle control more limited.
While driving on a surface with
reduced traction, try to avoid
sudden steering, acceleration,
or braking, including reducing
vehicle speed by shifting to a lower
gear. Any sudden changes could
cause the tires to slide. You might
not realize the surface is slippery
until the vehicle is skidding. Learn
to recognize warning clues—such
as enough water, ice, or packed
snow on the road to make a
mirrored surface —and slow down
when you have any doubt.
Remember: Antilock brakes help
avoid only the braking skid.Off-Road Driving
Vehicles with all‐wheel drive can be
used for off‐road driving. Vehicles
without all‐wheel drive and vehicles
with 22‐inch tire/wheel assemblies
should not be driven off-road except
on a level, solid surface.
Many of the vehicle design features
that help make the vehicle more
responsive on paved roads during
poor weather conditions also help
make it better suited for off‐road
use than conventional passenger
vehicles. The vehicle does not
have features usually thought to
be necessary for extended or
severe off‐road use such as special
underbody shielding and transfer
case low gear range.
The airbag system is designed to
work properly under a wide range
of conditions, including off‐road
usage. Always wear your safety belt
and observe safe driving speeds,
especially on rough terrain. Drinking and driving can be very
dangerous on any road and this is
certainly true for off-road driving.
At the very time you need special
alertness and driving skills, your
reflexes, perceptions, and judgment
can be affected by even a small
amount of alcohol. You could have a
serious
—or even fatal —accident
if you drink and drive or ride with a
driver who has been drinking.
Off-roading can be great fun but has
some definite hazards. The greatest
of these is the terrain itself. When
off-road driving, traffic lanes are not
marked, curves are not banked, and
there are no road signs. Surfaces
can be slippery, rough, uphill,
or downhill.
Avoid sharp turns and abrupt
maneuvers. Failure to operate the
vehicle correctly off‐road could
result in loss of vehicle control
or vehicle rollover.

Black plate (8,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
9-8 Driving and Operating
Off-roading involves some new
skills. That is why it is very
important that you read these
driving tips and suggestions to
help make off-road driving safer
and more enjoyable.
Before You Go Off-Roading
.Have all necessary maintenance
and service work done.
.Make sure there is enough fuel,
that fluid levels are where they
should be, and that the spare
tire, if the vehicle has one, is
fully inflated.
.Be sure to read all the
information about all-wheel-drive
vehicles in this manual.
.Make sure all underbody
shields, if the vehicle has them,
are properly attached.
.Know the local laws that apply
to off-roading where you will
be driving or check with law
enforcement people in the area.
.Be sure to get the necessary
permission if you will be on
private land.
If you think you will need some
more ground clearance at the front
of your vehicle, you can remove
the front fascia lower air dam.
The air dam is held in place by
two bolts and 10 snaps accessible
from underneath the front fascia.
To remove the air dam:
1. Remove the two outboard air dam bolts.
2. With a flat‐blade tool, disengage the snaps.
3. After the bolts are removed and the snaps are disengaged, push
forward on the air dam until it
is free. Notice:
Operating your vehicle
for extended periods without
the front fascia lower air dam
installed can cause improper air
flow to the engine. Always be
sure to replace the front fascia
air dam when you are finished
off-road driving.
After off-roading, be sure to reinstall
the air dam:
1. Line up the snaps and push the
air dam rearward to engage the
snaps.
2. Install the two outboard bolts.