CADILLAC ESCALADE 2011 3.G Manual Online

Black plate (25,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
Seats and Restraints 3-25
Questions and Answers About
Safety Belts
Q: Will I be trapped in the vehicleafter a crash if I am wearing a
safety belt?
A: You could be—whether you
are wearing a safety belt or
not. But your chance of being
conscious during and after an
accident, so you canunbuckle
and get out, is muchgreater if
you are belted. And you can
unbuckle a safety belt, even if
you are upside down.
Q: If my vehicle has airbags, why should I have to wear safety
belts?
A: Airbags are supplemental
systems only; so they work with
safety belts —not instead of
them. Whether or not an airbag
is provided, all occupants still
have to buckle up to get the
most protection. That is true
not only in frontal collisions,
but especially in side and
other collisions. Q: If I am a good driver, and I
never drive far from home,
why should I wear safety
belts?
A: You may be an excellent driver,
but if you are in a crash —even
one that is not your fault —you
and your passenger(s) can be
hurt. Being a good driver does
not protect you from things
beyond your control, such
as bad drivers.
Most accidents occur within
40 km (25 miles) of home.
And the greatest number of
serious injuries and deaths
occur at speeds of less than
65 km/h (40 mph).
Safety belts are for everyone.
How to Wear Safety Belts
Properly
This section is only for people of
adult size.
Be aware that there are special
things to know about safety belts
and children. And there are different
rules for smaller children and
infants. If a child will be riding in
the vehicle, see Older Children on
page 3‑55 orInfants and Young
Children on page 3‑57. Follow those
rules for everyone's protection.
It is very important for all occupants
to buckle up. Statistics show that
unbelted people are hurt more often
in crashes than those who are
wearing safety belts.
Occupants who are not buckled up
can be thrown out of the vehicle in a
crash. And they can strike others in
the vehicle who are wearing safety
belts.

Black plate (26,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
3-26 Seats and Restraints
First, before you or your
passenger(s) wear a safety belt,
there is important information you
should know.
Sit up straight and always keep
your feet on the floor in front of you.
The lap part of the belt should beworn low and snug on the hips,
just touching the thighs. In a crash,
this applies force to the strong
pelvic bones and you would be
less likely to slide under the lap
belt. If you slid under it, the belt
would apply force on your abdomen.
This could cause serious or even
fatal injuries. The shoulder belt
should go over the shoulder and
across the chest. These parts of
the body are best able to take belt
restraining forces.
The shoulder belt locks if there is a
sudden stop or crash.
Q: What is wrong with this?
A:
The shoulder belt is too loose.
It will not give as much
protection this way.

Black plate (27,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
Seats and Restraints 3-27
{WARNING
You can be seriously hurt if your
shoulder belt is too loose. In a
crash, you would move forward
too much, which could increase
injury. The shoulder belt should fit
snugly against your body.Q: What is wrong with this?
A:
The lap belt is too loose.
It will not give nearly as much
protection this way.
{WARNING
You can be seriously hurt if your
lap belt is too loose. In a crash,
you could slide under the lap
belt and apply force on your
abdomen. This could cause
serious or even fatal injuries.
The lap belt should be worn
low and snug on the hips, just
touching the thighs.

Black plate (28,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
3-28 Seats and Restraints
Q: What is wrong with this?
A:The belt is buckled in the wrong
buckle.
{WARNING
You can be seriously injured
if your belt is buckled in the
wrong place like this. In a crash,
the belt would go up over your
abdomen. The belt forces would
be there, not on the pelvic bones.
This could cause serious internal
injuries. Always buckle your belt
into the buckle nearest you. Q: What is wrong with this?
A:
The belt is over an armrest.

Black plate (29,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
Seats and Restraints 3-29
{WARNING
You can be seriously injured if
your belt goes over an armrest
like this. The belt would be much
too high. In a crash, you can
slide under the belt. The belt
force would then be applied on
the abdomen, not on the pelvic
bones, and that could cause
serious or fatal injuries. Be sure
the belt goes under the armrests.Q: What is wrong with this?
A:
The shoulder belt is worn under
the arm. It should be worn over
the shoulder at all times.
{WARNING
You can be seriously injured if
you wear the shoulder belt under
your arm. In a crash, your body
would move too far forward,
which would increase the chance
of head and neck injury. Also,
the belt would apply too much
force to the ribs, which are not
as strong as shoulder bones.
You could also severely injure
internal organs like your liver or
spleen. The shoulder belt should
go over the shoulder and across
the chest.

Black plate (30,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
3-30 Seats and Restraints
Q: What is wrong with this?
A:The belt is behind the body.
{WARNING
You can be seriously injured by
not wearing the lap-shoulder belt
properly. In a crash, you would
not be restrained by the shoulder
belt. Your body could move
too far forward increasing the
chance of head and neck injury.
You might also slide under the lap
belt. The belt force would then be
applied right on the abdomen.
That could cause serious or fatal
injuries. The shoulder belt should
go over the shoulder and across
the chest. Q: What is wrong with this?
A:
The belt is twisted across
the body.
{WARNING
You can be seriously injured by a
twisted belt. In a crash, you would
not have the full width of the belt
to spread impact forces. If a belt
is twisted, make it straight so it
can work properly, or ask your
dealer to fix it.

Black plate (31,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
Seats and Restraints 3-31
Lap-Shoulder Belt
All seating positions in the vehicle
have a lap-shoulder belt except for
the center front passenger position,
if equipped, which has a lap belt.
SeeLap Belt on page 3‑37 for more
information.
The lap‐shoulder belts for the first
and second row seating positions
are equipped with free‐falling latch
plates. If the vehicle has a third row,
the lap‐shoulder belts have either
free‐falling or cinching latch plates. Use the following pictures to
determine the latch plate style:
Free-Falling Latch Plate
Cinching Latch Plate
The following instructions explain
how to wear a lap-shoulder belt
properly.
1. Adjust the seat, if the seat is adjustable, so you can sit up
straight. To see how, see “Seats”
in the Index.

Black plate (32,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
3-32 Seats and Restraints
2. Pick up the latch plate and pullthe belt across you. Do not let it
get twisted.
The lap-shoulder belt may lock if
you pull the belt across you very
quickly. If this happens, let the
belt go back slightly to unlock it.
Then pull the belt across you
more slowly.
If the shoulder portion of a
passenger belt with a free‐falling
latch plate is pulled out all the
way, the child restraint locking
feature may be engaged. If this
happens, let the belt go back all
the way and start again.
Engaging the child restraint
locking feature in the right front
seating position may affect the
passenger sensing system,
if equipped. See Passenger
Sensing System on page 3‑48
for more information.
If the belt stops before it reaches
the buckle, for lap‐shoulder belts
with cinching latch plates, tilt
the latch plate and keep pulling
the safety belt until it can be
buckled.3. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks. If you find
that the latch plate will not go
fully into the buckle, see if you
are using the correct buckle.
Pull up on the latch plate to
make sure it is secure. If the belt
is not long enough, see Safety
Belt Extender on page 3‑38.
Position the release button on
the buckle so that the safety belt
could be quickly unbuckled if
necessary.

Black plate (33,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
Seats and Restraints 3-33
4. If equipped with a shoulderbelt height adjuster, move it to
the height that is right for you.
See “Shoulder Belt Height
Adjuster” in this section for
instructions on use and
important safety information.
5. To make the lap part tight, pull
up on the shoulder belt.
It may be necessary to pull
stitching on the safety belt
through the latch plate to fully
tighten the lap belt on smaller
occupants. To unlatch the belt, push the button
on the buckle. The belt should
return to its stowed position.
Before a door is closed, be sure
the safety belt is out of the way. If a
door is slammed against a safety
belt, damage can occur to both the
belt and the vehicle.
Shoulder Belt Height Adjuster
The vehicle has a shoulder belt
height adjuster for the driver and
right front passenger positions.
Adjust the height so the shoulder
portion of the belt is on the
shoulder and not falling off of it.
The belt should be close to, but
not contacting, the neck. Improper
shoulder belt height adjustment
could reduce the effectiveness of
the safety belt in a crash. See
How
to Wear Safety Belts Properly on
page 3‑25.
Squeeze the buttons (A) on the
sides of the height adjuster and
move the height adjuster to the
desired position.
The adjuster can be moved up just
by pushing up on the shoulder belt
guide.
After the adjuster is set to the
desired position, try to move it
down without squeezing the buttons
to make sure it has locked into
position.

Black plate (34,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
3-34 Seats and Restraints
Safety Belt Pretensioners
This vehicle has safety belt
pretensioners for front outboard
occupants. Although the safety
belt pretensioners cannot be seen,
they are part of the safety belt
assembly. They can help tighten the
safety belts during the early stages
of a moderate to severe frontal,
near frontal, or rear crash if the
threshold conditions for pretensioner
activation are met. And, if the
vehicle has side impact airbags,
safety belt pretensioners can help
tighten the safety belts in a side
crash or a rollover event.
Pretensioners work only once. If the
pretensioners activate in a crash,
the pretensioners and probably
other parts of the vehicle's safety
belt system will need to be replaced.
SeeReplacing Safety Belt System
Parts After a Crash on page 3‑39.
Rear Safety Belt Comfort
Guides
This vehicle may have rear shoulder
belt comfort guides. If not, they
are available through your dealer.
The guides may provide added
safety belt comfort for older children
who have outgrown booster seats
and for some adults. When installed
and properly adjusted, the comfort
guide positions the belt away from
the neck and head.
There is one guide, if equipped, for
each outside passenger position in
the second row seat and the third
row, if the vehicle has one.
Second Row
Here is how to install a comfort
guide to the safety belt:
1. For the second row, remove the guide from its storage clip on the
interior body.